The 2021 Major League Baseball Player Chatter, News and Fantasy Thread

[Stallion]

Go Braves!

[JMobile]

I think most of America is rooting for the Braves against the cheaters.

Now I'm going for the Astros babay.

Astros lineup is stacked

[JAKEPEAVY21]

I think most of America is rooting for the Braves against the cheaters.

[Otters27]

What were Braves pre season odds for the WS

[jrgum3]

I’ll be rooting for Frederick Freeman.

Freddie is one of the good guys in baseball very easy to like so I think it would be cool to see him win a ring. Plus I seem to get him a lot in fantasy baseball because that man can flat out rake and is one of my favorite hitters in the game.

[EmpireMaker]

The collective bargaining agreement expires on December 1st, and it’s unclear whether its rules for draft pick compensation will remain in place for the 2021-22 offseason, whenever teams eventually sign free agents. It’s at least possible that the current rules will be used once more. We know that the qualifying offer is set at $18.4MM this winter, and by mid-November we’ll know which players received and turned down a QO. If those players sign with new teams, here’s a look at the draft picks each signing club would lose – if the old rules are used.
Competitive Balance Tax Payors: Dodgers, Padres
If either of these teams signs a qualified free agent from another team, it must forfeit its second-highest and fifth-highest pick in the 2022 draft. The team will also have its international signing bonus pool reduced by $1MM. Both teams could plausibly sign a qualified free agent, though the Dodgers have significantly more payroll space.
Revenue Sharing Recipients: Brewers, Diamondbacks, Guardians, Marlins, Mariners, Orioles, Pirates, Rays, Reds, Rockies, Royals, Tigers, Twins
These 13 teams received revenue sharing and did not exceed the competitive balance tax. If one of these teams signs a qualified free agent, it forfeits its third-highest pick. These teams face the smallest draft pick penalty. Of this group, the Mariners and Tigers seem to be the most likely to sign a qualified free agent, but others like the Twins and Marlins are possible.
All Other Teams: Angels, Astros, Athletics, Blue Jays, Braves, Cardinals, Cubs, Giants, Mets, Nationals, Phillies, Rangers, Red Sox, White Sox, Yankees
These 15 remaining teams would forfeit their second-highest pick and and have their international signing bonus pool reduced by $500K. The penalty is something of a middle ground. The Mets are of particular note: due to their failure to sign Kumar Rocker, they pick at both #11 and #14 in 2022, making that #14 pick subject to forfeiture.
What happens if a team signs two qualified free agents? The CBA calls for forfeiture of the next highest available draft pick. For example, if a team has already lost its second and fifth-highest picks and it signs a second qualified free agent, it would lose its third and sixth-highest picks. So as in the past, if you’ve already signed one qualified free agent, the draft pick cost to sign another is reduced.

[Stallion]

Any props you guys are betting for the world series??

[JMobile]

This offseason should be interesting for the Dodgers. Lots of them are free agents. Gonna be expensive to keep them all

[Chi_archie]

Astros right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. hasn’t pitched since Game 4 of the ALDS, and it looks like his forearm injury will end his season. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports that McCullers won’t be available for the World Series, so Houston will now have to try and win its second consecutive postseason matchup without one of its best hurlers.
Astros GM James Click didn’t rule McCullers out when speaking to reporters (including The Houston Chronicle’s Danielle Lerner) earlier today, noting that roster decisions didn’t need to made until Tuesday morning, “and we’re going to take every minute we can just to see how he’s responding. We’re not taking anything off the table….It’s obviously something that I know Lance wants to be out there if he can, so we will talk to the doctors and him and the trainers and figure it out from there.”
However, as open-minded as Click was about McCullers’ chances, Heyman’s report essentially formalizes what has seemed increasingly evident over the last few days. McCullers has yet to so much as throw since suffering his injury, a strain of his flexor pronator muscle. While the muscle injury itself doesn’t present any serious long-term issue, McCullers has already undergone Tommy John surgery (costing him the entire 2019 season), and obviously the Astros aren’t going to take any unnecessary risks with his health.
That TJ rehab cost McCullers a chance to participate in the 2019 World Series, and it’s quite possible that with a healthy McCullers in the fold, Houston would’ve been able to bring home another championship. The righty has quietly been a very solid arm during the Astros’ postseason runs, with a 2.83 ERA over 57 1/3 innings as a starter and a reliever in the playoffs. This year alone, McCullers allowed just one earned run in 10 2/3 frames against the White Sox in the ALDS, starting Games 1 and 4.
Framber Valdez was announced as Houston’s starter for Tuesday’s Game 1 against the Braves. As we saw in the ALCS against the Red Sox, the Astros will take a flexible approach to their pitching plans, so no other starters have been officially slated for the other World Series games. On paper, it would seem like the Astros would line up Luis Garcia in Game 2, Jose Urquidy in Game 3, and then Zack Greinke for perhaps only a few innings to begin Game 4, with Cristian Javier and Jake Odorizzi on hand to provide innings as long men out of the bullpen.

