2022-23 Hot Stove thread

I’d definitely say he’s more than a one season fluke. He seemed to figure something out in 2020 - his OPS+ the last three years has been 135. He’s not such a great defender tho.

gio urshela to the angles

So weird to see passan breaking the news on Instagram

Dodgers To Non-Tender Cody Bellinger.

Shocked, as I thought they would have kept him around and they can afford it.

Grant Brisbee thought the giants would take him if the Dodgers didn’t want him

I read the Blue Jays were interested too, under the premise he'd hit well at Rogers Centre. I'll take the blame if he lands in Toronto.

aaron judge needs his own thread

https://dodgerblue.com/cody-bellinger-rumors-toronto-blue-jays-interested-teams-if-dodgers-non-tender/2022/11/18/

Remember when Bellinger and Yelich were 1-2 in the mvp voting?

Someone on Reddit pointed out that Bellinger will probably want more playing time than the jays can guarantee. Makes sense for a less competitive team to take a flier and let him sink or swim in cf more than a team like the jays would.

was wondering why the brewers would trade Renfroe for three guys that look kinda like spare parts... then saw their outfield depth chart... three top 100 outfield prospects and another couple backup options after that!!

As much as I would prefer that Judge stays with the Yankees--just because I like such antiquated concepts as "face of the franchise" and players staying with one team for their career--if he leaves, I'll enjoy thinking about all those NY cretins who booed him in the playoffs.

he got boo'd in the playoffs?!

Tbh i’m a little curious if the hair shit/NYY CULTURE OF WINNING redassery is clocked by the players or not

(xpost) Definitely for a game or two in Yankee Stadium--scattered but audible.

xp i expect that the players who care are into it. guys like brett gardner and, apparently, anthony rizzo live for that shit

Fun predictions-style article: one big off-season move for each team:

https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/insider/story/_/id/35047269/mlb-2022-23-free-agency-offseason-moves-all-30-teams

not-quite-37yo carlos santana to the pirates, one year/$6.7m

Big splash by their standards

their biggest free-agent signing since 2016 lol

Had to look it up….
Daniel Hudson. 2 years, 11m.

looking like jose abreu to the astros. as a white sox fan it's a bummer, though they do have andrew vaughn to put at 1b and a bunch of dudes who should probably just be DHing

oh and the white sox signed mike clevinger to a 1-yr deal

Astros yet again endearing themselves to baseball fans everywhere.

If the Dodgers land Verlander--Dodgers yet again endearing themselves to baseball fans everywhere--they will have had Kershaw, Scherzer, Verlander, and Greinke within a seven-year window. Damn, they should have planned to have them all at once.

the white Sox not immediately having a replacement first baseman who seems primed to take over for the next decade or so is a strange feeling. Maybe I’m not giving Andrew Vaughn enough credit tho.

I think he could do alright

Is he still available to pinch-hit?

(Oops...mixed up threads, was referring to Mattingly!)

That makes a lot more sense

DeGrom's going to the Rangers, apparently.

What the fuck

i'd have liked to see him remain a met but man that is a big gamble on a 34yo dude who seems to have 'forearm tightness' every spring

guess i should simply be happy that the rangers are still out there spending incredible amounts of money for dudes in their 30s

5 years, $185M. I hope they remember to have him take a physical first.

also lol scherzer is like the only starter the mets have under contract

Lmao Bochy?!

Ya I was not expecting 5 years

Just found out about this 37AAV over five years. Can't believe anyone would go that long on him.

The half billion dollar infield was not enough

God bless them for going for it, but I don’t see much of a strategy here outside of splashing money about randomly

If DeGrom is healthy that contract is potentially a steal, but that’s the biggest “if” I can recall attached to such a huge deal.

The last three years he’s averaged 13 starts and a WAR of 2.8. Short of a miracle, there’s no way he comes close to providing the value they’re paying him for

It will be interesting to know what other offers were on the table, or perhaps the Rangers were bidding against themselves as they seem to do quite often.

I would be surprised if the Mets didn’t go at least 3 years

Mets apparently offered 3 years/$120Mish

Verlander is supposedly going to the Mets, $86M for two years. Wow. Have to think about whether they came out ahead on that swap or not.

I guess we’ll see if his ERA drops below 1 next year!

wonder if Houston didn't even come close with a competitive offer. they've had a curious offseason, in terms of decision-making.

Such a unique comparison: DeGrom, this historically great pitcher who just can't stay healthy coming off his age-34 season, vs. a HOF pitcher coming off a Cy Young but who'll turn 40 in a couple of months and is one season removed from Tommy John surgery. And then you factor in the five-year deal vs. the two-year deal...confusing!

Astros owner 100% high on his own supply

Great deal/virtual swap for the Mets if Scherzer and Verlander stay healthy.

I love DeGrom but giving him five years guaranteed was nuts.

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