The 2018 Major League Baseball Player Chatter, News and Fantasy Thread.

[mr. leisure]

People with personal vendettas just waiting to nab some of these guys. It's pathetic. Some are rap lyrics. Who fukkin' cares???

It`s a very weird time we live now .

[hotcross]

I hope the Padres do not trade for Archer. He has talent and good stuff but doesn't win games.

it's been suggested that some players like Archer can only get motivated to play their best, in situations where they can win for a real contender.

I do agree this happens, because you figure with the amount of money they already make, what makes them motivated to go out and bust their azz every day.

It shouldn't happen but seems like very few players able to maintain that high level of effort and desire to be a champion.

[JMobile]

Giants might be trading McCutchen.

[yisman]

Osuna was traded to Houston.

Lynn to the Yankees.

Duke to Seattle.

[Cross]

You guys think Nationals will be sellers?

[yisman]

Duvall to Atlanta
Kinsler to Boston

and some other deals

[batt33]

Looks like tommy john surgery for Giants pitcher johnny cueto

[EmpireMaker]

• The Red Sox and Braves have each at least held talks with the Rangers on third baseman Adrian Beltre, per Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston and Morosi. It’s not at all clear, though, that either club is going to push hard enough to get Texas to move the veteran. Indeed, talks with Atlanta may already have sputtered, MLB.com’s TR Sullivan tweets. He adds that there is some indication the Red Sox aren’t actually all that inclined to go after Beltre, so much as the future Hall of Famer likes the idea of going back to Boston, and Rob Bradford of WEEI.com hears there’s not much of a connection between the clubs (Twitter link). In addition to other hurdles, Beltre’s no-trade rights present an obstacle. ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick notes on Twitter that Beltre may not wish to go somewhere if he isn’t going to receive regular playing time. In any event, to this point, Beltre has not been presented with any possible trades to consider, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets.
• When it comes to rental outfielders, there aren’t a huge number of appealing options. But there are certainly some veterans drawing interest. The Yankees and Phillies have put out feelers on Curtis Granderson of the Blue Jays, per Morosi (Twitter link). Granderson isn’t the only notable name on the Phils’ radar, as Heyman connects the organization to the Mets and Jose Bautista, via Twitter. Meanwhile, the Marlins are still dangling outfielder Cameron Maybin, per Jon Heyman of Fancred (via Twitter). Among the clubs that are at least considering him are the Indians, Yankees, and Mariners.
• Some of the most interesting potential trade candidates, of course, won’t end up going anywhere. Indications are that some top hurlers will stay at home. It does not appear that any rivals have made a real push to force the Mets to part with righty Jacob deGrom, per Jon Heyman of Fancred (on Twitter). Despite “some late action” on Noah Syndergaard, Andy Martino of SNY.tv tweets, it still seems there’s nothing brewing there. Meanwhile, the Orioles don’t appear to have been enthused with trade offers for top pitchers Kevin Gausman and Dylan Bundy (or their other controllable players), Heyman indicates in a tweet.
• The Pirates and Padres appear to have quite a lot to talk about, as Ken Rosenthal and Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic report (in a tweet) that the Pittsburgh organization has “aggressively pursued” pitching from San Diego. It’s not evident which hurler the Bucs are eyeing, though Rosenthal suggests that veteran Craig Stammen could be a sensible target. Stammen and Kirby Yates appear to be the likeliest remaining trade chips in the Padres’ pen, owing to their quality output and relatively short remaining control rights (one year and two years, respectively).
• While the present focus is on another member of the Rays pitching staff, reliever Sergio Romo is drawing quite a lot of looks, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). Romo is affordable ($2.5MM salary), battle-tested in October, and still capable of getting outs in the majors at 35 years of age. Romo’s swinging-strike rate is down to 12.6%, his lowest since 2009, but he’s carrying a 3.69 ERA through 46 1/3 innings on the season.
• If you’re looking for more reading, check out the latest column from Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com. He runs through a variety of situations, including the Giants’ in-between position, the Twins’ struggles to market Brian Dozier, and more. Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports also has quite a bit of chatter in his latest column, some of which we’ve already highlighted on the site. Among other items of interest, Passan checks in on the Brewers’ efforts to find a starter, suggesting they are a prime suitor for Zach Wheeler of the Mets.

[BigSpoon]

Even though the Jays got a bunch of meh for Osuna, I'm glad he's off the team.

[ApricotSinner32]

Redsox are the real deal?

[Chi_archie]

Even though the Jays got a bunch of meh for Osuna, I'm glad he's off the team.

addition by subtraction

[koz-man]

Red Sox make it official: They have acquired second baseman Ian Kinsler and cash considerations from the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for minor league pitchers Ty Buttrey and Williams Jerez.

[Otters27]

Redsox are the real deal?

Ya.but come playoff time it's a toss up in the AL

[mr. leisure]

Red Sox make it official: They have acquired second baseman Ian Kinsler and cash considerations from the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for minor league pitchers Ty Buttrey and Williams Jerez.

Nice , cheap pick-up for the Red Sox .

[yisman]

Pham to TB for three minor leaguers

very confusing

[El Nino]

Even though the Jays got a bunch of meh for Osuna, I'm glad he's off the team.

It will be interesting when the details of Osuna's arrest become public.

