2018 Hot Stove League

[Lou]

2 minutes ago, m0nkey said:

So when does location play a factor for a player and when does it not?

counts: when a player specifically states it or his name is Mike Trout.

[Chuck]

I kind of hope Harper stays with the Nationals and signs with them.

Trout's idol Derek Jeter played for one team over his entire career and one has to wonder if Harper signs with the Nationals to remain there if Trout will do the same. 

This also shows that Harper who is a Vegas, West Coast guy, doesn't want to look for a team in his neck of the woods like most writers and east coast fans believe he'll want to play for a team where he grew up or rooted for growing up. 

[Lou]

2 minutes ago, UndertheHalo said:

 

I wish I had stated this dozens of times previously 

oh wait . . . 

[Chuck]

5 minutes ago, m0nkey said:

So when does location play a factor for a player and when does it not?

In the end, I believe it's all about the money. If team A is a desired location and offers xxx amount and team B is not the player's desired location offers the same amount of money, team A wins. I believe however that if team B offers more money and guaranteed years the player will choose to play for the location/team that's offering more money 9/10. 

[Lou]

7 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

one has to wonder if Harper signs with the Nationals to remain there if Trout will do the same. 

what I'm having for lunch today will have as much bearing on Trout's decision than what Harper ends up doing. 

[Hubs]

On 1/2/2019 at 6:29 AM, Blarg said:

You have smoked yourself stupid. Calhoun's short stretch of success last summer was replaced by numbers as bad as the first two months of the season. He may fall somewhere in between next season or continue to fall off a cliff but he isn't touching an .850 ops. Not without help from Cano's medicine cabinet. 

Adell could do that though. Calhoun is more likely to hit .265 / .335 / .460 than the line originally posted.

 

[Chuck]

1 minute ago, Lou said:

what I'm having for lunch today will have as much bearing on Trout's decision than what Harper ends up doing. 

But what if it's a Philly Cheesesteak?  

[NJHalo]

9 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

In the end, I believe it's all about the money. If team A is a desired location and offers xxx amount and team B is not the player's desired location offers the same amount of money, team A wins. I believe however that if team B offers more money and guaranteed years the player will choose to play for the location/team that's offering more money 9/10. 

  Coming dear!

Edited January 3, 2019 by NJHalo

[Lou]

nice spike 

[Lou]

Just now, NJHalo said:

he's following his wife.

shocker. 

[Chuck]

According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the chances of the Indians trading Corey Kluber or Trevor Bauer "seem to diminish by the day."

The Indians were known to be shopping the two star right-handers at the outset of this offseason, but the club has managed to cut payroll by other means and Rosenthal hears from a rival executive that the Cleveland front office is currently more focused on acquiring "cheap roster fillers" than a blockbuster trade involving a starting pitcher. Rosenthal notes that "it's doubtful the Indians would make Kluber or Bauer available in July if they are in contention." Odds are they will again run away with the American League Central this year, especially with Kluber and Bauer still on board.

Related: Trevor Bauer

 

Source: The Athletic

[UndertheHalo]

Good for Indians fans.  

The indians are pathetic. Kluber is on an amazing deal and he’s one of the best pitchers in baseball.  The team is in as good a situation division wise as possible and they have a couple of stars in the line up for a few more years.  And these assholes are trying to punt and get ready for their millionth rebuild instead of going hard after a championship ring.  

At least they demanded a huge price tag. 

[ettin]

1 hour ago, UndertheHalo said:

Good for Indians fans.  

The indians are pathetic. Kluber is on an amazing deal and he’s one of the best pitchers in baseball.  The team is in as good a situation division wise as possible and they have a couple of stars in the line up for a few more years.  And these assholes are trying to punt and get ready for their millionth rebuild instead of going hard after a championship ring.  

At least they demanded a huge price tag. 

Actually the Indians are really smart.

They know where they are at on the win curve and they know that their Division rivals are much lower generally speaking with perhaps only the Twins starting to climb closer. Because they dominate their Division now is as great a time as any to consider selling off a premium piece to help solidify their future window of contention at the expense of a small handful of wins that are probably not going to impact their ability to win the Division anyway.

It has some risk to it if you allow another team like the Twins to gain confidence and potentially sneak into the playoffs ahead of you but as a small market team with finite resources it is a potential gamble that makes a whole lot of sense for their ability to contend year after year.

Frankly I think it is a smart risk to take if they do so.

[UndertheHalo]

14 minutes ago, ettin said:

Actually the Indians are really smart.

They know where they are at on the win curve and they know that their Division rivals are much lower generally speaking with perhaps only the Twins starting to climb closer. Because they dominate their Division now is as great a time as any to consider selling off a premium piece to help solidify their future window of contention at the expense of a small handful of wins that are probably not going to impact their ability to win the Division anyway.

