2018-2019 MLB Offseason Thread

[DanRydell 799]

This is the new normal. Keuchel might regret not making $18M pitching for the Astros.

Unfortunately that new normal is why we’re going to have a work stoppage in two years.

[Scraps 13538]

Dozier 1 yr 9 mil to the Nationals 

[HtownHorn 14468]

31 minutes ago, Scraps said:

Dozier 1 yr 9 mil to the Nationals 

One year prove it deal, his offense and defense plummeted and he was benched after the trade to the Dodgers.

[Pig Bellmont 8691]

The Nationals have been the most active team in baseball this winter, as a Dozier signing would lengthen a list of moves that reads like this in chronological order: trading for reliever Kyle Barraclough, signing setup man Trevor Rosenthal, signing catcher Kurt Suzuki, trading for catcher Yan Gomes, signing prized left-handed starter Patrick Corbin, trading starter Tanner Roark, signing first baseman Matt Adams and, before the hot stove cooled for the holidays, signing starter Anibal Sanchez. Now the Nationals have their second baseman of the immediate future and, in filling that spot along with their other glaring holes, can turn their attention to the final steps of a critical offseason.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/sports/2019/01/10/nationals-agree-deal-with-second-baseman-brian-dozier/

[TheFlagship 432]

 

[Beau Vine 53978]

 

[huge 3788]

Did that end up in the stands?

[TheFlagship 432]

34 minutes ago, Beau Vine said:

 

Can’t wait to see this guy in the show. 

[TheFlagship 432]

 

[spystud13 2371]

Hmm, so Gleyber to SS, Tulo to 3B, Andujar to 1B? Or Tulo just chills. 

[TheFlagship 432]

IMO the Yankees are nuts if they pencil Tulo into the lineup everyday.

[spystud13 2371]

 

Boone is going to fuck this up. 

[Pato del Muerto 52336]

6 minutes ago, spystud13 said:

 

Boone is going to fuck this up. 

The Michael young super utility. 

[Scraps 13538]

Marwin would have been a better fit if that is the case, but fuck the Yankees 

[miguelito 11211]

4 hours ago, huge said:

Did that end up in the stands?

Yes, it's what's called a "home run."

 

 

(Yes, I know what you're talking about)

[spystud13 2371]

This dude is not a fan. 

Quote

If the Yankees were looking for an infield shoreup in free agency, you’d think they’d want someone with the ability to play multiple positions and present an average at worst bat. 

Instead, they signed DJ LeMahieu, and I am Mad Online about it. LeMahieu started his career with the Cubs before becoming the Colorado Rockies’ primary second baseman in 2012. He has had exactly one season where he was an above average player, posting a 130 wRC+ and 4.4 fWAR in 2016. That’s great! He was basically Didi Gregorius, who is a really good player.

Unfortunately, the rest of his career he averages a 78 wRC+ and a paltry 1.2 fWAR over 150 games. He really isn’t a very good player, and while the Yankees are clearly betting on the upside of 2016, the floor is awful low, especially at $12 million in AAV.

As for that prospective upside, that’s also confusing. LeMahieu ranked 202nd in baseball in max exit velocity in 2018, and 183rd in barrels per plate appearance %. By those metrics, he was a little worse than former Yankee Starlin Castro. Yet his average exit velocity was roughly equal to Mike Trout’s, and his hard hit percentage - rate of balls hit harder than 95 mph - was pretty much the same as Juan Soto and Jesus Aguilar.

Now the Yankees clearly plan to use DJ as a utility infielder, giving him time around the diamond. The problem with that is he hasn’t played anywhere but second since 2014. Asking a guy to adjust to a new league and new team is hard enough without hoping he remembers what is was like to play third base five years ago.

All in all, this deal smells a lot like the Brandon Drury acquisition last season, which went poorly. Both players were guys that hadn’t really produced at all in the majors, but if you squinted you could see productivity. In Drury’s defense, he battled migraines his whole career and that obviously affected his ability to play. For LaMahieu, he’s just not that good, and I’m left scratching my head at why the Yankees will think he’ll succeed in a new city, new league, and essentially new positions.

