[BigSpoon]

Wow, a stunning deal. It could actually be a bargain for SD if he stays healthy.

[Chi_archie]

can you imagine if the White Sox had not traded Tatis away for a pile of shit?

[stevenash]

OK, so I'm in the middle of analyzing the middle infielders in this years upcoming draft.

Shortstop is deep with nine of them going off the board in the first five rounds.

Second base however is not deep on top.
Only four 2B are being drafted in the first five rounds. (ADP is Average overall Draft Position)

They are in order, DJ (ADP 30, 3rd round) Albies (ADP 31, 3rd round) Whit (ADP 44, 4th round) Biggio (ADP 58, 5th round)

DJ at second base is a poor man's Mike Trout.
He does everything extremely well, average in the .320 range, 20 + HR's, etc. like Trout he will not steal 20 bases anymore.
I'd be thrilled to have him in the third round.

Albies, although solid at 2B in my opinion is ranked to high at 31.
I think his BA will only be in the .270 range, and doesn't steal enough bases to warrant a third round pick.
Oh sure he'll swipe 22 to 28, but I need 40 if I think his BA and power numbers will be down.

Whit Merrifield is a steal at 44 and (as a KC fan I watch him every game) is what I call a five across player.
Gives you everything, ample power for a middle infielder, 20 plus upwards to 30 steals. .290 avg.... everything.
Another extremely positive thing with Whit is he's OF eligible too, you can plug him anywhere.
If I had a mid 3rd round selection, say the 32nd overall I'd strongly consider bumping him up 10 spots and snatching him.
Whit's just that damn good, not Tatis good, but 3rd round, not 4th round, but third round good.

From the how the mighty have fallen department.
Jose Altuve is the ninth, that's right the ninth second baseman off the board
His ADP is 98 (early 10th round) I'd take him in the ninth round.

[stevenash]

[stevenash]

Trevor Rosenthal to Oakland.
He can help them.

https://www.nbcsports.com/edge/baseb...evor-rosenthal

[Cross]

Acuna needs to fire his agent.

[Stallion]

That Tatis deal is Huuuge!!

[batt33]

Fernando Tatis Jr. just signed a 14 year $340 million dollar extension with the Padres. Man that's good news for the Pads and their fanbase.

https://sports.yahoo.com/fernand-tat...014006398.html

seems like he had a few more years before he was eligible for negotiations for a big contract.... seems like the Padres jumped the gun here.

[jrgum3]

Trevor Rosenthal to Oakland.
He can help them.

https://www.nbcsports.com/edge/baseb...evor-rosenthal

Yes he had a good year last season and can step into the vacated closer role for the A's who are trying hard to replace Liam Hendricks by adding Rosenthal, Romo and bringing back Joakim Soria.

[EmpireMaker]

The Mets were connected to free-agent center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. earlier in the offseason, but the two sides did not come close to an agreement, Andy Martino of SNY.tv writes. The club has agreed to sign fellow center fielders Kevin Pillar and Albert Almora Jr. in recent days, and now the chances of it adding Bradley are “practically nonexistent,” according to Martino. If true, that eliminates one logical suitor for Bradley, a longtime member of the Red Sox and one of the top free agents remaining on the market.

• Angels right-hander/designated hitter Shohei Ohtani threw a 27-pitch bullpen session Thursday, and his velocity topped out at 90 mph, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets. Ohtani, who’s coming off a season limited by a right flexor strain, averaged a little over 93 mph on his heater from 2018-20, but he’s not concerned about his early camp velocity drop. “It was my first bullpen, so I’m not too worried about the velo,” Ohtani said (via Fletcher). Ohtani’s arm problems (including September 2019 Tommy John surgery) limited him to just 1 2/3 innings of pitching over the previous two seasons, but the hope is that he’ll re-emerge this year as an important member of the Angels’ rotation.
• Yankees righty Luis Severino is throwing from 120 feet and could return to the mound in the next few weeks, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. Severino was one of the elite pitchers in the game from 2017-18, but injuries have cut him down since then. He threw only 12 innings in 2019 because of shoulder issues and then didn’t pitch at all last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. But if he bounces back this year, Severino and Yankees ace Gerrit Cole could comprise one of the best one-two punches of any rotation in baseball.
• More on the Yankees, who do have interest in re-signing free-agent outfielder Brett Gardner, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network. It’s “likely” the Yankees would keep him in the vicinity of $3MM, Heyman relays. As of last week, though, the career-long Yankee, 37, and the club reportedly hadn’t engaged in any contract negotiations.

[Otters27]

Well see how Severinos control is after Tommy John

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Acuna needs to fire his agent.

I wonder if the Braves will redo his deal in the next few years if he continues to outperform that contract?

[stevenash]

Twins sigh Shoemaker.
He's got dirty stuff, if heathy he can win 14 games for Minny.

If healthy.

[BigSpoon]

Mets sign Taijuan Walker to a 2 year deal worth $20M. He was decent for the Jays in his short time there in 2020.

