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

[JMobile]

oh wow, Puig is going to korea?

1 year worth $1 million

[jrgum3]

oh wow, Puig is going to korea?

Yeah he signed the other day with the Kiwoom Heroes of the KBO.

[Chi_archie]

I give Puig a month or less before he pisses off the entire nation of Korea.

oh wow, Puig is going to korea?

[jrgum3]

I give Puig a month or less before he pisses off the entire nation of Korea.

I doubt it he'll be one of the most well liked guys over there just because the first time he hits a home run he'll do an epic bat flip and the fans over there will love him for it. At least that's all they talked about on ESPN when they used to broadcast KBO games. I suspect Puig will hit his fair share of dingers over in Korea and he'll be a fan favorite.

[EmpireMaker]

Corey Seager’s 10-year, $325MM deal with the Rangers prior to the MLB lockout shocked baseball — both because it was the Rangers winning the bidding and because Texas had already signed Marcus Semien for a surprising seven years and $175MM. As one would expect with any bidding war that reaches a decade and more than $300MM, Texas had some competition as they sought to lure Seager to Arlington. However, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports this morning that a perhaps-unexpected suitor was one of the primary competitors in that Seager market: the Blue Jays.
The Dodgers also had strong interest in re-signing Seager, per Passan, though that much was largely known to this point. Toronto’s involvement in the process, however, is a newer revelation. The Jays were known to be attempting to re-sign Semien, but Seager’s contract was in an entirely different financial stratosphere. Ultimately, Toronto simply wasn’t willing to match Texas’ 10-year, $325MM terms, but Passan suggests that the team was “very much” in on Seager prior to his deal with Texas.
That’s of some anecdotal note and makes for a fine “what-if” moment for Jays fans down the line, but it’s also informative of the team’s current mindset and simultaneously instructive of how the Jays will be able to operate post-transaction freeze. The Blue Jays have just shy of $97MM committed to the septet of George Springer, Kevin Gausman, Hyun Jin Ryu, Jose Berrios, Randal Grichuk, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Yimi Garcia. Add in a steep arbitration class headlined by burgeoning star Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and the Jays have another $31MM or so in projected payroll, according to MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.
That brings the Jays to nearly $128MM in 2022 projections — plus another nine pre-arbitration salaries (generally in the vicinity of the league minimum). For a team that opened the 2021 season with about $135MM in guaranteed salary and has previously pushed payroll to $163MM, it’s not really a shock to see that there’s more room in the 2022 budget. However, signing Seager would’ve been about far more than 2022 dollars.
For Toronto, signing Seager would’ve meant had four sizable, fully guaranteed contracts on the books as far out into the future as 2026, when Springer, Gausman and Berrios are all still under contract. (Berrios is signed through 2028, though his contract contains an opt-out after that ’26 campaign.) Any Seager signing would’ve figured to include a salary north of $30MM being added onto that 2026 ledger, meaning the Jays were essentially comfortable with the idea of committing $93MM or more to four players in 2026 — about a half-decade in advance.
With Toronto also surely keen on extending both Guerrero and Bo Bichette at some point, any serious level of interest in Seager is all the more notable. The 2026 season is the first would-be free-agent year for both Guerrero and Bichette, so throwing a Seager contract onto the pile indicates a willingness to spend well above nine figures on 2026 payroll if there’s to be any hope of realistically extending either young star.
It’s all an exercise in hindsight, to an extent, as Seager is of course set to spend the next decade as a Ranger. But the Jays’ apparent willingness to jump into the Seager market also provides some useful context when looking at how they’ll operate once transactions resume under a new collective bargaining agreement.
Perhaps Toronto simply viewed Seager as an exception and was comfortable spending that type of money singularly on Seager and Seager alone. However, the market has several high-end free agents who remain unsigned and will be in position to command sizable long-term deals. Carlos Correa could well land a deal in the same range as Seager commanded. Trevor Story figures to be eyeing a nine-figure commitment, perhaps over a shorter term that caps off around that same 2026 point the Jays’ current commitments come to an end. The Jays have already been tied to star NPB outfielder Seiya Suzuki, and the outfield market also includes higher-profile names like Kris Bryant, Nick Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber.
Toronto certainly isn’t under any obligation to tack another nine-figure deal onto the books, but the mere fact that they were a player of any real note in the Seager bidding shows that they can’t be squarely ruled out from doing so. Another major free-agent expenditure would make for enormous major payrolls down the road when Guerrero and Bichette are in their final couple years of arbitration (and/or into the free-agent portions of theoretical extensions), but the Jays are committed to winning right now. Even with three long-term deals on the books and a pair of high-profile young stars they’ll hope to extend, we shouldn’t assume Toronto will shy away from another major long-term deal.

