2022-23 Hot Stove thread

Former Cy Young winner Trevor Bauer is finalizing a one-year contract with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars in Japan, sources tell ESPN. Bauer was released by the Dodgers and went unsigned by MLB teams after serving a record domestic-violence suspension. Deal will be official tonight.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 13, 2023

bye bitch!

all the bally sports / diamond fallout continues. not sure anyone cares about the "how do i watch the games on tv" part but there's going to be an arrangement where mlb takes over the broadcasts for some of the teams affected and temporarily stream the games for free for locals...but only for 4 of the teams affected. i think. also, some of the teams that were counting on RSN money are going to get less of it. the gist of it was that the RSNs were paying too much money to some of the teams with lower viewerships

Regarding the DSG bankruptcy, these are the 8 MLB teams likely to get their RSN fees cut according to MLB insider because the current deals are uneconomical: Diamondbacks, Reds, Guardians, Rockies, A's, Pirates, Twins, Rangers.

— Mike Ozanian (@MikeOzanian) March 15, 2023

The Rangers can't get viewers because everyone's too excited to go see them in person at the world's largest Tractor Supply.

Torn between wanting players to keep getting paid $$$$ and my desire to see the fallout from the RSN bubble bursting completely. The money would never work out but it would be cool to have local sports broadcast on channels in the UHF range again.

Not player movement, and behind a paywall, but The Athletic's starting pitcher rankings, in tiers:

https://theathletic.com/4328582/2023/03/23/mlb-aces-project-pitcher-rankings/

They've got Manoah 20th--I'm biased and would have him higher.

Pitcherlist has him at 22 (mind you it’s fantasy focused). But it makes sense. None of his pitches are crazy overwhelming - his strikeout rate is pretty middle of the road and he probably has some luck on his side last year. 20-22 range still lands you as a solid number two option on most teams or the staff ace on a weaker rotation.

Alcantara had 6 complete games last year?! Insane

Aaand Manoah is the opening day starter.

only pitchers i'd consider moving him in front of on that list are gallen (impressive year last year, but can he keep it up?) and strider (obviously electric, but short track record)

Should I get a subscription to the Athletic??!

idk if it's the case anymore now that it's owned by nyt, but you used to be able to get it for ludicrously cheap. i paid something like $24 for two years

Athletic is great imo but it might depend on your team, I don’t think all teams have writers?

Many teams dont have beat writers

Aaand Manoah is the opening day starter.

Surprised--assumed it'd be Gausman.

I'm not big on BABIP when it comes to awards voting, but it's something I'd definitely pay attention to if placing a bet on next year's Cy Young winner. Gausman, as well documented, had historically bad luck last year: highest BABIP for a starting pitcher since WWII, I think. If you believe such things tend to even out year-to-year (probably not true, it takes a few seasons), note that the Jays have improved their defense, and also that, for whatever reason, shifting seemed to hurt Gausman the first half of the season, I would think he'd be a good guy to put money on for this year's CYA.

It's free mlb.tv day for T-Mobile customers

While there’s agreement on dollars between star CF Bryan Reynolds and Pirates, a major conceptual issue has prevented a deal. Reynolds has moved a lot to try to get a deal done but there remains a disagreement on this key point. Unknown if the sides may push it past 4:10 deadline

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) March 30, 2023

unfortunately, just before Reynolds was going to sign, a disagreement surfaced regarding the ontological status of concepts involving abstract objects, and negotiations quickly fell apart

Quality post

apparently brian reynold's 6-year, $107 million extension is the pirates' a) first ever nine-figure deal b) first deal with a no-trade clause since 2006