looking for some odd props

[jrgum3]

Astros right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. hasn’t pitched since Game 4 of the ALDS, and it looks like his forearm injury will end his season. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports that McCullers won’t be available for the World Series, so Houston will now have to try and win its second consecutive postseason matchup without one of its best hurlers.
Astros GM James Click didn’t rule McCullers out when speaking to reporters (including The Houston Chronicle’s Danielle Lerner) earlier today, noting that roster decisions didn’t need to made until Tuesday morning, “and we’re going to take every minute we can just to see how he’s responding. We’re not taking anything off the table….It’s obviously something that I know Lance wants to be out there if he can, so we will talk to the doctors and him and the trainers and figure it out from there.”
However, as open-minded as Click was about McCullers’ chances, Heyman’s report essentially formalizes what has seemed increasingly evident over the last few days. McCullers has yet to so much as throw since suffering his injury, a strain of his flexor pronator muscle. While the muscle injury itself doesn’t present any serious long-term issue, McCullers has already undergone Tommy John surgery (costing him the entire 2019 season), and obviously the Astros aren’t going to take any unnecessary risks with his health.
That TJ rehab cost McCullers a chance to participate in the 2019 World Series, and it’s quite possible that with a healthy McCullers in the fold, Houston would’ve been able to bring home another championship. The righty has quietly been a very solid arm during the Astros’ postseason runs, with a 2.83 ERA over 57 1/3 innings as a starter and a reliever in the playoffs. This year alone, McCullers allowed just one earned run in 10 2/3 frames against the White Sox in the ALDS, starting Games 1 and 4.
Framber Valdez was announced as Houston’s starter for Tuesday’s Game 1 against the Braves. As we saw in the ALCS against the Red Sox, the Astros will take a flexible approach to their pitching plans, so no other starters have been officially slated for the other World Series games. On paper, it would seem like the Astros would line up Luis Garcia in Game 2, Jose Urquidy in Game 3, and then Zack Greinke for perhaps only a few innings to begin Game 4, with Cristian Javier and Jake Odorizzi on hand to provide innings as long men out of the bullpen.

I think the pitching favors the Braves but I'd have to give the Astros a slight edge when it comes to the offense. We'll see if good pitching beats good hitting as the saying goes.

[EmpireMaker]

Astros right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. hasn’t pitched since Game 4 of the ALDS, and it looks like his forearm injury will end his season. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports that McCullers won’t be available for the World Series, so Houston will now have to try and win its second consecutive postseason matchup without one of its best hurlers.
Astros GM James Click didn’t rule McCullers out when speaking to reporters (including The Houston Chronicle’s Danielle Lerner) earlier today, noting that roster decisions didn’t need to made until Tuesday morning, “and we’re going to take every minute we can just to see how he’s responding. We’re not taking anything off the table….It’s obviously something that I know Lance wants to be out there if he can, so we will talk to the doctors and him and the trainers and figure it out from there.”
However, as open-minded as Click was about McCullers’ chances, Heyman’s report essentially formalizes what has seemed increasingly evident over the last few days. McCullers has yet to so much as throw since suffering his injury, a strain of his flexor pronator muscle. While the muscle injury itself doesn’t present any serious long-term issue, McCullers has already undergone Tommy John surgery (costing him the entire 2019 season), and obviously the Astros aren’t going to take any unnecessary risks with his health.
That TJ rehab cost McCullers a chance to participate in the 2019 World Series, and it’s quite possible that with a healthy McCullers in the fold, Houston would’ve been able to bring home another championship. The righty has quietly been a very solid arm during the Astros’ postseason runs, with a 2.83 ERA over 57 1/3 innings as a starter and a reliever in the playoffs. This year alone, McCullers allowed just one earned run in 10 2/3 frames against the White Sox in the ALDS, starting Games 1 and 4.
Framber Valdez was announced as Houston’s starter for Tuesday’s Game 1 against the Braves. As we saw in the ALCS against the Red Sox, the Astros will take a flexible approach to their pitching plans, so no other starters have been officially slated for the other World Series games. On paper, it would seem like the Astros would line up Luis Garcia in Game 2, Jose Urquidy in Game 3, and then Zack Greinke for perhaps only a few innings to begin Game 4, with Cristian Javier and Jake Odorizzi on hand to provide innings as long men out of the bullpen.

