Hot Stove RUMORS Thread

MoGator71

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Ed Hillel said:
 
Huh, I just looked at his career numbers, that's a really strange career arc. He did have a significant dropoff last year, even factoring in the injury, but it was still a positive. I don't know how I'd project him over the next 4 years.
I'm with you, I'd always thought Peralta was pretty lousy defensively but depending on how you feel about UZR he apparently is better than I thought. Just watching him he seems to have poor range and I've never been overly impressed with his hands, I'd have called him serviceable at best. 
 
I still think I'd rather have Drew.
 

glennhoffmania

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This will make all of the Cruz critics laugh:
Free-agent outfielder Nelson Cruz had to be heartened by Jhonny Peralta's $53 million deal, as Cruz is the better of these two Biogenesis-connected players.
 
It shouldn't come as a shock that, according to sources, Cruz is said to seek about $75 million over four years. And it shouldn't come as a surprise, either, that there are plenty of interested teams, among them the Mariners, Athletics, Mets and his old Rangers team. The Phillies are another that showed early interest but would probably have to trade someone to make room now. (Cruz's agent Adam Katz declined comment on any and all.)
 
 
19m per year for Cruz?  He's fucking crazy.
 

Rice4HOF

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Maybe. But crazier than fans who don't believe he'll get that even though every single year somebody gets a stupid contract like that and we're all shaking our heads? I'm not saying he deserves it or that he's going to get it, but it's just as crazy to think there's no chance he'll get it.
 

Rough Carrigan

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nattysez said:
Stop me if you've heard this one before - Theo and Jed trying to put together a complicated three-way trade for Samardzjia.
 
http://worldseriesdreaming.com/2013/11/27/pre-thanksgiving-samardzija-check/
Remember the 7 way trade in '09 that was going to include a precursor to the Arab spring uprising in North African countries that would restructure their economies and political systems?  Or the the famous 19 way trade in '11 that was going to include a resolution of the debt ceiling problem?  Those were the days! 
 

RedOctober3829

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NEW YORK -- The Seattle Mariners have emerged as a major player in the sweepstakes for free agent Robinson Cano, according to several sources who spoke to ESPNNewYork.com on Tuesday on the condition of anonymity.
With the New York Yankees not wanting to offer Cano more than a seven-year contract or as much as $200 million, an industry source with knowledge of the negotiations put the Yankees chances of retaining their five-time All-Star second baseman at "less than 50-50."  "It doesn't look too good right now," said the source
 
Sources familiar with the negotiations between the Yankees and Cano told ESPNNewYork.com that the Yankees believe Seattle might be willing to offer Cano a $200 million deal over eight years.
One of the sources said the Mariners were "desperate for hitting and desperate to put people in the ballpark."
"I wouldn't presume to say that there's no one out there that will meet (Cano's) demands,'' said another, who named Seattle -- along with possibly the Texas Rangers -- as a team that might be willing to outbid the Yankees for Cano's services.
"Now it's a question of, does (Cano) want to be a Yankee, or is he just about the money?," said a baseball insider.
According to sources, the Yankees believe they learned the answer when it was reported in October that Cano's side had demanded a 10-year deal worth $310 million. Cano has since said he never made any such demand.
 
http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/10073969/seattle-mariners-emerge-major-player-robinson-cano-sweepstakes
 

RedOctober3829

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Papelbon's Poutine said:
Is Cano really putting butts in the seats? He's a great player and all but I don't see Seattle returning to sell outs if they sign him.
No, he's not putting butts in the seats.  If he goes to Seattle, it's all about the money.  It's easy to see here that Cano's camp is using Seattle as leverage against the Yankees.
 

Doctor G

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Maybe Seattle is disappointed with their return on the Jesus Montero  deal.
 

Wingack

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Papelbon's Poutine said:
Is Cano really putting butts in the seats? He's a great player and all but I don't see Seattle returning to sell outs if they sign him.
Winning more baseball games because he is a great player will put butts in seats.
 

E5 Yaz

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It doesn't get serious until they take him off the masthead of their website
 

Tyrone Biggums

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E5 Yaz said:
 
exactly what buster olney tweeted
Ha! Awesome

Seriously Bell has a better track record than either Farnsworth or Rodney
 

Yaz4Ever

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Wingack said:
Winning more baseball games because he is a great player will put butts in seats.
I agree
 
Papelbon's Poutine said:
Will it? Is he making that much of a difference or could $25m per year be used more wisely to improve?
Sadly, it seems that SEA has to vastly overpay to get quality FA to sign with them.  Perhaps they view an overpay to him as an enticement to other FA to take them more seriously.  Obviously, they can't continue to overpay every FA they sign, but if they can nab someone of Cano's caliber and possible another, there may be more interest in SEA as a signing location for other high profile players this year and for the next few years to come.
 
