offseason 2015-16

there's a chance that the d backs know privately that this is an overpay but are willing to do so in order to lure a player of grienke's caliber. how harmful that is is dependent on whether the owner is willing to tack that overpaid money onto the team's salary budget instead of detracting from it.

they've got goldy and pollock and a decent manager, which is a big step up from even two years ago

it's just that when has a contract like this ever actually worked out? maybe another year or so, but age 32 -- for a pitcher! -- is when you walk away, not offer the biggest deal in baseball history

they just signed a 1.5 bill tv deal so they are sitting fat and ready to spend.

might have a reason to go to some dbax games now

The Giants have agreed to sign Jeff Samardzija to a five-year deal.

now they need Mike Leake and pitching will be set.

The dominoes are starting to fall quick. Got to figure the Giants would like to resign Leake.

I wonder if the long term deal isn't out there for Cueto if he takes a single year max style deal to try to prove value and try to go long term deal in another season.

5 yrs, 90 million for samardzija.

let's take a moment to appreciate the greatness of Kluber's contract. 5 years / 38,5 m.

― Van Horn Street, Saturday, December 5, 2015 2:07 AM (16 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

samardzija career ERA+: 96

Samardzija’s contract breakdown is provided by Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. The righty will receive a $9MM salary in 2016 then $18MM in each of the next four years. Samardzija gets a $3MM bonus immediately and then another $6MM in signing bonus money will be spread out over the last four years in equal $1.5MM installments.

lol

I think y'all done fucked up SF

Conceding the money out there's insane, always worth looking back:

http://sportsworld.nbcsports.com/sandy-koufax-don-drysdale-gambit/

@keithlaw
I hear fans complaining about "insane" salaries, but never about owner profits.

@Marketplace
In the last 12 years, baseball salaries have inflated 60 percent, but team revenues have gone up 120 percent.

http://www.marketplace.org/2015/12/02/business/david-price-and-economics-baseball-inflation

can't we complain about both

The Dodgers have agreed to a one-year deal with second baseman Chase Utley.

can't wait for Mets vs Dodgers.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/comeback-complete--ryan-madson-gets--22m-in-three-year-deal-with-a-s-161318249.html

Three year deal for Madson at 35? Only thing that I could figure is that the A's are signing him to hope to flip him at a trade deadline.

Saltalabiancalana to DET

Maybe the A's have calculated that Madson's arm is only 32 because he didn't pitch for three years?

Mark Lowe to DET as well (2/?M).

aroldis to doyers

August Fagerstrom @AugustFG_
The top free agent reliever on the FanGraphs depth charts is now Joe Blanton

somehow i missed the the doyers have also added hisashi iwakuma at 3 years/$45 million

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CVokpDNWcAAC5H2.jpg

hope morbs is there

Mets may bring Murphy back if they fail to get Zobrist (groan)

also Bartolo in the pen?

are they ever going to announce which prospects the Reds got? All the articles I've read just mention "prospects".

reds beat writer said the team wants to make sure everyone passes all the physicals before announcing things -- maybe a result of the wilmer flores fiasco

anyway it is supposedly *not* seager/urias/de leon. maybe holmes

really not sure what the sox want from the mariners in return for miley (potentially); to be clear i'm totally fine with moving made wiley

carson smith or charlie furbush, maybe

aaaand the former is exactly what happened, except with roenis elias included, for no great loss, thank u based dombpoutski

kris bryant and maikel franco have filed a grievance alleging 'service time manipulation'

@JeffPassan
Kris Bryant finished his rookie season with 171 days of service time. Maikel Franco finished his with 170 days. A full season is 172 days.

DON: Well, yeah.

i missed this on Friday

The New York Mets say general manager Sandy Alderson has cancer and will begin chemotherapy this week.

Chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon said in a statement Friday the cancer is "very treatable" and doctors are "optimistic about his full recovery." The team did not say what kind of cancer he has.

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/mets-gm-sandy-alderson-treatable-cancer-35591480

@JonHeymanCBS
Soria will have IP and GS in 25M, 3-yr royals deal. Hasn't started since 2006, but may like to try again

So all the big free agent pitchers (even relievers) have been signed within a week (except Cueto) and every big position player (Gordon, Upton, Heyward, etc.) is still unsigned.

I guess that teams are too busy tracking the pitching dominoes as they fall and are ignoring the position players. For now.

supposedly everyone's waiting for zobrist?

i dunno -- he's good, and versatile, but he turns 35 in may and is thus only two years and five months younger than chase utley

if that's the case then 30 clubs are stupid?

AL AVILA SAYS NO, CHRIST -- DESPITE REPORTS, THE TIGERS ARE NOT KICKING THE PROVERBIAL TIRES ON YOENIS CESPEDES OR ALEX GORDON WTF SMDH, though it's possible they will look into acquiring a bat, or another arm, or "a guy that maybe can play a little infield, a little outfield, give us that combination, and that can provide some offense."

Just looking for someone who can come to the park every day, be ready to put the ball into play, maybe catch it from time to time, be a speed guy when called upon, idk.

@scottmerkin 4 hours ago
Hahn: "We continue to explore just about every avenue available to us to improve this club."

can al avila say that, i ask u

"Our scouts and analytics team are proactively looking into parkways and cul-de-sacs for all manner of pieces, gets, and so forth." -- Al Avila

rockies signing old relievers to two-year deals

cards supposedly on the verge of acquiring west by god virginia's own jedd gyorko

indeed: gyorko to cardinals, jon jay to padres

i like that move

although i fear it means either wong or peralta is going to be traded now.

gyorko doesn't get expensive for a couple more years (at which point it probably won't be 'expensive' any more) so i think he'll be a bench guy? i don't see how he supplants wong or peralta given his last two seasons and i'm not sure he can really play short anyway

yeah, gyorko on the bench as a massive upgrade to pete kozma was my first thought, and hopefully it turns out that way. i don't know too much about him, but based on his minor league numbers it seems like he has a higher upside than what he's shown so far.

my fear, as usual, is the matheny factor. if gyorko has a good spring and then hits a couple home runs in april while wong slumps, that could be the end of wong.

cameron thinks there's more to it http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/instagraphs/padres-reportedly-shipping-jedd-gyorko-to-st-louis/

@JimBowden_ESPN
Cardinals GM John Mozeliak told me that Jedd Gyrko role will be as a super utility player. Padres sending significant cash to Cards in deal.