# MLB Off Season/Hot Stove **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** baseball-mlb\ **Created:** [March 11, 2020, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-off-season-hot-stove/842799 "2020-03-11T04:00:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-off-season-hot-stove/842799/162 "2020-04-20T23:22:50Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > [Gerrit Cole is a Yankee](https://abc13.com/sports/gerrit-cole-to-sign-record-$324m-deal-with-yankees-sources/5745828/). 324/9. > > This will sting. I hope that assuages some of the pain from losing Gregorius. LOL. Bringing Didi back this year didn’t make sense. I really hope Cole has 7 healthy years, this is a killer contract. At least Ellsbury’s contract is gone after this year. Yanks have all the infield pieces in place already without bringing him back. Good luck to Didi, you did a great job replacing a fan favorite legend. Time for Gleybor Torres at SS. \*\*Cole \*\*was the best pitcher on the market and I thought the Yanks should either sign a True Ace or not bother, so overall I like the signing though I fear the contract. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2020, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-off-season-hot-stove/842799/163 "2020-04-21T00:07:23Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > [Gerrit Cole is a Yankee](https://abc13.com/sports/gerrit-cole-to-sign-record-$324m-deal-with-yankees-sources/5745828/). 324/9. > > This will sting. I hope that assuages some of the pain from losing Gregorius. LOL. Wow. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2020, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-off-season-hot-stove/842799/164 "2020-04-21T02:57:52Z")
Hawk Harrelson gets the Frick award. This must be someone’s idea of a sick joke. He’s certain the worst baseball announcer in the last 20 years. > **[Former White Sox announcer Ken ‘Hawk’ Harrelson wins Ford C. Frick Award](https://chicago.suntimes.com/white-sox/2019/12/11/21011040/white-sox-ken-hawk-harrelson-ford-c-frick-award-winner?utm_profile=5a1dd5fe3f92a42c662b81a9&tpcc=email-breaksports&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=SportsAlert_12112019_HawkHarrelson&utm_term=BREAKING%20SPORTS)** > > White Sox broadcaster Ken Harrelson has been selected as the 2020 recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award, presented annually for excellence in broadcasting by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2020, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-off-season-hot-stove/842799/165 "2020-04-21T03:02:35Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > Strasburg has had ONE great healthy season in his career. He’s had at least 2, 3 if you count his innings limitation in 2012. 6 if you’re happy with anything over 3 WAR. But a 7 year deal for a 31 year old pitcher is nuts. I guess that’s baseball nowadays. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2020, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-off-season-hot-stove/842799/166 "2020-04-21T03:24:28Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Hawk Harrelson gets the Frick award. This must be someone’s idea of a sick joke. He’s certain the worst baseball announcer in the last 20 years. > > [Former Chicago White Sox announcer Ken ‘Hawk’ Harrelson heading to Cooperstown after winning Ford C. Frick Award - Chicago Sun-Times](https://chicago.suntimes.com/white-sox/2019/12/11/21011040/white-sox-ken-hawk-harrelson-ford-c-frick-award-winner?utm_profile=5a1dd5fe3f92a42c662b81a9&tpcc=email-breaksports&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=SportsAlert_12112019_HawkHarrelson&utm_term=BREAKING%20SPORTS) You can…put it on the booooooooooaaaaaaaaaard. Yes! ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2020, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-off-season-hot-stove/842799/167 "2020-04-21T04:32:33Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > [Gerrit Cole is a Yankee](https://abc13.com/sports/gerrit-cole-to-sign-record-$324m-deal-with-yankees-sources/5745828/). 324/9. > > This will sting. I hope that assuages some of the pain from losing Gregorius. LOL. As the New York Times has it, “[the Yankees Death Star is back](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/11/sports/baseball/yankees-gerrit-cole.html?action=click&module=Well&pgtype=Homepage§ion=Sports).”[😃](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/7a/65/4c/7a654ccfe0752b51959d310a510c2183.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2020, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-off-season-hot-stove/842799/168 "2020-04-21T12:50:46Z")
Rendon picks the Angels. For a team with him and Trout, they’ll still be unknown outside of the West Coast. 7 years, $245 million. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2020, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-off-season-hot-stove/842799/169 "2020-04-21T14:10:37Z")
Man, how much money did Scott Boras make this week? These numbers are bonkers. The Angels will have a solid offense but they better hope Ohtani can be an effective starter. They had exactly one pitcher throw more than 100 innings last season (Trevor Cahill, 102 IP) and his ERA was 5.98. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2020, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-off-season-hot-stove/842799/170 "2020-04-21T23:16:05Z")
On one hand the Angels have a terrible recent history (actually, a terrible forever history) with big deals, and Rendon is unlikely to ever have a year like 2019 again. On the other, the Angels are loaded and even if they only get a few great years out of Rendon, maybe they’ll finally win something while Mike Trout is the greatest player in baseball. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2020, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-off-season-hot-stove/842799/171 "2020-04-22T00:07:36Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > He’s had at least 2, 3 if you count his innings limitation in 2012. 6 if you’re happy with anything over 3 WAR. But a 7 year deal for a 31 year old pitcher is nuts. I guess that’s baseball nowadays. For 35 MM/year I don’t think a 3 war/year is sufficient. 35MM should buy at least 5 WAR IMHO. E.g. Scherzer has cost about 30MM/year over the last 6 years and he has been worth about 40 WAR for 240 MM. or about 6 MM/WAR I don’t see Strasburg’s contract being worth it after year 5. But considering what Cole went for, I guess I can’t complain. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2020, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-off-season-hot-stove/842799/172 "2020-04-22T01:57:24Z")
