hot stove 2019-20

Right-hander Blake Treinen and the Los Angeles Dodgers have agreed to a one-year, $10 million deal, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan on Wednesday.

Could somebody please explain to an idiot baseball fan like myself why the Indians are trading Francisco Lindor?

For the same reason the cubs are trading Bryant

Cheap-assery

149-game-winner rick porcello to the mets (1y, $10m)

scrappy brett gardner re-signs with yanks (1y, $12m)

Could somebody please explain to an idiot baseball fan like myself why the Indians are trading Francisco Lindor?

― Mr. Snrub, Thursday, December 12, 2019 6:32 AM (four hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

For the same reason the cubs are trading Bryant

― 10,000 mani-gecs (voodoo chili), Thursday, December 12, 2019 6:34 AM (four hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

Cheap-assery

― 10,000 mani-gecs (voodoo chili), Thursday, December 12, 2019 6:35 AM (four hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

nope, both cases are similar. they're both free agents after 2020. both teams face the same decision:

trade their young stars now to gain other players that will be on the team for longer than a single year, plus prospects to restock their weak farm systems (well, chicago's is weak af, i don't know about cleveland)

OR

pass on making the team better in the future in order to go all in on 2020.

i don't know what kind of SS/3B prospects that either team has, but teams are especially motivated to trade young starts before their contract is over when they know they have someone rising up in the system to take their place soon.

one key thing that might not be obvious to more casual fans - when lindor's contract is up at the end of 2020, he can sign for any team he wants. it's not a matter of the indians being cheap. they could offer him a bombass contract, and lindor could choose to play for the yankees for $20M more, or whatever. so this is likely the last year that lindor would ever play for the indians, regardless

kris bryant isn't a UFA til 2022

they could offer him a bombass contract

we're talking about the cleveland indians here???

couldn't they also be "trading" them as a negotiation tactic for an extension/new contract

kris bryant isn't a UFA til 2022

― 10,000 mani-gecs (voodoo chili), Thursday, December 12, 2019 11:05 AM (two minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

pending grievance results though right?

feels like bryant's going to be gone when his contact is up too, the cubs don't seem interested in spending real money right now and i think the grievance has led to some bad blood

lindor isn't a free agent until 2022 either

The Yankees committed more money to Gerrit Cole ($324M) than the Pirates have to free agents in the last 25 years ($299.5M).

— Paul Hembekides (@PaulHembo) December 11, 2019

damn

kris bryant isn't a UFA til 2022

― 10,000 mani-gecs (voodoo chili)

lindor isn't a free agent until 2022 either

― mookieproof,

sorry, i always find fangraphs descriptions of contracts to be confusing. on lindor's page it says "Free Agent: 2021", which I assumed meant he'd be a free agent at the end of 2020. But I guess it means he'll be a FA after that season.

anyway, my silly explanation above still applies - these are young stars that are nearing the end of their contracts. the further away they are from the end of the contract, the more they're worth as trade chips.

The Yankees committed more money to Gerrit Cole ($324M) than the Pirates have to free agents in the last 25 years ($299.5M).

tbf this is probably not true if both figures are denominated 2019 dollars

true, but still

biggest contract in pirates history went to jason kendall in 2000: six years, $60m

i think their highest annual salary was two years of a.j. burnett at $16.5m, acquired in a trade from the yankees

amazing

jose peraza to the red sox

ew

Austin Romine is now a teammate of good friend Miguel Cabrera.

ffs i just want lindor to be an indian for the next ten years is that too much to ask? i don’t want to relive manny ramirez all over again.

I’m enjoying this off-season much more than last years.

who are the best free agents left? ozuna? castellanos?

plus donaldson and ryu (and maybe bumgarner and keuchel)

TT are you a Boras or Cole cousin? secret Stankee fan?

Are you now or have you ever been a fan of the new york stankees

TT welcome to kindergarten

tsk Hade u lost cause

TT and i have sat in the old YS bleachers! and heard a fan curse a 10-yo Tigers fan.

a creature, that is

who are the best free agents left? ozuna? castellanos?

― na (NA), Friday, December 13, 2019 8:22 AM (four hours ago)

plus donaldson and ryu (and maybe bumgarner and keuchel)

― mookieproof, Friday, December 13, 2019 8:28 AM (three hours ago)

Grandal belongs above many of the players listed.

On November 21, 2019, Grandal signed a four-year, $73 million contract with the Chicago White Sox.

i think y'all are forgetting Blue Jays legend Eric Sogard is still available.

Adam Jones to Japan

I... had no idea! And I thought I've been paying attention...

mets and cespedes reach an agreement to 'significantly' cut his 2020 salary (in lieu of the mets trying to void his contract entirely)

nice

looks like he can make most that money back through incentives. really curious what he did that could have almost voided his contract like that.

I recall some rumors about his injury which I now suppose must be true, whatever they were

The Milwaukee Brewers have filled the glaring Anderson-sized hole in their rotation with a 1-year deal with Brett Anderson, who is somehow only 31 years old. Brett Anderson has suffered over 114 injuries during his major league career so far

Lol

Anthony Rendon says that he couldn't sign with the Dodgers because the "Hollywood lifestyle" didn't appeal to him.

So that's why he signed with the ... LA Angels??

the Disney lifestyle

Yeah no, Anaheim/Santa Ana is like a good 2+ hours from downtown LA/Hollywood by auto. It's very well a different city, economy, demographics, politics (well... until recently, but it's still pretty right-wing for California).

Yes, I know it's a huge city but it's not like he has to live down the street from the stadium and adopt the lifestyle of the fans. It seemed like a silly thing to say when he'll still be living and playing in LA.

BREAKING: The Texas Rangers are in the final stages of completing a trade to acquire two-time Cy Young winner Corey Kluber from the Cleveland Indians, sources familiar with the deal tell ESPN.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 15, 2019

Best Indians pitcher I’ve ever seen. I like the move, though. It was time to move on. I just really wish they had won it all back in 2016.

two-time cy winner for a reliever and a bad outfielder. pathetic

two-time cy winner on the downside of his career!