All-purpose offseason moves thread

Papelbon's Poutine

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Not many GMs have been lucky enough to be in a franchise with such a high tolerance for mediocrity that they'll get 17 years for the privilege of making it to the first round of the playoffs. And to get promoted after finishing last to boot, I'd love a job like that.
Making the playoffs 8/17 is pretty far from mediocrity. Can any other GM other than Cashman make that claim? He's had some down years, as all do; made some bad trades, as all do; done head scratching things, as all do. But the "overrated" moniker doesn't really apply. Just because someone wrote a book about him and claimed he was a genius doesn't mean anyone rational ever really thought that was true.
 

Papelbon's Poutine

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I read moondog as being satisfied with the A's results.
OK, I guess I didn't read him as saying he'd prefer the A's track record with Beane to the Sox, simply using the comparison in wins as a frame of reference for how successful they've been. But I could see how that point could be made.

I certainly think we could all agree we'd rather have the rings. But the playoffs have shown to be a bit of a crapshoot and the stated goal of even the FO that got us the three rings was always "make the playoffs" and then let the cards play out. If that's the goal (and you may certainly disagree), batting nearly .500 over 17 years makes for a pretty nice resume. Previous to 2004 I think most here would have been happy with that for the Red Sox (if not completely satisfied). Bt I'll stop derailing the thread.
 

E5 Yaz

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The Blue Jays have announced the signing of lefty J.A. Happ to a three-year, $36MM contract.

Happ really pitched well for the Pirates, but $12M a year through his mid-30s seems like a hope
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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The Blue Jays have announced the signing of lefty J.A. Happ to a three-year, $36MM contract.

Happ really pitched well for the Pirates, but $12M a year through his mid-30s seems like a hope
We're in a world where a 36-year-old gets a one year, $6M deal based on four great starts in September. $12M per for 3 years to a 33 year old who had a hot 10 start stretch seems to fit.
 

Oppo

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Another example of why you should teach your son to throw left handed
 

E5 Yaz

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@jonmorosi: #Tigers in discussions with Jordan Zimmermann, sources tell @ken_rosenthal and me, with multiple people saying talks have become serious.
Makes sense ... some stories have suggested he wanted to play closer to the Midwest. He's from Milwaukee
 

Papelbon's Poutine

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We're in a world where a 36-year-old gets a one year, $6M deal based on four great starts in September. $12M per for 3 years to a 33 year old who had a hot 10 start stretch seems to fit.
I don't necessarily think it's such a perfect comp, but I agree with your overall point. I think people should start wrapping their heads around what a dollar will buy these days. Not every GM is making a stupid signing. They're forced by market factors. And their options are limited. With revenue at an all time high, teams have money to burn. That bubble might certainly bust, but in the meantime, options as a fan are either complaining about overpaying or complaining that they are pocketing money and not trying to improve the team.
 

jon abbey

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Tokyo Sox

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A few moves from Japan to MLB that are not 100%, but seem likely:

- RHP Kenta Maeda will be posted by the Hiroshima Carp. He tried to come last year but the team said no; this year they've apparently acquiesced, which makes sense because after next year he can leave and they'd get nothing. He should command the max posting fee of USD 20mm. Mae-ken, as he's known, has been heavily scouted over the past few years by the Sox, Diamondbacks, and Dodgers, among others. He's probably closer to Iwakuma than Ma-kun in terms of stuff, but obviously still very legit. He'll be 28 in April.
- Yakult Swallows closer Tony Barnette will also be posted, but for USD 500k which seems fair. He's 32 and has had a mixed career in Japan, though he had a 1.29 ERA this year and tied for the league lead in Saves.
- Fukuoka Softbank Hawks 3B Nobuhiro Matsuda says he's going to try his hand in the Majors as a free agent. He's also 32 and still has some pop left, having hit .287/.357/.533 with 35 HR this year. He did strike out 135 times vs 60 walks though. And also 23 of his 35 HR came at home in Fukuoka, where they moved the fences in this year. So who knows.
 

geoduck no quahog

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So, what's the current market for Greinke and Cueto?

Dodgers
Giants
Cardinals
Cubs
Other?

Cueto had better hope that Greinke doesn't sign with the Dodgers this week because that takes the two deep pocket spenders (Red Sox and LA) out of the game. He needs the type of competition that got Price his money.

Cueto will score, but will the Giants or the Cardinals give him 7 years at 25-30 million? For some reason I think the last guy standing doesn't cash in as much as expected.
 

Wingack

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So, what's the current market for Greinke and Cueto?

Dodgers
Giants
Cardinals
Cubs
Other?

Cueto had better hope that Greinke doesn't sign with the Dodgers this week because that takes the two deep pocket spenders (Red Sox and LA) out of the game. He needs the type of competition that got Price his money.

