MLB 2019-2020 Offseason Thread

[gunnar hendershow]

Watch out or the Hall of Fame might add a "Disgruntled Fans Wing" and the Mets organization will just cut out the middle man and move there.

[Meacon Keaton]

Tomorrow is the last day to add potential Rule-5 picks to your 40-man rosters. The Yankees have over 20 players eligible for the Rule-5 draft and 3 spots open on the 40-man. 😟

[GhostMachine]

11 hours ago, Meacon said:

Tomorrow is the last day to add potential Rule-5 picks to your 40-man rosters. The Yankees have over 20 players eligible for the Rule-5 draft and 3 spots open on the 40-man. 😟

Simple solution: Release their entire roster, then they won't have to worry about that problem.

[Meacon Keaton]

 ok, you got me. Good one, GhostMachine.

[The Buscher]

White Sox sign Yasmani Grandal.  4 years, $74 million.

[Meacon Keaton]

Good for him. Largest free agent contract in White Sox history.

[Mx. Canadian Destroyer]

Yeah, good for him. Excited to see the White Sox try to take a step forward. I think there's a lot of room for competition in the AL Central. 

[Meacon Keaton]

Yeah, any team that actually tries could take the AL Central.

[Gabriel]

That's a good fit for both sides. The Jays not getting Grandal kinda sucks, but looking at it, that amount of money for a free agent when we have Jansen and McGuire on the team right now would be a dumb move when they really need to be going out and getting good arms. I think we got priced out of this one. Not because the team doesn't have the money to spend, but more because it just didn't make sense to spend that money with the position not being a desperate need.

If Jansen can get his bat going, he'll be great. His defense is superb. McGuire has a good bat, but doesn't have the same defensive capabilities as Jansen. They'll make a good pairing at the major league level next season for us.

[The Buscher]

And the first joke ballot of the year goes to Steven Marcus, who submitted a ballot of Jeter and Jeter only.  The idea that you can look at that ballot and see only one Hall of Fame-worthy player is asinine.

[Meacon Keaton]

I saw an article the other day titled "Why Derek Jeter may be the only player voted in this year" and I thought that was moronic enough. But for someone to only have one player on their actual ballot is mindboggling. 

I feel like when someone does shit that stupid, they should lose their voting privilege for a year or so. You don't think anyone else is worth a vote? Good. Because next year you won't have a say at all. 

[gunnar hendershow]

You should be required to explain why players you don't vote for don't deserve to get in.

[DMN in the House]

2 hours ago, Meacon said:

I saw an article the other day titled "Why Derek Jeter may be the only player voted in this year" and I thought that was moronic enough. But for someone to only have one player on their actual ballot is mindboggling. 

I feel like when someone does shit that stupid, they should lose their voting privilege for a year or so. You don't think anyone else is worth a vote? Good. Because next year you won't have a say at all. 

With all due respect to Derek Jeter, who's a first ballot HOFer, he's really not anywhere near a good enough player to get a solo class.

Maybe save that for Mike Trout, yeah?

[The Buscher]

If memory serves, a few voters did that for Rivera and Griffey in recent years as well.  One player ballots, seemingly trying to make the point that those players were in a league of their own and putting others in at the same time wouldn’t do them justice.

Like, I get it.  The NFL equivalent is when they don’t waste time doing a presentation debating the candidacy of first ballot shoo-ins.  The presenter will walk up, say “Peyton Manning”, and then sit down.  But those guys don’t go in solo either.

Nobody deserves a solo class if there are other candidates that warrant enshrinement.

[gunnar hendershow]

[MalaCloudy Black]

Sam Dyson, who most recently played for the Twins and is currently a free agent, is being investigated by MLB for domestic abuse.
 

Quote

 

The reported investigation stems from two Instagram posts made by Dyson’s now ex-girlfriend, Alexis Blackburn, in the past week. Blackburn doesn’t directly accuse Dyson of abuse in either post, but strongly alludes to it.

The first post appeared on Blackburn’s personal Instagram two days ago. She alluded to having endured “bullying,” and mentioned having to constantly apologize in “every conversation.”

"I am broken though. I’ve allowed my physical health, my emotional health, and my mental health to diminish to nothing. I’ve allowed more things to happen than I want to admit. I don’t know who this girl is right now because this hasn’t been me. I haven’t been me in so long. I’ve allowed myself to use the word “sorry” in every conversation whether I did something wrong or not. I’ve allowed myself to ignore red flags and bad in people because I loved them. I’m not ashamed or embarrassed of the current me because I know I didn’t do this to myself. I didn’t make me hate me. But what I can tell my family, friends, and the world is I am on the road to recovery and loving myself again. I’ve closed a chapter in my life. This has been the hardest decision I have ever made, but I have to put myself before anyone else. I’m proud of myself. It takes strength and courage to speak and stand up for what’s right. Strong people seek help. Strong people encourage others to seek help. They don’t tell you to get over it, figure it out, and you sound pathetic. Weak people don’t seek help. Weak people make excuses for their behavior. Weak people bully others. Weak people blame others for their own insecurities. So for those who think I am weak andand not good enough, you are correct. The old me was weak because I couldn’t stand up for myself because if I did I was “opinionated.” I lost my voice somewhere along the way, but I was always “good enough.” I was always beautiful. I was always willing to “fix” myself to be perfect. Then I had to tell myself perfection doesn’t exist."

The second post appeared on Tuesday on the account Blackburn runs in the voice of her cat, Snuckles. In that post, Blackburn posted a photo of Snuckles on top of a cardboard play house, a photo of the house smashed to pieces, and included a paragraph in Snuckles’ voice describing someone yelling and throwing things at the cat.

 

 

[The Buscher]

Drew Pomeranz to the Padres.  4 years, $34 million.

Gonna be an expensive relief market.

[gunnar hendershow]

The first sign of the Orioles strategy after losing millions in the MASN settlement is to put Villar on waivers and make it known they plan to trade Bundy.

Whatever, the team is gonna suck anyway. No idea why they wouldn't try to get a low-tier prospect as a return for Villar though.

[Meacon Keaton]

Is it spring training yet? Hot Stove podcasts can only do so much. I’ve got some serious withdrawal going on right now.

[gunnar hendershow]

Hot Stove speculation is brutal now. Too many people try to get in on it. It's like the NFL off-season in terms of 3 months of random, unconfirmed rumors.