Major League Baseball: 2012-2013 Offseason and Spring Training

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The Angels sent Jordan Walden to the Braves for Tommy Hanson.

Meh.

I question this trade as well. Hanson may or may not do good in Angels Stadium. But I honestly believe that Jordan Walden is going to have a great 2013 season. He was starting to figure it all out at the end of this season. So really, the Angels signing Madison has just been nullified. Not to mention, if Madison for some reason or another doesn't pitch as well as we hope he will, then we'll really be screwed. I mean it's nice that we filled a spot in the rotation, not signing Greinke will be less of a nightmare now, but I still worry about the bullpen. But there are still a few good relievers on the market, so I shouldn't be too worried, not yet anyways.
 
The Marlins acquired minor league infielder Derek Dietrich from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for Yunel Escobar.

What's this? A fire sale of the people we got in the fire sale?

FIRESALEPTION!
 
The Marlins acquired minor league infielder Derek Dietrich from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for Yunel Escobar.

What's this? A fire sale of the people we got in the fire sale?

FIRESALEPTION!

At least you will use the proceeds of this trade to.... actually, you will just waste it on something non-baseball related. Never mind.

Rumored deal has a 4 team trade possibly occurring between Arizona, Cleveland, Kansas City/Tampa Bay and Texas. Not sure of specifics but Upton and Trevor Bauer would be on the move out of Arizona, I assume Profar or Andrus would be going from Texas, Myers or multiple prospects from Kansas City (or Shields from Tampa Bay) and A. Cabrera from Cleveland.
 
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Yesterday, the Astros let go of Wilton Lopez. This pitcher was traded to Colorado, if I'm not mistaken.
 
Rumored deal has a 4 team trade possibly occurring between Arizona, Cleveland, Kansas City/Tampa Bay and Texas. Not sure of specifics but Upton and Trevor Bauer would be on the move out of Arizona, I assume Profar or Andrus would be going from Texas, Myers or multiple prospects from Kansas City (or Shields from Tampa Bay) and A. Cabrera from Cleveland.

See, this is something I hate about Kevin Towers. Let's get these great, young pitchers in our minor league system. Hype them all up like crazy and let people see how well they are doing and what we can expect in the future for the Diamondbacks, etc. Then let's just up and get rid of them instead. :dunce:
 
So the Giants re-signed Scutaro for 3 years 20 million... Quite an overpay for someone of his age, while I think he can be a productive every day second basemen for the next 2 years I was thinking he would get the same deal we gave Freddy Sanchez and Mark DeRosa (2 years 12 mill). He isn't the type of player to let him self go though so I think he can make it work unlike the Huff deal.

I was a bit disappointed to hear that because of this deal we didn't go through with the 2 year deal with Ludwick. That would make our offense pretty sweet, though his numbers aren't amazing considering where he played. I like Blanco though, he hit around .280 with an OBP near .400 for most of the year until the last 2 months wear he tanked. If he fails I would like to see Roger Kieschnick get a shot, the dude has tons of power but swings and misses to much. Needs to learn to hit a breaking ball. Roger has had a few injuries over the past couple years otherwise we'd probably have a better idea of what he can do.

Or maybe Gary Brown? We'll see how he handles AAA (hopefully that's where they put him) he did much better in the 2nd half in the super pitcher friendly AA.
 
Most boring Winter Meetings ever.


Boston Red Sox seem like the biggest losers of it all and they were the most active.
 
Most boring Winter Meetings ever.

Because your Dodgers haven't signed anyone? Its been pretty exciting actually, this off season is moving a lot faster then most years.

Boston Red Sox seem like the biggest losers of it all and they were the most active.

Not really sure how you figure that, they dropped a 3 bad contracts on you guys during the season and bought a couple guys for short term contracts and get about the same return. Victorino is nothing more then a stop gap... They got someone to play C/1B/DH that will put a warm body in the middle of lineup, and they got a very good reliever.

I wouldn't really say it was very good... But they got 2 much needed pieces and one nice addition.
 
Dodgers may be losers if they fail to land anyone period. Right now its in limbo until Greinke/Hamilton sign.
 
Because your Dodgers haven't signed anyone? Its been pretty exciting actually, this off season is moving a lot faster then most years.

