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2013 Hot Stove & Capella's Fabulous Cornhole Thread (1 Viewer)

The "are you sitting down?" wasn't a commentary on the deal Qualls got.

It was sarcasm based on the huge signings which went down recently. Relatively speaking, this was a fart in the wind.

 
Yankees first 200 million payroll was in 2005. Everyone else's revenues and payrolls have exploded since then. Between that and the appreciation on the team, I've no doubt the Yanks can afford a whole lot more than they've been paying.
With a $200mill/payroll I'd bet the yanks are clearing a $100mill/year not including the appreciation of the franchise which is another 50-100mill/year. It's probably a lot more. Probably closer to double then my numbers. The Seattle owner can pay Cano 25mill/year. You know they're clearing at least 5x's that. The Yanks much more. It must be a bonanza for these mlb owners if the nfl is willing to lockout their players for a better deal while mlb just stands pat. 162 games a year. Lot of dough.

Think I heard the new tv deal with TBS/ESPN is like 25mill/year for each team while Houston's payroll just hovers around that. Houston must be cleaning up. That doesn't even include their regional deals.

 
That slam piece reminds me of the Arte Moreno piece from last year, only iirc, nobody went on record for that. If this is true, could definitely see Seattle moving Walker for Price.

 
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That slam piece reminds me of the Arte Moreno piece from last year, only iirc, nobody went on record for that. If this is true, could definitely see Seattle moving Walker for Price.
Prospects for a Price or a Shields is a lot better trade if you're a GM trying to save your job.

 
Olney: The Phillies have indicated to other teams they are ready and willing to talk about Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels in trades.

8:55am - 10 Dec 13

Hamels??? I hope that's an exaggeration. :scared:

 
Trumbo for Skaggs rumors floating around. The Angels don't get much right, but think this would be good for them. Cahill not so much.
http://www.azcentral.com/insiders/nickpiecoro/2013/12/09/the-d-backs-offense-kevin-towers-stand-up-to-cancer/

Still, one of their focuses this off-season has been to find a corner, power bat, and after losing out in their bid for free agent outfielder Carlos Beltran, one of the names that swirled through the rumor mill in connection to them on Monday was Los Angeles Angels slugger Mark Trumbo.

Certainly, the Diamondbacks could stand to improve their production in the outfield. No regular or semi-regular outfielder posted an OPS north of .750. Their total outfield OPS of .717 was 10th in the National League, and three of the five teams they ranked ahead of were the Padres, Marlins and Mets, all of whom play in pitcher’s parks.

But is Trumbo the answer? He certainly would give them power. At a time when home run hitters are getting harder to find, Trumbo has emerged as one of the game’s top long-ball threats. Since 2011, he has slammed 95 home runs, tying him for the fifth-most in the majors in that span. Only Miguel Cabrera (118), Jose Bautista (98), Adrian Beltre (98) and Jay Bruce (96) have more. Put him in Chase Field and you could reasonably imagine him hitting 40 or more per year.

But in 1,853 career plate appearances, Trumbo has a .299 on-base percentage. His walk rate increased last season – going from 6.1 percent in 2012 to 8 percent in 2013 – but his batting average fell from .268 to .234. Defensively, he is better suited for first base than an outfield corner. His career outfield UZR is a minus 7.0, and the only year he played significant innings in left field, where the Diamondbacks presumably would play him, he was a minus 0.6.

Trumbo is a basically a one-dimensional player. He’s definitely not a bad player to have around, but the thing about the Diamondbacks is, they have other options.

As it currently stands, the Diamondbacks outfield consists of Adam Eaton, A.J. Pollock and Gerardo Parra. A year ago this time, Eaton was sort of the darling of the organization. But an elbow injury derailed his season and he wound up hitting just .254 with a .674 OPS in 277 plate appearances.

Pollock posted a solid .730 OPS, Parra a .726 OPS, and both were standout defensive players, providing tons of value for the ground they covered in spacious NL West outfields.

