MLB 2019-2020 Offseason Thread

[The Buscher]

Yeah, I mean it's tough for me to think a 34 year old pitcher is going to turn down a 5-year, $180 million deal but you never know what the market will look like by then.

[Meacon Keaton]

Especially since he’s only gonna get better!

I’m literally so giddy I can’t even work this morning. Spring training can not get here fast enough. 

[Draevyn]

I really wish the Jays would do something Yankee-ish to get me into next season. I say every year that I'd like to watch a bit more baseball but I never actually manage to stay interested.

[Meacon Keaton]

Bichette and Vlad Jr should be reason enough for the next few years. Just don’t expect too much cuz you’re still in the AL East.

Maybe you guys will be nice and take Happ off the Yankees hands.

[Krabby]

This is why I've really fallen out of love with baseball

[gunnar hendershow]

2 hours ago, Carlos Buschtran said:

Yeah, I mean it's tough for me to think a 34 year old pitcher is going to turn down a 5-year, $180 million deal but you never know what the market will look like by then.

So if he can still throw he can probably flip that money in an extra $30 million and maybe tack on an extra few million in deferred money. When teams believe they are a starter away they will do some amazing things.

And if he doesn't opt out, it's the Yankees and they can technically afford it no problem but Hal is cheap as shit when compared to his team's revenues.

[Meacon Keaton]

I don’t think we can call Hal cheap anymore when he pretty much just assured the payroll will be around $250 million this year.

[Mx. Canadian Destroyer]

1 hour ago, Meacon say “Feliz Navidad” said:

Bichette and Vlad Jr should be reason enough for the next few years. Just don’t expect too much cuz you’re still in the AL East.

Maybe you guys will be nice and take Happ off the Yankees hands.

I wouldn't be mad if the Jays traded for Happ, though I can't say I'd be over the moon if they got him. It would pretty much entirely depend on what went back, especially if they take on all the salary.

[Meacon Keaton]

I can’t imagine the Yanks getting back much more than a very minor prospect or PTBNL. It will be a salary dump move only. They’re literally just looking for someone to take some of the pay off their hands. 

Speaking of which, if they don’t have to pay Ellsbury’s $20+ million and Happ’s $17 million, it’s like an equal trade for Cole. I’ll take that any day.

[Lowerdeck]

Next year feels even more like a lost cause

[gunnar hendershow]

1 hour ago, Meacon say “Feliz Navidad” said:

I don’t think we can call Hal cheap anymore when he pretty much just assured the payroll will be around $250 million this year.

Still a pretty big gap between revenues and expenses. If George had the new stadium for more than a year he'd have blown past $300 million years ago.

My point is that Hal is a big spender but nowhere near where the money his team makes dictate he could be.

[Ct1021]

I'm a huge Yankees fan and I'm not as excited as I thought I would be about the Cole signing. Big contracts like that scare me because there's always the risk they don't pan out. Plus, they somewhat inhibit the ability to bolster the team in other ways. 

[Toe]

2 hours ago, CinMCDy Lou Who said:

I wouldn't be mad if the Jays traded for Happ, though I can't say I'd be over the moon if they got him. It would pretty much entirely depend on what went back, especially if they take on all the salary.

If the Yankees eat some of the salary, I'd be happy to have Happ. 

With the Red Sox looking to cut costs, do you think the Jays would be in to take on David Price if Boston ate a decent chunk of his salary? I know he's not anywhere close to his prime, but the Jays need arms and Price probably needs a fresh start away from Fenway.

Edited December 11, 2019 by Toe
It posted my comment twice in a single post. Weird.

[Gabriel]

7 minutes ago, Toe said:

If the Yankees eat some of the salary, I'd be happy to have Happ. 

With the Red Sox looking to cut costs, do you think the Jays would be in to take on David Price if Boston ate a decent chunk of his salary? I know he's not anywhere close to his prime, but the Jays need arms and Price probably needs a fresh start away from Fenway.

I think both of those guys should be heavy on the Jays radar right now. If the acquisition cost for them is reasonable, then the team can take advantage of two of their AL East enemies and get them for next to nothing. For what it's worth, it's being said that the Yankees will probably have to eat a huge portion of Happ's salary, send a significant prospect with him, or some combination of both, to move him out.

