This week in baseball blogs…
- Jays From the Couch (links: 1, 2) talks with Toronto president Mark Shapiro on how the team is grooming its future stars.
- Pinstripe Alley puts the Yankees’ financial austerity in context.
- The K Zone features a piece on Tommy John surgery.
- CheckSwings delves into what MLB might look like if there were no trades, free agency, or waivers.
- STL Hat Trick examines potential 10-year contracts for Bryce Harper and Manny Machado.
- MLB & Fantasy Baseball Analyzed takes a look at Steamer projections for several players who have signed free-agent contracts this offseason.
- Rising Apple ranks 10 underappreciated free agents the Mets should consider.
- Phillies Nation pours cold water on the chances of Philly trading for Mike Trout.
- The Point of Pittsburgh explains how the Pirates should have used the BAMTech monies to boost 2019 payroll.
- Reviewing The Brew sees Milwaukee as a logical landing spot for Troy Tulowitzki.
- Around the Foghorn searches for effective and affordable free agents the Giants could target.
- Prospect Universe is bullish on the A’s future.
- District on Deck names seven free-agent second basemen the Nationals could pursue.
- East Village Times writes about the possibility of the Padres acquiring Miguel Andujar.
- Statsswipe argues that Andujar’s ability to hit a curve could make him an All-Star.
- Tomahawk Take considers a reunion between the Braves and Jason Heyward.
- Chin Music Baseball has New Year’s resolutions for every team.
- The Runner Sports (links: 1, 2) weighs the pros and cons of the Twins’ Nelson Cruz signing, and regards pitching coach Brent Strom as a key piece to the Astros’ puzzle.
- Call to the Pen (links: 1, 2, 3) names four possible non-Harper additions for the Dodgers, asks if Craig Kimbrel could return to Boston, and wonders if the Phillies will make a big splash in January.
- Everything Bluebirds reacts to the Blue Jays’ signing of Matt Shoemaker.
- Mets Critic opines that the club needs to stop playing corner outfielders in center.
- Pinstriped Prospects explores the state of the Yankees’ farm system.
- The Fro Zone grades some recent free-agent signings.
- Rox Pile explains that the Rockies’ outfield will look different in 2019.
- Foul Territory looks at the history of free agency in baseball.
- Sports Radio 94 WIP calls out the hypocrisy in Hall of Fame voting.
- Around the Bases with Julian Bussells (podcast) discusses the Hall of Fame voting and chats with White Sox pitcher Caleb Frare.
- Future Blue Jays lists under-the-radar Jays prospects to keep an eye on in 2019.
- The 3rd Man In profiles and interviews 2019 draft prospect Zack Thompson.
- A’s Farm runs down the Athletics’ minor league free agent signings.
- Extra Innings UK has an exclusive preview of the Don’t Blink Home Run Derby in Paradise, featuring Lewis Brinson, Touki Toussaint and Bo Bichette.
- Chipalatta shares 10 Christmas wishes for the Astros.
Lots of good links , nice job
Is TT to Milwaukee gonna happen?
Agree Pinstripe Alley on everything except NYY should not have went all out for Corbin. (His inconsistency scares me) Five-year $100M offer, made by Cashman was just right.
My response to Pinstripe Alley is this piece: (H/T cereal!)
riveraveblues.com/2018/12/yankees-can-afford-sign-…
Don’t LOSE hope!
Let me guess, the Yankees will just trade Stanton to the Dodgers to make room for Harper. What a joke! Get that junk off these threads.
It’s a blog thread. Get anti Yankee hatred off this 1. Go Yankees!
It’s not “anti Yankee hatred” it’s just logic! If the Dodgers have the money for either Harper or Stanton, they would go for the better player, and not get stuck with that awful Stanton contracts just to help the Yankees out like every Yankee fan perceives. Just stop reposting those ugly fan made blog posts, there is no need for them!
Only thing ugly is your Yankee hate bro.
Direct reply to Pinstripe Alley’s take on NYY’s austerity. I agree mostly w/ PA take, saying “Don’t lose hope.”
I had near-zero hope before, that article gave me hope.
Uh oh!
It’s x vs X.
I’m out.
Can’t wait to find out.
Even blog thread, triggered. I love that piece!
Don’t lose hope Pinstripe Alley, all NYY fans!
You had zero hope before? Poor you! Guess you have to be content with having one of Harper/Machado and not both. Feels bad to be you!
Will the real x please stand up.
Trigger warning.
This X Probably has our mutual friend’s IP address.