Cueto will score, but will the Giants or the Cardinals give him 7 years at 25-30 million? For some reason I think the last guy standing doesn't cash in as much as expected.
I am going to go with a darkhorse candidate for Cueto. The Orioles.
 

YTF

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So, what's the current market for Greinke and Cueto?

Dodgers
Giants
Cardinals
Cubs
Other?

Cueto had better hope that Greinke doesn't sign with the Dodgers this week because that takes the two deep pocket spenders (Red Sox and LA) out of the game. He needs the type of competition that got Price his money.

Cueto will score, but will the Giants or the Cardinals give him 7 years at 25-30 million? For some reason I think the last guy standing doesn't cash in as much as expected.

With Greinke said to be signing before the Winter Meetings I'm interested to see how this affects Cueto. Like you said, last man standing and I think last season's performance in Kansas City is going to take a bit of the luster away from what could have been him sitting in the driver's seat looking at what Price, Greinke and Zimmerman are getting. Another interesting side to these signings has me wondering if teams who had hoped to be in on "the big three" will be willing to dig deeper into their farm systems for the likes of Chris Sale and Sonny Gray rather than give Cueto the dollars and years he seems to be looking for.
 

DanoooME

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A's deal LHP Drew Pomeranz, ml LHP Jose Torres and a PTBNL to the Padres for 1B Yonder Alonso and LHP Mark Rzepczynski

Probably means Ike Daivs is getting non-tendered. Pomeranz gets a shot at the Pads' rotation.
 

glennhoffmania

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So, what's the current market for Greinke and Cueto?

Dodgers
Giants
Cardinals
Cubs
Other?

Cueto had better hope that Greinke doesn't sign with the Dodgers this week because that takes the two deep pocket spenders (Red Sox and LA) out of the game. He needs the type of competition that got Price his money.

Cueto will score, but will the Giants or the Cardinals give him 7 years at 25-30 million? For some reason I think the last guy standing doesn't cash in as much as expected.
Heyman says Greinke is down to SF or LA for 5/160 or so.
 

MakMan44

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A's deal LHP Drew Pomeranz, ml LHP Jose Torres and a PTBNL to the Padres for 1B Yonder Alonso and LHP Mark Rzepczynski

Probably means Ike Daivs is getting non-tendered. Pomeranz gets a shot at the Pads' rotation.
I don't understand this deal. Wasn't Pomeranz pretty good for the A's last season? Alonso has never been all that impressive and going off the top of my head, I'm fairly certain he SLG'd under .400 last season.
 

Tokyo Sox

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It's a formality but Kenta Maeda's posting has officially been approved by the team. Article in Japanese. They haven't decided the fee yet but consensus is that it will be the 20mil max.
 

nattysez

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That is a killer move for the Cubs. They weaken the Cards, add a Lester buddy and make their rotation really formidable with an Arrieta-Lester-Lackey top 3. They still need a CF, although they are apparently going to have Javier Baez start practicing out there this winter.
 

LuckyBen

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That is a killer move for the Cubs. They weaken the Cards, add a Lester buddy and make their rotation really formidable with an Arrieta-Lester-Lackey top 3. They still need a CF, although they are apparently going to have Javier Baez start practicing out there this winter.
2/32 is a good bit of money for a 38 year old. Can't blame the Cards for not matching.
 

Minneapolis Millers

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2/32 is a good bit of money for a 38 year old. Can't blame the Cards for not matching.
Yes, but he was healthy and good last year, so... At those dollars/years, it's all a question of does the puzzle piece fit. St. Louis might be looking for a longer term building block. For the Cubs, this makes a ton of sense, especially if Shark is really going to get 5-6 years at $18M+ per. Cubbies don't need to pay that for a good #3...
 

edoug

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Astros to get Giles for McCullers and Singleton according to Evan DreIIich.
 
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moondog80

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Astros to get Giles for McCullers and Singleton according to Evan DreIIich.

Singleton seems like a bust but wow, 5 years of McCullers is a nice get. Way better than Margot.
 

MakMan44

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That is a killer move for the Cubs. They weaken the Cards, add a Lester buddy and make their rotation really formidable with an Arrieta-Lester-Lackey top 3. They still need a CF, although they are apparently going to have Javier Baez start practicing out there this winter.
Wait, what?
 

nattysez

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Wait, what?
The Chicago Cubs will workJavier Baez in center field this winter, according to president of baseball operations Theo Epstein.

“It makes sense to do it at a moment in time when we have a bit of a hole in center field,” Epstein said Friday afternoon. “It makes sense to see what Javy looks like out there. We’re going to work with him a little more to see what he looks like in games.”
http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/id/35961/javier-baez-to-play-centerfield-this-winter
 

Snodgrass'Muff

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Chris Antonetti was on Sirius XM on my drive home tonight and was asked about trading one of his young starting pitchers. His response was that they weren't motivated, but that they'd listen to offers that would improve their chances of winning the World Series in 2016. That probably means the Sox aren't a match.