MLB Offseason...
- Thread starter B.A.R.
- Start date
Yanks27Sox9
CTG Partner
i disagree about some of those opinions regarding my Yankees...and if Chapman gets suspended, so his free agency is held off for a year, i think this is huge. either way, it's a great deal. the Yanks got a stud closer on the cheap...and will have the best set of 3 RPs in the game, 2 of which are lefties (which is a huge deal)...to go along with a young, solid group of SPs.
i'll come back to this, but that Yanks are in the process of getting young/athletic. after the 2016 season, a ton of money comes off the books...aging players who'll be moving on...so the Yanks are a team in transition. they'll make a splash next winter, which is why i'd love to see Chapman get a long suspension this season and come back for '17.
anyhow, first the pitching. Chapman, Miller, & Betances obviously lock down the 7th/8th/9th of any game. no need to go over the numbers, like K/9, as they're already detailed in the articles about the trade.
so what about the starters? Tanaka's an ace...Pineda's a solid #2, when healthy...Severino was rushed to the bigs, but is a future ace...and definitely a solid #3, maybe even a solid #2, right fucking now...and Eovaldi proved he's a solid #3 as well last season. all four of these guys are south of 30...the oldest is 27, the youngest just 21...and all four have already proven what they can do in the AL East.
yeah, we have one more year of CupCake (CC). whether he can be a serviceable #5 SP is to be seen, but maybe he can eat innings. but don't be surprised if the Yanks take a flyer on another SP, either as part of the 5 SPs or just as insurance.
either way...the Yanks will have one of the game's top pitching staffs in 2016...and everyone important (the 4 SPs and the 3 RPs are all between 21 & 27, except for Miller at 30 yrs old.) maybe it's just my opinion, but that's a very solid pitching staff...especially for one so young. and i'm very excited to see what it'll look like in 2017 if Chapman's still there, and the Yanks go thru a winter with so much money coming off the books.
now the down side (or not-so-bright side) of 2016...
even though the Yanks are improving, and getting younger/more athletic (typically on the cheap)...the offense will still be challenged at times to plate enough runs. the defense will be excellent...the bats will definitely be a problem at times. let's go thru it...
Catcher...McCann has a couple/few solid years left at 31...and Gary Sanchez will hopefully be ready to take over soon. He looked great in the Arizona Fall League, so that would be the ideal transition.
1B...Tex is indeed old, and always hurt...but 2016 will be his last with NY. Bird is waiting in the wings, and already showed what he was capable of last fall. Not sure he's the future of 1B though, so we'll see what happens.
2B...we got Castro cheaply from the Cubbies. He's only 25, so hopefully he can become more professional. Definitely an upgrade at 2B though...a young defender that can also handle the bat.
SS...Didi's also just 25, and was outstanding once he got used to NY. However you want to slice it, the Yanks are very solid up the middle (C, 2B, SS, & CF) for years to come.
3B...Headley's only 31, so not old...but he's weak sauce. However you want to slice it, part two, the Yanks are not solid at the corners (1B & 3B) and will need to improve. (I'm speaking offensively, not defensively.)
LF...Gardner was hurt, and had a bad '15...but he's still a little spark plug...speed with a bit of pop in his bat...and isn't that old at 32. Hoping the Yanks trade him, tbh, and get even younger though.
CF...Ellsbury was also hurt, and is also 32...but he's proven and solid, and definitely has a few good/productive years left in him.
RF...Beltran is old, but will be off the books in '17. The OF will be decent in '16, but will hopefully be much better in '17. Definitely will need more offensive production out of the corner OF spots moving forward, imo.
DH...ARod for 2 more years, dammit. Personally, I hate it...but the silver lining was that at least he produced some in 2015. The Yanks need him off the books though, and will only get better once that happens.
Anyhow, Cashman has been doing a great job rebuilding while he waits for old/bad deals to expire. He's built a solid, young pitching staff...a solid defense...while the offense is obviously a work in progress still, but hopefully what i wrote above shows that he's working from the middle out...in the infield and outfield. The corners will only improve after 2016...