It has some risk to it if you allow another team like the Twins to gain confidence and potentially sneak into the playoffs ahead of you but as a small market team with finite resources it is a potential gamble that makes a whole lot of sense for their ability to contend year after year.

Frankly I think it is a smart risk to take if they do so.

There’s risk in trading a guy like Kluber, with years of control away for prospects as well.  There’s risk in everything.  The Indians have a good team.  There is no guarantee they’ll get back to the championship conversation any time soon once they start trading guys like him and Bauer away. 

They need both of those guys if they want to compete in the playoffs. 

Edited January 3, 2019 by UndertheHalo

[Blarg]

20 hours ago, Dochalo said:

5:38 PM: Levine does take care to note that, per his sources, Harper “has had” ten-year offers with “big” proposed AAV salaries, though the tendering clubs remain as yet unknown.

source = Scott Boras
tendering clubs = mystery teams.  

I think Harper ends up with the Nats on the 10/300 he was initially offered.  Maybe he gets 10/330.  

The Nats have no reason to return the same offer or bid against themselves. At this point Harper and Boras lost that negotiation advantage and will have to take less or take time off. 

[Docwaukee]

Cle has a terrible OF right now.  My guess is that they're asking for two major league OFers in exchange for Kluber.  I wouldn't thought Houston as a good candidate for a trade.   Or maybe WSN if they get Harper.  

[zenmaster]

I don't like Harper really but it would have been crazy to watch the possible two best hitters on the same team. 

[ettin]

1 hour ago, Blarg said:

The Nats have no reason to return the same offer or bid against themselves. At this point Harper and Boras lost that negotiation advantage and will have to take less or take time off. 

The Phillies, Dodgers, and White Sox have all indicated strong interest in Harper. His market is wider than just the Nationals.

[ettin]

1 hour ago, Dochalo said:

Cle has a terrible OF right now.  My guess is that they're asking for two major league OFers in exchange for Kluber.  I wouldn't thought Houston as a good candidate for a trade.   Or maybe WSN if they get Harper.  

A Kluber for Robles based trade (with other possible players/prospects exchanging hands) would make a lot of sense for both teams if Washington brought Harper back.

[Angelsfan1984]

57 minutes ago, zenmaster said:

I don't like Harper really but it would have been crazy to watch the possible two best hitters on the same team. 

Harper isn’t one of the best hitters in the league...he’s had one good season.

[jessecrall]

Harper's experience is gonna be so much better in DC than anywhere else. He's an inconsistent player with injury problems and defensive issues. If he signs with DC, he's the hometown hero, the fans will be on his side, they should be really competitive in the near future, he'll make a fortune...You sign with the Yankees or Dodgers or White Sox, you're a hired gun and if you're anything less than GREAT year in, year out, it's gonna be unpleasant. Maybe that doesn't matter to Harper, I dunno. Do you want a nice house on a pleasant street or a mansion below a flight path?

[beatlesrule]

Per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Angels “prefer” to assemble bullpen pieces of the low-cost variety. With hardly a household name in the bunch, early-offseason speculation abounded with respect to Los Angeles and top-market pen arms, but signings of the type don’t appear to be in the cards for Billy Eppler and crew this offseason. Top 2018 perfomer Jose Alvarez has already been shipped to Philadelphia, so the Angels will likely rely on some assortment of Taylor Cole, Luis Garcia, Ty Buttrey, Hansel Robles, Cam Bedrosian, and Justin Anderson (all of whom, save for Robles during his stint with the Mets, excelled at limiting the homer last season) to hold down the team’s fort in the late innings.

[Docwaukee]

10 minutes ago, beatlesrule said:

Per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Angels “prefer” to assemble bullpen pieces of the low-cost variety. With hardly a household name in the bunch, early-offseason speculation abounded with respect to Los Angeles and top-market pen arms, but signings of the type don’t appear to be in the cards for Billy Eppler and crew this offseason. Top 2018 perfomer Jose Alvarez has already been shipped to Philadelphia, so the Angels will likely rely on some assortment of Taylor Cole, Luis Garcia, Ty Buttrey, Hansel Robles, Cam Bedrosian, and Justin Anderson (all of whom, save for Robles during his stint with the Mets, excelled at limiting the homer last season) to hold down the team’s fort in the late innings.

I still think Eppler makes a couple more pen moves where it's either on minor league deals or perhaps a couple of 1 yrs deals in the 2-4m range after more of the dust has settled.  

[beatlesrule]

1 minute ago, Dochalo said:

I still think Eppler makes a couple more pen moves where it's either on minor league deals or perhaps a couple of 1 yrs deals in the 2-4m range after more of the dust has settled.  

I don't really understand how that article is news. Eppler hasn't spent big on a RP since he's been here.  I guess it's just to reiterate his philosophy.

[Lou]

1 hour ago, zenmaster said:

I don't like Harper really but it would have been crazy to watch the possible two best hitters on the same team. 

it appears that Rosenthal has caught up to AW April 2017 posts