2014-15 MLB Offseason Thread

[peanut butter]

Gather round the hot stove and make this your primary source for all roster related rumors, half-truths, speculations, and scuttlebutt.










Here's the 2014-15 free agent tracker: http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2015-mlb- ... nt-tracker" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;




PEACE

[Philaflava]

Tomas to the Phillies.
Lester to Cubs.
Cespedes to a NL team.

[peanut butter]

I agree the Cubs are gonna get one of the top tier pitchers. They aren't gonna compete next year, but they're setting the table for 2016 and having a veteran badass starter in his early 30s to lead the staff will make a difference.

Here's the FanGraphs crowd sourced contract estimations for the top 50 free agents. Typically these are pretty accurate in terms of predicting what sort of player each deal will get: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/fangraph ... ee-agents/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



PEACE

[capable_keL]

[Kid That's Lifeless]

[Joe Pesci]

Can we get a confirmation on who threw the one 97mph pitch for the Twins?

[peanut butter]

Can we get a confirmation on who threw the one 97mph pitch for the Twins?

PEACE

[Tommy Bunz]

Ha. Please put MLB in the thread title so you can actually pick it out amongst the dozen other sticky threads.

[capable_keL]

done, i think PB is still drunk

[peanut butter]

KeL, what are your sources saying about St. Paul Molitor's return to the Twin's Cities? Can we expect him to edify the forthcoming youth movement on the value of slapping it through the 5.5 hole rather than taking aim at where the plastic baggy used to hang in the Metrodome? Or should we be concerned that the club opted not to employ Doug Mientkiewicz's snow shovel first baseman's glove as the new manager?

Also, fuckin Paul Molitor led the AL in 1996 with 225 hits. He was 39 years old.


PEACE

[capable_keL]

don't have any Twins sources. the club is a joke. i'd like for the Twins to go outside of the country club and get someone who isn't part of the good ole boys club

[peanut butter]

don't have any Twins sources. the club is a joke. i'd like for the Twins to go outside of the country club and get someone who isn't part of the good ole boys club

Bullshit, bro. You can try to protect those leaking info from the front office, but we all know your people

PEACE

[capable_keL]

[Tommy Bunz]

Really hoping that my dude Dick Allen finally gets in the HOF through the Golden Era committee. He's by the far the best candidate on the ballot imo.

http://www.baseballhall.org/hall-of-fam ... tee-ballot" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[peanut butter]

MLBTR predictions for where they think the top 50 free agents are gonna sign this winter: http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/11/2 ... tions.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



PEACE

[Tommy Bunz]

^ Read that yesterday. The idea that the Cubs would give a huge multiyear contract to David Robertson is laughable.

[peanut butter]

If you combine the FG contract predictions, with MLBTR destinations, here's what you get for the top 10 on the market:

Max Scherzer- Yankees, $168M/7 years
Jon Lester- Cubs, $132M/6 years
James Shields- Red Sox, $90M/5 years
Hanley Ramirez- Yankees, $90M/5 years
Pablo Sandoval- Giants, $80M/5 years
Nelson Cruz- Orioles, $45M/3 years
Victor Martinez- White Sox, $45M/3 years
Russell Martin- Cubs, $56M/4 years
Melky Cabrera- Blue Jays, $52M/4 years
Chase Headley- Red Sox, $56M/4 years


PEACE

[peanut butter]

Rockies offered Michael Cuddyer a qualifying offer. I think he's gonna wanna take that, cuz it seems pretty unlikely that a team would wanna give up a first round pick for him, much less sign him to a deal worth more than $15M next season. If he turns it down, I could see him sitting unsigned til after the draft, like Kendrys did this season



PEACE

[Tommy Bunz]

I don't understand how there will be that big of a market for Headley. He's a 2 win player in his early 30's.
Think that VMart gets a much higher AAV than $15mil/year considering how starved teams are for offense. Wouldn't be surprised if he landed a 3 year/60 mil deal.
Def think Pablo goes back to SF.
Hanley to the Yankees does make some sense, as he would actually be an upgrade defensively at shortstop as hilarious as that is, then he could slide to third after ARod retires.
Don't think Martin is going to the Cubs either. Don't see them spending on a catcher until they are for sure they are ready to contend, and last I checked they drafted a damn good catcher last year.