[yisman]

tons of trades happened already today

rumors of Dozier to LA

like the Dodgers need more players


Dodgers and Yankees are ridiculous

[JMobile]

tons of trades happened already today

rumors of Dozier to LA

like the Dodgers need more players


Dodgers and Yankees are ridiculous

Trade took place. Twins got Logan Forsythe. Looks like Forsythe wasn't getting it done.

[Cross]

Dodgers oozing w talent, damn.

[EmpireMaker]

The Marlins and Mariners have announce a deal that sends veteran outfielder Cameron Maybin to Seattle, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times tweets. Prospect Bryson Brigman and $250K of international pool money are heading to Miami in the deal, per reports from Divish, Jon Heyman of Fancred (via Twitter), and MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (via Twitter).

Maybin, 31, is earning just $3.25MM on the season under the one-year deal he inked over the winter. That makes him an affordable addition to the Seattle organization.
Though he struggled for much of the early portion of the season at the plate, Maybin has turned things on recently. Over the month of July, Maybin owns a .309/.427/.456 batting line with three home runs and five steals through 68 plate appearances. On the year, he’s producing at about 10% below the league-average rate, much as he did last year.
Of course, much of Maybin’s value is tied up in his legs and glove. He’s grading poorly on the basepaths this year, but that’s likely a blip for a player who was once an elite baserunner and has been quite good in the recent past. Maybin has performed well at all three outfield spots this year in Miami.
For the Mariners, this move adds another versatile piece to the outfield mix. The club added Denard Span a few months back, and he has performed quite well. Mitch Haniger has proven worthy of regular time and Ben Gamel has knocked around opposing righties. Maybin could ultimately displace Guillermo Heredia, who has stalled out at the plate, or join him to form a pair of right-handed options to go with the lefty-hitting Span and Gamel.

[BigSpoon]

Thinking Archer and Gausman will find it alot easier in the NL than the AL East.

[El Nino]

Thinking Archer and Gausman will find it alot easier in the NL than the AL East.

Archer was visibly excited to leave that dumpster fire in Tampa.

[BarkingToad]

25 runs for Washington Nationals last night

[Chi_archie]

25 runs for Washington Nationals last night

decent night at the park for the hitters

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Archer was visibly excited to leave that dumpster fire in Tampa.

Pitt is not much better than Tampa.

Pirates gave up way too much.

[Otters27]

Phillies not bad if they can get to the playoffs

[koz-man]

The Phillies acquired veteran catcher Wilson Ramos from the Rays, a nice little upgrade over Jorge Alfaro. Ramos is still out with hamstring tightness that forced him to miss the All-Star Game, but should be back in early August. With a .297/.346/.488 line, he should provide more offense than Alfaro, who is hitting .254/.305/.398.

[JMobile]

Dodgers oozing w talent, damn.

They are stacked again.

[ApricotSinner32]

Good luck tonight gentlemen.

[yisman]

Marlins braves postponed

I used three braves in dfs. There goes like 800 bucks. Should’ve known better.

[batt33]

25 runs for Washington Nationals last night

Thought it was a typo at first!

[EmpireMaker]

The Giants announced to reporters Wednesday evening that right-hander Johnny Cueto will undergo Tommy John surgery tomorrow (Twitter link via Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area). The procedure will end his 2018 season and cost him the majority of the 2019 campaign as well.
Cueto spent two months on the disabled list earlier this season due to an elbow strain but was able to return to the mound in early July. However, after working to a sub-1.00 ERA through the season’s first month, he allowed 16 runs in 21 innings before landing back on the disabled list. Manager Bruce Bochy acknowledged recently that Tommy John surgery was a definite possibility for Cueto, and today’s announcement confirms as much.
The loss of Cueto is a massive blow to the Giants’ 2018 hopes. They’re currently five games out of the lead in the NL West and 4.5 games back of the second Wild Card spot in the National League, though the loss of Cueto and ongoing injury issues with Jeff Samardzija will present them with even more of an uphill battle in their efforts to return to the top of the division.
Cueto, 33 in February, is in the third season of a six-year, $132MM contract after forgoing an opt-out clause after the deal’s second season. While he turned in a brilliant first season in San Francisco back in 2016, his 2017 was marred by injuries, and both the 2018 and 2019 seasons will now fall under that same category. He’ll hope for a return late in the 2019 campaign, though it’s possible that Cueto won’t be able to return to the Giants’ rotation until after his 35th birthday. He’s owed just under $75MM through the end of the 2021 season (including a $5MM buyout of a $22MM option for the 2022 season).
It’s not clear whether the worst-case outcome on Cueto’s elbow will motivate the Giants to subtract any veteran pieces over the course of the month. San Francisco’s front office has been candid about its desire to try to remain competitive on a yearly basis. Certainly, they’d have plenty of pieces who could be attractive to contending clubs if they fall any further out of the race. While the Giants aren’t going to be embarking on any type of full-scale tear down, shorter-term veterans like Sam Dyson, Will Smith, Nick Hundley and Derek Holland could draw interest from teams that are more firmly in the playoff hunt. It’s far from clear, though, that the Giants would make any of those players available later this month.

[Cross]

Hamels much better than former Cub Hamel as a starting pitcher so far!

[ApricotSinner32]

Do the brewers smack kershaw tommorow?

[koz-man]

The Nationals scored 20 fewer runs, but the result was still the same. A day after throttling the Mets by a score of 25-4, Washington won 5-3 over New York. The victory gives the Nats a sweep of the two-game series, their first sweep since taking a pair from Tampa Bay in early June.