Oh look the Giants kept the Championship squad together! *snore* This offseason hasn't even moved yet. All of the top Free Agents remain unsigned and the big trade possibilities have yet to go down.



Not really sure how you figure that, they dropped a 3 bad contracts on you guys during the season and bought a couple guys for short term contracts and get about the same return. Victorino is nothing more then a stop gap... They got someone to play C/1B/DH that will put a warm body in the middle of lineup, and they got a very good reliever.

I wouldn't really say it was very good... But they got 2 much needed pieces and one nice addition.

Adrian Gonzalez has a bad contract? Izz you on druuugs? 39MM dollars for a stopgap? Johnny Gomes and Mike Napoli to platoon with David Ortiz? How do they all work? They are now the second slowest, second fattest team in MLB (Detroit looks to hold down #1 for awhile). BoSox's moves have been nothing but fail.

Well, I like Gomes.

Dodgers may be losers if they fail to land anyone period. Right now its in limbo until Greinke/Hamilton sign.

Or they might be fine....? Six starting pitchers under contract. They'd like to upgrade but if they don't it's hardly a travesty. Dodgers have by miles and away the best position players in their division and a very, very solid bullpen. Not to mention the best starting pitcher in the division. Obviously the opportunity is there for improvement, but if this is the team we see on Opening Day then it's not like they'll look worse than the Padres....
 
Apparently the Twins aren't even attempting to do anything for a couple years, hopefully the moves they have made will pay off in the long run.

I'm not a bandwagoner by any means, but it will be tough to watch them this coming season.:nervous:
 
Oh look the Giants kept the Championship squad together! *snore* This offseason hasn't even moved yet. All of the top Free Agents remain unsigned and the big trade possibilities have yet to go down.

Well more then just the Giants signings happened. Big free agents signings never happen this early in the year, its always between late December and late January. The market this year is moving incredibly fast compared to years past. We already have our first multi-team trade being rumored. 5-6 of the top 15 or so free agents have signed.

But being a Dodger fan I guess all you really care about are celebrities and what kind of taco they are eating this week.



Adrian Gonzalez has a bad contract? Izz you on druuugs?

He is 30 years old, while he is still an excellent player he is declining and he will be 36 when the contract is over. He will be averaging 20+ Million a year during these years. He has lost power and walk rates have sharply fell. Yeah bad contract. Not as bad as the teribad Crawford contract but it isn't even 'decent'.


39MM dollars for a stopgap?

Its only 3 years and hes still a good player. The Giants were paying Edgar Renteria 9 mill a year as a stop gap. Red Sox had lots of flexibility for a short term deal until Bradly or Brentz force their hand. Or gives them a CF in case they want to trade Ells who would bring a decent return.


Johnny Gomes and Mike Napoli to platoon with David Ortiz?

How do they all work? They are now the second slowest, second fattest team in MLB (Detroit looks to hold down #1 for awhile). BoSox's moves have been nothing but fail.[/QUOTE]

Wat? Gomes will play LF durr. Napoli will be mostly at 1st with Ross behind the plate and Napoli filing in to give him rest. Ortiz will be the DH. Red Sox have plenty of speed, Victorino, Ells, Pedroia. Shane and Ells can both steal 30+ and Pedroia will do 20+. Really only, LF, DH, 1B and C are slow for them... Which is really common with just about every team.



Or they might be fine....? Six starting pitchers under contract. They'd like to upgrade but if they don't it's hardly a travesty.

Kershaw is great... Bills is inconsistent and can't be accounted on. He was good, then became not very good and is now a decent 4 but has only pitched 200 innings once. (Twice got to 190ish). Never had a Whip under 1.2, career 2.1 K/BB. He has good stuff and inconsistent control, and doesn't know how to extend a bad start.

Capuano is a solid pitcher that had a nice year and his first decent year since 2005 but outside of that he is nothing more then an average #4 or 5. He throws strikes but gets hit pretty good.

Harang is Barry Zito 2.0 minus a Cy Young and a decent career. Relies on control when its rapidly declining.

Lilly had a nice very short year last year. He is Barry Zito 3.0 minus a Cy Young and slightly better control, and not as prone to hits. He is now 36 year olds and suffered shoulder problems last year.