The Yanks are purposely trying to get young and athletic though, in case you haven't noticed, and they've been doing so on the cheap...like with Castro...or even Chapman, since the possible suspension dramatically reduced his trade value. Cashman's out there picking up former (top) 1st round picks as well, who haven't panned out yet in the bigs. Ackley (from the Ms) was the best college bat (out of UNC) the year he was drafted, and is only 27. Hicks (from the Twinks) was one of the very top athletes out of a Long Beach/So Cal high school the year he was drafted, and is only 26. These guys have all the tools, but for whatever reason haven't put it all together yet in the majors. Maybe they won't...but it's not a bad strategy to take cheap flyers on top/top talent, when all it takes is one of them to begin to reach the potential all the scouts saw in these kids pre-draft...and as they mature into the prime years (27-32) of their careers.
is it baseball season yet? takes time to accomplish...but it's good to see the Yanks patiently building their next great team the right way. if Hank/Hal stay out of the way, and allow the baseball people to continue down this path...good times are just around the corner for NY.
hell, i haven't even mentioned Aaron Judge yet...tremendous power, and will be taking over a corner OF spot...or even DH...in the very near future. i did mention Gary Sanchez at catcher already, but i haven't mentioned my favorite prospect yet...as he's a bit further away from the others. but remember Jorge Mateo, folks...a 20 yr old SS out of the DR, who stole 82 bases last year between LowA & HiA. you may not know this, but the Yanks have had a solid minor league system under Cashman..and it's only getting better. (see Severino, Betances, etc.) and I love that Cashman isn't using the very top prospects to trade...just the middling ones so far (knock on wood).
:tiphat:
i'll come back to this, but that Yanks are in the process of getting young/athletic. after the 2016 season, a ton of money comes off the books...aging players who'll be moving on...so the Yanks are a team in transition. they'll make a splash next winter, which is why i'd love to see Chapman get a long suspension this season and come back for '17.
anyhow, first the pitching. Chapman, Miller, & Betances obviously lock down the 7th/8th/9th of any game. no need to go over the numbers, like K/9, as they're already detailed in the articles about the trade.
so what about the starters? Tanaka's an ace...Pineda's a solid #2, when healthy...Severino was rushed to the bigs, but is a future ace...and definitely a solid #3, maybe even a solid #2, right fucking now...and Eovaldi proved he's a solid #3 as well last season. all four of these guys are south of 30...the oldest is 27, the youngest just 21...and all four have already proven what they can do in the AL East.
yeah, we have one more year of CupCake (CC). whether he can be a serviceable #5 SP is to be seen, but maybe he can eat innings. but don't be surprised if the Yanks take a flyer on another SP, either as part of the 5 SPs or just as insurance.
either way...the Yanks will have one of the game's top pitching staffs in 2016...and everyone important (the 4 SPs and the 3 RPs are all between 21 & 27, except for Miller at 30 yrs old.) maybe it's just my opinion, but that's a very solid pitching staff...especially for one so young. and i'm very excited to see what it'll look like in 2017 if Chapman's still there, and the Yanks go thru a winter with so much money coming off the books.
now the down side (or not-so-bright side) of 2016...
even though the Yanks are improving, and getting younger/more athletic (typically on the cheap)...the offense will still be challenged at times to plate enough runs. the defense will be excellent...the bats will definitely be a problem at times. let's go thru it...
Catcher...McCann has a couple/few solid years left at 31...and Gary Sanchez will hopefully be ready to take over soon. He looked great in the Arizona Fall League, so that would be the ideal transition.
1B...Tex is indeed old, and always hurt...but 2016 will be his last with NY. Bird is waiting in the wings, and already showed what he was capable of last fall. Not sure he's the future of 1B though, so we'll see what happens.
2B...we got Castro cheaply from the Cubbies. He's only 25, so hopefully he can become more professional. Definitely an upgrade at 2B though...a young defender that can also handle the bat.
SS...Didi's also just 25, and was outstanding once he got used to NY. However you want to slice it, the Yanks are very solid up the middle (C, 2B, SS, & CF) for years to come.
3B...Headley's only 31, so not old...but he's weak sauce. However you want to slice it, part two, the Yanks are not solid at the corners (1B & 3B) and will need to improve. (I'm speaking offensively, not defensively.)
LF...Gardner was hurt, and had a bad '15...but he's still a little spark plug...speed with a bit of pop in his bat...and isn't that old at 32. Hoping the Yanks trade him, tbh, and get even younger though.
CF...Ellsbury was also hurt, and is also 32...but he's proven and solid, and definitely has a few good/productive years left in him.
RF...Beltran is old, but will be off the books in '17. The OF will be decent in '16, but will hopefully be much better in '17. Definitely will need more offensive production out of the corner OF spots moving forward, imo.
DH...ARod for 2 more years, dammit. Personally, I hate it...but the silver lining was that at least he produced some in 2015. The Yanks need him off the books though, and will only get better once that happens.
Anyhow, Cashman has been doing a great job rebuilding while he waits for old/bad deals to expire. He's built a solid, young pitching staff...a solid defense...while the offense is obviously a work in progress still, but hopefully what i wrote above shows that he's working from the middle out...in the infield and outfield. The corners will only improve after 2016...
