This week in baseball blogs…
- Call to the Pen (links: 1, 2) interviews Yankees ace Luis Severino and writes about the potential of the Phillies signing Manny Machado next year.
- The Giants Cove wants the Brewers and Cardinals to respond to the NL Central rival Cubs’ signing of Yu Darvish.
- Royals Review breaks down potential first base options for KC if it doesn’t re-sign Eric Hosmer.
- Athletics Nation accuses Scott Boras of taking baseball hostage.
- Outfield Fly Rule opines that the union needs smarter, stronger leadership.
- The Sports Tank contends that MLB executives are winning this slow offseason.
- Kennedy’s Commentary suggests the top available free agents need to lower their asking prices.
- Clubhouse Corner notes that free agency has been especially rough this winter for players over the age of 30.
- Jays From the Couch hopes Toronto pounces on free agents whose prices are dropping.
- Mets Daddy, Good Fundies, Bronx To Bushville and DiNardo’s Dugout (podcast) react to the club’s signing of Todd Frazier.
- 216Stitches delves into newly signed Ranger Seung-hwan Oh’s decline from 2016 to ’17.
- Pirates Breakdown compares the Bucs’ rotation to other NL teams’ staffs.
- Pinstriped Prospects looks into potential moves the Yankees could make before the season.
- The 3rd Man In talks with Brewers outfield prospect Corey Ray.
- The K Zone likes Kenley Jansen’s chances of dominating for years to come.
- Chin Music Baseball identifies six dark-horse Cy Young candidates for 2018.
- Off The Bench regards Padres righty Dinelson Lamet as a breakout candidate.
- Jays Journal asks if Jose Bautista would be willing to sign a minor league deal.
- Big Three Sports analyzes Braves prospect Cristian Pache’s swing.
- Think Blue Planning Committee ranks the top four pure hitters in the Dodgers’ system.
- STL Hat Trick discusses the Cardinals’ offseason with Craig Mish of SiriusXM.
- The Point of Pittsburgh looks at how things went wrong for the Pirates in recent years.
- Believeland Ball examines three big camp battles to watch for the Indians.
- Camden Depot argues that the Orioles shouldn’t re-sign Chris Tillman.
- Dodgers Way could see LA going with a six-man rotation.
- District On Deck lists five potential X-factors for this year’s Nationals.
- Blue Jays Beat focuses on Toronto’s chances of contending in 2018.
- East Village Times has high hopes for Padres outfielder Hunter Renfroe.
- NY Yankees Digest names the worst free agent signings in franchise history.
- Extra Innings UK talks with Indians prospect Todd Isaacs about baseball in the Bahamas and playing in the World Baseball Classic qualifying tournament in Brooklyn.
- Notes from the Sally previews the 2018 Columbia Fireflies, the Mets’ South Atlantic League team.
- Motor City Bengals honors Black History Month by paying tribute to the greatest African-American Tigers of all-time.
- Everything Bluebirds is optimistic that the Blue Jays will bring out the best in Randal Grichuk.
- The Junkball Daily projects AL standings using hypothetical rosters built with all homegrown talent.
- Rox Pile explores how the Rockies could tweak their lineup for a stronger offense in 2018.
- Minor League Ball highlights the best Division II college players slated to enter this year’s draft.
- Chris Zantow rewinds exactly 24 years ago to Feb. 11, 1994, the day Brewers legend Robin Yount announced his retirement.
- The Runner Sports (links: 1, 2) responds to Ervin Santana’s injury and looks back at the Houston Buffaloes, a long-defunct minor league franchise with Hall of Fame ties.
- Rotisserie Duck revisits the Padres’ 1988 Triple-A team, a club with many familiar names.
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This is an excellent post.
I always thought Connor was the best, at finding MLB teams Blog posts.
Consider “RiverAveBlues” for Yankees, Connor. They’re better than a lot of the main stream media’s NYY coverage.
Agreed. Great site. I visit it daily.
RAB is one of the best blogs out there, in general. As Yankees goes it is by far the best.
Mike use to write for MLBTR. I think they know his website.
Pretty sure these are just reader/author submitted and then the team at MLBTR weeds out the duds and spreads it out among the teams.
Sevy is an amazing talent and we are blessed to have him on the team. Amazing scouting by the organization !
