With the start of Spring Training just three weeks away, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. Relief Market Fallout:
The biggest domino of the relief market finally fell over the weekend when southpaw Tanner Scott agreed with the Dodgers on a four-year, $72MM deal. Scott is the latest bullpen arm of note to reach an agreement in recent days, joining Jose Leclerc, A.J. Minter, Andrew Kittredge, and Jeff Hoffman. That movement on the relief market has allowed a lot of teams, including the big-spending Dodgers and Mets, to address their late-inning needs already.
But there’s still several clubs that appear to be in the market for late-inning relief help. The Orioles, Red Sox, Blue Jays, and Cubs were all involved Scott’s market to some degree, with Chicago even putting forward a final offer of four years and $66MM that nearly matched that of Los Angeles. All four of those clubs could stay involved in the relief market going forward, with Chicago and Toronto already having been connected to the top remaining free agent reliever in righty Carlos Estevez in the wake of the Scott deal. Other top relievers available include Kirby Yates, David Robertson, and Kenley Jansen. Who will be the next to sign?
2. Twins trades on the horizon?
Over the weekend, Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey indicated that the club’s trade conversations have begun to escalate in recent weeks. Minnesota has been one of the least active teams in the entire sport this winter, as their only addition to the 40-man roster with even a single plate appearance in the majors so far is Mickey Gasper, who the club swung a minor trade for last month. It’s long been clear that the club was facing severe budget restrictions this winter as ownership puts the team up for sale, and as such the front office is in a position where they’d need to trade away salary commitments in order to bring in additional talent.
Plenty of attention has been paid to the possibility of a Pablo Lopez trade this winter, but it seems more likely that the Twins would pursue trades involving pricey but less impactful veterans like Christian Vazquez, Willi Castro, and Chris Paddack as they try to remain competitive in the AL Central this year. If Minnesota manages to get a deal done, it could allow them to address the club’s hole at first base or add a much-needed right-handed complement to their heavily left-handed corner outfield mix with the money saved.
3. Cardinals Winter Warmup Wrap-up:
The Cardinals’ Winter Warmup fan event began over the weekend, with a number of headlines emerging from the comments made by players and personnel at the event. The festivities aren’t over yet, however, as more remains on the club’s schedule for the final day of the event today. Willson Contreras and Lars Nootbaar are both scheduled to be available for autographs, as is manager Oliver Marmol. The most notable event on today’s schedule, however, is certain to be a Q&A session with ownership. Chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. and team president Bill DeWitt III will both be present for the Q&A. Marmol is also scheduled to hold a Q&A later in the day.
Looking forward to some Dodgers baseball in ‘25.
Lot of folks talking about CBA issues and the implementation of a cap because of LA but there are a handful of teams that are only spending to ensure they don’t get fined for lack of spending and another handful of teams that haven’t made ANY notable FA signings this entire offseason. Say what you will about LA, but this team is having no a hell of an offseason and spending money versus banking it and making owners richer.
Like when they lose in the playoffs!
That’s the thing I like about what the Dodgers are doing. We used to have a single team to all collectively hate back when the Yankees were doing this stuff 2 decades ago. It’s been a while since there has been a true villain team, but now we have one!
Canuckleball: I still hate the Yankees (It’s harmless, it’s only sports).
Dodgers did this in the past too. Ran up payroll then had to sell off & file Bankruptcy.
Dogs – That had a lot more to do with a very messy divorce than the team’s spending.
Correct and an owner who knew real estate and not baseball.
Fever, regardless of the reason, situations can change. Ask the Willond. It is dangerous to anticipate future revenue after a certain point. Just like teams should be required to put at least X% of their baseball related revenue back into the club before using elsewhere or pocketing
dodgers – Very similar to the current Red Sox owners.
John Henry knows commodities trading.
Tom Werner knows television shows.
Neither knows how to run a baseball team or keep a fanbase engaged.
…and yet John Henry has won 4 World Series.
Willpons
All, Henry et. al. have become baseball arbitragers, like how he made his money. He sets a price and tries to get it for even less. It explains all of the injured players he hopes will return to form. Unfortunately for true fans who understand the game is won and lost on the field, not in a computer, I truly believe it will be luck (like 13) that brings another championship if there is another. He used to invest to earn now he earns to invest. Such is not good for real fans because Fenway if allowed to, will continue to take baseball profits and invest them elsewhere.
They should be twinned with Manchester City
Beginning of the end for MLB, just watch out for Qatar or Saudi buying the Vegas Athletics and putting up a 500m payroll. Plenty of sportswashing money out there.