[stevenash]

It's the same team that signed Addison Russell in 2020 too.

I give Puig a month or less before he pisses off the entire nation of Korea.

[Cross]

Fuk Addison Russell

[BigSpoon]

Yasiel Puig signs a one year, one-million-dollar deal in Korea.

It's the same team that signed Addison Russell in 2020 too.

[stevenash]

Yasiel Puig signs a one year, one-million-dollar deal in Korea.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Oh great, Fernando Tatis Jr was involved in a minor traffic accident in the Dominican Republic. But he's okay...

Thank heavens he is alright!!

[Otters27]

Did you see pitcher who does back flips after he closes the game

[EmpireMaker]

Although veteran left-hander Danny Duffy was a fairly notable deadline pickup by the Dodgers back in July, the soon-to-be 33-year-old didn’t throw a pitch in Los Angeles following the trade. Acquired while on the injured list due to a forearm strain, Duffy suffered a setback while rehabbing with L.A. and never made it back to a big league mound.
The Dodgers and Duffy were both rather quiet on his outlook. The left-hander now reveals to Andy McCullough of The Athletic that after initially fearing what would’ve been his second career Tommy John surgery, he instead required surgery to repair the flexor tendon in his left arm. That procedure, performed in October, comes with a months-long rehabilitation process. Duffy is targeting June for a return to a big league mound and expects to pitch out of the bullpen in 2022 before hopefully moving back into a rotation thereafter.
Of course, the team for which Duffy will throw remains entirely uncertain. The left-hander hit free agency for the first time in his career at season’s end and did not agree to terms with a club prior to the expiration of the 2016-21 collective bargaining agreement. It stands to reason that either the Dodgers, who traded for him, or the Royals, who drafted and developed him, would have interest in bringing him back.
Then again, Duffy has a lengthy track record of big league success and ought to be of interest to a variety of contenders and non-contenders alike on a short-term deal. Most clubs figure to be interested on a one-year deal, though as we saw with Kirby Yates earlier in the offseason, its feasible that a team could try to lure Duffy on a heavily backloaded two-year arrangement.
Duffy appeared in 13 games for the Royals this past season, all but one of them as a starting pitcher. In 61 frames he notched a tidy 2.51 ERA, albeit with less-favorable reviews from fielding-independent marks like FIP (3.40) and SIERA (4.14). This season’s 93.8 mph average heater was his best mark since 2016, while his 25.8% strikeout rate was a narrow career-high mark over 2016’s rate of 25.7%.

[jrgum3]

We got Pierce Johnson from the KBO(I think) a couple years ago and he has been a quality relief arm.

I like the idea of kicking the tires around the globe and maybe finding some diamonds in the rough.

It's definitely not a bad strategy as guys have resurfaced in MLB after spending some time in those leagues and they have done well.

[Cross]

Baseball is the way out of poverty for many of these players outside of US, these guys are fighters!

[JMobile]

Oh great, Fernando Tatis Jr was involved in a minor traffic accident in the Dominican Republic. But he's okay...

[stevenash]

Don't leave any stone unturned.

Can't argue that.

Look at some of those NBA stars that came from third world European countries and African countries.

The Greek came from dirt poor Greece.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Yeah, some of the Asians have quality arms, usually short inning guys.
Most MLB pitchers go to Japan to die (career wise that is)

Don't leave any stone unturned.

[stevenash]

You want to kill the Shohei Ohtani two-way experiment?