[Stallion]

Acuna needs to fire his agent.

8 years at $100 million is still alot of money. That Tatis deal could haunt SD for a long time if he doesn't play amazing.

[jrgum3]

8 years at $100 million is still alot of money. That Tatis deal could haunt SD for a long time if he doesn't play amazing.

The only way I think the deal haunts SD is if Tatis is injury prone and his production starts to wane as he approaches his thirties. He is young and locking him up for a long time guarantees that his prime years will be played in San Diego. Obviously you can't predict health but I think Tatis is only going to get better.

[Cross]

100 million is a lot of money no doubt, but could have got more obviously.

[EmpireMaker]

The Padres had to go without breakout star Dinelson Lamet in the playoffs last year because of arm issues, but the right-hander told AJ Cassavell of MLB.com and other reporters that he’s healthy heading into the upcoming season. “I’m coming off that rest period, I did everything I needed to do, I feel well-prepared,” said Lamet. “I feel like I’m 100 percent myself.” That’s another excellent development in an offseason full of them for the burgeoning Padres, as Lamet was a 2020 Cy Young contender who pitched to a 2.09 ERA/3.16 SIERA in 69 innings and struck out more than 12 batters per nine. If healthy, he’ll open the season near the top of a San Diego rotation that added Yu Darvish, Blake Snell and Joe Musgrove in the offseason, and also has Chris Paddack in the fold as a holdover.

• Angels lefty reliever Alex Claudio is battling a hip infection that could delay his camp debut by at least one to two weeks, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com tweets. That’s unwelcome news for Claudio and the Angels’ bullpen, as the team’s counting on him to fill a regular role after it signed him to a $1.125MM guarantee in free agency. The 29-year-old spent last season with the Brewers and registered a 4.26 ERA/4.43 SIERA in 19 innings.
• Free-agent reliever David Robertson held his second showcase of the month on Friday, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. A dozen-plus teams were in attendance to watch Robertson, according to Feinsand, who writes that the right-hander “was said to look good.” Robertson’s fastball regularly checked in between 90-91 mph and hit 92 mph multiple times. The 35-year-old has averaged 92 mph on his fastball since his career started in 2008.
• Marlins righty prospect Edward Cabrera has an inflamed nerve in his biceps, and there’s no timetable on when he’ll be able to throw, according to Christina De Nicola of MLB.com. The Marlins will obviously be careful with the 22-year-old Cabrera, whom MLB.com ranks as the 68th overall prospect in the game. Cabrera didn’t pitch last year because of the lack of a minor league season, but he put up 38 2/3 innings of 2.56 ERA ball at the Double-A level in 2019.
• Rockies reliever Scott Oberg hasn’t suffered any setbacks since he underwent thoracic outlet syndrome surgery in September, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post writes. The hope is that the procedure will help Oberg get over blood clots that have dogged him in the past. Oberg hasn’t taken a major league mound since Aug. 16, 2019, but the righty was highly effective out of the Rockies’ bullpen that season and in the prior campaign.

[Otters27]

Some of these old timers who used to work off season jobs are rolling in their graves at these contracts

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Looking forward to Tatis proving the doubters wrong.

[stevenash]

Looking forward to Tatis proving the doubters wrong.

I'm not a Tatis doubter, I was a Zion doubter and he proved me wrong.
Tatis is to baseball what Zion is to hoops.

The future.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

I'm not a Tatis doubter, I was a Zion doubter and he proved me wrong.
Tatis is to baseball what Zion is to hoops.

The future.

There seems to be a lot that think The Tatis deal was bad for the Padres, looking forward to him shoving it in their faces.

Every time I check the box score, Zion only has 4-5 rebounds. How can a guy that rotund and athletic not be averaging 10+/game?

[stevenash]

There seems to be a lot that think The Tatis deal was bad for the Padres, looking forward to him shoving it in their faces.

Every time I check the box score, Zion only has 4-5 rebounds. How can a guy that rotund and athletic not be averaging 10+/game?

NOP babies his minutes a lot of games.
If he played 36 mins night in, night out those rebound numbers double.
I’ve watched the Pelicans play on TV about a dozen times in the past 2 years because the NBA is not really my thing but every time I watch him he’s bruising other defending pivot men.

Pelicans can bruise on defense surprised they aren’t better than they are.
I really like what Utah is doing.

OK, back to MLB.

I see Zach Britton doesn’t care much for German.
This could be a problem for NYY.
I’m not a German supporter either, he’s a head case, but maybe Zach should keep some things in house.
Mussina never liked Girardi but Moose kept that to himself.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

NOP babies his minutes a lot of games.
If he played 36 mins night in, night out those rebound numbers double.
I’ve watched the Pelicans play on TV about a dozen times in the past 2 years because the NBA is not really my thing but every time I watch him he’s bruising other defending pivot men.

Pelicans can bruise on defense surprised they aren’t better than they are.
I really like what Utah is doing.

OK, back to MLB.