Or maybe the Washington Muskies – at some point Elon’s going to run out of, er, other things that help him pass the time
It’s a shame but it’s modern life. And plenty of people will jump on any winning bandwagon, just us old timers can’t be bothered with Abu Dhabi City v Qatar United
So, if you met Ortiz and Pedroia, you would tell them they won because of luck in 2013? The Red Sox spend around the luxury tax threshold each year. I don’t think that is cheap. I think they need to spend better and I think Breslow is working on that.
RobblyDobs: Tom Henry owns Liverpool under the FPG group. Hopefully they’re going to win the Premier League this year but could lose three of their best players if Henry doesn’t spend better than he does with the Red Sox.
Suit – lucchino was the baseball mind, he had more to do with that than either Henry or Werner.
People need to get a grip. LA can get 115 wins every season, but anyone can win in a 5-game series in the playoffs. As I recall, LA won 111 games in 2022 and lost in three of four to San Diego in the NLDS.
It would also be a lie to say that spending like the Dodgers have doesn’t give you a massive advantage over the rest of the field. Having a rotation of five Ones for example, there’s a MASSIVE gap between LA’s rotation and the rest of the league.
Baseball viewership will be in serious trouble if it becomes the Dodgers show for 5+ years, it has already been struggling with the younger demographic. Removing parity will really exacerbate that problem.
Gonsolin, May, Knack, Sheehan are Ones…? Yamamoto went 90 IP last year. He was a $300M opener. Interested to see what he and Snell does in a full season.
@stan lee – You can’t act like the Dodgers and Yankees haven’t been at a massive advantage for over 100 years, and it never hurt the product. Look at the HOF lineup on some of those Yankee squads – there was no cap, etc and it only improved the game. A team can spend like crazy and still be terrible – see LA Angels of Anaheim, The problem is the Dodgers are also great at scouting, making trades, and prospect development, and now are creating a brand that favors the Japanese fan. That is what is going to really bring them a huge advantage. Case in point – Sasaki could have signed anywhere, but the location to Japan, existing stars, and Japanese cultural areas in LA make is more of a draw.
This is exactly what i’ve been saying. The Dodgers aren’t just automatic champs, people need to stop crying. Remember the Dbacks? that was 2 years ago people give me a break
Correct, Captain. More teams that look great on paper and even lead the league in wins aren’t the last one standing. The Dodgers have realized that over the last 10 or so years. Takes a lot of talent to cross the finish line more than twice in the last decade, not to mention a repeat.
Cap – If MLB had any integrity, they would make the Divisional Series best of seven ….. which they could easily do if they had just one WC in each league instead of three.
But as always, greed wins out.
In a way it has to hold back the development of their farm system, in a way they will have to part with some pretty good players that they wouldn’t have to have if they didn’t sign everybody available to them in FA. It will balance itself out somehow someway.
Kershaw already on the outside looking in and he is one of the greatest pitchers of all time. I guess he will have to show up this spring and earn that spot like a rookie.
Dodgers have deferred their next championship.
@jmaa And countless fans have deferred their financial competence…
Let’s see if Hoyer signs Charlie Sheen for the Cubs. I complain a lot about him dumpster diving, but it looks like he actually tried with Tanner Scott. Definitely need more bullpen help.
Across: I wonder if the cubs played in LA, if they would have a better chance at signing some of these top players. Then again, it could be the old smokescreen of floating names that they never intend to sign.
avenger – The Cubbies have been kinda following in the Red Sox footsteps, milking the large fandom and Wrigley for all it’s worth. They’ve been cheap, but not as cheap as the Red Sox.
Avenger,
It is a little bit of smokescreen with the Cubs, only because Hoyer has been adamant about not signing relievers to long-term deals.
Fever,
Oh yeah, after 2016, Ricketts has been reluctant with spending too much. Hoyer will spend just enough to look competitive, and as the last two seasons have shown, Cubs end up falling short. Even now, I am not counting out the Brewers, Cubs have to show they can beat them before I can feel confident they’ll win the division.
Wouldn’t matter if the owner stays the same. The Cubs could own the Central if they actually spent like the large market team that they are, but they don’t.
stan – And they won’t as long as the fans keep putting up with it.
Cubs fans need to hit ownership where it hurts, in their wallet. It’s the only way to bring change.
A few days ago, Ichiro was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame.
news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/a9ad994fa15af3de8790a161…
So the Dodgers will probably sign him then.
Only another 8 months of Twins trades on the horizon. Awesome. And will they won’t they regarding the Cardinals and Arenado.
TIL there’s an MLB player named Mickey Gasper.
gbs – I’m really rooting for Mickey ………. to break the all-time record for career AB’s without a hit.
