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Mark P
8:28
Straw is owed $14.75MM over the next two seasons, so it's not an onerous amount of money for "bad contract swap" purposes.  If a team was really in need of defense, Straw isn't a bad fourth-outfield candidate.  

All of this being said, I think Straw is probably dead money, since his offense is non-existent.  Teams like defense but would like some kind of hitting upside for a bench player.
Ol' Paw Paw
8:29
Will the Tigers SPEND for a name...like Bregman and/or Goldschmidt??
Mark P
8:29
Goldschmidt seems a lot likelier than Bregman, from a financial sense.
bill
8:30
happ to the pirates for one of their pitchers. who says no ?
Mark P
8:31
Those types of notable inter-division trades aren't too common, so I'd say this scenario isn't too likely.  Happ also has a no-trade clause and can veto this, though he is from Pittsburgh and might be open to joining his hometown team.
Bob
8:32
Does the trade of Andes Gimenez portend a change of ownership for Cleveland ? Cost savings deals always bother fans.
Baseball fan
8:32
Found it very strange to see the jays part with horwitz and take on a long term 20 AAV pure defensive infielder. Gimenez is valuable, but makes the offense even worse barring comeback. Do you think he’s the long term SS? They jays need to have a solid amount to play with cause one bat won’t be enough.
Mark P
8:35
I liked that deal more for Cleveland than Toronto.  The Gimenez extension looks like it was a misfire based on an outlier of an offensive year, and the Guardians did well to get that deal off their books while bringing Ortiz into the rotation.  As great a defender as Gimenez is, the Guardians can pay a lot less to find a good fielder who can't really hit.

Like, say, someone like Ernie Clement, who the Jays could have installed at second base at a fraction of the price.  I agree that Gimenez is probably the replacement for Bichette at shortstop, which then gives Toronto two elite defenders (along with Varsho) who don't hit much.  Such roster construction puts a lot more pressure on the rest of the lineup to carry the offensive slack.
JAYS GUY
8:37
Are the Jays in on L. Robert as well?
Mark P
8:37
I'd be surprised if just about every team hadn't at least checked in with the Sox on Robert
Todd
8:37
Any hint the Astros could get in on Santander or Alonso?
Mark P
8:38
Santander would make a lot of sense based on their outfield needs.  His asking price is within the Astros' preferred price range, plus a switch-hitter helps balance out a right-handed heavy lineup.
Still an A
8:40
Do you think the A’s spend over $105M in payroll or just meet the minimum required to not get hit with the grievance?
Mark P
8:42
They could get wild and go as high as.....$106MM!  Maybe even $107MM!  Heady times in West Sacramento!

In all seriousness, I like the moves the A's have made.  Severino and Springs make that rotation a lot better.  It was interesting to see them give up a significant amount for a sought-after trade asset like Springs rather than just take on some team's bad contract with a prospect sweetener....it tells me the A's think they can be competitive in 2025
Seattle_54percenters
8:42
Break up the A’s!!! ADDING payroll. I get its due to threats of losing revenue share. BUT. A young team that could be very interesting if they get a few more arms. Thoughts?
Mark P
8:43
Agreed!
Teoscar H.
8:43
Where am I playing next season?
Mark P
8:45
I've felt the Dodgers were pretty inevitable, but the Conforto signing gave me a lot of pause.  Could be they're ready to move on unless Teoscar takes a discount because he wants to be in LA badly enough.  Considering that the Red Sox, Blue Jays, or other teams (Houston? Detroit?) loom as natural landing spots, it's starting to feel like Hernandez will be playing elsewhere
Charlie
8:46
What would you consider the greatest world series of all time?
Mark P
8:47
As a Toronto fan, I'm obligated to mention 1992 or 1993

But for overall drama, storylines, and history, it's hard to top 2016 and the streak vs. streak battle of Chicago and Cleveland
pinstripesandneedles
8:49
Who do you think will "blink first" in the Yankees-Cubs Bellinger trade?
Mark P
8:49
Feels like one of the sides could add something to the trade package so it isn't entirely about who's taking on more money
Guest
8:50
Do you think the twins are actually in on Sasaki?
Mark P
8:52
Everyone is "in on Sasaki" in the sense that why not?  He won't cost much, and if he's open to taking a meeting with anyone, it costs a team nothing to sit down and give him a pitch about how he can thrive in their organization.

The odds of Sasaki landing in Minnesota are mighty slim since I kinda think he'll indeed end up with the Dodgers or Padres, but who knows.  For all we know, maybe Joe Mauer was Sasaki's childhood idol.
GreggyT
8:53
The buzz 6 weeks ago was the Nats may make a splash this offseason. The draft lottery was great.  How do you feel having three juggernauts in their division impacts the Nats splash timing?
Mark P
8:54
They might be waiting for a full season of Wood/Crews before they really start "going for it," even if I think they could certainly afford to add a notable piece this offseason.
Jay
8:55
You do feel about the return for the Rays in the Springs & Lopez deal? I am surprised the Rays got so much back.
Mark P
8:56
Knowing the Rays, they'll fix Boyle and one of the prospects will turn into a big league regular.  The draft pick was the real surprise to me, since giving up those picks the kind of a move a team makes when they're closer to contention than the Athletics appear to be
Guest
8:57
Before Nasty Nestor got traded, the NYY were said to be trying to trade Stroman to get out from under some or all of his $18M contract.  Do think they still try to pull this trigger or do they need to keep their SP in tact?
Mark P
8:58
Right now the Yankees have six starters plus the Poteet/Beeter/Warren trio as Triple-A depth.  Moving Stroman wouldn't be out of the question, but the "you can never have too much pitching" rule comes into play here
SDG
9:00
to me it makes sense for the Giants to sign Flaherty and possibly a lower priced arm than Burnes, have they learnt nothing from Barry Zito.
Mark P
9:00
The Giants won two rings during the Zito era, so by that logic, they'd love it if Burnes is "another Zito."
Either Burnes or Flaherty make sense, since the Giants could use more certainty in that rotation
Alonso
9:02
Possible he ends up getting a surprisingly small deal? Seems to be a lot more smoke around Walker/santana/goldschmidt and options on the trade market, even though on paper pete is the top name available
Mark P
9:04
Alonso seemed to be the likeliest candidate for this winter's "short-term/high AAV/multiple opt-outs" guy, as I can see teams having reservations about giving him a big long-term contract.
The 1B market could go something in reverse, where Walker and company all get signed first and then a surprising club ends up with Alonso
9:05
Speaking of the Nats earlier, they could be a dark horse for Alonso depending on how his market shapes up
Jays fan
9:07
Would prefer Horowitz’s  bat over Gimenez’s. Atkins is obsessed with run prevention though.
Mark P
9:08
To be fair, having the best defensive second baseman and best defensive center fielder in the game is a good thing.  But, as noted earlier, it puts more pressure on the other hitters since Gimenez and Varsho are limited in what they can do at the plate.  Since the Blue Jays have no idea what they're getting from Bichette, Springer, Kirk, basically everyone but Vlad in 2025, it's a risk
Yankees
9:09
Bees?
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