Dude retract those claws, because all he did was reference a different Yankees blog. You may not appreciate it, but others just might. Oh that’s what the whole thread was doing, referencing team blog sites like they do weekly. Your willingness to get on here and trash x for something so trivial is weak Sh$t.
Still can’t understand why so many people are labeling the Stanton contract as bad. Way too soon to make that call. And he had a great year. Every other team would love to have those numbers in their lineup. Especially knowing it was a down year and he’s likely to do even better next season.
Lets just break that comment down. Stanton is owed 22.5 mill over next 9 years with an opt out which he most likely doesn’t take. Stanton is 29. Stanton offensive numbers are better then Harpers and defensively its hard to break them down but Ill give LF to Harper and RF to Stanton. So if you were a team in need of a RH bat would you take Stanton or harper who will most definitely cost a team around 35mill per year against the tax? Yankee fans want Harper because we desperately need a LH bat and we already have judge in RF. If the Yankees needed a RH bat after the year Harper had I wouldn’t even second guess the decision to try and acquire Stanton. Its truly Yankee bias at play here.
You’re a bore and add nothing to this site.
They’re the same guy, I bet
Everyone cried boo hoo when the Yankees spent a lot and changed the rules of the game. Now the Yankees are getting smart with smaller payrolls. Their payroll was under $200mm and they won 100 games, almost 10 more than last year. They are being smart. The Yankees of ‘14 and ‘15 were old, expensive and not fun to watch. This team is much better…
LETS GO METS!
You have to wonder what type of deal it would take to get trout. Even with his current salary he is STILL underpaid
don’t even think about it!
Anaheim has to if things stay the same. It will arguably be the biggest decision in franchise history. Keeping him while things stay the same harms them. I don’t want to be their GM in that spot that’s for sure
angels will do all they can to lock trout. if it is not enough, he walks when it’s his time. angels will not trade him.
Torres/Andujar/Sanchez/Severino for Trout if I’m Anaheim I make that trade. The floor of the players may not be sky-high but the ceiling is so high if I’m Anaheim I have to make a trade like that. Obviously though LAA won’t get rid of Trout and I doubt NYY wants to get rid of their core for 2 years of Trout.
The Yankees would get worse in that trade
Dude think of what you’re saying. As amazing as Trout is, no one man can drag a team to 100 wins. Best player in the game, hands down. Worth what, 10 WAR? Collectively, those 4 you mentioned were worth at least 12. 4 players with average WAR of 3 manning 4 full-time slots is worth far more than one 10 WAR at one position, especially when you’re paying $35 mil per for that players compared to below market control you have for the other 4 for the next 4-5 years
And they are all improving too. They are just getting started
While I don’t disagree with you, you also have to factor in the other 3 players they’d put next to Trout to make it fair… I’d be willing to bet they’d combine for more than 2 WAR.
That being said, I wouldn’t make the deal if I were running the Yanks.
There is minimal chance he is traded. We can offer equal money, have a hot farm and good young talent in ohtani, Simmonds, Heaney, Skaggs and Adell. All that plus an owner who’d rather die than be the modern cuck that trades the sports all time best.
It’s more likely Arte grabs Bryce or Machado than trades trout. I’d expect an extension by 12/31/19.
If you can offer equal money why not trade him, gut another team’s farm system in one trade then bring him back in two years?
You’re going to be very disappointed on 12/31/19.
You’re a joke
I was looking at it in terms of the team acquiring in him. In this case, the comment was regarding 4 Yankee players. If they were to trade for Trout with the guys suggested then we would have an amazing OF but then need to go out and sign a #1 starter, a starting C, SS and 3B. Just not worth it no matter how amazing Trout should be the next 2 years.
Now if you were talking about them as if they were still minor leaguers then ok. But guys with mlb success? No.
And I really ask that people be realistic in terms of what Trout might net if traded right now. Some of these suggestions are silly. Trout’s effect isn’t comparable to an NBA superstar like a LBJ or Kawhi where that 1 player alone can take an ok team into an automatic 50 win team. If he could, then the Angels wouldn’t be as irrelevant as they’ve been the last 4 years. Any team looking to acquire him over a 2 year period is most likely trying to win it all. Trading away four 3 WAR players to get Trout is a setback.
The problem with this is that anyone who trades for Trout is going to be doing so to become an instant contender or to put them over the top, so it would be hard for them to part with big league players.
So basically, you need a team that is both a contender AND has a top rated farm system, AND is willing to empty it to acquire Trout.
The Yankees last season could have done it, trading Torres, Andujar, and Sheffield, as the starting point. But the Angels weren’t ready to trade him (and still arent).