 

[spystud13 2371]

Russell Martin to LAD for two bodies, Tor will pay a lot of his $20M. 

[Beau Vine 53978]

42 minutes ago, spystud13 said:

This dude is not a fan. 

 

He's not wrong.  Plus, with the huge glut of 2B/UT guys on the market, forking out $26M right now seems imprudent.

 

[Helobious 9480]

The penny-pinching new ownership is running the franchise like the poor teams that The Boss used to piss on back in the day. Not the Yankee Way at all. It’s pretty frustrating to watch as a fan. 

[Alvin89 108]

Supposedly the Phillies placed an unusually large order today with Majestic. Looks like they may be about to announce something big. 

[texifornia 56479]

A milestone in Oakland - Khris Davis is now our highest-paid player in franchise history. If we're going to have one actual starting pitcher, at least we'll hit a whole bunch of homers.

 

[texifornia 56479]

On 12/21/2018 at 6:17 PM, Goo Punch said:

Reds got fleeced. 

On a intellectual level I agree with you, but it's been so fun seeing my relatives in Cincinnati be over the moon that they suddenly have the most news-worthy player in baseball.

Sometimes it's about more than the pure performance.

[spystud13 2371]

 

 

[DanRydell 799]

They’d still have to add him to the 40-man roster though right?

[Scraps 13538]

yes.  

 

[Pato del Muerto 52336]

Not going to bother looking, but wasn’t one of Bryce harper’s draft demands to be put on the 40 man? I feel like somebody has asked for that previously, whether they got it or not. 

[Beau Vine 53978]

38 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

Not going to bother looking, but wasn’t one of Bryce harper’s draft demands to be put on the 40 man? I feel like somebody has asked for that previously, whether they got it or not. 

Lots of guys did; then MLB made a rule not allowing it.

[HtownHorn 14468]

Oakland learning you can never trust a Murray.

[spystud13 2371]

1/$3.5M + incentives for Avisail to TB. 

[Beau Vine 53978]

On ‎1‎/‎10‎/‎2019 at 8:56 AM, DanRydell said:

 

Unfortunately that new normal is why we’re going to have a work stoppage in two years.

 

This has become a dead solid lock now.  

[txhorns 2407]

7 hours ago, Pato del Muerto said:

Not going to bother looking, but wasn’t one of Bryce harper’s draft demands to be put on the 40 man? I feel like somebody has asked for that previously, whether they got it or not. 

I think Strasburg did as well.

[Beau Vine 53978]

I talked to a member of the MLBPA Exec Committee today, and he said that basically all of the guys who are free agents are getting zero offers or getting multiple offers for the exact same terms.  That sounds exactly like 85-87.  I assume the owners just figured all they had to do was avoid the huge paper trail they left in those years and everything would be fine.  

[TheFlagship 432]

No idea who this guy is, but:

 

Edited January 15, 2019 by TheFlagship

[spystud13 2371]

Nope. 

 

 

[cmontexas 3248]

5 hours ago, Beau Vine said:

This has become a dead solid lock now.  

Good read on Deadspin by Neil DeMause covering the realities of MLB's current economic situation.

https://deadspin.com/baseball-doesnt-need-collusion-to-turn-off-the-hot-stov-1831644811

[Beau Vine 53978]

Here's the other thing I've heard that is a kind of brilliant backdoor to collusion: 

Quote

Teams hiring the same exact company as a “consultant” to value players. And all 30 teams hire the same company so they know they all have the same data and values without technically communicating. 

 

[TonyTexas 10481]

No idea who this guy is, but:  

Edit

[spystud13 2371]

Please, please, please tell us you’re not serious. Even your Astro brethren will be embarrassed. 

[spystud13 2371]

Ha, wouldn’t even cop to it. 

[spystud13 2371]

mlb.com has every team’s projected lineup if the season started now. Check out Balt’s... 

