I don’t think Carson Kelly is official, this is the last I saw.
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/12/cubs-carson-kelly-nearing-a-deal.html
2024 MLB Offseason News
- Thread starter DeadlySplitter
- Start date
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/12/cubs-carson-kelly-nearing-a-deal.html
Max Fried to the Yankees
https://x.com/JeffPassan/status/1866615806186209355
BREAKING: Left-hander Max Fried and the New York Yankees are in agreement on a eight-year, $218 million contract, pending physical, sources tell ESPN. It is the largest guarantee in baseball history for a left-handed pitcher.
https://x.com/JeffPassan/status/1866615806186209355
BREAKING: Left-hander Max Fried and the New York Yankees are in agreement on a eight-year, $218 million contract, pending physical, sources tell ESPN. It is the largest guarantee in baseball history for a left-handed pitcher.
Jeff Passan
@JeffPassan
3m
BREAKING: The Toronto Blue Jays are finalizing a trade to acquire three-time Gold Glove-winning second baseman Andrés Giménez from the Cleveland Guardians, sources tell ESPN.
@JeffPassan
3m
BREAKING: The Toronto Blue Jays are finalizing a trade to acquire three-time Gold Glove-winning second baseman Andrés Giménez from the Cleveland Guardians, sources tell ESPN.
View: https://twitter.com/kileymcd/status/1866627601713754553
Spencer Horwitz "included" in the deal, sounds like there are other pieces.
Spencer Horwitz "included" in the deal, sounds like there are other pieces.
My first thought is they just swapped him for a 2nd baseman for the first half of 2025 who then replaces Josh Naylor at 1B/DH next July when he gets traded and Juan Brito/Travis Bazzana is ready to play every day in Cleveland.
Yeah, I'd definitely be disappointed if they gave up both Gimenez and Sandlin and only got one piece back... one whose future role isn't exactly clear.
@Ken_Rosenthal
The Rangers are acquiring 1B/3B Jake Burger from the Marlins, sources tells @TheAthletic. EDIT: for three minor leaguers
The Rangers are acquiring 1B/3B Jake Burger from the Marlins, sources tells @TheAthletic. EDIT: for three minor leaguers
mlbtr: Infielder Echedry Vargas is going to Miami, reports Christina De Nicola of MLB.com (X link). Infielder Max Acosta is also headed to the Fish, according to Robert Murray of FanSided (on X). Brayan Mendoza rounds out the return, per Alden González of ESPN (on X).
The end result for Cleveland is:
Out:
Andres Gimenez, 2B
Nick Sandlin, RH reliever
In:
Luis Ortiz, RH starter
Michael Kennedy, LH starter (A-ball)
Josh Hartle, LH starter (A)
Nick Mitchell, CF (A)
I feel like they recovered from a disappointing deal with the Blue Jays with the return from the Pirates, but it's a lot to sort through. Ortiz gives them an immediate starter, one who was probably not as good as he looked last season but is still young and someone the Guardians pitching factory can work with. The others are a long way off – two lefty pitchers and an outfielder – but I like Kennedy... he does a lot of things right and could be a 20-year-old in AA by late summer.
Gimenez's offensive production has been all over the place, but was trending the wrong way. I think he at least needs to start drawing more walks if he's ever going to approach his 2022 numbers again. Last year's vanishing ISO was especially troubling. However, he's in the discussion for best glove in all of baseball, so Cleveland really needs to hit on one of these young arms to make this worth it.
I'm not sure who breaks camp as Cleveland's starting second baseman in 2025 – Angel Martinez? Tyler Freeman? They're stacked at the position throughout the system and Juan Brito is what you'd call "major league ready" but hasn't actually played a major league game yet. Travis Bazzana is considered the future – one that could arrive before the end of 2025 – but he didn't exactly set the world on fire in his first few months of pro ball. Cleveland must still be high on Brayan Rocchio because none of these guys are going to be major league shortstops. Gimenez was a safety net to make the shift back to short once one of the second base prospects proved to be ready. Rocchio is a good shortstop, but I'm not sure he has the physical talent to ever be more than mediocre at the plate.
Out:
Andres Gimenez, 2B
Nick Sandlin, RH reliever
In:
Luis Ortiz, RH starter
Michael Kennedy, LH starter (A-ball)
Josh Hartle, LH starter (A)
Nick Mitchell, CF (A)
I feel like they recovered from a disappointing deal with the Blue Jays with the return from the Pirates, but it's a lot to sort through. Ortiz gives them an immediate starter, one who was probably not as good as he looked last season but is still young and someone the Guardians pitching factory can work with. The others are a long way off – two lefty pitchers and an outfielder – but I like Kennedy... he does a lot of things right and could be a 20-year-old in AA by late summer.
Gimenez's offensive production has been all over the place, but was trending the wrong way. I think he at least needs to start drawing more walks if he's ever going to approach his 2022 numbers again. Last year's vanishing ISO was especially troubling. However, he's in the discussion for best glove in all of baseball, so Cleveland really needs to hit on one of these young arms to make this worth it.
