The 2016 Major League Baseball Player Chatter, News and Fantasy Thread...

[MexicanStallion]

If only Brandon would have went to Washington. I love him, but I'm ready to turn the page and start basically fresh.

Reds manager Bryan Price said Sunday that there have been no recent trade discussions regarding Brandon Phillips and the club is preparing to enter the season with him entrenched as the starting second baseman.


That's bad news for Jose Peraza who is believed to be ready to handle a regular role at the big league level, but has no position to play with Phillips blocking his path. The 35-year-old Phillips has twice vetoed trades this offseason that would have sent him elsewhere, and it seems his desire is to remain in Cincinnati for the remaining two years on his contract.

[yisman]

dodgers should make the playoffs

good story

[Cross]

Dodgers gonna spend again, then choke in playoffs like usual.

[El Nino]

dodgers should make the playoffs

good story

Maybe Wild Card. Starting pitching downgraded, bullpen still a dumpster fire.

[EmpireMaker]

Dodgers gonna spend again, then choke in playoffs like usual.

Dodgers have been trying to be the new Yankees but they can't figure it out. They need to find pitching somewhere.

[Shortstop]

Vin Scully spills beans on final season

The announcer intends to finish his 67th season with the Dodgers with the season-ending three-game series at San Francisco. Staying in California in '16


The Dodgers' final three games are scheduled for Sept. 30 to Oct. 2 at AT&T Park.

Scully said he would be willing to call games on the radio if the Dodgers advance to the postseason, but reluctantly.

"When you get to the playoffs, you are allowed to do radio. We can't do any television, and I always feel funny when we do have the playoffs because Rick [Monday] and Charley [Steiner] do such a great job all year on radio and I feel that it's unfair that I go in and do six of the nine innings," Scully said.

"But maybe, because it is the last year, I would go in and do the playoffs. But I don't think I would do the World Series. I think folks would say thank you and goodbye."

Wow! How emotional will it be for him and everyone else as he's calling the last play of the game...

How fitting would it be, if it is a game winning hit for the Dodgers...

[Chi_archie]

Dodger games with out Scully will be weird

[koz-man]

If only Brandon would have went to Washington. I love him, but I'm ready to turn the page and start basically fresh.

Reds manager Bryan Price said Sunday that there have been no recent trade discussions regarding Brandon Phillips and the club is preparing to enter the season with him entrenched as the starting second baseman.


That's bad news for Jose Peraza who is believed to be ready to handle a regular role at the big league level, but has no position to play with Phillips blocking his path. The 35-year-old Phillips has twice vetoed trades this offseason that would have sent him elsewhere, and it seems his desire is to remain in Cincinnati for the remaining two years on his contract.

As a Reds fan I was also hoping he would find a new home.

[yisman]

Maybe Wild Card. Starting pitching downgraded, bullpen still a dumpster fire.

every year they underachieve

so much talent last few seasons

[BigSpoon]

Greg Bird is out for the 2016 season with a torn labrum, tough blow for the Yankees.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/14691950/new-york-yankees-1b-greg-bird-suffers-shoulder-injury-miss-season

[Shortstop]

dodgers should make the playoffs

good story

Maybe Wild Card. Starting pitching downgraded, bullpen still a dumpster fire.

Dodger games with out Scully will be weird

every year they underachieve

so much talent last few seasons

I am a Dodgers fan this year!

[Shortstop]

Can't believe I just typed that!

[Andy117]

I am a Dodgers fan this year!

You can enjoy listening to Vin Scully and still hope the Dodgers lose.

[El Nino]

You can enjoy listening to Vin Scully and still hope the Dodgers lose.

[EmpireMaker]

2015-2016 FA Signings

There’s certainly still some work left to be done in the free agent market, so it’s too soon for any grand pronouncements, but the vast majority of the money has probably already been spent. It’s long been clear that this year would include a record overall spend, and that has indeed occurred. (2013-14 had the previous high of just over $2B.) And it seems we’ll likely end up with another new high point in terms of average annual value, though awarding that crown will need to await a final tally.
For now, we’ll focus primarily on spending by team. With Ian Desmond, Dexter Fowler, Yovani Gallardo, David Freese, Austin Jackson, Tyler Clippard, Mat Latos, and Justin Morneau still yet to be taken off of MLBTR’s top fifty free agent board — to say nothing of the many other viable as-yet-unsigned players — there’s definitely more cash to be distributed.
So, the list could well change quite a bit, and that may be something to revisit. But it’s still interesting to take a peak. We did this last year, and the year prior, and some spending patterns have changed. There are obvious reasons for that, of course, which in many cases reflect roster realities and opportunities more than overarching strategies. But the cases of some teams — the Yankees and Mariners, for example — are rather dramatic.