I see Zach Britton doesn’t care much for German.
This could be a problem for NYY.
I’m not a German supporter either, he’s a head case, but maybe Zach should keep some things in house.
Mussina never liked Girardi but Moose kept that to himself.

Zion played 31 minutes last night and 5 rebounds..unacceptable.

[stevenash]

Zion played 31 minutes last night and 5 rebounds..unacceptable.

Yeah, that is weak.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Yeah, that is weak.

Not sold on him as the next coming, he seems to be a one trick pony(scoring).

[stevenash]

Not sold on him as the next coming, he seems to be a one trick pony(scoring).

I hear ya

When he came out of Duke I had serious doubts.
Than when he was a rookie I saw him play some hard nosed defense against some of the big NBA boys that's when I said to myself "hey, maybe he can play in this league after all"

[Stallion]

Zion will be ok guys, just like Tatis.

[Chi_archie]

Zion will be ok guys, just like Tatis.

very true

[BigSpoon]

Based on body types the comp for Zion should be Vlad Jr. and Ja Morant for Tatis Jr.

[Otters27]

Who's the youngest MLB player this year?

I'm curious when there will be a 16 year old

[stevenash]

Based on body types the comp for Zion should be Vlad Jr. and Ja Morant for Tatis Jr.

Funny you should mention Vlad.

I was fine tuning my fantasy draft order earlier.
Vlad has got to be one of the worst hitters vs left hand pitching in the game today.

.218 BA
.303 OBA
.415 SLG

Toronto needs to drop in to sixth in the order vs. LHP
Or even sit him against the better lefties

[Cross]

Vlad dropped some lbs, will that help his hitting?

[stevenash]

Vlad dropped some lbs, will that help his hitting?

As a former scholastic catcher the answer is probably not.
He can hit RHP just fine, LHP baffles him.
Just like when I played ball, I could crush any fastball, but couldn't hit a good curve ball pitcher for shit.
Give me 100 mph dead red cheese, I'll lace a double down the line, throw me a nasty hook, watch me look silly at the plate.

Some hitters have great split stats, some don't.
I couldn't hit a curve, Vlad can't hit lefties.

Look at Tatis, he crushes lefties.
Look at JD Martinez (well not 2020 JD) he crushes LHP better than Tatis can.
Vlad, well, can not.

[EmpireMaker]

There is plenty of opportunity for hurlers to win jobs on the rebuilding Pirates’ pitching staff, and The Athletic’s Rob Biertempfel (subscription required) breaks down the full list of arms in Pittsburgh’s Spring Training camp. This isn’t to say that the Bucs are entirely done making moves, however, as Biertempfel names Richard Rodriguez the “Pirates reliever most likely to be traded this spring.”
Since signing with Pittsburgh prior to the 2018 season, Rodriguez has posted very strong numbers — a 3.02 ERA, and an above-average 28.16K% and 7.15BB% over 158 relief innings. Home runs have been an issue (1.3 HR/9) and Rodriguez’s hard-contact numbers were among the worst in baseball last season, though he also has some elite (96th percentile) fastball spin. Rodriguez turns 31 in March, but he is controlled through the 2023 season via arbitration, and is set to earn a modest $1.7MM this season. There hasn’t been any public trade speculation about Rodriguez during the offseason to date, yet considering how the Pirates are open to discussing virtually player in the organization, it seems likely some teams have already been in touch about Rodriguez. More talks could develop as Spring Training continues and clubs get a clearer sense of their bullpen needs.
Some more items from around the NL Central…

• Matt Carpenter will not be spending time in the outfield this season, Cardinals manager Mike Shildt told Jeff Jones of the Belleville News (Twitter link) and other reports. Now that Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt are entrenched at Carpenter’s usual corner infield positions, there has been some speculation that the Cardinals could look for other ways to get his bat in the lineup. Since the outfield is a non-starter for Carpenter and NL teams won’t have a designated hitter spot, this leaves either a second base platoon with Tommy Edman or bench duty for the 35-year-old Carpenter. The three-time All-Star has seen a steep decline at the plate over the past two seasons, and 2021 looms as Carpenter’s final year in St. Louis — the Cardinals have an $18.5MM club option for 2022 that seems almost sure to be bought out unless Carpenter has a major rebound.
• Kyle Farmer was keeping one eye on baseball Twitter this offseason to see if the Reds would sign a shortstop, he told the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Bobby Nightengale and other reporters, since Farmer was preparing to take a shot at the position himself. After playing just one game at shortstop over his first three seasons, Farmer made 15 appearances as a shortstop in 2020, and still remains in the mix for at least semi-regular work among a group that also includes Kyle Holder, Dee Strange-Gordon, and Max Schrock. (Jose Garcia is one of the few pure shortstops on the roster, though he is set to begin the season in the minors.) Farmer lost 10 pounds and overhauled his swing this offseason in his bid to prove himself worthy of regular playing time, though his multi-position versatility already makes him a strong candidate for a roster spot.