The 2021-2022 Non-Fungible Hot Stove Thread (Presented by Monkeyjizz)

i'm extremely used to players being younger than me but it's still weird to think that joey gallo graduated high school 6 years later than me

kwang-hyun kim is going back to KBO, signing with his old team (the Incheon-based SSG Landers, formerly the Wyverns) for 4 years, $12.3M.

that turns out to be the record contract guarantee in KBO, at 15.1 billion won

That’s not to say Kim “settled” for a return to Korea. His deal is worth 15.1 billion won, not coincidentally topping 15 billion won deals for Sung-bum Na and Dae-ho Lee that had previously been the largest guarantees in KBO history. Setting that record is presumably a point of pride for Kim, and he’d not have garnered a four-year guarantee had he remained in MLB. However, big league teams may have been willing to offer more than the roughly $3.075MM in average annual salary he’ll make on this deal had it been a typical offseason. A few other players have made the jump from MLB to foreign pro leagues this winter, but Kim would probably have garnered the most interest of that group had teams been able to keep in contact with his reps over the past few months.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/03/kwang-hyun-kim-signs-four-year-deal-with-kbos-ssg-landers.html

here we go

Yeah, the next few days are going to be bonkers

yup, this gonna be fun!

It’s 7 o’clock. Why haven’t dozens of free agents signed yet?!

Carlos Correa will be buying Amazon within a few days.

Please don't go to the Yanks, Freddie.

Keep hearing about Toronto as a possibility for him...would love that, if real.

It would be great and all - but makes like zero sense.

For him, you mean? Toronto would obviously have to pay out, which is why it won't happen, but theoretically, if they were willing, it would make sense for the Jays, no?

but why? they need a 3b (or failing that 2b) and a backend starter. Vlad's already at first, i don't see him going back to 3rd and neither of them are appropriate for DH.

fuck the handedness haters; let freddie play third

god i'm so glad the season will start soon. spring training is going to rule

some teams are literally starting tomorrow, no?!

i think official be there or die date is sunday, but players can report as early as tomorrow. so i'm already looking forward to pitchers and catchers tossing the ball and someone being in the best shape of their career. god i love this stuff

if wainwright and molina stay healthy, they will set the record for most battery-mate pitcher/catcher games, this year. i think they need around 22 or so

passing lolich and freehan, i think, at the top

honestly, i did think there was going to be an absolute rush of transactions, starting..pretty much anytime? weird

The Cardinals have agreed to a two-year contract with free-agent righty Drew VerHagen, tweets Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. VerHagen, who spent the past two seasons pitching in Japan, will be guaranteed $2.5MM in 2022 and $3MM in 2023.

uh, ok! let's do this

IT BEGINS

carlos rodon to the giants, 2 years/$44m

Welcome to San Francisco Carlos, two years is fine and can be very good

bold move for a guy with his injury history, but that's what money is for. glad rodon is getting paid

also kershaw re-signed with the dodgers for 1yr/$17m

Kinda glad Kershaw is back with los Dodgers

very much so

andrelton simmons to the cubs 1 yr/$4m

dodgers have supposedly made a big offer to freddie f

I guess that means the Cubs aren’t in on Correa?

oh, i think they very much still are

simmons is all glove no bat so they could conceivably have both

Kikuchi to the Jays at three years $36 mil. A year more than I would have expected, but in keeping with the extra year the jays typically have to throw in.

Source confirms: Yankees acquiring 3B Josh Donaldson, SS Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Ben Rortvedt for Gary Sánchez and Gio Urshela. First: @JeffPassan.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) March 14, 2022

interesting

nelson cruz to the nationals

that Donaldson deal is a weird one.

Yeah it doesnt make a great deal of sense

MINN isnt even eating salary

did both teams just get worse?

yanks seriously upgrade their defense at short but idk who’s gonna catch and relying on 36yo josh donaldson to stay healthy for two years seems iffy. sounds like they’re going to bring back rizzo too, that’s a lot of older gentlemen

Kershaw accepted less money than the qualifying offer he turned down a few months ago. In a way the Dodgers did him a favour because if he's healthy and pitches well this year, he'll have a better chance of getting a multi-year deal with no strings attached (since he can't be given a QO again).

Cruz's deal is historic -- first DH to jump to the NL!

supposedly kershaw only considered the dodgers and rangers, and chose the former because he felt they had a better chance of winning another WS

that calculus doesn't seem likely to change during what remains of his career

really don't see why the cubs would try and sign correa right now when it seems like they're moving into another rebuild phase. a one-year contract for andrelton simmons makes a lot more sense.

Correa is young enough to rebuild around. And what will "rebuilding" mean with 12-team playoffs? You're probably never more than a year or two away from "contending".

degrom just said he plans to opt out after the season and test free agency with a preference to remain with the mets

which is an entirely reasonable thing for him to do! announcing it now feels awkward to me for some reason tho

mookie, would love to go to a Mets game with you and any other NYC ilxors who want to, preferably in June before they are out of it.

Tatis out for three months with a broken wrist.

I’m thinking Degrom will stay with NY in the end, unless the injury issues really pile up again.

Also citi is more fun when they’re out of it

This is what Pete Alonso’s car looked like after he was hit by a driver that ran a red light.

Pete escaped through the windshield after the car flipped three times and is doing alright 🙏

(via haleyralonso | IG) pic.twitter.com/L1kyzKP9Cf

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) March 14, 2022

that haul for Olson is something.

Eugenio Suarez has arrived to Reds camp. pic.twitter.com/pvECBkV7lW

— Mark Sheldon (@m_sheldon) March 14, 2022