Pollock this year was a 3.5 win player, per the wins above replacement metric available on Baseball-Reference. He might have room to improve. Eaton, who abused pitchers throughout his minor league career, certainly would figure to have room to improve.

Parra probably is what he is, but that’s a 3.6 win player, on average, over the past three years.

As for Trumbo? He’s yet to post a season worth more than 2.8 wins above replacement.

And this is before even considering what it would take to land him in a trade. The Angels want starting pitching. The Diamondbacks would probably have to part with either Trevor Cahill or Tyler Skaggs, plus more, since the Angels likely won’t deal Trumbo straight up for either pitcher.

Again, the Diamondbacks put together a solid offensive season despite having a lot of things go wrong this year, and it doesn’t seem irrational to expect those same things to improve. Miguel Montero could rebound. Martin Prado could avoid his first-half slump. Aaron Hill could stay healthy. And instead of getting 267 subpar plate appearances from Jason Kubel, they could get better production out of a healthy Eaton.

When you factor in the defensive value that the Diamondbacks’ current outfield provides – and what an alignment that includes Trumbo would lose – it’s hard to see his acquisition making the most sense.

 
Olney: The Phillies have indicated to other teams they are ready and willing to talk about Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels in trades.

8:55am - 10 Dec 13

Hamels??? I hope that's an exaggeration. :scared:
Yeah, if the Phillies aren't willing to absorb any of the contract costs, I can't see either moving. But, I bet they would get some nice offers for Hamels if they would.

The more they're willing to absorb, the better prospects they would get. But, I can't see any team moving anything of significant value for 25 mil/year pitchers. Upside is pretty limited, especially before the season starts. As trade deadline gets nearer (and 1/2 of the year's salary is paid), Lee may fetch something decent.

Phils are in a tough spot here, think it's probably wise to punt and try to regroup.

 
I had a good long rant the other day about the Astros that was erased when I navigated away from the page....but I'll try again.

I don't think the Astros have much of a clue what they are doing.

They signed Feldman for 10 mil/year for 3 years, and Qualls 6 mil/year for 2 years, and while neither of these is obviously crippling contracts, considering their payroll was 25 mil last year for their entire team, they've committed 50% of that to just two players. Both are on the wrong side of 30, neither is much of a difference maker to a #### team like the Astros. Feldman would make a nice arm for a middling team - a 4th or 5th starter, and Qualls is a quality setup/late reliever who can fill in as the occasional closer. What in their past, oh 7-10 years of playing would lead you to believe otherwise. These guys would make good signings for a team that thinks they could make a run, say the Indians for instance looking for another starter or arm out of the bullpen. But, Luhnow throws money at these guys while looking straight down the barrel of another 100+ loss season. Okay, I'll be generous and say them improve a bit, 95 loss season.

I think the Fowler move was decent, because they basically traded away nothing and got a major league caliber 27 year old player. But, in doing so, have effectively blocked their most major league ready prospect from hitting the majors, or at least forcing a position change. And while Springers eye and free swinging may not project to be a star in the majors, the guy went 40/40 last year at triple a. what more does he have to prove down there, seriously? He's not 19 either, he's 24/25 something like that so it's time to sink or swim.

Luhnow has done an admirable job of restocking the Astros farm system, but let's face it, with #1 picks every ####### year, I could do a mediocre job. And Luhnow has zero gm experience, all of his prior baseball experience was in scouting, no? So, it would lead one to believe that he should be able to fill up a farm system.

Their owner is in a spot too because in buying the team, he was forced to change leagues which alienated a bit of their fan base, and now they haven't had a television contract so like 60% of the city can't watch the games, and those who can, don't want to watch a #### product. I think Crane was a guy with a lot of money who wanted the cache of owning a major league team, but now that he has and sees what a #### show it is, realizes, no one in their right mind would want to sell a major league team that was in a good position to make money. So, he's probably pretty pissed off, and rightfully so.

Gonna be another long season in Houston, and they sent us off well going out with a 15 game losing streak to end the season. But hell, at least they have won a game more recently than the effing Texans.