If the Yankees are willing to eat half of Happ's salary for the coming season, I pull the trigger on that. If they want to unload more of it though, I'm looking at trying to add a significant pitching or outfield prospect who could factor in at first down the line.

I have similar feelings about Price. He's not the guy who came in for a stretch run and wowed the country anymore, but he's certainly still good enough to walk right onto this Blue Jays team without any fight from the guys below him on the depth chart.

I believe Ryu heads back to the Dodgers for big money, which really just leaves Dallas Keuchel as the only real premier arm on the market still.

If I'm the Jays, I'm deciding what I want to spend on three starting pitchers at the high end... then I'm trying to get Happ and Price for dimes on the dollar, and I take the rest of what remains of that pool of money we decided we were okay to spend, and I'm making Keuchel a big offer. There's an impact arm coming in who can be with the team for some time, and two reclamation projects in guys who are both familiar with Toronto, and who have both experienced tremendous success in the league.

Keuchel, Price, Happ, Shoemaker and whoever plays best in spring training out of the rest of the group... that's a pretty solid rotation.

[The Buscher]

MLB released their sponsored scientific study on if the balls were being juiced or not in recent times.  To no surprise, the study claimed MLB wasn't purposely juicing the balls.

[MalaCloudy Black]

I'm shocked.

[Toe]

44 minutes ago, Gabriel said:

I think both of those guys should be heavy on the Jays radar right now. If the acquisition cost for them is reasonable, then the team can take advantage of two of their AL East enemies and get them for next to nothing. For what it's worth, it's being said that the Yankees will probably have to eat a huge portion of Happ's salary, send a significant prospect with him, or some combination of both, to move him out.

If the Yankees are willing to eat half of Happ's salary for the coming season, I pull the trigger on that. If they want to unload more of it though, I'm looking at trying to add a significant pitching or outfield prospect who could factor in at first down the line.

I have similar feelings about Price. He's not the guy who came in for a stretch run and wowed the country anymore, but he's certainly still good enough to walk right onto this Blue Jays team without any fight from the guys below him on the depth chart.

I believe Ryu heads back to the Dodgers for big money, which really just leaves Dallas Keuchel as the only real premier arm on the market still.

If I'm the Jays, I'm deciding what I want to spend on three starting pitchers at the high end... then I'm trying to get Happ and Price for dimes on the dollar, and I take the rest of what remains of that pool of money we decided we were okay to spend, and I'm making Keuchel a big offer. There's an impact arm coming in who can be with the team for some time, and two reclamation projects in guys who are both familiar with Toronto, and who have both experienced tremendous success in the league.

Keuchel, Price, Happ, Shoemaker and whoever plays best in spring training out of the rest of the group... that's a pretty solid rotation.

I agree big time. The Jays aren't looking for a top of the rotation guy to push them over the top. They need arms that can give them league-average innings. I don't see the Jays competing this season, but the rotation has to be better for there to be ANY improvement. 

[Meacon Keaton]

1 hour ago, Ct1021 said:

I'm a huge Yankees fan and I'm not as excited as I thought I would be about the Cole signing. Big contracts like that scare me because there's always the risk they don't pan out. Plus, they somewhat inhibit the ability to bolster the team in other ways. 

In what other ways should they bolster the team? They’re legit an ace pitcher away from winning the whole thing and they just went out and got him. There’s not a single weak spot on this team.

[Draevyn]

So maybe I'm an idiot when it comes to baseball but the Jays had both Happ and Price in the past and they didn't exactly light the world on fire. I mean Happ more so than Price but I'm not sure why we'd want them to come back at this point in time.

[Ct1021]

32 minutes ago, Meacon say “Feliz Navidad” said:

In what other ways should they bolster the team? They’re legit an ace pitcher away from winning the whole thing and they just went out and got him. There’s not a single weak spot on this team.

I guess I just tend to be a little pessimistic about contracts like this. Everything may seem great now but injuries, slumps, performance declines, etc can always derail even the most stacked teams.