[Cross]

I’ll be rooting for Frederick Freeman.

[JMobile]

Very happy they lost! I slept well last night.

Lol.
I'm going for the Astros now

[Chi_archie]

anyone for WS MVP props?

[JAKEPEAVY21]

I had the Dodgers (series) in a two team parlay.
I actually paid the book with a smile on my face AND bought him breakfast too.

I took the Dodgers last night in an open parlay that already had a few legs down.

I didn't mind losing that one!

[Stallion]

I think Houston beats Atlanta.

[stevenash]

Very happy they lost! I slept well last night.

I had the Dodgers (series) in a two team parlay.
I actually paid the book with a smile on my face AND bought him breakfast too.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

See ya Dodgers, better spend some more money.

Very happy they lost! I slept well last night.

[jrgum3]

I hear you.
Guess I'm a Braves fan for a couple of weeks.
I ain't doing no tomahawk chop though.

The Braves are easy to root for but I still won't be mad if Dusty Baker wins it all. At least it ain't the Dodgers which I think most of us can agree is a good thing.

[Cross]

See ya Dodgers, better spend some more money.

[EmpireMaker]

One of the biggest decisions for the Cardinals this winter is how to handle the shortstop position. That hasn’t been the case in a while. Paul DeJong had a great rookie season in 2017, and he’s been the Cards’ Opening Day shortstop for each of the four seasons since.
Going into 2022, it no longer seems to be DeJong’s job. That rookie season was propped up by a .349 batting average on balls in play that DeJong never seemed likely to sustain, but he was a solid hitter over the next couple years. Coupled with high-end defensive metrics, he was still a highly valuable player. DeJong’s bat has taken another step down over the last two years, though, and that seemingly puts his future with the organization in question.
Since the start of 2020, DeJong has tallied 576 plate appearances, nearly the equivalent of a typical season. He’s hit just .213/.295/.378, a mark that makes him fourteen percentage points below the league average by measure of wRC+. DeJong still brings some power upside, popping 22 home runs with a .165 ISO (slugging minus batting average) that’s right around average. He has struck out in an elevated 26.6% of his trips to the plate, though. Paired with a very low .254 BABIP, that has led DeJong to post one of the lower batting averages and on-base marks among regular players.
DeJong is still generally effective at barreling balls up, but he’s also had far too many wasted plate appearances. He’s an extreme fly ball hitter, which can be a bit of a double-edged sword. Hitting the ball in the air gives a player plenty of opportunities to do damage, but weakly hit fly balls aren’t especially useful. DeJong has had his share of softly hit balls in the air, with a 90.9 MPH average exit velocity on air balls that ranks in the 42nd percentile leaguewide (minimum 1000 pitches seen). That middle-of-the-road batted ball quality has come as DeJong’s contact rate has dropped a few percentage points over the past two seasons, falling from roughly league average to a bit below.
While DeJong hasn’t been an especially productive hitter in recent seasons, he hasn’t been without value. Defensive metrics have still pegged him as a solid or better defender. Over the past two seasons, DeJong has rated as six runs above average at shortstop by DRS, while Statcast has him at two plays above average. Even average play at shortstop is valuable, and DeJong’s probably at least a tick above par defensively.
Because of that defensive acumen, DeJong has been valued at around two wins above replacement since the start of 2020 by both FanGraphs and Baseball Reference. That’s roughly league average for the amount he has played. So even with his bat going backwards, DeJong’s still a capable player who is just two years removed from an All-Star berth. He’d be an upgrade over some teams’ current shortstop situations.
Speculatively speaking, the Yankees, Phillies, Nationals, Angels, Rangers, A’s, Astros, Tigers and Twins are among the teams who might be in the shortstop market this winter. With a star-studded crop of free agent shortstops, DeJong won’t be priority number one for any of those clubs. They can’t all land high-end free agent options, though, and some could view DeJong as a reasonable fallback option.
In March 2018, DeJong and the Cardinals agreed on a contract extension, the guaranteed portion of which runs through 2023. He’ll make $6MM next season and $9MM the following year, and he’s guaranteed at least a $2MM buyout on a 2024 club option valued at $12.5MM. The contract also contains another club option covering 2025. Given DeJong’s offensive struggles the past couple seasons, that deal no longer looks like a massive bargain. But it’s certainly not an outlandish detriment to a team’s finances either, and the two options give a potential acquiring team some upside if DeJong manages to turn things around at the dish.
That all leads to an interesting offseason decision for the St. Louis front office. DeJong’s 2022 salary isn’t outlandish, but they might want to look into the top shortstops available themselves. Alternatively, they could trade DeJong and rely on the player who became the de facto shortstop down the stretch this past season: Edmundo Sosa.
Sosa has long been viewed by public prospect evaluators as a future glove-first utilityman. He outperformed those expectations as a rookie, though, hitting .271/.346/.389 with six homers in 326 plate appearances. Sosa didn’t walk or hit for much power, but his aggressive approach helped keep his strikeouts low as well.
Turning shortstop over to Sosa based on half a season’s worth of work would be a risk, but he did enough down the stretch to seemingly surpass DeJong on the organizational depth chart. It’d be defensible to give Sosa a chance to seize the job, particularly given this regime’s solid track record in developing position players who overperform their general prospect expectations.
How to handle the shortstop position going into 2022 is a key question for president of baseball operations John Mozeliak, GM Mike Girsch and the rest of the front office. That’s unfamiliar territory in St. Louis, but DeJong’s recent drop-off at the dish makes it possible he could wind up on the move in the coming months.