Agreed for both sides it’s a huge decision. A teams future can be gutted in a trade for trout and Anaheim will risk losing him for nothing more than a compensation pick if he isn’t traded
The Braves are one of the few teams that could trade for Trout. They have the prospect capital and Trout would easily make them the favorite in the NL east and potentially the best team in the NL. I don’t see it happening but they are the one team that has the prospect capital and are very close to World Series contenders.
Another team that could pull it off would be the Astros.
Numerous teams can trade for trout but the challenge is keeping him without him going to another team afterward
I disagree Yankeepatriot there aren’t many teams that have the prospect capital to pull of a prospect trade for Trout and are serious contenders. The only ones I think can really pull it off is the Braves or Astros. They are the two that come to mind. A lot of teams can pull it off if they trade from there current starters but not many with there prospects.
Please no Heyward reunion, that’s all. Swings too long and Pulls his head too much to negate his potential of ever being a successful major league hitter.. His defense his great but pretty sure kakes just won a gold glove, silver slugger, and all star appearance even though I believe we need to go in a different direction altogether either way!
Seriously, congrats for having a blog, but did anyone struggle to read the Statsswipe blog on Andujar? I mean I’m no grammar police but YEEZUS my mind forced me to stop and re-read again because it didn’t sound anywhere near a flowing sentence. At some point, as much as I wanted to read his thoughts, my mind said “(forget) it”.
Ooof.
Is that the one that suggested trading Andujar and Gray for Will Myers?
The Fro Zone rating the McCutchen signing as an “F” is straight up trolling. I would hope…
Frozone dude now believes that the lance lynn signing was better than the Charlie Morton signing…while also seemingly accusing the latter of using steroids as a way of explaining his career resurgence. I don’t believe that his website should be displayed here anymore.
Yeah, the guy is trolling. He has to be, right?
He actually said that ?????? HA !!!!
He also thought the McCutchen deal was an F, either the guy doesn’t know baseball or like you said, is trolling.
Jim Leyritz has spoken on Twitter, saying that he’s also heard that the Yankees are close on Machado. Said he’s not 100 % solid like he was on the Stanton trade, but that he’s fairly sure it’ll happen. In his words: “If I was a betting man, I’d say it’s all but done…. Stay tuned. Would be a good way to ring in the New Year. “
Imagine in time square after the ball drops “welcome to NY Manny Machado !” On the big screen lol
Sigh – every single time I read something about Miguel Andujar, it just proves the depth of the gross negligence and incompetence of modern day sports writers. The dude was hands down, one of the most fascinating and perhaps historically, one of the best ROY we’ve seen in a generation. Yet all these low IQ individuals were enamored by the trinket out west that threw 50 innings of pitching and hit for 1/3 of a season. You know what? Big deal. To this exact moment, I do not see anything, at all, that was deserving of the award to Otani. Some of you might be jaw dropped by a statement like that, but just because a player can hit and pitch, is nothing new (new’s flash, they’ve been doing in the NL for a very long time).
Andujar literally decimated in almost every hitting category available. Gets my blood boiling. A great disservice to the sport of baseball. Then again, these are the same knuckleheads that actually have to deliberate whether “MO” should be in the HOF or not. I want a serious Mea Culpa from sports writers, that or eat their own and start outing these people that are are making these terrible decisions. They will soon when their survival depends on it. End rant.
I agree completely what you are saying but I’m just thankful to have this great talent on our team. He has great work ethic too as he is working with Adrian Beltre this off season on his defense
-2.2 dwar! and 3.9 vs. 2.2 in war. not even close and you wasted so much space for bull manure. comparing the 2 in hitting 2.7 vs. 2.2.
Came here to say this but you beat me to it. If Anujar was ROY he actually would have been one of the worst ROY by WAR in history
so, basically, not even close! besides, yankees were dying to sign ohtani and they must have known something you don’t!
Andujar can hit but he was a horrible third baseman and that fact can’t be understated he was literally historically bad defensively. That is what cost him the ROY. That is also why he isn’t worth nearly as much as most Yankee fans think. I would be shocked if any GM looks at him as a third baseman going forward. He is a real nice hitter but if he can’t stick at third then he is a first baseman or DH greatly reducing his value. Cashman can say all he wants but there is no way he is going to have Andujar at third next year.
Most teams looking at him view him as a 3rd basemen. Plenty of room for him to become a competent defender. He was supposed to spend 2018 in the minors working on his defense, remember.