Hey if you can’t be famous, then be infamous ;O)
He does have an OBP 217 points higher than his BA. If he can keep that up and get his BA around .250, he’ll be more than famous.
People complaining about the Dodgers are absolutely correct. What they do is drive up the cost of the remaining market. By signing Scott to an expensive contract, the others are now going to increase their demands. This shrinks the list of teams willing to pay the new going rate. BUT, the other effect is to make it harder for the remaining pitchers to get signed. So not only are the Dodgers causing harm to other teams, they’re also causing harm to other players. But hey, it’s right out of Steingrabber’s playbook so it’s perfectly ok. As a nation, we admire criminals.
Paying players more does not hurt them. You sound like an industrial revolution tycoon trying to moralize lower wages.
I’m speaking on behalf of players like the “Boras Four” who were priced out (partly by their own doing of course) and players this year like Alonso. I realize these guys are where they are because they want their “fair share”. Also, players at lower levels of income are removed from the league and replaced by cheaper alternatives.
Yes, it’s an oligarchy of a few rich teams. But there is always a cost.
hayzee – Not really, the Dodgers are just part of a group of teams driving up the price of superstars.
Why is Vladdy demanding so much now?
Because the Mets and Yankees kept offering Soto an insane amount of money.
But you look at two other Dodgers signings, Snell & Teo, both were very reasonable compared to other contracts given by other teams.
Corbin Burnes? Max Fried? Juan Soto?
(Not the Dodgers)
Yes, the Dodgers aren’t acting alone in this pyramid scheme.
It isn’t a pyramid scheme. Just an open market. Players are aware who the big spenders are and once those teams are done they will have to reset their expectations.
I wonder if the Twins would be interested in taking a flyer on Spencer Torkelson for their 1B needs?
Also, Spencer Torkelson is one of the all-time great baseball names, sounds like someone who would have played in the 1920s.
Makes so much sense for Minnesota to go after Torkelson but would Detroit make an inside division trade?
Does Helsley go with Arenado to the Red Sox to get a deal done ? I wouldn’t have thought that Helsley would be tied to anyone earlier this offseason but it’s now almost February.
Waaaaaaaaah I dont like what the Cardinals are doing this winter and it’s all MLBTR’s fault!!! waaaaaaaaaah the biased writers here have affected the way the St Louis front office operates!!!!!! waaaaah Every article here paints my team in a bad light! waaaaaaaaaah Something something Arenado no trade clause trade him anyway WAAAAAAAH!
You don’t ever get tired of your own act?
I hope your day gets better <3
I think Tim may have cracked.
BTW – I just want to point out yet another team, the Cardinals, who appreciate their fans and treat them with respect. Their annual winter fan event sounds great, and it’s 3 days long. And many of the events are free.
Unlike the Red Sox event that was just 8 hours and you had to pay $85 to attend anything. Red Sox Nation deserves better!!
Cardinals Winter WarmUp is an awesome event and all but to say ownership appreciates the fans as of late just doesn’t ring true. The DeWitts are proving to be more and more cheap with the product on the field and behind the scenes. The Cardinals used to be looked at as THE model organisation but now they don’t even have a direction
Just throwing out a question here. It has to do with generational players. At first, it was rightfully Ohtani. That was it. Now practically everyone who has a good season is considered “generational”. The only other player I would give that title to is Soto, though he’s been above and beyond since 2019 but only recently was called generational. In hockey, it’s Gretzky even though McDavid is going to pass his goal total this season. I would hesitate to call McDavid generational, maybe because Gretzky was the first one to do it or, in my opinion, as someone who was lucky enough to see him play, he had abilities like seeing plays two-three moves before they happened. He was much more than just a goal scorer.
Back to baseball. My question is, do you think the word “generational” is being thrown around too much? Just wondering.
Yes
Jordan / James
Yea he good but Jordan records are what 12 years or so LeBron 20 years. I would have all the records if I played 50 years .
Another
Manning / Brady
Same deal.
Baseball no cap
Los Angeles / Tampa bay , marlins, wow 400 million to 50 million.
Where the real competition ??
Twins another victim of Manfraud and DSG . Fix the TV revenue ! No blackouts !
In NFL each team receives 280 million a year in media money . That would be nice for my MlB team at 30 million . In mlb it goes LA/NY get the money. Rest suck
Each MLB team gets the same amount from the national contracts and MLB network.
The issue is the disparity in local tv revenue. The Dodgers bring in over six times as much as the Brewers, for example. Milwaukee spends to its capacity (unlike the Pirates) but is so severely outgunned by LA they are always at a huge disadvantage.
It will take a combination of more revenue sharing, a floor, and a cap to actually make MLB competitive.
Doubt if it will be a verylong line for that Marmol autograph.