 
I had a good long rant the other day about the Astros that was erased when I navigated away from the page....but I'll try again.

I don't think the Astros have much of a clue what they are doing.

They signed Feldman for 10 mil/year for 3 years, and Qualls 6 mil/year for 2 years, and while neither of these is obviously crippling contracts, considering their payroll was 25 mil last year for their entire team, they've committed 50% of that to just two players. Both are on the wrong side of 30, neither is much of a difference maker to a #### team like the Astros. Feldman would make a nice arm for a middling team - a 4th or 5th starter, and Qualls is a quality setup/late reliever who can fill in as the occasional closer. What in their past, oh 7-10 years of playing would lead you to believe otherwise. These guys would make good signings for a team that thinks they could make a run, say the Indians for instance looking for another starter or arm out of the bullpen. But, Luhnow throws money at these guys while looking straight down the barrel of another 100+ loss season. Okay, I'll be generous and say them improve a bit, 95 loss season.

I think the Fowler move was decent, because they basically traded away nothing and got a major league caliber 27 year old player. But, in doing so, have effectively blocked their most major league ready prospect from hitting the majors, or at least forcing a position change. And while Springers eye and free swinging may not project to be a star in the majors, the guy went 40/40 last year at triple a. what more does he have to prove down there, seriously? He's not 19 either, he's 24/25 something like that so it's time to sink or swim.

Luhnow has done an admirable job of restocking the Astros farm system, but let's face it, with #1 picks every ####### year, I could do a mediocre job. And Luhnow has zero gm experience, all of his prior baseball experience was in scouting, no? So, it would lead one to believe that he should be able to fill up a farm system.

Their owner is in a spot too because in buying the team, he was forced to change leagues which alienated a bit of their fan base, and now they haven't had a television contract so like 60% of the city can't watch the games, and those who can, don't want to watch a #### product. I think Crane was a guy with a lot of money who wanted the cache of owning a major league team, but now that he has and sees what a #### show it is, realizes, no one in their right mind would want to sell a major league team that was in a good position to make money. So, he's probably pretty pissed off, and rightfully so.

Gonna be another long season in Houston, and they sent us off well going out with a 15 game losing streak to end the season. But hell, at least they have won a game more recently than the effing Texans.
I think the best case scenario for Springer would be a June 2014 ETA. That's assuming he can reduce his strikeouts. I don't think the Astros want or need to rush him. It's not like the Astros are set in the corner OF slots either. When the time comes, they can figure out where to put Springer and Fowler and then figure out what to do with the Grossmans and Martinezes.

At some point, the Astros have to at least try to put a major league roster on the field. Feldman and Qualls are better than what they had last year and aren't terrible deals in terms of either dollars or years. Houston isn't the most attractive destination for free agents so they'll have to try to find value among the lower tier FAs or overpay for the better ones.

 
Awkward Zduriencik interview on MLBN right now. I'm pretty amazed that Blegnino said he pretty much wrote his resume for him, that has yet to be denied, and he still has his job. Shouldn't someone be fired for that?

 
guru_007 said:
Billy Bats said:
Olney: The Phillies have indicated to other teams they are ready and willing to talk about Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels in trades.

8:55am - 10 Dec 13

Hamels??? I hope that's an exaggeration. :scared:
Yeah, if the Phillies aren't willing to absorb any of the contract costs, I can't see either moving. But, I bet they would get some nice offers for Hamels if they would.The more they're willing to absorb, the better prospects they would get. But, I can't see any team moving anything of significant value for 25 mil/year pitchers. Upside is pretty limited, especially before the season starts. As trade deadline gets nearer (and 1/2 of the year's salary is paid), Lee may fetch something decent.

Phils are in a tough spot here, think it's probably wise to punt and try to regroup.
If the Phillies are going to punt and regroup, I'm really confused over some of their off-season signings.
 
Not sure what the D-bags are thinking. Trumbo's a power-only guy who is terrible in the OF. Selling low on Eaton, I guess you can argue for, but selling at all on Skaggs...yikes.