I think Cashman wants to portray he is a third baseman but I think most GM’s are to smart for that. His range at third and reaction times are so bad not really sure how you fix that. His bat is nice but that defense is really bad. If he gets another chance at third he will be the first guy to get another chance at third the last guy who was that bad at third was probably Braun and if I’m correct he didn’t play third again after the disaster defensively at third his first year.
@Bruin1012 title your Andujar report
A Red Sox fan’s biased take on Miguel Andujar
My response’s to your following incorrect take:
“His range at third and reaction times are so bad not really sure how you fix that.”
Bruin1012, Spoken like someone never seen him play
Bull. Best part of Andujar defense, despite bullish defensive stats is cannon arm strength —RANGE:
“Despite his offensive prowess, Andujar’s most impressive tool is his cannon arm. He has slightly below-average speed, but more than enough range for third base, though he still needs to polish some rough edges on defense. While he has lapses with his footwork and throwing accuracy, he’s making progress..”
This kid is 23 years old
MLB.com scouting report.
Bruin1012 “I only rely on defense stats, I have to sell my narrative. — 23 y.o. Rookie? IDGAF!
Yes, realize was terrible -16.0 UZR, -25 DRS. sometimes, stats don’t tell the whole story.
baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/miguel-anduja…
According to defensive plot lines his range was the worse at third since Braun and that’s a fact. His range is terrible he really didn’t make that many errors but he didn’t get to so many routine balls that his defensive metrics were off the charts bad. I watched him enough to see he had no range.
Look I’m not being biased I think the guy can hit no question but his defense was so bad do you really think he is a third baseman going forward?
“Look I’m not being biased I think the guy can hit no question but his defense was so bad do you really think he is a 3B going forward?”
With all due respect , I like you, Bruin1012, 1 few RS fan doesnt show homer + always respect, Didn’t mean my post to come off like that…
But to answer your question… yes! see shades of Didi Gregorius when he first took over for Jeter… again, sorry if that sounded like a jerk.
Arm strength is thing Andujar has going for him. He’s 23, so I remain hopeful he can fix accuracy, clean up some defensive miscues that make him “worst 3B EVER”
Andy gets so much hate here, he’s not DH for life. I see future improvements ahead
The irony of me saying you not a Bos homer, but at same time show homerism, believing Andy improves defensively.^^^
If I’m wrong I will be the first to say it I just don’t think I am in this case but we will see.
Fair enough! *
*Barring Manny sign, they prob flip him.-^^
I’m almost positive that the Yankees are getting Machado.
Well I watched him pretty much every game and I have to disagree. And no Im not gonna bring up how bad Devers was at third but if you truly watched Andujar you would know his range was not the real issue, in fact his range was better then I thought it would be, it was exactly what the scout stated, his footwork put him in some really bad spots receiving and throwing causing unnecessary errors. I can’t help but think your comments are Boston Bias based on limited knowledge of actually watching and reading from scouts what he needs to improve on. Footwork is correctable, range may not be unless he is positioned correctly. Now lets discuss Devers defense shall we?
Because scouting reports are never wrong, right?
Do u have a life moron?
I’m willing to discuss Devers defense at third. Devers defense at third, while not good, was light years better then Andujar. Devers was surprisingly agile at third got to a lot of balls that Andujar could t even sniff. Now Devers truly has bad footwork but the quickness is there he also improved tremendously later in the season and in the postseason so yea I’m willing to bet that Devers has a better chance to stick at third then Andujar. Check out the Fangraphs article on Andujar’s defense and historic lack of defense this isn’t just me saying this. Listen I could be wrong, fangraphs, baseball prospectus, and baseball reference could all be wrong and if he improves from the historically poor defense at third I will eat crow. I just think it is highly unlikely.
His fellow players thought he was the ROY.
and who are they? yankees?
He was voted most outstanding rookie by the players. You will have to look it up on your own. I can’t copy/paste from my phone.
I can.
You must be over 65.
Or maybe you need a better phone.
Yes, ohtani got only 19% of votes and 70% went to Andujar
By MLB players.
This really tells that Ohtani is really overrated,
bronxpinstripes.com/news-rumors/miguel-andujar-win…
Congrats, you Got got a downvote from ohtani himself i guess.
Players know the real ROY.
Writers are journalists and they have all become drones to their own beliefs, like and dislikes.
MYR… I’m not over 60. My new LG is a POS compared to my old Samsung.
I thought all smart phones, you just do a long press to copy stuff.
Mine does.
MYR… It’s more that it’s a pain in the butt onthis phone as opposed to that it actually can’t. The long press never starts and ends where I want.