There are several observations apparent from these figures, and others which are buried in the underlying data. The Dodgers, of course, have spread a good bit of money over many players and years. Organizations like the Cubs (Jason Heyward, Ben Zobrist, and John Lackey), Tigers (Justin Upton & Jordan Zimmermann), Giants (Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija, and Denard Span) racked up significant tallies with multiple large contracts. Other clubs’ major splashes are hidden somewhat by multiple, less significant signings, as with the Orioles (Chris Davis), Marlins (Wei-Yin Chen), and Cardinals (Mike Leake). The Rangers and Angels are traditional big spenders, and current contenders, who have been quiet in free agency. And the Diamondbacks’ one big open-market splash — Zack Greinke — remains a sight to behold.
Note that the above figures include the signings and posting fees for Kenta Maeda (Dodgers) and Byung-ho Park (Twins), neither of whom was technically a free agent. The contract between Cuban free agent Yaisel Sierra and the Dodgers is not included, as its precise value remains unreported, though it is said to be in the range of $30MM over six years. (That would, of course, only further drive home that organization’s wide spread of free agent spending.) MLB deals with unreported guarantees are presumptively treated as league-minimum.

[cala56]

The same dodgers that are zack-less?

[koz-man]

Top 5 Hall of Fame classes

The inaugural Hall of Fame class was announced 80 years ago today, and that class of Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson might be the best class ever.

1. 1936 (Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson)

2. 1972 (Yogi Berra, Sandy Koufax, Early Wynn, Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard, Lefty Gomez, Ross Youngs, Will Harridge)


3. 2015 (Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz, Craig Biggio)


4. 2014 (Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Frank Thomas, Joe Torre, Bobby Cox, Tony La Russa)

5. 1947 (Lefty Grove, Carl Hubbell, Frankie Frisch, Mickey Cochrane)

[Chi_archie]

Top 5 Hall of Fame classes

The inaugural Hall of Fame class was announced 80 years ago today, and that class of Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson might be the best class ever.

1. 1936 (Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson)

2. 1972 (Yogi Berra, Sandy Koufax, Early Wynn, Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard, Lefty Gomez, Ross Youngs, Will Harridge)


3. 2015 (Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz, Craig Biggio)


4. 2014 (Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Frank Thomas, Joe Torre, Bobby Cox, Tony La Russa)

5. 1947 (Lefty Grove, Carl Hubbell, Frankie Frisch, Mickey Cochrane)

yeah hard to beat that first class, but they had an advantage of having a pool of all the players who had ever played and been retired all at once

[Shortstop]

You can enjoy listening to Vin Scully and still hope the Dodgers lose.

Haha! Yeah, I know...

This guy will never stop rooting in the Black & Gold!

[yisman]

I am a Dodgers fan this year!

I hope they do well for Vin .

[EmpireMaker]

Blue Jays To Acquire Darrell Ceciliani

By Jeff Todd | February 2, 2016 at 1:35pm CST
The Blue Jays acquired outfielder Darrell Ceciliani from the Mets, as Chris Cotillo of SB Nation first tweeted. Toronto will send a player to be named later in the deal, per a team announcement, though New York calls it a cash deal in its own release.
The 25-year-old had been designated for assignment to clear roster space for Yoenis Cespedes. He’ll provide another outfield option for Toronto, which sacrificed some depth when it shipped Ben Revere to the Nationals for reliever Drew Storen. A left-handed hitter, Ceciliani did reach the bigs last year for New York but accrued only minimal major league experience.
It remains to be seen what the youngster can do with a full opportunity, but he’s shown some promise. He logged an impressive .345/.398/.581 slash and contributed nine home runs and 16 steals in his 255 plate appearances at Triple-A last year, and has generally swung the bat well during his time on the farm.
Notably, too, Ceciliani drew strong ratings from defensive metrics in his short, 129-inning run in the majors last year. He can be deployed all across the outfield, too, adding to his versatility.


I don't understand why the Mets got rid of this kid, they really aren't very deep in the outfield.

[BigSpoon]

Blue Jays To Acquire Darrell Ceciliani

By Jeff Todd | February 2, 2016 at 1:35pm CST
The Blue Jays acquired outfielder Darrell Ceciliani from the Mets, as Chris Cotillo of SB Nation first tweeted. Toronto will send a player to be named later in the deal, per a team announcement, though New York calls it a cash deal in its own release.
The 25-year-old had been designated for assignment to clear roster space for Yoenis Cespedes. He’ll provide another outfield option for Toronto, which sacrificed some depth when it shipped Ben Revere to the Nationals for reliever Drew Storen. A left-handed hitter, Ceciliani did reach the bigs last year for New York but accrued only minimal major league experience.
It remains to be seen what the youngster can do with a full opportunity, but he’s shown some promise. He logged an impressive .345/.398/.581 slash and contributed nine home runs and 16 steals in his 255 plate appearances at Triple-A last year, and has generally swung the bat well during his time on the farm.
Notably, too, Ceciliani drew strong ratings from defensive metrics in his short, 129-inning run in the majors last year. He can be deployed all across the outfield, too, adding to his versatility.