Really like this deal for Anaheim. I don't find myself saying that much.

 
Adam Eaton to the pale hose. Hector Santiago and Skaggs to Anaheim. Trumbo to Arizona.
I don't get this from the Diamondbacks' perspective. They give up two young talents and just get Trumbo in return. Trumbo is a younger, right-handed version of Jason Kubel, who the Dbacks dumped at the deadline.

The Anaheims get two pitchers and Lord knows they need 'em. Even if you're the most devoted TINSTAAP proponent, I gotta think that Arizona has given up early on Bauer and now Skaggs.

Eaton is a cost controlled top of the lineup bat who can fill a critical defensive position.

 
Not sure what the D-bags are thinking. Trumbo's a power-only guy who is terrible in the OF. Selling low on Eaton, I guess you can argue for, but selling at all on Skaggs...yikes.

Really like this deal for Anaheim. I don't find myself saying that much.
He has improved his walk rate significantly over the last two seasons. If he's able to maintain that and get some batted ball luck he could turn in a really good season.

 
guru_007 said:
I had a good long rant the other day about the Astros that was erased when I navigated away from the page....but I'll try again.

I don't think the Astros have much of a clue what they are doing.

They signed Feldman for 10 mil/year for 3 years, and Qualls 6 mil/year for 2 years, and while neither of these is obviously crippling contracts, considering their payroll was 25 mil last year for their entire team, they've committed 50% of that to just two players. Both are on the wrong side of 30, neither is much of a difference maker to a #### team like the Astros. Feldman would make a nice arm for a middling team - a 4th or 5th starter, and Qualls is a quality setup/late reliever who can fill in as the occasional closer. What in their past, oh 7-10 years of playing would lead you to believe otherwise. These guys would make good signings for a team that thinks they could make a run, say the Indians for instance looking for another starter or arm out of the bullpen. But, Luhnow throws money at these guys while looking straight down the barrel of another 100+ loss season. Okay, I'll be generous and say them improve a bit, 95 loss season.

I think the Fowler move was decent, because they basically traded away nothing and got a major league caliber 27 year old player. But, in doing so, have effectively blocked their most major league ready prospect from hitting the majors, or at least forcing a position change. And while Springers eye and free swinging may not project to be a star in the majors, the guy went 40/40 last year at triple a. what more does he have to prove down there, seriously? He's not 19 either, he's 24/25 something like that so it's time to sink or swim.

Luhnow has done an admirable job of restocking the Astros farm system, but let's face it, with #1 picks every ####### year, I could do a mediocre job. And Luhnow has zero gm experience, all of his prior baseball experience was in scouting, no? So, it would lead one to believe that he should be able to fill up a farm system.

Their owner is in a spot too because in buying the team, he was forced to change leagues which alienated a bit of their fan base, and now they haven't had a television contract so like 60% of the city can't watch the games, and those who can, don't want to watch a #### product. I think Crane was a guy with a lot of money who wanted the cache of owning a major league team, but now that he has and sees what a #### show it is, realizes, no one in their right mind would want to sell a major league team that was in a good position to make money. So, he's probably pretty pissed off, and rightfully so.

Gonna be another long season in Houston, and they sent us off well going out with a 15 game losing streak to end the season. But hell, at least they have won a game more recently than the effing Texans.
The union won't let them continue spending $25 mil on payroll, and you've got to begin the climb back to respectability sooner rather than later, else you'll entirely lose the fanbase. Not saying these are the right moves to do that, but I can atleast understand why they're going about things like this.

 
Not sure what the D-bags are thinking. Trumbo's a power-only guy who is terrible in the OF. Selling low on Eaton, I guess you can argue for, but selling at all on Skaggs...yikes.

Really like this deal for Anaheim. I don't find myself saying that much.
He has improved his walk rate significantly over the last two seasons. If he's able to maintain that and get some batted ball luck he could turn in a really good season.
You mean if the NL suddenly adopts the DH, or trades away Paul Goldschmidt? All evidence so far points to him not being able to handle a corner outfield spot.

