MLB 2017 Offseason signings news/rumors
- Thread starter bg1025
- Start date
But for the next few years, their best two players are Conforto/Cespedes and all three of those guys are corner OFs in a no-DH league, none should really play CF (and they have Lageres/Nimmo who can). So when Conforto/Cespedes are both healthy, Bruce bumps Dominic Smith at 1B? That seems pretty premature to me to give up on a top 100 guy, the Mets always seem to acquire guys who are bad fits with their existing personnel. Am I missing something?
Well, they're the Mets. But Conforto played a fair amount of center last year, so there will probably be a typical Mets mix and match on a daily basis.
Ahh I was just going off the prospect rankings on his baseball reference page, which all seem to be between 70-90. Not terribly familiar with the guy, didn't know he was so well thought of by some. Doesn't seem like that shrewd of a signing, but at least something is happening
Dominic Smith had a 13.3% swinging strike rate last year, the same as Aaron Judge. He was being very aggressive, and trying to showcase his ability to hit for power. Smith had 26 RBI in the 49 games he played, so there is some success to be found when runners were on base. He had 49 PA's with RISP, producing a .283/.306/.565 triple slash line (.871 OPS). That's the silver lining for a first round prospect who just needs to ignore the expectations and get comfortable and confident at the plate (and in the field, he was surprisingly poor there too) every time.
Not only did the Mets trade their leading home run hitter from last year during the season, they topped it by signing him as a free agent this offseason. The Mets traded away Jay Bruce in August, so that their outfield was set with Cespedes in left, Lagares in center, and Conforto in right. That lasted a little more than two weeks. Cespedes and Conforto missed the last 35 games due to hamstring and shoulder injuries, respectively. Cespedes only played 81 games last year due to hamstring issues, and Conforto's shoulder injury may keep him out part of this season. Signing Jay Bruce gives the Mets some options they won't find in their minors for corner outfield and 1B depth. Once Conforto is ready to come off the DL, they can send Nimmo or Smith to AAA based on performance.
If Dominic Smith is a bust, last year's swinging strike rate won't be the first comparison made to Aaron Judge. I'm sure the New York media will remind everyone the Mets picked Smith 11th overall in the 2013 draft, and the Yankees picked Judge 32nd.
Not only did the Mets trade their leading home run hitter from last year during the season, they topped it by signing him as a free agent this offseason. The Mets traded away Jay Bruce in August, so that their outfield was set with Cespedes in left, Lagares in center, and Conforto in right. That lasted a little more than two weeks. Cespedes and Conforto missed the last 35 games due to hamstring and shoulder injuries, respectively. Cespedes only played 81 games last year due to hamstring issues, and Conforto's shoulder injury may keep him out part of this season. Signing Jay Bruce gives the Mets some options they won't find in their minors for corner outfield and 1B depth. Once Conforto is ready to come off the DL, they can send Nimmo or Smith to AAA based on performance.
If Dominic Smith is a bust, last year's swinging strike rate won't be the first comparison made to Aaron Judge. I'm sure the New York media will remind everyone the Mets picked Smith 11th overall in the 2013 draft, and the Yankees picked Judge 32nd.
Addison Reed getting 2/$16.75M from the Twins, which I did not see coming. That they've spent $23M on relievers this offseason could mean they've learned they're not able to get one of the top four FA starters. A bullpen of Reed, Hildenberger, Rodney and Pressly is pretty decent.
Like the D-backs, Mets, Blue Jays, Rockies, and Giants, they're playing for a slim shot at the Wild Card—and that's incidentally where most of the FA activity has been. I suspect that when the dominoes start falling, it'll be because one of these teams looks good enough on paper to threaten one of the SuperTeams.
Could take awhile. In the AL, the Twins and Jays are still a projected 7+/- games behind the Sox and Angels.
Like the D-backs, Mets, Blue Jays, Rockies, and Giants, they're playing for a slim shot at the Wild Card—and that's incidentally where most of the FA activity has been. I suspect that when the dominoes start falling, it'll be because one of these teams looks good enough on paper to threaten one of the SuperTeams.
Could take awhile. In the AL, the Twins and Jays are still a projected 7+/- games behind the Sox and Angels.
Last edited:
I dont believe it but supposedly one of Andujar or Frazier was on the table. Either one alone would have beat what they got from the Astros IMO
An extreme HR prone RHPer not exactly what you want at YS3. Plus his 2nd half a bit of a red flag a year after being injured
Yeah, that's strange, it seems like Cashman was definitely offering more than that at some point, but maybe they had stopped negotiating so HOU could get him for less.
Pretty curious to see what it takes in the end to sign Darvish, this should take HOU out of the FA SP market. NY could trade Gardner and Warren (about $15M saved) and give Darvish 5/110 and Avila 2/12 and still be about $8M under $197M as I figure it. That's probably not enough to get Darvish, but it does feel like at least one of these top SPs (Darvish/Arrieta/Lynn/Cobb) is going to have to settle for a lot less than expected.