I'm not sure who breaks camp as Cleveland's starting second baseman in 2025 – Angel Martinez? Tyler Freeman? They're stacked at the position throughout the system and Juan Brito is what you'd call "major league ready" but hasn't actually played a major league game yet. Travis Bazzana is considered the future – one that could arrive before the end of 2025 – but he didn't exactly set the world on fire in his first few months of pro ball. Cleveland must still be high on Brayan Rocchio because none of these guys are going to be major league shortstops. Gimenez was a safety net to make the shift back to short once one of the second base prospects proved to be ready. Rocchio is a good shortstop, but I'm not sure he has the physical talent to ever be more than mediocre at the plate.
I think he probably ends up primarily DHing for them, with some spot starts at the corners.
Me, too. Rats! He was going to be part of the "consolation" we needed for missing out on the premier free-agency pitchers.
This was way overdue – Tom Hamilton, the voice of Cleveland baseball since my childhood, is the recipient of this year's Ford C. Frick Award.
Not news, but wasn't sure where to put this. Paints a picture of organizational disfunction; wondering who leaked it.
SOURCE: Orioles GM Unwilling to Spend Despite Green Light From Owner | Pitcher List
SOURCE: Orioles GM Unwilling to Spend Despite Green Light From Owner | Pitcher List
Reads like a tirade by someone who was recently fired. And who is drinking heavily. I understand why the Orioles aren't throwing a ton of money around, they still have a great young core with more on the way. If Grayson Rodriguez doesn't pan out the rotation could be in trouble but he is only 25 and was a top 10 prospect in baseball before last season started. If Holliday and Rodriguez improve over last year, they are probably a better team than they were last year.
Congrats to Tom. Now do Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow, Giants. These guys, as much as Posey, Bum, Lincecum, Matt Cain, Brandon Crawford et al made the Giants my strong second team back in the 2010s.
I absolutely agree.
For reference, the trade is:
Netstor Cortes
Caleb Durbin (famous for breaking the AZL steals record, yay)
for
Devin Williams
It's like the Brewers GM is a Yankee fan or something.
Eh we'll see. Williams had back problems last year and is another ultra high spin guy so don't be surprised if the arm goes.
Also that lineup is hot garbage right now - subject to change of course.
Also that lineup is hot garbage right now - subject to change of course.
Paredes is a RHH who pulls everything, perfect fit in HOU. Smith is a top 100 guy and Wesneski still has potential, with something like 15 years of control between them. That's a lot for a rental, even one as good as Tucker.
I feel like Wesneski is the kind of guy the Astros might be able to take from "pretty good, you wouldn't complain about having him on your team" to "very good pitcher".
Feels like the Mookie trade doesn’t it? Never seems like these things work out for the team that trades the star.
Deal is done as reported, per Passan & Rome (HOU beat reporter).
Fair deal on both sides I think - Tucker even as a rental should be worth that much. Paredes has more value to HOU as his batted ball profile projects for a lot of extra HRs in Minute Maid.
Fair deal on both sides I think - Tucker even as a rental should be worth that much. Paredes has more value to HOU as his batted ball profile projects for a lot of extra HRs in Minute Maid.
Tucker will be 28 in January -- a year younger than when Mookie was traded -- and his next 6-7 years are likely to be incredible. I think he's the type of player you build around. Strange choice for Houston, and it makes me wonder if Tucker's injury last season gave them long-term concern.
The Astros don't give out massive deals, Springer left, Correa left, Bregman is likely leaving now that they have a new 3B. They gave Altuve 5/151 and then another 5/125 when that was almost up, but that was a rare exception.
Cam Smith has the possibility of being top line talent, and Paredes and Wesneski just aren't (at least as of now). Could they not have gotten this at the deadline after getting half a season of MVP level play from Tucker? I'm just not as excited about Paredes having a funky batted ball profile that matches your stadium while having a ~.300 xwOBA and hoping that keeps working.
In the end, you gave up a star and got average-ish players and a maybe. It's a rental, sure, I just wouldn't be excited about it.
Why would it not keep working? He pulls everything and Minute Maid LF is tiny.
View: https://twitter.com/jakedc6/status/1867655320878952718/photo/1
This is true. Red Sox fans would absolutely hate being Astro fans.
I am glad that a really good baseball player is moving to a team that I can enjoy watching him play for.
Good point. They also managed to extend Yordan very early, and he'll make about 97 million or so over the next 4 seasons. Terrific value but still significant coin for them.
He doesn't actually hit the ball hard, so it's a statistical quirk / oddity, at least compared to other players. To me those have always felt inherently less stable than normal predictive indicators. Maybe he keeps doing it forever and pitchers never figure it out, even marginally. I personally don't love betting on "one weird trick" talents.
It's not exactly 'betting on him', but anyway he has done it for three full seasons now, 9.4 bWAR in the last three years and that will likely only go up in HOU (because of the short LF).
A bit hard to compare with the Price contract added in, but Paredes is an established above average MLB player who still has 3 years of control left. That is a more certain return than any of the pieces coming back to Boston for Mookie.