This week's mailbag gets into the Cubs' remaining payroll space, how MLBTR's arbitration projections came to be, what the Padres, Reds, and Rangers might do, possible fits for Marcus Stroman, the Jeff Hoffman situation, what the Cardinals could get for Erick Fedde or Ryan Helsley, and much more.
Walter asks:
With roughly $45 million left until the bottom threshold, how do you see Jed Hoyer spending it? Do you think he is being handcuffed because he is in the last year of his contract?
No, I can't see the Ricketts family putting boundaries on Hoyer because of his lame-duck status. According to RosterResource, the Cubs' CBT payroll sits at $198MM, which indeed puts them $43MM shy of the first threshold. I'm not convinced Hoyer will spend all of that, but he figures to spend a good portion.
The Cubs waited out Cody Bellinger until late February last year to get the short-term deal they craved. It's not hard to see the Cubs being opportunistic on Alex Bregman, Jack Flaherty, or Nick Pivetta should they move into short-term deal territory. The Cubs giving $5MM to Colin Rea probably reduces the odds of pursuing another starting pitcher, however.
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The Front Office again, Heavens to Murgatroyd! Ahahahahaha!
Yesterday it’s the hit piece about the Cardinals half measures. Then an article about how the Cubs could sign Bregman and now today talking about how the Cubs have 40 million more to spend.
Good gosh folks
You have not read two of the three articles you cited
Yeah I am not giving you money. I had to change my name because some loser was trolling me I flagged the losers posts and you messed with my account. Reporting trolling doesn’t make me a bad person. I understand moderating this site can be a headache at times but when someone creates a username to copy another poster they are a troll. It’s obvious.
The Cubs didn’t trade Paredes so that they could sign Bregman.
Just like baseball on TV I grew up on this stuff because it was free. If you start chanrging that’s a choice you can make but I didn’t become a baseball fan by paying to watch games and read articles.
I am fine with you not giving me money.
You have been putting out a lot of strong opinions based on stuff you haven’t read, however, and that’s a good place for me to bow out of any back-and-forth about those articles where you’re guessing about what was written. Way too much assuming going on.
I just searched my inbox for the email address associated with this commenter account and I see nothing you’ve sent me directly. I do see two reports where you violated our commenting policy in an obvious way.
I know what’s going on with the Cardinals. I follow what’s said publicly as much as anyone does. They really haven’t said anything new since the season ended at the press conference.
I stopped sending you reports of the trolling because like I said when I do you end up doing something to my account instead of actually stopping the troll. It’s happened twice already. Whoever is moderating this stuff doesn’t do anything until I report it.
What did I do to violate the commenting policy? Good gosh man just say so. I imagine everyone has not read the commenting policy.
People report and flag my comments because I have a lot of comments. Sometimes people flag my comments because I muted them and they are mad they aren’t getting my attention anymore.
I understand moderating a site like this can be a pain. But don’t penalize me for reporting the trolling and you guys have done that to me twice already.
You’ve never sent an email about whatever you’re on about with the commenting.
If you do, I’ll paste your violations there.
No one should comment without first reading the policy, which we send to all new sign-ups. But your violations are obvious: don’t insult people.
I did send an email about that but it wasn’t from the email address I am using now it was from a different email address. I explained in detail what was going on.
Don’t insult people? That’s kinda vague. Specifically what are we talking about here? I am not perfect and I don’t have a lot of patience for stupid people or trolling. But I don’t insult people unless they deserve it.
You’ve got an open invite to try again using the email address associated with this account.
We do not have a carve out for insulting people if you think they “deserve it.” Don’t insult people here. Ignore, mute, flag if necessary, but we recommend you just move on from “stupid people or trolling.”
Ok here is something that happened last week.
A poster named Fever Pitch Guy was being rude and condescending towards me. I didn’t argue with him I just muted him. The next day he seeks out conversations that I am involved in and posts comment after comment talking to other posters about me. He replied to their comments not mine because I had him muted. But I still got all the notifications from it. I eventually took him off mute and went off on him. Am I wrong for doing that?