Pretty curious to see what it takes in the end to sign Darvish, this should take HOU out of the FA SP market. NY could trade Gardner and Warren (about $15M saved) and give Darvish 5/110 and Avila 2/12 and still be about $8M under $197M as I figure it. That's probably not enough to get Darvish, but it does feel like at least one of these top SPs (Darvish/Arrieta/Lynn/Cobb) is going to have to settle for a lot less than expected.
I don’t think the Yanks are in on Arrieta or Cobb—neither of whom throw sliders—and Lynn’s too vulnerable to LHH. I think they’re trying to trade for Archer.
I see Bruce more as evidence they're giving up on Lagares, not on Smith. CF was basically his to take for a long time, but the combination of injuries and crappy hitting seems to have led them to be willing to accept Conforto or Cespedes in CF.
Smith may be the future, but he's going to have to earn it, not get it by default after his debut last year
There's also a rumor they've signed Adrian Gonzalez (edit - stupid
) now (http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/22089304/adrian-gonzalez-reaches-agreement-new-york-mets), which I guess means Bruce is 1B depth at most and primarily in RF, unless one of the two is going to play some 3BIn a way, I can understand the logic - this is probably the last year to roll the dice and hope DeGrom / Syndergaard / Harvey / Wheeler all stay healthy and put together great years, and if that happens they need the offense to just be 'ok' - i.e., they don't need Smith to be a young superstar, they need someone who has a long enough history that they won't put up a .200 average at 1B.
Last edited:
Unless Sea Bass is coming out of retirement, I'm pretty sure the Mets have signed Adrian, not Alex.
Leg issues limited Cespedes to 81 games last year. That would solve a lot of problems if he comes back this year as the legitimate RHH CF platoon to Nimmo and Conforto as the LHH CF side. They can give up on Lagares, but these four are their only current options for the MLB team in CF this year.I see Bruce more as evidence they're giving up on Lagares, not on Smith. CF was basically his to take for a long time, but the combination of injuries and crappy hitting seems to have led them to be willing to accept Conforto or Cespedes in CF.
Smith may be the future, but he's going to have to earn it, not get it by default after his debut last year
There's also a rumor they've signed Adrian Gonzalez (edit - stupid
In a way, I can understand the logic - this is probably the last year to roll the dice and hope DeGrom / Syndergaard / Harvey / Wheeler all stay healthy and put together great years, and if that happens they need the offense to just be 'ok' - i.e., they don't need Smith to be a young superstar, they need someone who has a long enough history that they won't put up a .200 average at 1B.
Dominic Smith is a really good hitter. Nothing he has done so far will guarantee success, so I don't think he is the future, the default 1B, or that he won't need to earn it. He'll definitely get compared to Aaron Judge if he is a bust.
https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/instagraphs/katoh-projects-pittsburghs-return-for-gerrit-cole/
So what do we think of this trade? It seems like the Pirates had no interest in an OF prospect and were really looking to improve their infield, which they seem to think Moran can do immediately. Is Chance Adams really that much better of a pitcher than Joe Musgrove? Their Minor League stats seem pretty similar.
Was the Yankees offer really all that much better, if the Pirates were focused on getting infield help? Moran and Musgrove are immediate Major league starters, and if Glasnow gets better and they get a full season out of Tallion, do they miss Cole all that much?
Moran seems to have taken a step forward by buying into the "fly ball revolution". It seems like the Pirates are buying into his breakout. One of those trades where we will just have to wait and see how Moran and Cole do this season to get a real handle on who "won" the trade.
edit: pulling this article from the yankees thread, that states the Yanks weren;t going to trade any of their IF help, and only one of Frazier or Adams. So it looks like the Pirates went with the former top prospect in Moran, the 3-4 starter in Musgrove, and some mL depth over just one of Frazier or Adams.
http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/22085338/pittsburgh-pirates-trade-rhp-gerrit-cole-houston-astros
So what do we think of this trade? It seems like the Pirates had no interest in an OF prospect and were really looking to improve their infield, which they seem to think Moran can do immediately. Is Chance Adams really that much better of a pitcher than Joe Musgrove? Their Minor League stats seem pretty similar.
Was the Yankees offer really all that much better, if the Pirates were focused on getting infield help? Moran and Musgrove are immediate Major league starters, and if Glasnow gets better and they get a full season out of Tallion, do they miss Cole all that much?