I don't understand why the Mets got rid of this kid, they really aren't very deep in the outfield.

Would be nice if the Blue Jays 'won' a trade with the Mets for once.

[koz-man]

Haha! Yeah, I know...

This guy will never stop rooting in the Black & Gold!

Really the STEELERS !???!!!


jk lol

[Chi_archie]

Blue Jays To Acquire Darrell Ceciliani

By Jeff Todd | February 2, 2016 at 1:35pm CST
The Blue Jays acquired outfielder Darrell Ceciliani from the Mets, as Chris Cotillo of SB Nation first tweeted. Toronto will send a player to be named later in the deal, per a team announcement, though New York calls it a cash deal in its own release.
The 25-year-old had been designated for assignment to clear roster space for Yoenis Cespedes. He’ll provide another outfield option for Toronto, which sacrificed some depth when it shipped Ben Revere to the Nationals for reliever Drew Storen. A left-handed hitter, Ceciliani did reach the bigs last year for New York but accrued only minimal major league experience.
It remains to be seen what the youngster can do with a full opportunity, but he’s shown some promise. He logged an impressive .345/.398/.581 slash and contributed nine home runs and 16 steals in his 255 plate appearances at Triple-A last year, and has generally swung the bat well during his time on the farm.
Notably, too, Ceciliani drew strong ratings from defensive metrics in his short, 129-inning run in the majors last year. He can be deployed all across the outfield, too, adding to his versatility.


I don't understand why the Mets got rid of this kid, they really aren't very deep in the outfield.

see how it turns out

[Cross]

I think no post season for the J's this year.

[oiler]

well hopefully the cubs will finally make it to playoffs.

[EmpireMaker]

Mariners Sign Dae-ho Lee

By Jeff Todd | February 3, 2016 at 11:56am CST
12:18pm: The Mariners have announced the minor league signing.
11:56am: The deal is done, with a physical already completed and an announcement expected in short order, according to Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times.
10:51am: Korean first baseman Dae-ho Lee has long been rumored to be negotiating with MLB clubs, and it appears that a deal could be in the works with the Mariners. A report from Korean baseball analyst Michael Min (Korean language link) says that Lee is in agreement on a one-year contract with Seattle that could pay him up to $4MM. (Jee-ho Yoo of Yonhap conveys the information in English.)
If something gets finalized, though, it may only be a minor league pact, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune suggests (Twitter links). In that scenario, Lee would presumably need to crack the MLB roster out of camp and reach some incentives to maximize the available earnings.
Lee, 33, declined a player option with Japan’s Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in order to become a free agent and pursue an MLB opportunity. He is said to have been weighing offers from several MLB teams as well as his former employers in Nippon Professional Baseball. Because he is a true free agent with advanced professional experience, there is no posting fee or international spending cap involved in the deal.
After establishing himself in the Korea Baseball Organization, where he starred for the beter part of a decade, Lee moved to Japan for the start of the 2012 campaign. He’s been a steady producer there, generally mixing good on-base ability with a low strikeout rate and solid power. Last year, though, he took things to a new level, hitting 31 home runs and slashing .282/.364/.524 over 584 plate appearances.
It’s important to bear in mind, when weighing Lee’s numbers overseas against those carried by fellow Korean crossovers Jung Ho Kang and Byung-ho Park, that the NPB doesn’t feature the kind of unusually inflated batting lines found in the hitter-friendly KBO. Lee’s ..892 OPS last season was the fourth-best mark in the league. In fact, only eleven players reached the .800 threshold — including familiar names such as Wily Mo Pena, Cuban star Alfredo Despaigne, and Lee’s former teammate Nobuhiro Matsuda, who flirted with his own MLB bid this winter.
Ultimately, Lee is a hard player to peg, but obviously has shown enough with the bat to intrigue. He’s quite sizable and seems unlikely to see the field without a first baseman’s mitt, if he does more than DH. MLBTR’s Zach Links (Twitter link) recently asked a Korean scout for a comp for the veteran slugger. “Maybe Carlos Lee minus some power,” he was told. “It’s tough. He is not typical, that’s for sure.”
For Seattle, that skillset would seem to put the Korean star on track to pair up with Adam Lind in a first base platoon. He could also see time in the DH slot when Nelson Cruz slots in at right field. Regardless, the fit is clear, and Lee would figure to receive a fair number of plate appearances in part-time duty.
Notably, that role had seemed destined to go to former top prospect Jesus Montero, with former big leaguer Gaby Sanchez providing competition in camp. Instead, it seems, Montero may need to compete with Lee to earn his way onto the active roster and remain a significant part of the organization’s plans moving forward.