1. Cedric Mullins, CF
2. Jonathan Villar, 2B
3. Trey Mancini, DH
4. Chris Davis, 1B
5. DJ Stewart, RF
6. Renato Nunez, 3B
7. Joey Rickard, LF
8. Richie Martin, SS
9. Chance Sisco, C

 

That is not the best. 

https://www.mlb.com/news/each-mlb-teams-projected-opening-day-lineup/c-302718516

 

[TheFlagship 432]

13 minutes ago, spystud13 said:

mlb.com has every team’s projected lineup if the season started now. Check out Balt’s... 

1. Cedric Mullins, CF
2. Jonathan Villar, 2B
3. Trey Mancini, DH
4. Chris Davis, 1B
5. DJ Stewart, RF
6. Renato Nunez, 3B
7. Joey Rickard, LF
8. Richie Martin, SS
9. Chance Sisco, C

 

That is not the best. 

https://www.mlb.com/news/each-mlb-teams-projected-opening-day-lineup/c-302718516

 

Just wait until you see their rotation 

[Scraps 13538]

1 hour ago, spystud13 said:

mlb.com has every team’s projected lineup if the season started now. Check out Balt’s... 

1. Cedric Mullins, CF
2. Jonathan Villar, 2B
3. Trey Mancini, DH
4. Chris Davis, 1B
5. DJ Stewart, RF
6. Renato Nunez, 3B
7. Joey Rickard, LF
8. Richie Martin, SS
9. Chance Sisco, C

 

That is not the best. 

https://www.mlb.com/news/each-mlb-teams-projected-opening-day-lineup/c-302718516

 

That lineup brings a tear to my eye thinking about all the great lineups the Astros started back in 2012, 2013, 2014 

[HtownHorn 14468]

1 hour ago, spystud13 said:

mlb.com has every team’s projected lineup if the season started now. Check out Balt’s... 

1. Cedric Mullins, CF
2. Jonathan Villar, 2B
3. Trey Mancini, DH
4. Chris Davis, 1B
5. DJ Stewart, RF
6. Renato Nunez, 3B
7. Joey Rickard, LF
8. Richie Martin, SS
9. Chance Sisco, C

 

That is not the best. 

https://www.mlb.com/news/each-mlb-teams-projected-opening-day-lineup/c-302718516

 

[UTexasFight 9375]

That lineup brings a tear to my eye thinking about all the great lineups the Astros started back in 2012, 2013, 2014 

Haha. I saw that O’s lineup and immediately thought “wonder which is worse: one of the Astros’ 2011-2013 lineups are Baltimore 2019.

In the end, we all lose.

[Scraps 13538]

Call your shots now...
1.  Where does Harper go?
2.  Where does Machado go?
3.  Where does AJ Pollack go?
4.  Where does Dallas Keuchel go?

[Beau Vine 53978]

OLney says the White Sox's offer to Machado is 7/$175.  Fuck that.  

[Valmy77 13093]

22 hours ago, spystud13 said:

That is not the best. 

Last year the O's got close but ultimately failed to be the worst team in franchise history, with the 1939 St Louis Browns triumphant. Much like A&M and Neo-Nazis, 1939 is a gold standard they can never reach but they will certainly try.

Can they finish more than 64.5 games out of first place? Can they win less than 25% of their games? Can they threaten the all time major league record of 134 losses?

Those seem like longshots but they will try and as a longtime Orioles fan who wept bitter tears during the 2014 and 1997 American League Championship Series I look forward to see if Peter Angelos' club can achieve the sort of history they always seemed destined to achieve. They kind they always deserved to make. The 2003 Detroit Tigers better be worried because the birds are gunning for them.

Edited January 16, 2019 by Valmy77

[MC Fresh Breath 4074]

From reddit, but just in case some of you don't read there.

Girl meets A-rod and tells him he looks like A-rod.

 

 

[Beau Vine 53978]

Surprised he didn't kiss the picture.

[spystud13 2371]

There is nothing more annoying on Twitter than this bullshit. Rosenthal gets beat to the scoop, so has to repeat what Passan has already said. Then he fucking replies to himself to subtweet himself, to only again repeat what Passan has already said.  

 

 

Jesus shit, it's Wilmer fucking Flores, a guy only known for crying.