2017-2018 Hot Stove

So did they buy well? Smyly is money team gamble considering he probably won't pitch this year.
The rest of these guys I really don't know.

12/7/17 Chicago Cubs signed free agent RHP Tyler Chatwood.
12/12/17 Chicago Cubs signed free agent RHP Brandon Morrow.
12/12/17 Chicago Cubs signed free agent LHP Drew Smyly.
12/16/17 Chicago Cubs signed free agent RHP Steve Ciscek

morrow and ciscek seem like good moves. i don't know much about chatwood

Cubs might be hoping for an mini-Arrieta situation there, his WAR numbers are good and his home/road splits indicate a guy whose overall line has been misleading.

chatwood has promise, away from coors. he also has command issues

smyly won't be pitching for another year bc he just had tommy john, so he's an investment at this point. i'm not sure about chatwood, but he can't really be much worse than john lackey was this past season. morrow and cishek make sense because the bullpen was weak last year too. i'm really hoping they're still working on landing another starting pitcher bc the back-up plan is mike montgomery, who is fine, but not an ideal replacement for arrieta. i thought they were working on getting alex cobb but when i checked in on that yesterday i saw stories saying that his price had escalated and so the cubs might as well work on getting darvish instead.

Not a trade or a signing, but a nice story:

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/21808118/cole-hamels-texas-rangers-wife-heidi-donate-94-million-mansion-charity

Reds don't look like they got much going on, really their roster is mostly set. I kinda think they need to get another starter one that you know you are going to get 30 starts out of, but those cost more than they can afford.

Looking at the rumors, I figure this talk of signing Craig Stammen out of the Padres bullpen seems kinda likely. Stammen has the injury discount, I'd figure he wants 2 years or more even at 33. The guy is from outside of Dayton and the Reds got a history of getting guys from the general area, so it seems like the kinda guy they might want. If he is as good as last year, could be handy and make their bullpen a bit deeper but we are not talking a brash bros. type signing here.

I got to think the Reds would be ok with dealing Billy Hamilton. He seems to be the player getting the trade rumors. Jessie Winker seems ready to hit in the bigs, thing is that he is really more of a left fielder type. I'm guessing if they do deal Hamilton, the idea will be to use Scott Schebler and rookie Phil Ervin in a mix. Ervin is a true CF, Schebler plays one on TV.

BREAKING: #Rays have traded Longoria to #Giants

— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) December 20, 2017

rays get denard span (which i guess keeps the giants under the luxury tax), top sf prospect christian arroyo, two low-level prospects

longoria is great, but he's also 32, coming off his worst season, and owed $81m over the next five seasons. and i don't think the giants really needed to get older

slippery rock legend matt adams to the nats

Not too many chances to see a true franchise player--i.e., the franchise's best player ever--traded.

@DCameronFG

Matt Adams got 1/$4M to be a backup. Eric Hosmer is probably getting $100M+. So I’ll just share these career numbers and walk away.

what're the odds?

https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-mets-shouldnt-blow-this-opportunity/

sandy alderson extended btw

The Mets have made a front office hire, naming former GM Omar Minaya special assistant to Sandy Alderson.

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) December 22, 2017

I'm kinda thinking the Giants are going to sign a couple more players. The thing that came up in the stuff I was reading with them trying to trade for Billy Hamilton was that they just don't have many prospects at the AA or AAA level that have much trade value.