The Anderson trade is interesting, it's hard to know how good Pomeranz might be when he's not at altitude. Assets!

 
Not sure what the D-bags are thinking. Trumbo's a power-only guy who is terrible in the OF. Selling low on Eaton, I guess you can argue for, but selling at all on Skaggs...yikes.

Really like this deal for Anaheim. I don't find myself saying that much.
He has improved his walk rate significantly over the last two seasons. If he's able to maintain that and get some batted ball luck he could turn in a really good season.
You mean if the NL suddenly adopts the DH, or trades away Paul Goldschmidt? All evidence so far points to him not being able to handle a corner outfield spot.

The Anderson trade is interesting, it's hard to know how good Pomeranz might be when he's not at altitude. Assets!
Maybe Goldschmidt can handle the OF. Plus, while his UZR is below average to bad, its not horrible. His aggregate UZR/150 in the OF is -7.0

 
guru_007 said:
I had a good long rant the other day about the Astros that was erased when I navigated away from the page....but I'll try again.

I don't think the Astros have much of a clue what they are doing.

They signed Feldman for 10 mil/year for 3 years, and Qualls 6 mil/year for 2 years, and while neither of these is obviously crippling contracts, considering their payroll was 25 mil last year for their entire team, they've committed 50% of that to just two players. Both are on the wrong side of 30, neither is much of a difference maker to a #### team like the Astros. Feldman would make a nice arm for a middling team - a 4th or 5th starter, and Qualls is a quality setup/late reliever who can fill in as the occasional closer. What in their past, oh 7-10 years of playing would lead you to believe otherwise. These guys would make good signings for a team that thinks they could make a run, say the Indians for instance looking for another starter or arm out of the bullpen. But, Luhnow throws money at these guys while looking straight down the barrel of another 100+ loss season. Okay, I'll be generous and say them improve a bit, 95 loss season.

I think the Fowler move was decent, because they basically traded away nothing and got a major league caliber 27 year old player. But, in doing so, have effectively blocked their most major league ready prospect from hitting the majors, or at least forcing a position change. And while Springers eye and free swinging may not project to be a star in the majors, the guy went 40/40 last year at triple a. what more does he have to prove down there, seriously? He's not 19 either, he's 24/25 something like that so it's time to sink or swim.

Luhnow has done an admirable job of restocking the Astros farm system, but let's face it, with #1 picks every ####### year, I could do a mediocre job. And Luhnow has zero gm experience, all of his prior baseball experience was in scouting, no? So, it would lead one to believe that he should be able to fill up a farm system.

Their owner is in a spot too because in buying the team, he was forced to change leagues which alienated a bit of their fan base, and now they haven't had a television contract so like 60% of the city can't watch the games, and those who can, don't want to watch a #### product. I think Crane was a guy with a lot of money who wanted the cache of owning a major league team, but now that he has and sees what a #### show it is, realizes, no one in their right mind would want to sell a major league team that was in a good position to make money. So, he's probably pretty pissed off, and rightfully so.

Gonna be another long season in Houston, and they sent us off well going out with a 15 game losing streak to end the season. But hell, at least they have won a game more recently than the effing Texans.
The union won't let them continue spending $25 mil on payroll, and you've got to begin the climb back to respectability sooner rather than later, else you'll entirely lose the fanbase. Not saying these are the right moves to do that, but I can atleast understand why they're going about things like this.
Yup. The guys they're signing will still make them a terrible major league team, but at least they'll be a major league team. My team did the same thing with guys like Jason Marquis and Adam Dunn during the lean years. By the time they were ready to compete those guys were completely off the books and they had Denard Span (traded one of the Dunn comp picks for him), a utility middle infielder currently on the 40 man, and their current top OF prospect for their troubles.

I really like what Houston is doing. I really like that they're being honest with their fans about it, too. Doing it the right way.

 

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