Beckett is an insanely inconsistent hothead with good stuff. Hes the dumb jock with a lot of money but doesn't really know how get the most out of himself. He will probably do better pitching in the Latrine then he did in Fenway though. As long as his ego doesn't com bust along with the other egos on the Dodgers.


Dodgers have by miles and away the best position players in their division and a very, very solid bullpen.
Hahahahahahahaha... That is funny. But I'm sure its easy to believe when you inhale smog all day.

Not to mention the best starting pitcher in the division. Obviously the opportunity is there for improvement, but if this is the team we see on Opening Day then it's not like they'll look worse than the Padres....

Padres are so much better then you think... They are incredibly young and have a lot of nice pieces on their team. You will probably have a better record then them at the end of the year, but they played really well towards the end of the season.
 
Well more then just the Giants signings happened. Big free agents signings never happen this early in the year, its always between late December and late January. The market this year is moving incredibly fast compared to years past. We already have our first multi-team trade being rumored. 5-6 of the top 15 or so free agents have signed.
You must have checked out last year when Pujols and CJ Wilson both signed at the Winter Meetings.

But being a Dodger fan I guess all you really care about are celebrities and what kind of taco they are eating this week.
Weak troll. BTW every time I get "mexican" food north of Santa Barbara it's terrible so I can understand why you wouldn't be excited over good tacos.




He is 30 years old, while he is still an excellent player he is declining and he will be 36 when the contract is over. He will be averaging 20+ Million a year during these years. He has lost power and walk rates have sharply fell. Yeah bad contract. Not as bad as the teribad Crawford contract but it isn't even 'decent'.

I'm sorry, I can't take you serious even momentarily about Gonzalez. Look how his contract compares to other first basemen. You can never convince me that Gonzalez has a bad contract because it's just not true.

Crawford's is ridiculous, but it was the price to pay in order to get Gonzalez without emptying an already weak farm system. I can live with it under those circumstances.

For you to be criticizing Adrian Gonzalez is either jealousy, ignorance, or homerism.


Its only 3 years and hes still a good player. The Giants were paying Edgar Renteria 9 mill a year as a stop gap. Red Sox had lots of flexibility for a short term deal until Bradly or Brentz force their hand. Or gives them a CF in case they want to trade Ells who would bring a decent return.
No, he's not still a good player. He can't hit from the left side and his bat speed is all but zero. They are paying him 13 million dollars a year to play low-light reel outfield and bunt. HUGE overpay for a guy in his later 30s.



Wat? Gomes will play LF durr. Napoli will be mostly at 1st with Ross behind the plate and Napoli filing in to give him rest. Ortiz will be the DH. Red Sox have plenty of speed, Victorino, Ells, Pedroia. Shane and Ells can both steal 30+ and Pedroia will do 20+. Really only, LF, DH, 1B and C are slow for them... Which is really common with just about every team.

Alright, let's check back in on this post when the BoSox finish last in the East again.




Kershaw is great... Bills is inconsistent and can't be accounted on. He was good, then became not very good and is now a decent 4 but has only pitched 200 innings once. (Twice got to 190ish). Never had a Whip under 1.2, career 2.1 K/BB. He has good stuff and inconsistent control, and doesn't know how to extend a bad start.

He's 24. You're calling him inconsistent? Please..... Homerism, move on.

Capuano is a solid pitcher that had a nice year and his first decent year since 2005 but outside of that he is nothing more then an average #4 or 5. He throws strikes but gets hit pretty good.

Harang is Barry Zito 2.0 minus a Cy Young and a decent career. Relies on control when its rapidly declining.

Yes, thank you captain obvious. Like I said, it's not the end of the world to be stuck with 4s and 5s when you are asking them to be 4s and 5s.

Lilly had a nice very short year last year. He is Barry Zito 3.0 minus a Cy Young and slightly better control, and not as prone to hits. He is now 36 year olds and suffered shoulder problems last year.

Not counting on Lilly at all.

Beckett is an insanely inconsistent hothead with good stuff. Hes the dumb jock with a lot of money but doesn't really know how get the most out of himself. He will probably do better pitching in the Latrine then he did in Fenway though. As long as his ego doesn't com bust along with the other egos on the Dodgers.

Not going to comment on Beckett. He was two different pitchers last year so I have no clue what to expect.