Like Trout, Ohtani can turn water into wine, and walk on water.
(With all due respect to our Lord and Saviour)

God help the American League if the Angels can get one power armed starter.
I broke down their bullpen, it's more than adequate. (depending on what metrics you use 8th or 10th best in MLB)

[BigSpoon]

^
The far east countries like Japan and Korea for instance has a totally different pitching philosophy.
For instance, they prefer six- and seven-man rotations.

This is my opinion.
Condition today's pitchers for endurance, stretch them out to throw 100 pitches a game.
Bring back the four-man rotation with a fifth starter if the team has games on eight or more consecutive days.

In the mid 60's, say 1967 for instance, there were 23 starters that made 34 or more starts.
In 2021 there were none.

In 1967 those starters all pitched will over 220 innings, and all won double digit games.
Hell, Jim Bunning made 40 starts and pitched over 300 innings. His arm didn't fall off.
Then he became a successful politician, but that's a story for another day.

In 1967 everything like medicine and conditioning etc. etc. was primitive if you compare it to the resources available to us in 2022.
It can be done.

I think the so-called bullpen era is interesting, I don't dislike it.
If you blow out your bullpen arms in early August however, your season is cooked.

That's my concern.

You want to kill the Shohei Ohtani two-way experiment?

[stevenash]

We got Pierce Johnson from the KBO(I think) a couple years ago and he has been a quality relief arm.

I like the idea of kicking the tires around the globe and maybe finding some diamonds in the rough.

Yeah, some of the Asians have quality arms, usually short inning guys.
Most MLB pitchers go to Japan to die (career wise that is)

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Interesting that the Padres are dipping into the Japanese League to find pitching. That league is a cut above the KBO so we'll see how Martinez does in his return to the Big Leagues this year.

We got Pierce Johnson from the KBO(I think) a couple years ago and he has been a quality relief arm.

I like the idea of kicking the tires around the globe and maybe finding some diamonds in the rough.

[stevenash]

^
The far east countries like Japan and Korea for instance has a totally different pitching philosophy.
For instance, they prefer six- and seven-man rotations.

This is my opinion.
Condition today's pitchers for endurance, stretch them out to throw 100 pitches a game.
Bring back the four-man rotation with a fifth starter if the team has games on eight or more consecutive days.

In the mid 60's, say 1967 for instance, there were 23 starters that made 34 or more starts.
In 2021 there were none.

In 1967 those starters all pitched will over 220 innings, and all won double digit games.
Hell, Jim Bunning made 40 starts and pitched over 300 innings. His arm didn't fall off.
Then he became a successful politician, but that's a story for another day.

In 1967 everything like medicine and conditioning etc. etc. was primitive if you compare it to the resources available to us in 2022.
It can be done.

I think the so-called bullpen era is interesting, I don't dislike it.
If you blow out your bullpen arms in early August however, your season is cooked.

That's my concern.

[jrgum3]

THURSDAY, 7:45am: Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Martinez remains a free agent, though sources tell MLBTR that there is no concern the deal won’t be completed after the lockout since an agreement is in place between Martinez and the Padres. It’s also worth noting that Martinez is set to earn $7MM in 2022, so he’d be leaving three years and $13MM on the table if he decides to opt out.
WEDNESDAY, 9:21pm: The Padres are signing Nick Martínez to a four-year, $20MM contract, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN (Twitter link). The deal includes opt-outs after the first two years. The right-hander has spent the past four seasons pitching in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. His contract with the NPB’s Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks just expired today, but his representatives worked quickly to find him a big league landing spot before the anticipated transactions freeze. Martinez is represented by Brian Mejia, Ulises Cabrera, and Alan Nero of Octagon.
Martínez is making his return to the majors for the first time since 2017, though he did pitch for Team USA in the Tokyo Olympics this summer. The Florida native was drafted and developed by the Rangers, where current San Diego president of baseball operations A.J. Preller was then a prominent member of the scouting department. Martínez debuted in 2014 and worked as a back-of-the-rotation arm for the next few seasons.
Martinez, 31, posted a stellar 1.62 ERA with a 24.8 K% and 6.6 BB% for the Hawks this year in 149 2/3 innings. According to Sung Min Kim, Martinez’s fastball velocity increased to nearly 94 miles per hour this year, and his changeup has become more effective. Several American pitchers have revived their careers in NPB or KBO in recent years and returned to MLB on big league deals, including Chris Flexen, Josh Lindblom, Merrill Kelly, and Miles Mikolas. Martinez’s contract tops all of them, as Mikolas had inked a two-year, $15.5MM deal with the Cardinals four years ago. Plus, Martinez maintains the ability to re-enter free agency if he’s able to have success in 2022 or ’23.
Martinez’s $5MM AAV is key for the Padres, one of only two teams to exceed the $210MM luxury tax threshold in 2021. The club is currently in a similar place for 2022, though we don’t know how much success the players’ union will have in increasing the base tax threshold.
Martinez joins a Padres rotation that currently includes Joe Musgrove, Yu Darvish, Blake Snell, and Mike Clevinger. Chris Paddack, Dinelson Lamet, and Ryan Weathers also figure to be in the mix. Though that’s significant depth, but it’s plausible that Preller might look to trade someone as a means of clearing payroll. The Padres already sent Adam Frazier to the Mariners to clear an estimated $7MM or so.
Aside from the Frazier trade, the Padres added to their stock of catchers by acquiring Jorge Alfaro from the Marlins. They also signed a pair of relievers today in Luis Garcia and Robert Suarez, with the latter having played against Martinez in NPB this year. There’s a sense that the Padres have plenty of additional offseason moves to make, but like the other 29 teams everything will go on pause until the lockout ends.