The Yanks are purposely trying to get young and athletic though, in case you haven't noticed, and they've been doing so on the cheap...like with Castro...or even Chapman, since the possible suspension dramatically reduced his trade value. Cashman's out there picking up former (top) 1st round picks as well, who haven't panned out yet in the bigs. Ackley (from the Ms) was the best college bat (out of UNC) the year he was drafted, and is only 27. Hicks (from the Twinks) was one of the very top athletes out of a Long Beach/So Cal high school the year he was drafted, and is only 26. These guys have all the tools, but for whatever reason haven't put it all together yet in the majors. Maybe they won't...but it's not a bad strategy to take cheap flyers on top/top talent, when all it takes is one of them to begin to reach the potential all the scouts saw in these kids pre-draft...and as they mature into the prime years (27-32) of their careers.
is it baseball season yet? takes time to accomplish...but it's good to see the Yanks patiently building their next great team the right way. if Hank/Hal stay out of the way, and allow the baseball people to continue down this path...good times are just around the corner for NY.
hell, i haven't even mentioned Aaron Judge yet...tremendous power, and will be taking over a corner OF spot...or even DH...in the very near future. i did mention Gary Sanchez at catcher already, but i haven't mentioned my favorite prospect yet...as he's a bit further away from the others. but remember Jorge Mateo, folks...a 20 yr old SS out of the DR, who stole 82 bases last year between LowA & HiA. you may not know this, but the Yanks have had a solid minor league system under Cashman..and it's only getting better. (see Severino, Betances, etc.) and I love that Cashman isn't using the very top prospects to trade...just the middling ones so far (knock on wood).
:tiphat:
Yanks27Sox9
CTG Partner
Doyers revamped the starting staff...
Kershaw, Maeda, Kazmir, Ryu. 3 LHPs...well 4, assuming either Wood or Anderson take the 5th spot in the rotation.
Not as good as the Mutts rotation, but it definitely moved in the right direction over the last couple of days by adding Kazmir & Maeda to the mix.
Kershaw, Maeda, Kazmir, Ryu. 3 LHPs...well 4, assuming either Wood or Anderson take the 5th spot in the rotation.
Not as good as the Mutts rotation, but it definitely moved in the right direction over the last couple of days by adding Kazmir & Maeda to the mix.
cubsker
Used to be "Fun Cub"
castro isn't really what i would call an athletic player. he'll do fine at 2B and he is really good at covering ground on popups, but his speed is not a strength. His makeup issues are the most overplayed I have ever seen for a player and I'm not even kidding. He's a great teammate and a hard worker, and I'll be rooting like hell for him.
Yanks27Sox9
CTG Partner
that's good to hear about castro. maybe with his stick cooling off, and so many top notch prospects needing playing time, they used or allowed the makeup issue to take hold...and take a life of it's own. wouldn't be the first time the media was manipulated...
cubsker
Used to be "Fun Cub"
the media came up with all on their own. bobby valentine on espn on sunday night baseball a few years ago combined with a relentless bob brenly on wgn drove the narrative. I think Brenly may just be racist, b/c he hated all of castro, soriano, and aramis ramirez despite them all being good teammates and hard workers.
T
tipyerbartender1
Guest
Just the latest in a parade of RH hitters in Detroit who sure would look good in the middle of my batting order.
orangemonk
Creep - Dee oh double gee
love it, love illitch more than words can express
T
tipyerbartender1
Guest
Tigers defensive line-up is chock full of gimps and statues, what's one more?
He gonna die one day and then there goes all that spending. Ole man been hanging on. I hope he does till 2017 at least for new Arena.
We had like 3-4 months of some defense in outfield last year...hehe
T
tipyerbartender1
Guest
Fangraphs predicts the Tribe will win the AL Central. Put that in your nerdalyzer and smoke it.
:nonofinger:
orangemonk
Creep - Dee oh double gee
moreso than petco, where he was avg. last year?
orangemonk
Creep - Dee oh double gee
I don't understand how that team isn't way better than they are. I actually pegged them to win it last year. kluber, carassco, salazar, bauer is so good.
orangemonk
Creep - Dee oh double gee
this
T
tipyerbartender1
Guest
You gotta score a few runs.
I think all four of those guys have room for a positive bounce in 2016, so I'm bullish (what else is new), but they still might trade one of them. Their blue chip hitters in the pipeline are not yet ready.
hugh613
Pretty much a regular
On the plus side, Upton with a career .324 BA in 34 career AB's at Comerica. On the down side, only hit .238 on Tuesdays last season, so... : )
cubsker
Used to be "Fun Cub"
he was better last year than i thought. had been below avg the few years before. just doesn't seem like a guy who's going to age very well.
cubsker
Used to be "Fun Cub"
10th in hitting WAR, 8th in pitching. you would think they would be better.