Looking at who is out there, I would think the two free agents that might solve their issues would be maybe signing Lorenzo Cain to play center field and maybe pick up Lance Lynn. I'd think Lynn's pitching style would work in SF, as he would have that big outfield to get fly ball outs. Cain would get them a good glove with someone that can cover some ground out there.

steeling myself for the pirates sending gerrit cole to the yankees and *not* getting gleyber torres in return

Are the giants trying to be really good in 2018? I’m confused by their course of action so far this off-season.

iirc someone said the acquisition of longoria pushed their expected wins to 75

gleyber would be a lot to ask for in return for cole imo

that may be so, but fuck the yankees getting the NL MVP and a frontline starter without giving up anything of significance

meanwhile in queens

Words I’ve heard from Mets people today regarding Fred Wilpon’s decision to bring back Omar Minaya despite reservations within the current front office:

“embarrassing”

“stupid”

“undermining”

“insulting"

— Marc Carig (@MarcCarig) December 22, 2017

Minaya's regime did develop some of the players who won them the pennant 2 years ago

that still doesn't nec mean this was a good move

Reds signed this guy or maybe he is wanted for questioning.

http://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/headshots/mlb/players/full/31556.png&w=350&h=254

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/images/players/head_shot/453172.jpg

why does he keep doing that

"I ate his liver in Skyline Chili and an ice cold bottle of Hudepohl."

Who was that due on the O’s? You know who I’m talking about

...dude

Ex-Slint roadie

Wade Davis to Rockies for 3 years, $52 million

Wow

godspeed to all involved

Damn, ok then

amazing

In his age 25-27 seasons, Eric Hosmer slashed .294/.359/.463 with 68 home runs. In his age 25-27 seasons, Wally Joyner slashed .287/.352/.454 with 63 home runs.

— David Laurila (@DavidLaurilaQA) January 3, 2018

wally joyner was the matthew broderick of major league baseball

ok you can't just leave it like that

http://img.ecomplatform.com/scs/images/products/116/large/wally_joyner_autographed_8x10_photo_padres_psa_dna_certified_p148288.jpg

little big league

Putting it in less vague terms: ZiPS projects 10 pitchers on the Yankees 40-man as relievers. Their projected ERA+ in descending order: 177, 159, 146, 145, 136, 129, 125, 120, 112, 112.

— Dan Szymborski (@DSzymborski) January 3, 2018

yanks bullpen should be good

Eric Hosmer, coveted all winter by the San Diego Padres, now has another surprising small-market team going head-to-head for his services.

Yes, his old team.

The Kansas City Royals have offered Hosmer a franchise-record seven-year, $147-million contract, persons close to Hosmer told USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity since negotiations are still undergoing.

Hosmer also has a seven-year, $140 million offer from the Padres, people close to Hosmer say, which is $1 million less a year than the Royals’ deal.

this does not seem like a good small market move

he's been one of the most durable players in baseball since he came in the league so there's maybe a better than average chance that this isn't one of those long term deals where the guy is a shell of himself physically like halfway into it (especially when compared to 1B specifically). but idk how you feel good at all about giving a guy who has put up 2 replacement level seasons in the last 4 years that kind of money. it feels like the sequel to the jason heyward contract waiting to happen.

and even the heyward contract in the grand scheme of how these things can go... i'm still more optimistic about his deal than like jacoby ellsbury or shin shoo choo. nonetheless...

Barves lookin to pick off the last Marlins

https://www.talkingchop.com/2018/1/3/16847768/atlanta-braves-trade-rumors-free-agency-christian-yelich-jt-realmuto-miami-marlins-hot-stove

the nonrush to sign free agents could be here to stay

https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/mlb-teams-have-learned-to-wait-on-free-agents/

The best thing I can say about a Hosmer contract is that by the end, it might not look so bad due to continuing salary inflation throughout MLB. But you could say that about all contracts, so...yeah. Take him back, KCR!

I didn’t realize the braves rebuild was already in the go for it stage?

the royals have given LHP richard lovelady a non-roster invite to spring training

I wonder what the point is where the money the owners save through collusion is cancelled out by a loss of fan interest in the sport after a dead offseason

— Patrick Dubuque (@euqubud) January 9, 2018

idk, i don't think fans care nearly as much as writers with nothing to write about do

anyway, the pirates are sending gerrit cole to houston momentarily

yeah, i agree. only the diehards about this stuff, and they'll be raring to go for spring training, regardless

only the diecards ^care^ about this stuff

oh no, don't diecards

i should just go back to bed