Point remains: an upgrade over this staff is obviously warranted, especially if the team can afford it (which they can). That being said, in the zero chance that this staff is the one that shows up Opening Day in April, the Dodgers will not be looking at a lost season.

Hahahahahahahaha... That is funny. But I'm sure its easy to believe when you inhale smog all day.

No, I live in the mountains (or at least high up enough to be above the smog).
 
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You must have checked out last year when Pujols and CJ Wilson both signed at the Winter Meetings.

And that is very unusual. Prince Fielder didn't sign till almost February. Matt Holliday re-signed with the Cards in January. Jason Bay signed in January. Cliff Lee signed on the 13th on December. Adrian Beltre signed in January.

It usually happens later rather then earlier. Even still, why the **** do you only care about the not so elite singing ridiculous contracts? Your not much of a baseball fan huh?

Weak troll. BTW every time I get "mexican" food north of Santa Barbara it's terrible so I can understand why you wouldn't be excited over good tacos.

Good thing I've never been a big fan of Mexican food. Even still, you probably went to a ****** place.

I'm sorry, I can't take you serious even momentarily about Gonzalez. Look how his contract compares to other first basemen. You can never convince me that Gonzalez has a bad contract because it's just not true.

Albert Pujols isn't that bad of a contract considering he can DH and hes one of the best hitters of all time. Fielders probably will be a bad contract but even still he can DH towards the end of it and hes still putting up much better numbers then Agon. Howards contract is the only one that is absolutely wretched.

Like I said, hes 31 years old and has shown decline in the last 3 years even when moving to a MASSIVE hitter division where every stadium is a monster of a band box. You can't see it now, but in 3 years when hes 34 and has an OPS+ of 110 and still has many years left with $20+ million a year? That will be bad.

Crawford's is ridiculous, but it was the price to pay in order to get Gonzalez without emptying an already weak farm system. I can live with it under those circumstances.

Ok, have fun with a speed guy with average power, can't play under pressure, is bad at fielding making elite LF $ for a long time. It wasn't worth it.

For you to be criticizing Adrian Gonzalez is either jealousy, ignorance, or homerism.
Or insight influenced by actual productivity numbers.

No, he's not still a good player. He can't hit from the left side and his bat speed is all but zero. They are paying him 13 million dollars a year to play low-light reel outfield and bunt. HUGE overpay for a guy in his later 30s.

Hes always been much better from the right side. He played bad with you guys because it was infectious in your club house. Everyone was playing bad. He still stole near 40 bases last year and is still an excellent defender and he can work a walk. He is 32 not late 30's... once again you're skewing reality. I really hate Shane too... Hes a cocky douche... But hes still a decent player and considering the other players that are making similar money... Its the market.


Alright, let's check back in on this post when the BoSox finish last in the East again.

I never said anything about where they will place, so I don't know why you bring that up. I'm just saying their moves weren't terrible.

He's 23. You're calling him inconsistent? Please..... Homerism, move on.

Uh.... Bills is 28. Even still, if you were thinking about Kershaw (Who I mentioned is great if you really didn't see that as well) he is 24 and will be 25 before the season starts. So I'm not sure where the hell you got 23 from. And I stand by my statement.


Yes, thank you captain obvious. Like I said, it's not the end of the world to be stuck with 4s and 5s when you are asking them to be 4s and 5s.

Well your not asking them all to be 4s and 5s when one of them has to pitch in the 2 and 3 spot. Placement doesn't matter to much, but when you play in a pitchers park and you run out a bunch a guys who are below average every game it doesn't help.


Not counting on Lilly at all.

Then reduce that number #6 you talked about earlier to 5.

Not going to comment on Beckett. He was two different pitchers last year so I have no clue what to expect.

No idea what to expect? Sounds like you guys are in great shape. :rolleyes:



No, I live in the mountains (or at least high up enough to be above the smog).

Well that explains the delusional misinterpretations.
 
Greinke looks to be headed to the Dodgers. Ryu and the Dodgers have less than 24 hours to work out a deal and it looks unlikely as they are far apart.
 
Lmao and they signed Ryu... I think they panicked last second and told them to to fill the check.

