MLB 2023

[The Buscher]

Josh Hader to the Astros for 5 years, $95 million.  Free agent market still moving relatively slowly in terms of the big names left.

[Gabriel]

It feels like the big names left kind of priced themselves out of early offers.

If they get the money/term they're wanting, I expect most of them to end up with teams they didn't originally have much interest in. Similarly, if they end up with teams they're more interested in playing for, I would expect shorter term deals.

Blake Snell is looking for $30 million a year, but at this point in the off-season, I don't think he gets that unless he's willing to take a one or two year deal. Salary flexibility is way too valuable to commit those dollars and years to guys who won't necessarily cement you as a playoff team.

That's not a knock on Snell at all. Dude is worth every penny, relative to other contracts, but I don't see his addition to any team being what pushes them to that next level. The Yankees are interested, and he fills a very big need for them, but I don't know that he makes them a playoff lock. Two or three guys making that $30 million could provide as much or more impact for the team, especially with the other holes they have.

The Jays are interested, and I love the idea, but we've got a lot of young players who are coming up on big money extensions, so I don't think I want $30 million committed to Snell on a longer term. Over 2 or 3 years? Fuck yeah, bud. Bring him in and move Manoah or Kikuchi in a package for an impact bat.

[The Buscher]

Hall of Fame results announced tonight.  Adrian Beltre and Joe Mauer are both going in first ballot, the former nearly unanimously.

Todd Helton finished last year right in that margin where he figured to go in this year and it seems likely he will.  And he should, dude was great and Coors shouldn't be held against him.

Billy Wagner's currently right above the 75% threshold but the non-revealed ballots tend to be more conservative small Hall voters, hope he makes it but wouldn't be shocked if he misses it by only a few votes and he gets in on his final try next year.

Gary Sheffield is just under 75% and it'd be surprising if the small Hall voters who kept him out this long reversed course.  But this is his 10th and final try so he'll have to join the litany of sluggers the Veterans Committee will have to decide on.

Carlos Beltran is in the mid-60s right now, I think he's in within a few years.

[GhostMachine]

Whenever Hall of Fame nomination (or inductees) discussion starts, I always see people whining that Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Pete Rose belong in.

No, they do not.

Bonds and Clemens are not only cheaters, but have continued to deny it. If they ever add a Cheaters wing to the Hall, they and others (A-Rod, McGwire) go in there. But not until they confess.

I think Pete Rose should go in. 5 years after he passes away.

(Then again, I also believe Shoeless Joe should go in, and Charles Comiskey should be kicked out....)

[punky]

Everyone else is entitled to their opinion but I see no reason Bonds, Clemens, A-Rod, McGwire, etc. shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame based on their on the field performance.

Say what you will about using steroids, HGH and PEDs but you still have to go out there and make contact/get people out. Players in the 70s and 80s were taking all kinds of drugs/amphetamines and if you don't think those are PEDs, you're crazy. I didn't see those guys not getting votes. Plus, all of the (alleged) racists and criminals that are already in there - either remove those guys for the "character clause" or let the other guys in. 

[gunnar hendershow]

The thing is for baseball fans of a certain age the two most sacred records were Aaron and Maris. And those fans are of the age where they have an outsized presence on HOF voting.

Eventually, the steroid era guys will all wind up in. Probably as soon as it comes out Bagwell or Biggio were also roid boys.

[Meacon Keaton]

Bagwell wouldn't surprise me. The guy broke his wrist anytime he shook hands.

[The Buscher]

Made me really happy to see David Wright get just enough support to stick around on the ballot for a 2nd year.

With his career getting cut short, it's easy to forget how good he really was.  He was one of only 6 players ever to accumulate a .300 BA, 200+ HR, and 175+ SB across his first 10 seasons.  The other guys to do it are some elite company:  Mays, Trout, A-Rod, Larry Walker, and Ryan Braun.

