2018 MLB Thread

[Meacon Keaton]

The Yankees traded for Russell Wilson, cuz why the hell not?  

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/22357092/new-york-yankees-acquire-russell-wilson-trade-texas-rangers

[Meacon Keaton]

The Twins have sent an official offer to Yu Darvish though no one seems to know the specifics.

JD Martinez, who is reportedly getting frustrated by not getting the deal he wants, is apparently discussing a potential short term deal with Arizona. Either a one year deal or a two/three year deal with an opt out after one year.

Also also it sounds like free agent spring training camp is actually going to be a thing. Now I really do wish it was a Hard Knocks show. :/

[The Buscher]

I understand that arbitration is designed to increase a players' salary each year to help account for the fact that wages are suppressed during the first six years of team control.  There's a reason why every arbitration-eligible player in history has gotten an annual increase no matter how they do on the field.  But this Zack Wheeler situation confuses me.

He had a good rookie season in 2013 and very serviceable first full season in 2014.  He then had Tommy John Surgery during 2015 Spring Training and missed the whole season with an anticipated return of around June 2016.  He suffered multiple setbacks and didn't return, making it two straight seasons he'd completely.

2017 was his first year of arbitration eligibility.  He the Mets agreed to an $800k deal, an increase from the $550k he made in 2016 despite not throwing a pitch, but this was all par for the course with standard arbitration rates.  He finally returned to the field in 2017 but made only 17 starts, putting up an ERA of 5.21 and averaging only 5 innings per start before getting shut down for the season with yet another injury.

Despite all of that, the Mets offered him a raise to $1.5 million, just under double what he had been making which seemed more than fair considering the season he'd just had.  Wheeler demanded $1.9 million and took the Mets to an arbitration hearing over it, which he won.

I'm not trying to sound anti-player or pro-owner or anything like that (trust me, I loathe the Wilpons).  I just don't understand objectively how an independent arbiter can review Wheeler's career and decide a guy who pitched (terribly) for half a season over a three year span should get a 137.5% raise.

[Meacon Keaton]

No joke on nothing, I just read about that and was coming in here to ask just what in the world you thought of Zach Wheeler getting that big of a bump.

Arbitration is such a fussy mistress (or mister!). Reading articles about it is so interesting. If you're a player, and you go to arbitration, you have to sit there and listen to your employers read off a list of your negatives in order to prove their case, and yet in a year or two or three, they are going to want to try to offer you a contract to stay with them long term? Maybe I'm just an ass with a weak ego, but as soon as you list that first thing I don't do well, I'm gon' be like "Bye, Felicia." 

[The Buscher]

Yeah, that's why there are way fewer arbitration cases nowadays.  Usually the team and player will submit their figures and they'll simply meet in the middle to avoid any awkwardness or ill will.

Still, Wheeler winning his case puzzles me.  I almost wonder if the arbiter just threw him a bone because there's little evidence that he's going to be able to stay on the field long enough to land a huge contract down the line.

[Your Mom]

Darvish to the Cubs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

[Draevyn]

Booooo!  Not that I ever thought we'd get him. I wonder if that's going to start the waterfall of signings.

Also, baseball has way too many stats. Stop creating new stats damn it!

[Mx. Canadian Destroyer]

I'd love for the Jays to sign Cobb. 

[Meacon Keaton]

1 hour ago, Ms. Canadian Destroyer said:

I'd love for the Jays to sign Cobb. 

You’ll probably get stuck with Tillman.  

[Mx. Canadian Destroyer]

5 minutes ago, Meacon said:

You’ll probably get stuck with Tillman.  

[The Buscher]

Darvish, Quintana, Hendricks, Lester, Chatwood.  That's a scary rotation the Cubs have.  I think the team as a whole had a bit of a World Series hangover last year and even then they got to the NLCS.  This year though?  Look out.

It's very early and there figure to be a lot of good teams in the NL but the Dodgers, Cubs, and Nats all look like they're clearly a cut above the rest of their respective divisions.

[gunnar hendershow]

Nats will have their division locked up by early August. I think the Dodgers probably face some challenge from one of the eventual NL Wild Card teams. Cubs will win their division but probably deal with a chase into September.

AL East is the only division that at the onset of spring training looks like it'll come down to the wire. So many bad teams this year all throughout the league.

[The Buscher]

2 hours ago, damsher hatfield said:

Nats will have their division locked up by early August.

Unfortunately, this is what I'm thinking too.  I don't think the season is a lost cause for the Mets provided they can avoid having 20 million injuries again, but I think at best it'd resemble 2016 where the Nats were miles and miles ahead of the division by the break leaving only the Wild Card for the Mets to realistically aim for.

And considering the Mets seem to be content to not add anymore pitching despite Wheeler not having a full season since 2014, Harvey having one full season since 2012, and Matz never having a full season.......yeah, a lot would need to go right for the Mets to even sniff a division title.

[ThrillhouseMAX]

 

http://mlb.nbcsports.com/2018/02/12/former-mlb-pitcher-esteban-loaiza-arrested-with-44-pounds-of-heroin-and-cocaine/amp/?share=other

[Meacon Keaton]

Got’daym that’s a lot of yum yums.

[mattman1624]

When I was in Las Vegas last week, I went past a few sports books to see what the A's chances of winning the World Series are for this year. New York New York had the A's at 100-1, which I thought was way too high. Cosmo had them at 200-1 odds. That seemed much more reasonable. The rotation stinks, but at least they have Khris Davis around(till the trade deadline) to crush some pitches.

[Meacon Keaton]

I think Sean Maenea (spelling?) has all the potential in the world. But other than that, yeah I can’t see Oakland being better than maybe third in the West.

[The Buscher]

 

[Mx. Canadian Destroyer]

Surely we're going to get a flurry of signings as we roll towards the start of the season.

Andrew Cashner to the Orioles. Jason Vargas to the Mets. Jaime Garcia to the Blue Jays. 

[Meacon Keaton]

The only signing I like out of those is the Cashner deal and even that I wouldn’t be stoked with as I think last year was his final “hurrah”. 

Maybe it was the “New York pressure” but Hi-May Garcia showed me fuck all last year. Glad he went to a divisional opponent so we can tee off on that guy.