2016-2017 Hot Stove

mitch moreland to the red sox

i like it! (as a Jays fan)

Cubs working on a Wade Davis deal

Wilson Ramos inked a two-year deal with the Rays

the jeff locke era has begun in miami

ian desmond to colorado, where he will play outfield and first base (?)

also colorado loses the 11th overall pick in the draft

apparently soler is who the cubs might trade for davis. i'd be ok with losing soler

ian desmond seems like a poor choice to cost you the 11th overall pick.

the rockies don't seem to make good decisions

think we have a 2017 thread title there.

i wish they'd sign chris carter for first. that'd be funnnnnnn for fantasy baseball

so i guess the rockies are in Win Now mode

lol

imo they're in one of the better spots to make the jump

@keithlaw
New post for Insiders - Stop giving up draft picks to sign Ian Desmond:

qualx why do you say that? i don't follow them closely or anything, but from an outsider's perspective it looks like:

they don't have a catcher
they just gave up $70 million and the 11th pick in the draft for someone who doesn't play 1B and is projected to slug .414 with a 92 wRC+ in 2017
their rotation is middle of the pack (looking at their stats and peripherals for away games only)
they won 75 games in 2016, and with desmond are projected to win 77 in 2017, tied with the diamondbacks and 12 behind giants, 15 behind dodgers

i dunno, i guess they could try to flip cargo or blackmon to strengthen the starting rotation, but it doesn't seem like the time to go for broke

i think tom murphy can actually catch for them, if they let him

here's a rosier rocky scenario, involving the addition of abreu or encarnacion as well: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/lets-get-weird-ian-desmond-is-a-rockie/

maybe they liked his .379/.406/.611/1.016 career line at Coors Field, that's pretty damn good, they're probably hoping he'll be on the level of a jeffrey hammonds or jay payton.

http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/orioles-gm-jose-bautistas-agent-fans-dont-like-player/

lol

sounds like adam eaton is headed to washington

BE GONE

for giolito, even

dang white sox getting all the prospects

rick hahn is killin it

for giolito, even

and Reynaldo Lopez!

i like them betting on don cooper being able to fix up these young pitchers with raw talent

They can still make a killing with Quintana.

Also very good trade from the Nats' perspective.

all the biggest drake laroche boosters are gone

They used to call the Cell and Chi home.

Switch the proper nouns.

qualx why do you say that? i don't follow them closely or anything, but from an outsider's perspective it looks like:

they don't have a catcher
they just gave up $70 million and the 11th pick in the draft for someone who doesn't play 1B and is projected to slug .414 with a 92 wRC+ in 2017
their rotation is middle of the pack (looking at their stats and peripherals for away games only)
they won 75 games in 2016, and with desmond are projected to win 77 in 2017, tied with the diamondbacks and 12 behind giants, 15 behind dodgers

i dunno, i guess they could try to flip cargo or blackmon to strengthen the starting rotation, but it doesn't seem like the time to go for broke

― Karl Malone, Wednesday, December 7, 2016 2:11 PM (six hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

their pitching is on the verge of possibly being their best ever (that FG article described it as "intriguing" which is probably the right word), jon gray is ready to be a real ace and anderson/hoffman are right behind him, even chatwood was a beast away from coors, which is better than nothing. anderson was also way better AT coors last year for some reason. they're all talented guys who seem close to putting it together.

also a full year with a healthy dahl and story, and a decent bullpen. if i was betting on surprise contenders they'd be my pick

I got to think that Desmond signing is just part one of a deal for Blackmon to come. There has been talk that Charlie Blackmon was going to be moved as far back as the trade deadline last season.

Chapman signed with the Yankees, 86 millions. 5 years.

man the yankees are a great team, fun to cheer for them

and concerned about image, always

The Marlins have made an offer of five years and more than $80MM to free agent closer Kenley Jansen.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2016/12/marlins-make-80mm-plus-offer-to-kenley-jansen.html

ooooook

well why not

the yankees' plan last year of stockpiling ace relievers was obvious and brilliant, if they competed they'd buzzsaw through the playoffs and if they were out of it they had the most coveted free agents at the deadline

and they turned that into a massive haul that's going to give them 5 more championships when it's all said and done

and they got chapman back anyway

get used to this

er coveted trade targets

they should've traded betances too, just to kill me dead

Who was the last closer to get a five year contract? Maybe I'm forgetting some obvious names, but it feels like it's been a while.

Would like to see non-save-situation/G% stats for closers.

The only other reliever to receive a five-year deal in MLB history was B.J. Ryan in 2005 for $47.5 million. Ryan was released in the middle of his fourth season.

I remember that fiasco well.

Chris 'No-Hit' Heston to Seattle

http://mlb.nbcsports.com/2016/12/07/report-mariners-acquire-chris-heston-from-the-giants/

Blackmon dangled for Jays

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-hot-stove-trade-rumors-rockies-blue-jays-talking-blackmon-stroman-deal/

no one will probably care about this but the padres grabbed allen cordoba from the cardinals in the rule 5 draft. cordoba is promising but he's never played above the rookie league level. as i understand it, the padres would have to keep them on their roster all year or the cardinals get him back through waivers?i know the padres are rebuilding but it wouldn't make much sense to have play cordoba way above his level all year or let him rot on the bench and stunt his development

the padres let alexei ramirez accumulate -2.4 WAR at shortstop for them last year, so if cordoba can simply field the position he can barely be worse.

they don't really have anything to lose -- they're not going to contend, he's cheap, they have the roster space, and if they can stash him on the bench this year they can send him back to the minors next year -- he just turned 21. or they can send him back, which is not a huge deal.

also a fair number of these guys develop mysterious injuries that require them to 'rehab' in the minors hmmm

holy shit, -2.4 WAR! i didn't realize he was that bad!

welp, cordoba's signing bonus was $7,500, so i'm sure he's pretty happy about getting a bump up to minimum MLB salary