His career statline compares very favorably with that of Joe Mauer, but obviously positional comparisons play a big role there.  Looking toward his own positions, his first 10 years were significantly better than the first 10 years of Scott Rolen - but of course the difference is Wright didn't get the chance to have his compiling years.

He'll never make it to Cooperstown and I respect and understand that.  But it's not his fault he got a degenerative back issue that prevented him from finishing compiling the 3B HOF numbers he was very clearly on track to.  Letting him hang around on the ballot is at least a little acknowledgment of that.  Wouldn't have had the chance to get those votes if there were still a million PED guys clogging the ballot.

[Meacon Keaton]

3 hours ago, Busch Wyatt said:

Made me really happy to see David Wright get just enough support to stick around on the ballot for a 2nd year.

With his career getting cut short, it's easy to forget how good he really was.  He was one of only 6 players ever to accumulate a .300 BA, 200+ HR, and 175+ SB across his first 10 seasons.  The other guys to do it are some elite company:  Mays, Trout, A-Rod, Larry Walker, and Ryan Braun.

His career statline compares very favorably with that of Joe Mauer, but obviously positional comparisons play a big role there.  Looking toward his own positions, his first 10 years were significantly better than the first 10 years of Scott Rolen - but of course the difference is Wright didn't get the chance to have his compiling years.

He'll never make it to Cooperstown and I respect and understand that.  But it's not his fault he got a degenerative back issue that prevented him from finishing compiling the 3B HOF numbers he was very clearly on track to.  Letting him hang around on the ballot is at least a little acknowledgment of that.  Wouldn't have had the chance to get those votes if there were still a million PED guys clogging the ballot.

They can give Wright a call whenever they wake up and give Mattingly the call. Donnie was a Boggs/Gwynn type hitter with more power. His back ruined what would've been a 3000+ hit career. And what a glove. 😍

[Krabby]

1 hour ago, Meacon Keaton said:

They can give Wright a call whenever they wake up and give Mattingly the call. Donnie was a Boggs/Gwynn type hitter with more power. His back ruined what would've been a 3000+ hit career. And what a glove. 😍

Mattingly ain't in the hall?

[Gabriel]

11 hours ago, Krabby said:

Mattingly ain't in the hall?

There's a pretty strict No Sideburns rule.

[GhostMachine]

On 24/01/2024 at 09:07, punky said:

Everyone else is entitled to their opinion but I see no reason Bonds, Clemens, A-Rod, McGwire, etc. shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame based on their on the field performance.

Say what you will about using steroids, HGH and PEDs but you still have to go out there and make contact/get people out. Players in the 70s and 80s were taking all kinds of drugs/amphetamines and if you don't think those are PEDs, you're crazy. I didn't see those guys not getting votes. Plus, all of the (alleged) racists and criminals that are already in there - either remove those guys for the "character clause" or let the other guys in. 

My issue is more that they won't admit they cheated than the actual cheating. A-Rod admitted he did, but there are some who think he either lied about when he did or how long.

And some are on the bubble about McGwire, who was one of my favorite players (so was Clemens), belonging in. If he was a DH, yes, but he was a 1st Baseman. He has..or had..a lot of hitting records, but he has only about 30 more career hits than strikeouts and wasn't exactly known for his defense. (Not me. I think he'd belong if not for the denial of cheating.)

[Toe]

Jays added Justin Turner for one year. Is he still capable of playing third every day, or is he just a bat at this point in his career?

[Mx. Canadian Destroyer]

41 minutes ago, Toe said:

Jays added Justin Turner for one year. Is he still capable of playing third every day, or is he just a bat at this point in his career?

He played 98 games at DH and 41 at 1B. Only 7 at 3B. That being said, the Red Sox have Devers. 

I think he's there primarily as DH, occasional back-up 1B and maybe sometimes 3B. He's basically Belt but right handed and with more power than OBP. 

[Toe]

54 minutes ago, Mx. Canadian Destroyer said:

He played 98 games at DH and 41 at 1B. Only 7 at 3B. That being said, the Red Sox have Devers. 