Interesting that the Padres are dipping into the Japanese League to find pitching. That league is a cut above the KBO so we'll see how Martinez does in his return to the Big Leagues this year.

[EmpireMaker]

THURSDAY, 7:45am: Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Martinez remains a free agent, though sources tell MLBTR that there is no concern the deal won’t be completed after the lockout since an agreement is in place between Martinez and the Padres. It’s also worth noting that Martinez is set to earn $7MM in 2022, so he’d be leaving three years and $13MM on the table if he decides to opt out.
WEDNESDAY, 9:21pm: The Padres are signing Nick Martínez to a four-year, $20MM contract, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN (Twitter link). The deal includes opt-outs after the first two years. The right-hander has spent the past four seasons pitching in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. His contract with the NPB’s Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks just expired today, but his representatives worked quickly to find him a big league landing spot before the anticipated transactions freeze. Martinez is represented by Brian Mejia, Ulises Cabrera, and Alan Nero of Octagon.
Martínez is making his return to the majors for the first time since 2017, though he did pitch for Team USA in the Tokyo Olympics this summer. The Florida native was drafted and developed by the Rangers, where current San Diego president of baseball operations A.J. Preller was then a prominent member of the scouting department. Martínez debuted in 2014 and worked as a back-of-the-rotation arm for the next few seasons.
Martinez, 31, posted a stellar 1.62 ERA with a 24.8 K% and 6.6 BB% for the Hawks this year in 149 2/3 innings. According to Sung Min Kim, Martinez’s fastball velocity increased to nearly 94 miles per hour this year, and his changeup has become more effective. Several American pitchers have revived their careers in NPB or KBO in recent years and returned to MLB on big league deals, including Chris Flexen, Josh Lindblom, Merrill Kelly, and Miles Mikolas. Martinez’s contract tops all of them, as Mikolas had inked a two-year, $15.5MM deal with the Cardinals four years ago. Plus, Martinez maintains the ability to re-enter free agency if he’s able to have success in 2022 or ’23.
Martinez’s $5MM AAV is key for the Padres, one of only two teams to exceed the $210MM luxury tax threshold in 2021. The club is currently in a similar place for 2022, though we don’t know how much success the players’ union will have in increasing the base tax threshold.
Martinez joins a Padres rotation that currently includes Joe Musgrove, Yu Darvish, Blake Snell, and Mike Clevinger. Chris Paddack, Dinelson Lamet, and Ryan Weathers also figure to be in the mix. Though that’s significant depth, but it’s plausible that Preller might look to trade someone as a means of clearing payroll. The Padres already sent Adam Frazier to the Mariners to clear an estimated $7MM or so.
Aside from the Frazier trade, the Padres added to their stock of catchers by acquiring Jorge Alfaro from the Marlins. They also signed a pair of relievers today in Luis Garcia and Robert Suarez, with the latter having played against Martinez in NPB this year. There’s a sense that the Padres have plenty of additional offseason moves to make, but like the other 29 teams everything will go on pause until the lockout ends.