[stevenash]

Congrats to Atlanta, makes it very easy on which team to root for in the WS.

I hear you.
Guess I'm a Braves fan for a couple of weeks.
I ain't doing no tomahawk chop though.

[BigSpoon]

Congrats to Atlanta, makes it very easy on which team to root for in the WS.

[Stallion]

His arm is dead LOL Making $27 million this season

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Tremendous news! The Braves need to win tonight or they probably lose game 7 vs Buehler

I guess Buehler is pitching tonight now.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

The Braves catch a huge break here because the Dodgers had it set up for their two best pitchers. We'll see if they can take advantage of the Dodgers having some big time question marks surrounding their pitching staff.

Tremendous news! The Braves need to win tonight or they probably lose game 7 vs Buehler

[stevenash]

Who's watching Mobile tonight?
Word is he's on the ledge.

[Chi_archie]

Max Scherzer won’t be starting for the Dodgers in the sixth game of the NLCS as planned, according to Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times. As Castillo details, Scherzer’s wasn’t feeling 100% on Sunday when he started game two. The hurler himself said his “arm was dead.” Despite that, the team’s plan was still to start Scherzer in game six tomorrow. Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports that “Scherzer’s arm just hasn’t bounced back” as the team hoped. Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports that Scherzer is a possibility for game seven, but it will depend on how he feels between now and then.
This is certainly a concerning development for a Dodgers team that has pushed its pitching staff to the brink of exhaustion this postseason. Since they were in the midst of a race with the Giants for the division crown all season, they had no opportunity to ease off the gas pedal and had to lean on their best pitchers right until the season’s final day. Since they came up short in that race, they had to immediately gear up for the wild card game, which Scherzer started, throwing 94 pitches as the Dodgers walked-off the Cardinals and advanced to the NLDS.
Since then, they have used their starters so much that they had to opt for a bullpen game yesterday, despite the fact that they were facing a 3-1 deficit to Atlanta. Seven different pitchers took the mound for the club and led them to an 11-2 victory that seemed to set the stage for Scherzer to take the ball in game six, attempting to even up the series and force a game seven.
Now that Scherzer is off the table, the Dodgers have a few options, although all of them less appealing than a healthy Scherzer. One would be another bullpen game, although that’s a tall ask given that they just had one. However, they do have tonight off, which should theoretically replenish all of their relievers, at least to some degree.
Another option would be turn to David Price, who was just added to the roster to take the place of the injured Joe Kelly. But Price hasn’t pitched in three weeks, with his last appearance coming October 2nd. And even then, he wasn’t stretched out to start. His last six appearances on the season were out of the bullpen and less than two innings. He was stretched out before that, with five consecutive outings of at least 3 2/3 innings, but the last of those was August 28th. That means he’s almost two months removed from carrying a starter’s workload.
Tony Gonsolin was stretched out to finish the season and could also be leaned on for some innings, though he didn’t pitch at all in the NLDS and has only thrown short stints in the NLCS. His last outing was 39 pitches over two innings on Wednesday, the same night that Julio Urias threw 92 pitches over five innings.
Another option, and probably the best one, would be to have Walker Buehler pitch on short rest. His last outing was on Tuesday, though he only threw 76 pitches after getting chased from the game in the fourth inning.
One way or another, manager Dave Roberts and the rest of the Dodgers’ staff will have to be creative. In order to make it into the World Series, they’ll need to find a way to grind through 18 innings without their best option.