I think he's there primarily as DH, occasional back-up 1B and maybe sometimes 3B. He's basically Belt but right handed and with more power than OBP. 

OK, so 3B is still an issue (unless the plan is to start IKF there full-time).

[Krabby]

Twins trade Jorge Polanco to the Mariners for  Anthony DeSclafani, Justin Topa, Darren Bowen, and Gabriel Gonzalez

To someone more versed in the MLB: Should I be pleased about this or upset? Haha

[Gabriel]

Turner is a solid addition on a one year deal, but I would much rather have had Jorge Soler. All accounts are that Soler wants a multi-year deal though, so I'll take the flexibility and power of Turner.

It's looking like the plan is to see if Kiner-Falefa can hold onto the starting job at 3rd. If not, Cavan Biggio and Santiago Espinal actually both posted better OBP numbers than IKF last year and could try to force their way into that spot. Addison Barger, Ernie Clement and Orelvis Martinez could also get a shot at the hot corner if needed.

On paper, I am happy with the lineup. Comparatively to what other teams added this off-season though, I don't think the Jays have done enough to keep up. A lefty bat, likely in the outfield, would be a huge addition and shore up those concerns for me.

Part of me thinks that taking Turner on for one season instead of going after multiple years of Soler was done in an effort to spend less on someone who will primarily play at DH and save some cash for Cody Bellinger, who ticks all the boxes.

Another major potential positive in a Bellinger signing is that it provides a bit of insurance at 3rd. If IKF fails and no one else steps up, they could always slide Vlad back to 3rd and play Bellinger at 1st. Guerrero's glove has improved a lot since he moved to first base, and I'd be more than comfortable with two big ol' mashers at the corners. We just need him to get his bat going again.

EDIT:

@Krabby It's an immediate downgrade, but the Twins save a decent chunk of cash on this deal and get a top outfield prospect in Gonzalez. Polanco is on a team friendly deal of $10.5 million this year, but that was a team option and he'll be looking to get paid in the off-season. Best to just do the deal now, as they would likely have just traded him at the deadline or lost him to free agency anyways.

Edited January 30 by Gabriel

[The Buscher]

I kinda wanted Turner on the Mets, felt like he'd be a good fit as they need another bat specifically in the DH spot and I think having him in the clubhouse to help out some of the younger players would've been an asset.  It's possible they can still get JD Martinez but I have my suspicion he'll land elsewhere.  Feels like the Mets will just use the DH spot to rotate guys in and out which would be fine if their lineup was good enough as is, but I don't think it is at all.

David Stearns has to keep saying "we're building a team to compete for the playoffs" because he can't say "we're punting and focusing on young players".  I don't look at this roster as one that will win more than about 75 games unless a LOT goes right.

It's easy to see the plan...largely just ride the season on young players, get the rest of the bad money off the books and retool for next year.  But this is likely going to end up wasting a year of Lindor and Nimmo's prime, plus it's possibly the last season we have Alonso.  I understand not wanting to hand out multi-year deals but the CBT is already blown out of the water this year, Cohen should be aggressive in high money 1-year deals to try to make the most of this year in spots where it makes sense.

If you would've told me in 2020 that in just a few years we'd be seeing Steve Cohen punt a season I wouldn't have believed it but here we are.  Once he lost on Yamamoto the hopes of trying to be good seemed to disappear with it.

[gunnar hendershow]

THE ANGELOS FAMILY IS SELLING!!

IT'S OVER! IT'S FINALLY FUCKING OVER!

[Mx. Canadian Destroyer]

6 hours ago, Krabby said:

Twins trade Jorge Polanco to the Mariners for  Anthony DeSclafani, Justin Topa, Darren Bowen, and Gabriel Gonzalez

To someone more versed in the MLB: Should I be pleased about this or upset? Haha

From what I've seen it seems like a big overpay for Polanco.