[Cross]

Why should Pirates ownership be rewarded with revenue sharing if they are not willing to compete to win? Players should be paid what they are worth in the market they are in. That is all they want. That is why players want to become free agents a year earlier. Rookie contracts are bargains for baseball owners. Doesn’t work that way in soccer. Players get what they are worth, no rookie contracts kept cheap by league rules.

[Cross]

Can we agree that an owner worth billions that is unwilling to spend money in order to give fans a decent product should not be allowed? Looking at you, Pirates and Indians.

[stevenash]

Mets need a manager, looking into Showalter or Ausmus.

Showalter was Girardi before Girardi was Girardi.
An anal stiff.

Mets could use an old school meets new school type of catcher to manage.
Like a Tony Pena or someone like that.

[JMobile]

Mets need a manager, looking into Showalter or Ausmus.

[stevenash]

Cross thinks the owners are the only greedy ones

Yeah.
When I played ball (scholastic) the owners were the evil ones.
Players got filthy rich and filthy greedy and the tables were turned.

Without owners, there is no ball park, no ball park employees, nothing.
Now pre 1966 players were treated like dirt and the owners held all the cards.

1966 Marvin Miller was elected the first MLBPA
The year before in 1965 the average salary for a player was 19k.

Sixteen years later when Miller retired in 1982 the average players salary was 241k
Best thing Miller did was abolish the reserve clause that bound players to the team that signed them.
Miller was Curt Flood's counsel.
When it was all said and done Flood said of Miller "he's a union leaders dream"

Miller was a business genius, graduated NYU with an advanced degree in economics.
Before baseball Marvin Miller the United Steel Workers negotiator, UAW, and the National War Labor unions.
The guy was the GOAT of negotiators.

You want to blame Miller for this, but you can't.
He dis right by all the players, problem was he was too good at what he did, like I said, the GOAT.

I can tell you when all this shit started.
1977, right after the reserve clause was completely struck down and the players had total free agency.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Both sides shouldn't take the fans for granted, which it seems like they are doing.

Cross thinks the owners are the only greedy ones

[EmpireMaker]

SAN DIEGO -- The Padres needed pitching, so they went out and found a pair of high-upside right-handed arms to add to their bullpen.


San Diego has finalized deals with relievers Luis García and Robert Suarez, the team announced on Wednesday. García, coming off a strong season with the Cardinals, inked a two-year contract. Suarez’s pact is for one year, after he’d spent the past five seasons pitching in Japan.


Without question, pitching was the Padres' top priority entering the offseason, and although they still have some question marks in their rotation, these moves should go a long way toward solidifying their bullpen.


What are they getting?


Before hitting free agency this winter, García, 34, spent time with the Phillies, Angels, Rangers and Cardinals, amassing a 4.16 ERA over his nine seasons. Most recently, he put forth an impressive 2021 season, posting a 3.24 ERA and a sub-1 WHIP for St. Louis.


García's success was due in part to a heavy sinker that averaged 98.3 mph last season. He began throwing the pitch with much greater regularity in 2021 -- pairing it with an excellent slider -- and the results followed. He posted a 2.72 FIP, an indicator that the strides he made in ’21 are real.


Suarez, meanwhile, is a bit more of a mystery, as he has never pitched in the big leagues, but his success in Japan, with both SoftBank and Hanshin, speaks for itself. Across five seasons in NPB, Suarez posted a 2.81 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. Last year the 30-year-old notched a 1.16 ERA with a minuscule 0.77 WHIP. He didn’t allow a homer and permitted only six unintentional walks across 229 batters faced.


How do they fit?


The Padres have a deep group of relievers, with 27 of the places on their 40-man roster occupied by pitchers. But that relief corps comes with its share of concerns.


San Diego non-tendered Matt Strahm, Trey Wingenter and José Castillo on Tuesday. Entering the 2022 season, Drew Pomeranz and Dinelson Lamet have lingering health questions as well. Meanwhile, bullpen staples Emilio Pagán, Tim Hill and Austin Adams struggled down the stretch in ‘21.


