One option is what they can get for Stroman, especially if they somehow land Roki Sasaki.
Boston signs Walker Buehler to a one year deal worth $21 million.
Joc Pederson signs with the Texas Rangers, 2-years, $37 million.
The Phillies have acquired P Jesus Luzardo from the Miami Marlins.
Manaea had a solid season last year but if I were a Mets fan I don’t think I would feel that confident about the rotation.
I think there’s more left in Paul Goldschmidt than in Anthony Rizzo.
Goldschmidt was great just a few years ago. Rizzo has been mediocre for a long time.
Breaking up the 2016 Cubs did turn out to be the right idea. Schwarber is missed but he left before the NL got the DH.
I’m sure the Cubs are glad they don’t have an albatross of a Kris Bryant or Rizzo long term contract
The 2016 Cubs appear guaranteed to end up being another rare case of a World Series champ without a single Hall of Famer playing for them, even in a marginal role or a cup of coffee.
Gleyber Torres to the Tigers.
One year deal, can’t go too wrong. If he stays healthy, he’ll be worth it by today’s standards.
Yeah, we did this earlier this past fall, but it was still striking. Jon Lester or Aroldis Chapman by some far distant future Vet’s Committee remain the best bets (Lester will start to look pretty good when 200 game winners have gone extinct; Chapman depends on if he gets to close for the Red Sox for a few years going forward-given how Billy Wagner is about to be voted in-and if voters eventually forget his domestic violence stuff); that their young core all pretty much fell apart, to a man, is the shocking part, where the only guy who still has most of his peak value, as such, is a Three True Outcomes DH in the person of Kyle Schwarber and his 15 career WAR.
Curious to know if there’s a list of such teams. The 2015 Royals would be another strong candidate, unless Salvador Perez somehow gets elected.
Dave Kaval, president of the Oakland A’s, is resigning on December 31.
Dodgers reach a three-year $66 million deal with Teoscar Hernandez. This pleases me greatly.
I couldn’t find the thread earlier, but these are the candidates:
1981 Dodgers (despite all of the Hall of Very Goods in their lineup, partimer Reggie Smith likely remains their best bet, him or Steve Garvey since the latter keeps showing up on VC ballots)
1997 Marlins (but Gary Sheffield in the long term I’d consider a near-lock)
2008 Phillies (depends mostly on how Chase Utley’s candidacy progresses)
2010/12/14 Giants (Buster Posey or bust, all depends on how much voters like his peak, tho Tim Hudson from the 2014 squad has an outside shot in the long run)
2015 Royals (this is the one most likely to not have anyone in 50+ years, absolutely nobody close to the borderline)
2016 Cubs.
Thanks, @John_DiFool! That’s an interesting list, and I agree with your analysis.
I’m not sure that Posey is quite HOF worthy, but he was very good for an extended period of time, and he won 3 championships.
This belongs in this thread So, what made you smile today?
Corbin Burnes to the Diamondbacks. 6 years, $210 million.
That last bit will help, but he would be the HoF catcher with the 2nd fewest plate appearances in history, just a bit more than Roger Bresnahan (an old-timer who got some props from inventing catcher’s gear), less than Roy Campanella (who had the color barrier blocking him) and Mickey Cochrane (who had to retire because of a beanball). Voters have shown that they are unable to adjust for the position’s toll on playing time, making Mike Piazza and Gary Carter wait several years, and immediately dumping Ted Simmons and making him wait 3 decades to get in via the VC.
Campanella had his MLB career cut short at both ends: first, due to the color barrier (he didn’t start playing with the Dodgers until he was 26), and then a car crash in early 1958, when he had just turned 36, which left him paralyzed. He was likely already on the downside of his career at that point, but he probably would have kept playing for another year or two had it not been for the crash and injury.
The Diamondbacks had (easily) the highest scoring offense in baseball last year and missed the playoffs because their pitching sucked ass. So this was a logical and smart move.
Carter waiting was especially, well, bizarre. He took six ballots, and was at only 33 percent at one point. I mean, Gary Carter is pretty clearly one of the ten greatest catchers of all time.
Clear #2 on JAWS and not that far off from Bench.