Then again, he could just be using them to run up the price for the Yankees, which I'm also fine with.
 

YTF

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Am I the only one noticing that Seattle seems to be "in on everyone"? Does this come directly from The Mariners or agents knowing that Seattle has $$$ to spend and are using it for leverage. Seattle has some nice young players and some great top of the rotation pitchers, but who have they spent money on in terms of FA or a big dollar trade in recent years?
 

MakMan44

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Jack Z might be fired if the team doesn't turn around next season. He's trying to get as much talent there as possible. 
 

ForceAtHome

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YTF said:
Am I the only one noticing that Seattle seems to be "in on everyone"? Does this come directly from The Mariners or agents knowing that Seattle has $$$ to spend and are using it for leverage. Seattle has some nice young players and some great top of the rotation pitchers, but who have they spent money on in terms of FA or a big dollar trade in recent years?
 
Not a lot in recent years. A lot of their big acquisitions in the past 10 years or so have been huge busts.
 
Pre-2005 season: Signed Richie Sexson and Adrian Beltre
Pre-2006 season: Gave decent money to Jarrod Washburn
Pre-2008 season: Traded a big package (including Adam Jones) to acquire Erik Bedard
Pre-2010 season: Unfortunately signed Chone Figgins for big money for 2010. Also traded for Cliff Lee, but then flipped him that same season and Smoak hasn't fulfilled expectations.
 
They've also spent low-mid range money on Japanese imports (e.g., Johjima, Iwakuma) since the success of Sasaki/Ichiro.
 

PrometheusWakefield

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RedOctober3829 said:
@Joelsherman1: #Yankees close to signing Kelly Johnson to a 1-yr about $2.75-3M. Plan is to play a lot around diamond, potential 2b option if Cano leaves
Seriously WTF is wrong with every team that needs a 2B, why aren't they bidding up the price here.  Kelly Johnson is worth twice that at least and he should go to a team which can guarantee him a starting job.
 

E5 Yaz

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PrometheusWakefield said:
Seriously WTF is wrong with every team that needs a 2B, why aren't they bidding up the price here.  Kelly Johnson is worth twice that at least and he should go to a team which can guarantee him a starting job.
 
Last year, he hit .235/.305/.410, has K/BB totals of 99/35 and played only 22 games at 2B
 

Wingack

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The OBP is not great that is for sure, but he can play a couple different positions and could be a sneaky 20-20 candidate next year. For that price Johnson is a steal.
 

YTF

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ForceAtHome said:
 
Not a lot in recent years. A lot of their big acquisitions in the past 10 years or so have been huge busts.
 
Pre-2005 season: Signed Richie Sexson and Adrian Beltre
Pre-2006 season: Gave decent money to Jarrod Washburn
Pre-2008 season: Traded a big package (including Adam Jones) to acquire Erik Bedard
Pre-2010 season: Unfortunately signed Chone Figgins for big money for 2010. Also traded for Cliff Lee, but then flipped him that same season and Smoak hasn't fulfilled expectations.
 
They've also spent low-mid range money on Japanese imports (e.g., Johjima, Iwakuma) since the success of Sasaki/Ichiro.
 
 
Thanks for this. I knew they paid Beltre big bucks and had Lee for 1/2 season before flipping him, totally forgot about Sexson  (44M over 3 years) and while I knew Figgans was a bust I'm shocked to see that he got 35M over 4 years.
 

StuckOnYouk

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Is Cano a panic move? Considering he's worth a huge contract is the "panic move" something along the lines of a huge offer for Choo?
 
I can't imagine Boras would want to take Choo off the board so quickly now that Ellsbury is off the boards and the winter meetings havent even hit yet.
 

Rasputin

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soxhop411 said:
 
Bob Dutton ‏@TNT_Mariners10m
GM Jack Zduriencik on perception #Mariners need to add at least two bats: "That'd be great. I'd love to add three."


Bob Dutton ‏@TNT_Mariners1m
Zduriencik on mega-deals: "You have to adapt to the market. In some cases, if you have to stretch more than you want to, you just have to."


 
 
I was about to say "No, you really don't" but I am not entirely sure that the rules of good roster management that apply to the Red Sox also apply to the Mariners. On the one hand, the Sox have tougher competition. On the other hand, the Sox have the money to spend in all the behind the scenes things that make the upfront things work. The scouting, the metrics, the training regimen, et cetera and so forth. And if the Sox have a guy making mid range money, they can afford to subsidize him to get rid of him. 
 
And yeah, you can say that all of that stuff combined is cheaper than a mega contract, and you'd probably be right, but the Red Sox come at things from the perspective of wanting to and perhaps needing to be competitive every year and I am not sure organizations like Seattle can do that.
 

E5 Yaz

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An overpay on Nelson Cruz could be a "panic" move, no?