As such, the Padres felt it was imperative to bolster their bullpen depth. They've done that in a big way over the past few days, first adding hard-throwing lefty Ray Kerr in the Adam Frazier trade with Seattle, then adding a pair of right-handers with upside.


• Padres trade Frazier to M's for prospect duo


What's next?


Even with these moves, the Padres' bullpen is by no means set in stone. After losing Mark Melancon to free agency, the closer spot is open. (Melancon signed with the D-backs on Wednesday.) Pomeranz would presumably handle that role if healthy, but he's coming off flexor surgery, and the Padres will likely need to wait until spring for his status.


Meanwhile, the Padres could still use a boost in their rotation, as a lack of depth cost them dearly last season. According to sources, nothing is imminent in regard to the team's search, but general manager A.J. Preller will continue to explore the trade market.


And while pitching remains a priority, the Padres could still shake things up on offense. Having lost Frazier via trade and Tommy Pham to free agency, San Diego hopes to add a power-hitting corner-outfield bat.

[EmpireMaker]

The Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros have expressed interest in free agent shortstop Trevor Story, reports MLB Network’s Jon Heyman in his latest insider piece for Audacy’s “Big Time Baseball” podcast. Heyman reiterates that he’s also heard Seattle convey interest in the shortstop, as MLBTR covered prior to the lockout last week. As is the case with all player-team connections made in the lockout age, no talks can take place between either party until the lockout is lifted.
Interestingly, Boston was recently cited as a team who reached out to free agent shortstop Carlos Correa’s camp. The path to that connection being anything more than due diligence lies in moving All-Star Xander Bogaerts off the position, an option neither the player nor Boston front office have indicated is on the table. The takeaway from a potential Correa pursuit is in many ways identical to a hypothetical Story one— sign an All-Star shortstop to guard against a Bogaerts departure, improving infield defense in the interim.
Just like Boagaerts, Story has yet to give a firm indication that he’ll be anything but a shortstop heading into the 2022 season. As we saw with Boston’s recent reacquisition of Jackie Bradley Jr. however, the Red Sox clearly aren’t afraid of shuffling players around if it means upgrading their defense. Even on the heels of a modest-for-him campaign, metrics across the board agree that Story would be an improvement with the glove over the incumbent Bogaerts. Of course, with Seattle allegedly showing interest in Story as a third baseman it’s possible Boston can do the same, choosing instead to move Rafael Devers (a subpar defender in his own right) off his position for a presumed upgrade in Story.
The Houston connection, for what it’s worth, would require the least moving parts to bring Story aboard. With Correa out of the picture for now, the Astros have a clear opening at shortstop that Story could fill. As is the case with the Red Sox, a Story signing may push the team past the first luxury tax threshold if he signs somewhere in the vicinity of MLBTR’s predicted six-year, $126MM guarantee. This may be a bridge too far then for Houston, though they’ll likely have plenty of financial wiggle room as soon as 2023 (to say nothing of a CBA that may change entirely).
Financial complications aside, the Astros pursuit of Story may hinge on how ready they are to give top-ranked prospect Jeremy Peña a look. Peña dominated in a 30-game showing at Triple-A this year, swatting 10 home runs to go with a .287/.346/.598 slash line. The home run power is new, and certainly encouraging for Houston brass to consider, but still may not be enough to hand the starting shortstop job to a 24-year-old.
The Astros remain the top dogs in the AL West but should expect the overall competitiveness of their division to increase next year. The drop-off from a 7.2 bWAR Carlos Correa to whatever it is a rookie can produce may be less palatable than simply turning to a steady producer like Story. With Story locked in alongside Alex Bregman and Jose Altuve through 2024, the team would then have the benefit of shopping Peña around for talent beyond the infield, or can simply hold onto him as a very enviable depth piece

[Cross]

I loved watching Sheffield wag that bat around.

[JMobile]

Anybody know about the pitcher the Padres sign from the Yankees? I think Luis Garcia

[BigSpoon]

Count me in fukk these greedy owners and players.

Both sides shouldn't take the fans for granted, which it seems like they are doing.