I went back and looked at that ESPN Sunday night schedule and there are also no LA Angels games on it. [ESPN’s 2020 Sunday Night Baseball Schedule Highlighted by Blockbuster Rivalries and Top MLB Superstars - ESPN Press Room U.S.](https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2019/12/espns-2020-sunday-night-baseball-schedule-highlighted-by-blockbuster-rivalries-and-top-mlb-superstars/) Mind blowing even before the Rendon signing as the Angels had Trout and Ohtani is still a curiosity. Not to mention the new manager. Plus, that’s an early Sunday start west coast time which isn’t too bad for the fans, they can still get home at a decent hour. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2020, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-off-season-hot-stove/842799/173 "2020-04-22T02:22:02Z")
Yanks brought back Brett Gardner, age 36. He got $12.5m and the Yanks have an option for $10m in '21 with a $2.5m buyout. Yanks are well over the luxury tax cap now. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2020, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-off-season-hot-stove/842799/174 "2020-04-22T03:46:23Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Hawk Harrelson gets the Frick award. This must be someone’s idea of a sick joke. He’s certain the worst baseball announcer in the last 20 years. > > [Former Chicago White Sox announcer Ken ‘Hawk’ Harrelson heading to Cooperstown after winning Ford C. Frick Award - Chicago Sun-Times](https://chicago.suntimes.com/white-sox/2019/12/11/21011040/white-sox-ken-hawk-harrelson-ford-c-frick-award-winner?utm_profile=5a1dd5fe3f92a42c662b81a9&tpcc=email-breaksports&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=SportsAlert_12112019_HawkHarrelson&utm_term=BREAKING%20SPORTS) Two words: Joe Buck ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2020, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-off-season-hot-stove/842799/175 "2020-04-22T05:00:11Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > Two words: > > Joe Buck Joe Buck is 1.74 million times better than Hawk. > [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > For 35 MM/year I don’t think a 3 war/year is sufficient. 35MM should buy at least 5 WAR IMHO. I don’t think that’s an unreasonable line to draw in the sand, at least for the front end of a contract. Fair. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2020, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-off-season-hot-stove/842799/176 "2020-04-22T05:54:00Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Yanks brought back Brett Gardner, age 36. He got $12.5m and the Yanks have an option for $10m in '21 with a $2.5m buyout. Yanks are well over the luxury tax cap now. Glad to hear that, since he’s one of my favorite players just for being able to grind it out year after year after year. I was somewhat surprised to see he had his highest OPS of his entire career this year, as well as his highest slugging percentage. What he’s lost on average he’s picked up on slugging. With CC retiring, he’s also the last Yankee playing from the 2009 championship team. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2020, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-off-season-hot-stove/842799/177 "2020-04-22T06:44:58Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Glad to hear that, since he’s one of my favorite players just for being able to grind it out year after year after year. I was somewhat surprised to see he had his highest OPS of his entire career this year, as well as his highest slugging percentage. What he’s lost on average he’s picked up on slugging. With CC retiring, he’s also the last Yankee playing from the 2009 championship team. Last from 2009 and also now the oldest Yankee. He plays with a lot of heart and is a team leader. It seems he is valued for that along with his numbers and his defense. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2020, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-off-season-hot-stove/842799/178 "2020-04-22T07:07:09Z")
I hope they bring back the next longest tenured\* Yankee, Dellin Betances, too. Watching him buckle knees with that killer curve is great baseball. \*Austin Romine debuted a few days before Betances. Rumor has it that the Yanks are interested in Martin Maldonado to back up Sanchez, though. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2020, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-off-season-hot-stove/842799/179 "2020-04-22T07:11:40Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > Two words: > > Joe Buck Joe Morgan ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2020, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-off-season-hot-stove/842799/180 "2020-04-22T23:22:23Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > Two words: > > Joe Buck Not knowing who this Hawk guy is, you are probably right. I am amazed that Joe Buck still has a job. I would have thought that everyone that knew his dad is out of the business by now. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2020, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-off-season-hot-stove/842799/181 "2020-04-22T23:48:52Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > Not knowing who this Hawk guy is, you are probably right. I am amazed that Joe Buck still has a job. I would have thought that everyone that knew his dad is out of the business by now. No, he’s wrong. I dislike Joe Buck in a variety of ways, and he annoys me no matter what sports he’s commentating on. But Hawk Harrelson was orders of magnitude worse than Buck, in just about every possible way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-off-season-hot-stove/842799.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-off-season-hot-stove/842799.md?page=10)