what a wimp scherzer is

[jrgum3]

Scherzer will not start game 6, according to sources.

The Braves catch a huge break here because the Dodgers had it set up for their two best pitchers. We'll see if they can take advantage of the Dodgers having some big time question marks surrounding their pitching staff.

[Otters27]

Who best odds time to take braves to win the series

[Cross]

Love the pitching grind, makes it interesting.

[EmpireMaker]

Max Scherzer won’t be starting for the Dodgers in the sixth game of the NLCS as planned, according to Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times. As Castillo details, Scherzer’s wasn’t feeling 100% on Sunday when he started game two. The hurler himself said his “arm was dead.” Despite that, the team’s plan was still to start Scherzer in game six tomorrow. Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports that “Scherzer’s arm just hasn’t bounced back” as the team hoped. Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports that Scherzer is a possibility for game seven, but it will depend on how he feels between now and then.
This is certainly a concerning development for a Dodgers team that has pushed its pitching staff to the brink of exhaustion this postseason. Since they were in the midst of a race with the Giants for the division crown all season, they had no opportunity to ease off the gas pedal and had to lean on their best pitchers right until the season’s final day. Since they came up short in that race, they had to immediately gear up for the wild card game, which Scherzer started, throwing 94 pitches as the Dodgers walked-off the Cardinals and advanced to the NLDS.
Since then, they have used their starters so much that they had to opt for a bullpen game yesterday, despite the fact that they were facing a 3-1 deficit to Atlanta. Seven different pitchers took the mound for the club and led them to an 11-2 victory that seemed to set the stage for Scherzer to take the ball in game six, attempting to even up the series and force a game seven.
Now that Scherzer is off the table, the Dodgers have a few options, although all of them less appealing than a healthy Scherzer. One would be another bullpen game, although that’s a tall ask given that they just had one. However, they do have tonight off, which should theoretically replenish all of their relievers, at least to some degree.
Another option would be turn to David Price, who was just added to the roster to take the place of the injured Joe Kelly. But Price hasn’t pitched in three weeks, with his last appearance coming October 2nd. And even then, he wasn’t stretched out to start. His last six appearances on the season were out of the bullpen and less than two innings. He was stretched out before that, with five consecutive outings of at least 3 2/3 innings, but the last of those was August 28th. That means he’s almost two months removed from carrying a starter’s workload.
Tony Gonsolin was stretched out to finish the season and could also be leaned on for some innings, though he didn’t pitch at all in the NLDS and has only thrown short stints in the NLCS. His last outing was 39 pitches over two innings on Wednesday, the same night that Julio Urias threw 92 pitches over five innings.
Another option, and probably the best one, would be to have Walker Buehler pitch on short rest. His last outing was on Tuesday, though he only threw 76 pitches after getting chased from the game in the fourth inning.
One way or another, manager Dave Roberts and the rest of the Dodgers’ staff will have to be creative. In order to make it into the World Series, they’ll need to find a way to grind through 18 innings without their best option.

[Stallion]

Scherzer will not start game 6, according to sources.

[stevenash]

Chris Taylor saved them.

As long as it wasn't Turner.

[Checkerboard]

Dodgers have it all laid our for them for a classic comeback.

Atlanta needs to focus, bear down and play their brand of ball with continued grit, blocking out mind game/doubt psych job stuff.