DMVol

If true, Hicks will be on the waiver wire soon..

I think it had more to do with this decade of bad baseball than anything else. Bad FA signings hurt but not having depth in your organization is suicidal. Not sure who made the decision, Reagins or Arte, but it was devastating.

Wish I could have made it Chuck but Tennessee is a long ass state and I am 4 hours away.

Fair points and well thought out....but it was frustrating to see the market flatten out late and not take advantage of it, with lots of money to spend under the luxury tax. On the other hand, not sure what might have been a good fit. Snell was short term deal and would have cost a draft pick, Montgomery was short term and may not have wanted to play for the Angels. Martinez was a short term deal and maybe not a great fit. And, as you say, short term deals probably didn't fit where we are. Still frustrating though, particularly after so many bad FA signings to have seen the opportunity pass us by.

No effort to build a competitive team.

Jeff: Any thought that if Montgomery’s price has also cratered enough that the Angels might consider signing him? I don’t think that’s very likely but just asking….

Not sure Martinez, Snell, Lorenzen could have fallen much further, although the draft pick was a problem with Snell. Hell, Lorenzen, who put up good numbers as a starter before he ran out gas, cost the same as García, a dime a dozen pen guy. Much less than Stephenson or Moore. I don’t think they were waiting on anybody to fall to them after the early pen signings.

Spending your entire budget on the bullpen seems rather nonsensical to me.

I’m not sure Ohtani was ever seriously interested in staying either…

I don't think it will happen with Montgomery but Martinez' value might drop to the point that, even if we prefer to rotate Trout, Rendon and others through the DH spot, you just can't not sign him.

You would think so. Saw a report that the Yankees are back in on Montgomery. The repercussions of Cole being out may be sinking in.

That has always seemed pretty obvious….yet Arte screwed it up…

Maybe I confused you. Sorry about that. I think we’re saying the same thing. 1) He has no draft pick attached now. 2) If he waits to sign until next week, there will be no draft pick attached after 2024, if he is a FA again. At least that is how I read the article.

I know this has been discussed but I guess it flew over my head. Looks like Montgomery will wait until the season starts to sign, which would avoid a Qualifying Offer (again) after this season. Old rule used to be you had to wait until after the draft: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/03/why-jordan-montgomery-may-wait-until-the-season-starts-to-sign.html

Mets don't seem inclined to sign him. I don't think we will either. Having said that, Martinez, Montgomery, Lorenzen and Clevenger have to find a home soon, don't they?

One of those two or Boston for Montgomery. Just not sure anybody else is going to jump in and blow up the market at this point, particularly if he really wants to go where he has a comfort level or family ties (Boston). Short term deal like Chapman and Snell.

I know he is full of it at times but he does talk to front office folks. He is less about throwing bad info out there than just being a windbag...On MLB Radio, I like Jim Duquette better but together, on Sunday mornings, they are the best show on the channel. Steve Phillips doesn't bring much to the table and a lot of the former players are pretty worthless. At least Duquette and Bowden talk to front office people who actually make decisions.

That is the question. If he didn't cash in this offseason and is so-so this season, he's going to be living on short term deals....and probably not close to 30 million per. He may even decline the opt out if he is so-so this year.

If the report was accurate, the Yankees offered Snell 6/150 in January.....what are the odds that Blake Snell makes 150 million before he retires? If the report was accurate, the Blue Jays offered Chapman 6/120 last year. Same question. Not Boras' best work for sure. He doesn't always read the market correctly.

If he loosens up on location and lowers his contract demands, I’m not sure we’d be very high on his list. Without draft pick compensation and with a more reasonable contract structure, he’ll get a lot of interest.

You may not like him but he’s not wrong…..

I think Rosenthal, Chuck and others had it right….we were never very serious about Snell…..Ever…..

I haven’t been in favor but signing Martinez would help some…and he would be relatively cheap, compared to Snell…and, if he hits well, give you a chip at the Trade Deadline.

I'm not sure how things will end but Martinez is the only one of the remaining 3 that I could see us signing. Listening to Jim Duquette and Jeff Joyce on MLB Radio this morning, they didn't even mention us with Snell (Giants got the most discussion). But, I'm not sure I'd be surprised at anything that happens with Snell or Montgomery at this point.