I remember getting bashed for picking Severino as my suprise Cy Young contender last year..
This year, providing they are both healthy, which is a big if, but regardless I am picking Garrett Richards and Danny Salazar as my “suprise” AL Cy Young contenders..I just do not know who to pick as my breakout candidate(s) for the AL…I believe I will go with Jose Berrios and Brent Honeywell
Also, for the NL, if healthy, I have to choose Carlos Martinez and Aaron Nola as my two relatively “suprising” Cy Young Candidate(s).
My breakout pitcher(s) for the NL will be Luis Gohara and Luis Castillo. If healthy, both will end up being rated as two of the top 20 pitchers in the NL..
So, to the members of MLBTR, I ask you, if you had to choose one or two AL and NL Cy Young candidates who would they be?? The only stipulation is that they cannot have already won a Cy Young Award previously..And typically I don’t go with the “obvious” big name/contenders..
Then, if you were to pick one or two AL and NL breakout pitchers who would they be?? Typically for this, I choose a pitcher within his first 3 years, that has shown flashes of promise, but hasn’t yet put it all together..And one, I believe will finally put everything together and breakout to become a top 20 pitcher in his league….
Predict away fellow baseball fans!!
If the Cards could land Hosmer they should, at a reasonable price and years. This would allow them to move Carpenter back to third, his best position. Some have questioned Hosmer’s defense, but I think he is better than his stats suggest and he would certainly be an upgrade. Plus he could hit behind Ozuma, covering him and allow DeJong to hit in a less stressful sixth. This would allow Gyorko to roam, something he is more suited to than Carp. Please spend the cash, you know you have it!
I love the idea of Hosmer but cardinals need to bring back Lynn or sign Cobb..if they can get both Hosmer and a pitcher cardinals are for sure caught up with the cubs( yes I know darvish is a cub)
Lynn is gone period,rejected StL offer.
if cards throw in an attractive offer to Lynn I just don’t see him rejecting it..
I think they could get both hosmer and maybe Greg holland for a reasonable price. I think holland would be the cherry on top for our offseason or maybe signing/ trading for a pitcher.
What is reasonable? Hosmer is supposedly sitting on an offer around 7/140, isn’t he?
Yeah, I was thinking about 6 and 120 with an option and an opt out.
Hosmer is overrated. I would hold out till next FA class over signing Hosmer
Extremely overrated. You are better off taking your chances on the much cheaper Logan Morrison
Yeah, I have no idea why some are so fascinated with him. His contract is going to be bad before the ink dries.
So you say! Like who next year? Perhaps Machado, but most likely too costly. Hosmer’s inta ngibles, plus his fit, makes the Cards immediately a strong contender, not just his numbers, but the elevation of others, due to his fit. I’m not seeing any other positions of need in the near future. He would be the cog that could get them over the top.
Yes, as a matter a fact the Cardinals couldntafford to pay Machado a ridiculous contract next year. Signing Hosmer now would be a panic move. Still got to look at the future and I think Cardinals are in a good spot to trade mid season (if needed) or make a splash at Machdo, Harper, or Donaldson next off season.
The Cardinals, in my opinion, need to be careful to ensure they don’t compromise their long-term outlook. Kelly, Reyes, Flaherty, and Bader are all graduating, which doesn’t leave much above average talent on the farm. O’Neill has yet to demonstrate enough discipline at the plate to warrant a look, so it would seem unlikely that he’ll contribute this season.
With just 2 years of Ozuna and Carpenter, they’ll need a middle-order bat and leadoff hitter before too long. They still need a closer and possibly a better right-handed setup man for this season.
If it were my call, I’d stay away from Hosmer. They should probably give Martinez a harder look at 1B, at least against LHP, and try to bring in Holland to close; reassess at the break. Bringing in another bat right now doesn’t seem necessary. I still think their bullpen needs more attention than their fielders. They could try to trade for Colome, but that would thin out their chips even further.
Maybe going after Machado or Donaldson next offseason will make some sense. They could move Gyorko, who’s owed around 10m next season to clear some space in payroll.
I agree Red Feather
Hey Xabial,,, do you at least go to church?? You’re on everything at any time with comments
Maybe he comments on it while he’s at church.