He deserved it. This stuff can be complicating sometimes. And I don’t expect you to investigate all of it just don’t mess with my account when I report it to you.
Some dude with a fake account pretending to be me just liked my comment.
You want to look into that? It’s your site……
If you want to go here and lay out the commenting thing in a clear and concise way:
mlbtraderumors.com/contact
I’ll take a look.
Removed your last comment.
Just going to post one last time that you should use the contact form for this grievance. Lay it all out in a clear, concise manner using the email address associated with BITA, and I will take a look.
Dude I am not going to do that because thats what happened twice before and why I had to start a new account for the third time. Whoever does the moderating thinks the person flagging posts is the problem.
Look you have a great site. The Cubs bias gets annoying at times but still great site there isn’t another site like it. I appreciate you taking the time to reply even if we aren’t seeing eye to eye.
Tim, Steve, Anthony, and Darragh are all HOF vote worthy BBWAA writers. I also read their articles daily and far more often than any other current BBWAA writers including those in my home town of Chicago. 🙂
You don’t think someone like Lodolo or Abbott would land the Reds Kjerstad? How much value do you think he has?
Clearly, the Orioles don’t think he’s an everyday outfielder because they signed Tyler O’Neill this winter. He’ll also be 26 on Opening Day.
What sounds better for the O’s right now? A young controllable mid-rotation arm or a fourth outfielder?
I think Kjerstad has the value of a top 50 prospect, which is a lot. Six years of a “potential middle of the order hitter,” as BA put it.
I agree that the Orioles have not acted entirely like a team that loves Kjerstad. I know Steve Adams is more in your camp.
In Lodolo, you’re getting three years of a guy who has never topped 115 1/3 innings in the Majors. He’s had some flashes of brilliance. I still think he’s pretty interesting but I would not trade Kjerstad for three years of him, no.
Five years of control of Abbott matches up better, but his K% just fell off a cliff, he’s very HR-prone, and his season ended on Aug 18 with a shoulder strain. His ERA might be closer to 5 than 4 this year.
If I’m the Orioles I don’t really see why I’d give up Kjerstad and boot Dean Kremer for the rotation for those guys. I don’t think your ideas are crazy, especially if other parts are involved, but that’s where I sit on it.
Appreciate the response back, Tim. You guys do great work for the Front Office subscribers.
I’m just curious what the Orioles will do with their rotation and, seeing that Kjerstad won’t be a full-timer at 26, I feel like that could be their easy ticket to finding that rotation help. The Reds have said rotation help, but have done absolutely nothing to address their outfield woes.
Just seems like a match made in heaven, but you make valid points.
Superb analysis of Padre options Tim. Honestly, given Sasaki‘s stated priorities, Wolfe would be guilty of malpractice as an agent if he did not connect the dots for Roki and steer the kid away from this mess.
What mess? Frivulous lawsuits?
Espn has already reported
“A statement from a spokesperson for the Peter Seidler Trust, which controls the Padres, called Sheel’s complaint “entirely without merit.”
“Peter had a clear estate plan,” the statement continued. “The plan specifically named three of his nine siblings, with whom he had worked closely for many decades, as successor trustees of his trust and Peter himself prohibited Sheel from ever serving as trustee. The trustee is exclusively responsible for designating the San Diego Padres’ next control person.”
The statement alleged that Sheel agreed in a sworn document in 2020 that she had “no right to be or to designate the control person and that she would not interfere with the designated control person.” The statement also alleges that Sheel stated in May 2024 that John Seidler “would be the best control person for the Padres.”
Her changing her mind or her trying to get Peter to change his plans in the waning time he had (possibly not of sound mind) he made while obviously coherent sane and of sound mind (cause if he wasn’t there wouldn’t be a trust to begin with or plan signed into action legally) doesnt mean its some hot mess thats gonna take years to sort through.
If the trust has the documentation they claim
Peter naming his 3 siblings as trustees
Peter prohibiting his wife from being being a trustee
Sheel herself signed a sworn document saying she had no right to be or interfere with deciding a new control person
Sheel stating a year ago John would be best control person for the Padres
Itll be less than a year before this goes away.