It just shows you how little you know about baseball. He can’t play defense to save his life and is numbers were very ordinary for a ROY candidate. Good hitter,
126 OPS+ is far from decimating.
Torres is a better player, and it’s not even all that close.
Why is Torres clearly a better player?
This is the argurment i hear when it comes to Andujar vs Torres.
Andujar sucks his defense is awful.
Torres will be the better player over the course of their careers,
They look at Andujar (23) as if he’s a finished product. They view Torres (21), who didn’t have a better offensive year and wasn’t as BAD as Andujar defensively but also had a bellow average glove at 2B/SS. S
So why is we give Torres the benefit of youth and assume he will improve with time but we don’t do it for Andujar. At least with Andujar we hear reports from players, writers/analysts, and coaches that he works really hard on his defense which (hard to imagine) was even worse 3 years ago.
I like both guys and think it’s absurd to think that there isn’t room and opportunity to improve upon their rookie year performances.
I’m hearing a lot of the same things about Andujar that we heard about Cano. Good tools for a defender but range issues and inability to draw a walk.
I’d like to see the Yanks stick with Andujar. I just hope he’s got thick skin and will not let all the trade rumors and conversations about his flaws effect his focus. If anything I hope it drives him to be better,
If that is directed at me, of course you don’t give up on Andujar. I’m saying I’d rather have Torres and it’s not even a close call. Torres was a poor defender. Andujar was abysmal.
As you say. Torres is younger, and has better command of the strike zone, basically every intangible goes to him.
No one is saying give up on Andujar. But I think it’s clear he wasn’t the best rookie in the AL last year. There is no disgrace in finishing second. No disgrace in having a 128 wRC+. There is no disgrace in being a good hitter to very good hitter. But he’s going to have to improve his defense, but it’s so bad, I’m not sure how likely that is.
How hard was this?
“Andujar did capture one honor on Tuesday, though, earning the Players Choice Award for 2018 AL Outstanding Rookie, voted on by his peers.”
Never forget the quotations.
ok. he got some award. congrats!
Great job. Whenever I need something Cut or copied and posted I’m gonna hit you up.
No prob…I’m cheap too.
All that vote shows you is players don’t know all that much about baseball. They have the talent, just not the knowledge.
I’m still trying to get over Harold Baines in the Hall of Fame, Vada Pinson was a much better player and Pinson falls well short.
Anyone hear any news on Yusei Kikuchi? He’s gotta be signed by January second if he’s to play in MLB right? Who do you guys think will end up signing him?
The East Village Times idea of a return for Andujar is comical. I about fell out reading that.
San Diego fans are believing the hype that their farm system is going to bring them a World Series title.
I mean Yates and stammen for andujar?
I believe he said something to the effect of the yankees could fill their bullpen on the cheap… You have to be kidding me.
Even if they offered to take ellsbury contract it still isn’t worth it.
We’ve all seen enough prospects come and go said understand I don’t care how many decent players are in their farm system it’s still is their farm system.
You’re really going to ignore the part where it says “a hefty prospect package” literally right before Yates and Stammen?
Heyward sucks, no thanks
nayson nayward-Signed Braves fans
Hell hath no fury like a Yankee fan that thinks everybody doesn’t think as highly of their players as they do. I remember getting blasted by a Yankee fan as ignorant on baseball matters when I suggested that Phil Hughes wasn’t a guaranteed superstar.
Can you really argue that ANYONE will or will not be a “guaranteed” superstar? I mean who is even in position to make that call? At best, you can argue whether or not a player has “superstar potential”. That being said, Hughes underachieved in his career but gave you splashes of his promise.
To go further, Hughes could’ve been as good or better than Gerrit Cole. And as a Yankee fan I will say this. Had Hughes or even Joba been with another organization and could stay healthy they both could’ve been Cy Young caliber players ESPECIALLY if they played along other successful power pitchers. I don’t think it’s difficult to understand how much better Cole became once he moved to the Astros and played alongside Verlander.
Dude…
Actually, yes. Mike Trout.
When he was in the minor leagues I advocated locking him up for ten years for an unprecedented 100 million dollars. I don’t know if anyone agreed with me. But yes, there was no doubt in my mind he was a guaranteed superstar.
But he’s the only one I’ve even seen.
Rumor has it that manny has chosen the yanks and the deal is pretty much done for 8 yrs
Who said 8 years? I haven’t seen anyone list a number
That is what is being said by a person that is with the yanks organization but like I said it’s still a rumor till it’s done
If Manny says he is not always motivated enough to run out ground balls, what are the chances he ever hits a gym after signing a ten year $300 million contract?