[peanut butter]

I don't understand how there will be that big of a market for Headley. He's a 2 win player in his early 30's.

He just turned 30. He was worth 4.4fWAR last season. He plays a pretty scarce position too. There's like 10 good third basemen in the game right now. He'll never be as good as he was for the Padres in 2012. But I dont think $14M-15M on a medium length deal for him is a huge overpay.

Think that VMart gets a much higher AAV than $15mil/year considering how starved teams are for offense. Wouldn't be surprised if he landed a 3 year/60 mil deal.

Agree. He was absolutely amazing last year and his production basically doesn't rely on any athleticism, so you don't have to worry about any further decline, other than health. I dont understand why he'd go to the ChiSox tho. That team is gonna be God awful again and wont be contenders over the course of the three or four year deal he's gonna want.

Def think Pablo goes back to SF.

It's a guarantee. During the parade, the crowd and team was chanting "re-sign Pablo," and the GM made a joke about how he was willing to do it on the spot, but just didn't have enough money in his wallet at the time. The Giants probably made enough money to foot his contract over the course of this World Series run, and that says nothing about the role he played in winning the last one. He's still under 30. Played great defense last year. Would have won postseason MVPs if not for MadBum making history. And the Giants always work to keep the band together. If they gave Aubrey Huff and Marco Scutaro contracts for winning a World Series, they better fuckin do it for Pablo

Hanley to the Yankees does make some sense, as he would actually be an upgrade defensively at shortstop as hilarious as that is, then he could slide to third after ARod retires.

He's an awful defender at this point, and should sign somewhere where he can split time between third and DH. Yankees make sense, and Red Sox do too. Regardless, I think he's really gonna screw some team. He should get roughly the $90M/5 years, but is gonna be worth probably one and a half good seasons combined.

Don't think Martin is going to the Cubs either. Don't see them spending on a catcher until they are for sure they are ready to contend, and last I checked they drafted a damn good catcher last year.

I dont think the Cubs are gonna go all in on free agency like most folks expect. They're still a year out. It makes sense to get an ace to put next to Arrietta. But I dont see them going out and buying $200M worth of long term deals this winter. And Schwarber might ultimately play at a corner, but I dont think signing a catcher to block him makes sense. I expect Martin to go back and sign with the Dodgers.



PEACE

[Philaflava]

hard not to like Maddon

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-l ... 34691.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Tweak Da Leak]

LOL we better get someone other than AJ FUCKING Burnett

[Joe Pesci]

[jredd109]

doesn't seem like the jays are jumping out of their shoes to re-sign melky. looks like he's going elsewhere.

[Tommy Bunz]

[Tommy Bunz]

Keith Law's top 50 free agents are up, his top ten look a lot different than everywhere else. Surprised to see VMart all the way down at 12

1. Max Scherzer
2. Jon Lester
3. Hanley Ramirez
4. James Shields
5. Brandon McCarthy
6. Pablo Sandoval
7. Francisco Liriano
8. Russell Martin
9. Chase Headley
10. Yasmani Tomas
11. Ervin Santana
12. Victor Martinez
13. Hiroki Kuroda
14. Jose Fernandez
15. Jeong-ho Kang
16. Adrubal Cabrera
17. Melky Cabrera
18. Jake Peavy
19. Colby Rasmus
20. Jed Lowrie

[alpha]

Isn't vmart like 34?

[Random Sample]

I really want the Pirates to try and sign Kung Fu Panda, but I have a better chance of fucking Scarlett Johansson on the White House front lawn.

They need to keep Martin, but he want's too many years on his contract. The Pirates I guess offered 3 years and he wants a minimum of 4.

[peanut butter]

Isn't vmart like 34?

He'll turn 36 next month


KLaw's list is interesting. McCarthy at 5 is what stands out to me. That said, I'd like to see the Giants take a run at him. The MLBTR predictions have the Giants re-signing Pablo and Vogelsong, then adding Santana, Alex Rios & Aaron Harang. And while there's literally no way they'll be that active this offseason, I would like to see them add another one of the second tier starters as well as a new left fielder



PEACE

[Philaflava]

Jose Fernandez is a free agent?