First the Grienke contract, I'm in no way shape or form saying hes a bad pitcher, because hes good. But outside of his excellent 09' season he has been a relatively average #2 or a good #3.

Career whip of 1.2, 8.9 h/9, 3.77 ERA, 114 ERA+ and hes moving to a league with much bigger stadiums which won't help his h/9 numbers. He will be making 24 Million a year which is double what the typical going rate of similar performing pitchers. Are the Dodgers that oblivious? Or do they just want names and not performers? Not to mention in his only two post season starts we was beyond terrible. I haven't even mentioned the guy is a headcase that prefers not to be in the limelight.

Now for Ryu. I love that people from other countries come to the US/Canada to play ball... What I don't like is some of the money they throw up for a guy who more likely won't succeed, or be anything more then average. Yu Darvish is a perfect example, while it was his first year... hes supposed to be an elite pitcher... His year really wasn't that great and had a similar walk rate to Lincecum did this year. Now the Dodgers just dropped another $50 million (bid and contract money combined) for a guy who hasn't pitched a single inning in MLB or MiLB. Not to mention Puig who (while young and talented) was given 42 Million to sit around in the minors... Because all 3 current OFers have recently signed longer term very expensive contracts. A serious waste of money.

Across 9 players they will have $150 Million per year, the next 16 players will either be cheap and young (requires a farm that they don't have) or be average-below average bench players. Something they don't want. They will be looking at $220-$250 if they want decent players. The only elite players they have are Kemp and Kershaw. A lot of the players in 3-4 years will be looking like Alfonso Soriano, a slightly above replacement level person dragging the team behind with a large contract. With the inability to move the player they won't be able to overpay another played to replace him with, so they either DFA them which never happens and continue paying the contract and get nothing in return plus pay another person to play in his place so your essentially paying for two while only having one. Or you will have a very average team with no hope to make the playoffs until a few contracts will be gone.

And I haven't even mentioned the luxury tax and they will be paying $60-80 million a year in that which puts them ABOVE $300 Million a year. lol

Besides how many times has a team gone all out and been successful? The Marlins flailed. The Red Sox flailed hard (and obviously those players flailed with the Dodgers last year). The Angels somewhat flailed, but one of the two players in that deal is probably actually somewhat worth the contract. Rangers made lots of major moves and so far none of them got them a ring. 2009 Yankees are the only team that did it one year and were successful with it, but those contracts are starting to drag the team as they are trying to get below the Lux tax because they saw how much it hurts.

A few years ago the Mariners went out of their mind and made a ton of moves and everyone thought they would be great but they didn't go anywhere but the cellar. The Brewers bolstered there team and destroyed their farm system only to get to the NLCS once. The Cubs used to actually be a good team, they signed lots of major contracts to sub-star players only to get what they didn't pay for. Loyal fans in a major market, owners with lots of money what could go wrong? Lol.

The Dodgers could of at least picked a better year to go all out on Free Agency... this year sucked.
 
And there's the Devil's Advocate point of view :lol:. Herpity Derpity, thanks for that hater's rant Prosthetic. I don't have the will or motivation to break it down (and why bother? You're a Giants fan...). I'm glad you're underrating Grienke, and 6-7MM a year for a 26 year old who is expected to be the number 3 or 4 starter is a fantastic deal.

Now the Dodgers get to trade some combination of Ted Lilly, Chris Capuano, Aaron Harang, and Josh Beckett. I expect Beckett and Lilly to stay since they have minimal trade value, but Harang and Capuano are both coming off the best years of their careers. They should both be able to bring some goods in return.

#RyuReady
 
Hearing a report that James Shields has been traded to Kansas City.

Wow. I have to hear what Kansas City gave up, but if they didn't give up too much then this might've been the smartest move they've made all winter.
 
Wow. I have to hear what Kansas City gave up, but if they didn't give up too much then this might've been the smartest move they've made all winter.

3 players confirmed: Shields and Davis to KC, Myers to Tampa Bay.
 
jonmorosi
OFFICIAL: #Royals acquire James Shields, W. Davis and player to be named or cash from Tampa Bay for Myers, Odorizzi, Montgomery and Leonard.

Ohhhhhhh.... Ouch. Not smart, KC.

Well, :censored:in' A. I guess the Rays will be doing fine in that AL EAST for a while. Geez.
 
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