Moran seems to have taken a step forward by buying into the "fly ball revolution". It seems like the Pirates are buying into his breakout. One of those trades where we will just have to wait and see how Moran and Cole do this season to get a real handle on who "won" the trade.
edit: pulling this article from the yankees thread, that states the Yanks weren;t going to trade any of their IF help, and only one of Frazier or Adams. So it looks like the Pirates went with the former top prospect in Moran, the 3-4 starter in Musgrove, and some mL depth over just one of Frazier or Adams.
http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/22085338/pittsburgh-pirates-trade-rhp-gerrit-cole-houston-astros
On another note, maybe they think they can fix Michael Feliz and turn him into an elite reliever? Felipe Rivero was a similar type of pitcher(more polished), but if they can turn Feliz into a great reliever, and Moran turns into a power hitting 3B with 6 years of control, it could be a pretty solid trade, no?
I think they think the depth this trade provides them can really help them out immediately, coupled with a full season of Marte, maybe a healthy season of McCutcheon, and some bounce back years from some of their other pitchers, could potentially vault them into WC contention? Marte was a 5 WAR player two years ago and is just 29 years old, signed through 2020.
If they really suck in the first half, I think they will have ample assets to sell in full blown fire sale mode. They are probably hoping for a Taillon breakout to makeup for Cole's departure.
If they really suck in the first half, I think they will have ample assets to sell in full blown fire sale mode. They are probably hoping for a Taillon breakout to makeup for Cole's departure.
On the surface the Pirates more or less under sold Cole. Musgrove has always had good stuff. Multiple plus pitches and I feel like he’s going to be at the very least a solid back of the rotation option. Feliz, if they can get him to harness his stuff would be an excellent bullpen weapon. So it’s not like they struck out there’s some pieces here. If Moran improves on last year he’ll replace Kang’s offense that they lost with him.
I don’t like the deal for them today but that doesn’t mean we’re going to look at it this time next year and hate it either.
I don’t like the deal for them today but that doesn’t mean we’re going to look at it this time next year and hate it either.
The trade gives the Pirates three players who should break camp with the team and save them a lot of money. Jason Martin, added to Jordan Luplow, allows the Pirates to trade McCutchen and play Marte in CF. Austin Meadows has time to work in AAA until he is ready to be promoted.
Yeah, that is a nice deal for a solid versatile vet.
I think he jumped at it before other people started signing their deals and he was left with nothing.
I think he jumped at it before other people started signing their deals and he was left with nothing.
Last edited:
#SFGiants, #Pirates involved in serious talks about an Andrew McCutchen trade, sources tell @JonHeyman and me.
Sources: #Pirates, #SFGiants have made progress on an Andrew McCutchen trade. It is not done yet. @JonHeyman and @RobertMurrayFRS were first to report intensifying talks. @MLB @MLBNetwork
Rosenthal just tweeted said the Pirates-Giants deal involving Andrew McCutchen is agreed to pending a physical.
I'm curious about the return (can't see Twitter from work if it's been bouncing around there). I'm guessing substantially less than Cole got them. Maybe Beede and a lotto ticket?
No return has been reported yet but Bob Nightengale said that it's not expected to include any of the Giants best prospects.
Both Chris Shaw and Tyler Beede have been told they are not in the deal, per Bob Nightengale and others.
Thanks. So a very light return. Not surprising given the 1 year of control and the fact that Cutch isn't Cutch anymore.
Nightengale said they were never in on him. The big question now is will Arizona up their offer because their division is getting even stronger?
Hopefully Crick isn't the centerpiece. He'll be a solid reliever in Pittsburgh but for Cutch in his walk year coming off a great year he should fetch a little more than a couple lotto tickets with Crick.
A great year? He had a 122 wRC+, his lowest hard hit % since 2011 and more than 4% lower than his peak years, which coincides with his highest two soft contact percentages in that span. While he would have been, arguably, the best hitter on the Red Sox last year, that's more an indictment of the Sox than praise for him.
He had a good year. But great is what he was doing from 2012-2015.
I say great year because the year prior it looked like he fell off a cliff and was borderline replacement level. So while great might be overstating it he rebounded extremely well.
This and the Longoria deal probably put the Giants in the driver's seat for the 2013 NL Pennant
And IIRC, he had a lot of trouble hitting fastballs above 94mph last year. He is a good candidate to bust again.
Contrary to popular opinion I actually thought the Pirates did ok on the Cole deal.
Unless Cutch's contract was going to break their financial back this winter valuing Frick/Reynolds over keeping him and taking the end of the year pick latter if need be seems more questionable though.
Unless Cutch's contract was going to break their financial back this winter valuing Frick/Reynolds over keeping him and taking the end of the year pick latter if need be seems more questionable though.
OFFICIAL: The Pirates today acquired pitcher Kyle Crick, minor league OF Bryan Reynolds and $500,000 in international bonus pool space from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for Andrew McCutchen and cash considerations.
This covers his arb years and gives them two team options after that, my guess is he will be dealt within the next year or so (and he will bring back a lot).