Brock Lesnar
Paul Heyman wins with this comment.
yanks2009, I’ve been commentating on here, more lately. Mostly on/off.
I go on extended absences, or extended commenting periods. Depends on what the school curriculum offers.
I don’t know what your problem is? I don’t troll other teams fans, I always try contributing to the discussion.
You seem to have taken such a keen interest in my personal life. What’s wrong with that picture?
Even adding more to the confusion, blog I was recommending in this thread, was agreed to, by two other Yankees fans.. Are you a “real” Yankees fan? or “yanks2009” year you became a fan?
Ya that’s an odd thing to say. Why are you so into baseball? Come on
What happened? You guys didn’t include my blog this week
Baseball Takes at maximustake23.blogspot.com
Articles published this week
maximustake23.blogspot.com/2018/02/todd-frazier-at…
maximustake23.blogspot.com/2018/02/a-small-announc…
Okay, but what is the address of the blog?
maximustake23.blogspot.com.br/
mlbtraderumors.com/2018/02/baseball-blogs-weigh-in…
Weigh in from last week it’s the:
Baseball Takes contends that the Orioles do a poor job evaluating pitching.
still not quite sure on the address
the address is maximustake23.blogspot.com.br
just type it in, and hit enter.
Blog’s name is Baseball Takes
mlbtraderumors.com/2018/01/baseball-blogs-weigh-in…
Baseball Takes evaluates J.D. Martinez.
Brewcrewqer, I’m glad someone got the joke!
There were 2 active links in your first comment, plus an inactive link. Just teasing you a bit. It’s all good.
*That’s a silent “q”, by the way…
All the posts over the last two days of who’s got the best pitching staff well it starts with a bonafide ace..a #1. Dodgers have Kershaw,Nats have Scherzer,Boston has Sale,Astros Kuechel,Indians have Kluber,Yankees have Severino. Go from there down before making a claim to be the best…
*Giants have Bumgardner
IMO Verlander > Keuchel in Houston
Severino is NOT an Ace!
Yes he is!!! I’ll take Smoltz opinion just for one over yours everyday and twice on Sunday…
Nope. He needs to have more than one good season before considering him an ace. If he’s an ace, so is Kyle Hendricks, Marcus Stroman, and James Paxton
All four of those guys would be the ace in a few organizations, like the Royals for example.
not yet, but pointing in that direction.
I havnt seen the Blue Jays mentioned hardly at all about the best pitching staffs. I think if they stay healthy, they have a top 5 rotation !
The Giants Cove should be worrying about their own team. If the Cards or Brewers respond to the Darvish deal they’d be miles ahead of SF, considering they already are considerably better
Not particularly. The Giants had quite an unlucky year last year and their entire roster is looking to bounce back. Pair that with the fact that they’ve added a couple of 3 win players in places where they had replacement level players and I think they really look like the 86 win projection Fangraphs has them at.
The brewers had quite a few overperformers last season and are looking to regress a bit, same with the Cards. Ultimately I think that they’ll all be in the hunt
I beg to differ. While yes, the entire Giants roster underperformed, they have an old core, weak bullpen, and questionable rotation. Not to mention a defensively challenged outfield. While I do expect them to bounce back, the Giants look like they have too many flaws to be looked at as a serious contender. With their weak farm, they can’t even upgrade anymore.
Fangraphs has them pegged for 84 wins, which would be requiring a tie-breaker. On the outside, the competition is only getting better. Just because you mentioned the Brewers, they’ve added at least 5 WAR this offseason and have the capability for more. I wouldn’t expect much from the Giants.
I would like to know who the Cards’ over performers we’re?
Well right off the top of my head, realistically Pham probably wont repeat his 2017 production numbers
Ya Pham will still be good but I highly doubt he puts up another 6 WAR season though. Dejong and Ōkuma might’ve over performed a bit too last year
Okuma? Who is that? Cards don’t have a player with that name!
I couldnt read threw any of this crap. Phillies signing Machado???? Wtf ya right after the padres sign him too.
phils fans have been talking about that for over a year now.
Ya we all can talk pipe dreams lets see the team pull 400+ mil out of there rear
2018 – $66.9mm….. 2019 – $83.2mm projected….. 2020 – $97.2mm projected. Yeah, they are so cash strapped.