Winter Meetings Thread

[interloper]

3 minutes ago, Aglets said:

The most elite of prospects that we have had in the Elias era have made the team out of Spring Training (Gunnar) or were SUPPOSED to when injuries intervened (Adley).

Basically I think whenever Elias feels he has a decent shot to get the RotY extra picks....he is going to go for it.

Agree. As long as he's healthy and looks good in ST, I expect him to break camp with the Orioles. In a recent poll here, I voted 50/50 he makes the team, but now I kind of think he's just a lock. 

[SemperFi]

14 hours ago, waroriole said:

4/82 is the prediction I saw for EdRod earlier. Maybe 4/90 gets it done. No reason this payroll can’t absorb that contract.
 

Union needs to start pushing for salary floors. At least over a few year’s time frame. 

It will be a primary focus of the MLBPA with the next CBA for sure. 

In 2020 the union filed a grievance alleging that the Pirates, Athletics, Rays and Marlins had not sufficiently dedicated their revenue-sharing funds to improving the on-field product. The grievances were expanded in the following years. 

I would be shocked if the Orioles were not added assuming they do not increase payroll (personally I think they will).  A number of major markets teams are also upset about the incessant whining from owners like JA and Fisher while they collect fat revenue sharing checks.  

On another note Passan of SI wrote:  

 "The Rays' calculus is clear: Though they have the ability to push their payroll into the $130 million range, but it seems imprudent to do so in a year where ace Shane McClanahan and starters Jeffrey Springs and Drew Rasmussen all are recovering from reconstructive elbow surgeries -- plus with the uncertainty surrounding shortstop Wander Franco, dealing Glasnow is the easiest way to shed a significant salary"

That's signifigant to me as it confirms (from a credible source) the Orioles could eventually support a $150m payroll.  

[interloper]

Looks like the Braves are going to flip Gonzales after they just acquired him. So the Braves are not out of the Cease sweepstakes after all. 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/12/braves-trade-rumors-marco-gonzales.html

Edited December 4, 2023 by interloper

[Yardball85]

5 minutes ago, interloper said:

Looks like the Braves are going to flip Gonzales after they just acquired him. So the Braves are not out of the Cease sweepstakes after all. 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/12/braves-trade-rumors-marco-gonzales.html

Gonzales presents as SUCH an Orioles' type move.  I'd be okay with it as a depth move, but not as our "big" rotation move.  Was decent for a handful of years (albeit pitching in Seattle) before an injury ended his 2023. 

[RZNJ]

7 minutes ago, interloper said:

Looks like the Braves are going to flip Gonzales after they just acquired him. So the Braves are not out of the Cease sweepstakes after all. 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/12/braves-trade-rumors-marco-gonzales.html

I sure get the feeling the Braves are going to get Cease.   Vaughn Grissom as a 2B, and some young pitching.

The Braves love to draft and acquire players with Georgia roots.

Edited December 4, 2023 by RZNJ

[interloper]

Just now, RZNJ said:

I sure get the feeling the Braves are going to get Cease.   Vaughn Grissom as a 2B, and some young pitching.

Makes sense to me. They're showing the willingness to wheel and deal so far. 

[Roll Tide]

Woo Suk Go for a reliever /temp closer option 

[Sports Guy]

15 minutes ago, interloper said:

Makes sense to me. They're showing the willingness to wheel and deal so far. 

If Atlanta wants to put Waldrep on the table and he is someone the Sox rate very highly and they value pitching as the lead for this deal, the Os likely can’t play in that pool.

 

[SemperFi]

13 hours ago, Sports Guy said:

Really interesting trade here:

Does getting Gonzalez put Atlanta out on Cease . You would think no but they have 4 other starters. Unless they are trading Fried, they may not need anyone else.

Does trading Kellenic increase the need of the Mariners to get positional talent?  Of course, trading Gonzalez may make their pitching harder to get now.

Both of those things could impact the Os.

I live in Georgia and most knowlegable Braves fans here (even with all the rumors) think the interest in Cease is overblown.  The Braves have traded for similar players that they can extend but Cease is a Boras client and beyond that it's not really in his best interest to extend after last year.  It may happen but it's certainly not their MO.  They are afraid of losing Fried but don't think they will take a non extendable piece and then have to replace them both.

[Sports Guy]

1 minute ago, SemperFi said:

I live in Georgia and most knowlegable Braves fans here (even with all the rumors) think the interest in Cease is overblown.  The Braves have traded for similar players that they can extend but Cease is a Boras client and beyond that it's not really in his best interest to extend after last year.  It may happen but it's certainly not their MO.  They are afraid of losing Fried but don't think they will take a non extendable piece and then have to replace them both.

You certainly never know about how a team is truly pursuing a guy this time of year. Lots of false stuff out there.

Cease makes sense for a lot of teams. Atlanta wants to win now, so I can see the interest being legit. Grissom makes sense for them to move. They really don’t have much of a spot for him. If the WS value him highly (I’m skeptical about that part of things) And if Waldrep is a piece in this, I would think Atlanta gets him.

[Just Regular]

Atlanta Ohtani interest is one of the stories being spun today so far - I'd guess there that ATL may be asking Getz if he can hold until that outcome becomes known.

Ohtani's 2025 return would dovetail with Fried's free agency after 2024 to be the 1-2 punch with Strider.     

[wildcard]

2 hours ago, Just Regular said:

Hyde was just on with the MLB Network guys.

He discussed DL Hall and Tyler Wells on the question about Felix's 2024 absence and bullpen options, so FWIW that's a tea leaf they may be regared as relievers at the moment.   Their mentions came before Cano's.

Holliday's birthday today was mentioned...teenage years are over and were very successful.     Harold Reynolds had an anecdote from Futures Game Jackson gave him a bit of a look when Reynolds, the AL manager, communicated to him he wasn't starting as "the Boston kid" was a veteran.

As it played out it was the short straw for both Marcelo Mayer and Holliday, as LAA Kyren Paris ended up the one shortstop to get two times up.

https://www.mlb.com/gameday/nl-futures-vs-al-futures/2023/07/08/742367/live

I watched this.   There is nothing new here.   Holliday gets a long look.  The comment on DL Hall and Wells were nothing.

Edited December 4, 2023 by wildcard

[interloper]

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/12/pirates-rumors-jack-flaherty-free-agent.html

Pirates interested in Flash. 

I hope Flaherty figures out what's going on, because the guy we traded for looked like he was trying to summon everything he had to find the guy he used to be, and it just wasn't there. I felt bad for him. He's clearly a guy who wants to compete, but he also looked oddly afraid of the strike zone. Lot of balls right out of the hand. And just a strange overall vibe about him. I'm rooting for him to do well. He might want to consider the transition to reliever pretty soon, but at only 28, he'll definitely get more chances to start. 

Edited December 4, 2023 by interloper

[Roll Tide]

1 hour ago, interloper said:

Looks like the Braves are going to flip Gonzales after they just acquired him. So the Braves are not out of the Cease sweepstakes after all. 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/12/braves-trade-rumors-marco-gonzales.html

Saw the Orioles mentioned, I guess they’d be hoping for a rebound to the 3.96-4.13 ERA guy from the previous 2 years

 

 

[Roll Tide]

https://www.masnsports.com/blog/mlbpipeline-analyst-talks-o-s-prospect-depth-for-possible-trades