[Shortstop]

Really the STEELERS !???!!!


jk lol

[Shortstop]

Top 5 Hall of Fame classes

The inaugural Hall of Fame class was announced 80 years ago today, and that class of Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson might be the best class ever.

1. 1936 (Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson)

2. 1972 (Yogi Berra, Sandy Koufax, Early Wynn, Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard, Lefty Gomez, Ross Youngs, Will Harridge)


3. 2015 (Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz, Craig Biggio)


4. 2014 (Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Frank Thomas, Joe Torre, Bobby Cox, Tony La Russa)

5. 1947 (Lefty Grove, Carl Hubbell, Frankie Frisch, Mickey Cochrane)

yeah hard to beat that first class, but they had an advantage of having a pool of all the players who had ever played and been retired all at once

Yeah, no class will come close to matching the group inducted back in 1936...

[El Nino]

Dbacks were able to off load Hill & his bad contract. LaRussa doing great things already. Segura has a whip, he needs to hit better though. Dbacks may have the best defense in the NL.

[yisman]

that was the first hall of fame class,of course nothing can match that

they hand-picked the players out of everyone

today we only have guys not inducted yet

[Shortstop]

well hopefully the cubs will finally make it to playoffs.

I respectfully disagree.

I hope the Cubs never see postseason baseball ever again!

[Cross]

I can't wait to see the Cubs own the Bucs and Cards for years to come.

[Andy117]

well hopefully the cubs will finally make it to playoffs.

They kinda did last year.

[EmpireMaker]

Braves Among Nine Teams With Interest In Lazarito

By Jeff Todd | February 3, 2016 at 2:55pm CST
TODAY, 2:50pm: Lazarito and his agents are willing to consider offers that would involve waiting until the next signing period to sign, Sanchez tweets. Certainly, that would appear to open up his potential market to more teams and explain the involvement of so many organizations as he nears a decision.
1:10pm: There are nine total teams “heavily involved” in pursuit of Lazarito, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). It’s still unclear precisely which teams are pursuing him beyond the Braves, though the clubs already in the max penalty are certainly a good place to start.
Of course, it’s also not yet entirely apparent what kind of cash outlay and signing timing those unnamed teams would be willing to offer. Paying a significant bonus and tax bill while taking on a two-year signing ban is a big ask at this stage of the year, with camp approaching and the next year’s July 2 prospect period already having developed quite a bit.
YESTERDAY: The Braves are among the teams expected to make a strong push for young Cuban prospect Lazaro Armenteros — better known as Lazarito — according to a report from MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez. He’ll be eligible to sign on February 10 after being declared a free agent by the league, and Atlanta will see him at a private workout on Saturday.
At just 16 years of age, Lazarito is subject to international signing restrictions. Though he is a raw talent, Sanchez says he’s expected to command a bonus in the range of $15MM to $20MM, if not more.
Clearly, anything close to that would push Atlanta (or any other team) well over its bonus allotment if the signing were to be completed in this July 2 period. Such a move would trigger a two-year ban on $300K+ international signings and a 100% tax on overages.
With the Braves reportedly lining up a massive spend on the signing season set to begin this summer — much-hyped Venezuelan Kevin Maitan is rumored to be the crown jewel — the club would have to do some maneuvering to get things done. Signing Lazarito now would mean punting on the opportunity to add multiple players in the July 2 session to come, though of course it could pursue other additions in this year’s period as numerous Cuban prospects filter into the free agent pool. Alternatively, Atlanta could attempt to convince the prospect and his representatives to hold off on officially striking a deal until the summer, thus rolling the signing into its future international class.
There are other teams involved, Sanchez suggests, though it isn’t clear who else is in pursuit. As he notes, the Dodgers, Giants, Cubs, and Royals stand to begin their own restricted stretches in a few months’ time. Having already triggered the maximum penalties, they could all strike without issue (beyond coughing up the bonus and tax). Only the Angels, Diamondbacks, Rays, Red Sox, and Yankees are frozen out of the market, by virtue of prior budget-busting outlays. The rest of the league would find itself in the same situation as Atlanta — able to spend, if they are willing to sit out the next two signing periods.