T
tipyerbartender1
Guest
Wouldn't swap their staff for any in the division, WAR be damned.
orangemonk
Creep - Dee oh double gee
Probably not, he's athletic but not in a shifty way
Coolslaw1
Pretty much a regular
As a Mets fan, I'm happy about this
L
Lareux
Guest
Why does he need velocity?
guaranteeed
Pretty much a regular
because he isn't getting groundballs without it
he dropped from 54 to 49 to 44 the last 3 years
his velo dropped from 89 to 86 as well
he dropped from 54 to 49 to 44 the last 3 years
his velo dropped from 89 to 86 as well
L
Lareux
Guest
That could be caused by other issues outside of the velocity. He struggled with forearm tightness, and has had issues with his mechanics in the past couple of years. He's getting just as many outs as he has, they just haven't been ground balls. He's also a sinker ball pitcher, so his movement is just as important as his velocity, and his movement was as good as it's always been last year, at times it was better.
If he's healthy, and it wasn't simply a mechanical issue, he's most likely not getting the velocity back. Pitchers like Mike Mussina suffered the same loss in velocity in his career, and he learned how to pitch around it. Fister wasn't a guy who was blowing anyone away with a fastball in the first place, so the loss of velocity, while concerning, shouldn't necessarily be seen as the biggest issue for him going forward. His velocity wasn't what made him successful, it was his ability to locate the sinker in the lower half (and down) in the zone...we all know a guy who carved himself quite the successful career without throwing with a bunch of velocity...Greg Maddux. Incidentally, Fister has been compared to Maddux for much of his career...hopefully he can figure it out with less velocity. Obviously, no one is calling Fister the next Greg Maddux, or predicting that his career would end up anywhere near where Maddux's did, but as far as pitching goes, Fister is very comparable to Maddux.
dylanphan
Pretty much a regular
I personally don't like the Fister signing, but at 1 year/$7 million, is pretty low risk.
In my eyes, guy obviously has some structural damage to his arm, or has pretty much lost all mechanics and is on the decline. He's 32, so not exactly young and going to miraculously regain the 2-3 mph he's lost. He's never been a hard thrower as it was.
If the Nats thought he had something left in the tank, they obviously would have at least offered a few year deal to a returning starter. The fact that no other team in the majors did, and the best he could get was a low ball 1 year deal shows that no one thinks he will regain it. Nationals are a team primed to contend and have spent loads of money. They probably could not afford to resign Jordan Zimmerman to a multi-year deal, but now they are going into the season with a weak back end of the rotation. Surely they would have resigned him if they thought he could pitch still. They are so desperate for pitching that they signed 72 year old Bronson Arroyo to a $2 mil minor league deal that can swell to more than the $7 mil Fister got, and this is a guy that missed ALL of 2015 with TJ surgery.
Astros rotation has a solid 1-3, but tbh, I'd be quite wary of the Feldman/Fister/Fiers back end of the rotation. Maybe they catch lightning in a bottle with one of those guys, but I don't really think they do. Plus, minute maid is not really a pitchers park, so if I'm signing bargain bin pitchers, I want guys that can miss bats. Fiers probably fits this mold best. I think Fister doesn't last till ASG in the rotation.
In my eyes, guy obviously has some structural damage to his arm, or has pretty much lost all mechanics and is on the decline. He's 32, so not exactly young and going to miraculously regain the 2-3 mph he's lost. He's never been a hard thrower as it was.
If the Nats thought he had something left in the tank, they obviously would have at least offered a few year deal to a returning starter. The fact that no other team in the majors did, and the best he could get was a low ball 1 year deal shows that no one thinks he will regain it. Nationals are a team primed to contend and have spent loads of money. They probably could not afford to resign Jordan Zimmerman to a multi-year deal, but now they are going into the season with a weak back end of the rotation. Surely they would have resigned him if they thought he could pitch still. They are so desperate for pitching that they signed 72 year old Bronson Arroyo to a $2 mil minor league deal that can swell to more than the $7 mil Fister got, and this is a guy that missed ALL of 2015 with TJ surgery.
Astros rotation has a solid 1-3, but tbh, I'd be quite wary of the Feldman/Fister/Fiers back end of the rotation. Maybe they catch lightning in a bottle with one of those guys, but I don't really think they do. Plus, minute maid is not really a pitchers park, so if I'm signing bargain bin pitchers, I want guys that can miss bats. Fiers probably fits this mold best. I think Fister doesn't last till ASG in the rotation.
gsro
Give me the NHL, or give me death
Alan Tongue
Pretty much a regular
Form Atlantis Reno. From memory they were way off on a few when other places opened last year
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orangemonk
Creep - Dee oh double gee
KC under for all the Tostitos
Alan Tongue
Pretty much a regular
BP released PECOTA today, so a lot more futures will be going up in the next 24-48 hours
guaranteeed
Pretty much a regular
Some of those pecota standings are insane
