MLB Offseason Moves/Rumor Thread

[foxfield]

40 minutes ago, Roll Tide said:

He ought to have the balls to just say he doesn’t have the budget. It’s obvious but still needs to be said. The total control of baseball ops was just another of the many of the Angelos lies we’ve been told over the years. Peter got in the way of the reorganization. But at least he was willing to spend some money. This fool is just as bad as Peter but just in a different way. Hearing a major league sports owner wine about money is absurd.

The above is silly and you know that.  It would be suicide for him to publicly say he is hamstrung by ownership.  In reality, his stubbornness is an indication that he is still on board with the limitations placed on him by ownership.  It would be a much worse sign for him to unload folks to be all in for 2024.  A true indication that he no longer see's himself here for the long haul.

It is also silly to extrapolate that since Elias has done a fantastic job of building a contender that he automatically will navigate the real time challenges to maximize that and keep his window extended into perpetuity.  That is his stated goal, and while he has no post season wins to celebrate, he has earned the benefit of the doubt regarding patience from us.

Your post above simply sounds petulant and childish, but mostly impatient.  But it certainly does not reflect accurately what Angelos or Elias have said they are doing.  If we are here next year, with no post season wins, and no contracts over a year or two, well I think there will be more legitimate questions about Elias' performance.

But where we are, from where we were, is pretty special and should be appreciated.  IMHO

[wildbillhiccup]

2 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

“Have you? Neris was an elite back end reliever/set up guy in 2023 and has been for most of his career.”

That's fine. If you want to scrutinize every single word that I type / say that's perfectly fine. So amend it to he was elite last season and has been a consistent / reliable RP for the majority of his career. Happy now? Congrats on your keyboard trolling victory. 

[wildbillhiccup]

53 minutes ago, Roll Tide said:

He ought to have the balls to just say he doesn’t have the budget. It’s obvious but still needs to be said. The total control of baseball ops was just another of the many of the Angelos lies we’ve been told over the years. Peter got in the way of the reorganization. But at least he was willing to spend some money. This fool is just as bad as Peter but just in a different way. Hearing a major league sports owner wine about money is absurd.

This is never going to happen in any type of business environment. There is nothing to be gained by throwing the person who signs your paychecks under the bus. 

[RZNJ]

Just now, wildbillhiccup said:

That's fine. If you want to scrutinize every single word that I type / say that's perfectly fine. So amend it to he was elite last season and has been a consistent / reliable RP for the majority of his career. Happy now? Congrats on your keyboard trolling victory. 

BTW, Fangraphs has Neris at .8 fwar last year.  There seems to be some discrepancy between the two sites.

Backtracking from “elite most of his career” to “elite in 2023” should be scrutinized, shouldn’t it?   You wouldn’t call someone else out for that?

[Just Regular]

21 minutes ago, OriolesMagic83 said:

I hope the O's have new ownership before Elias tires of this nonsense.  I'm sure if Elias ever decides to leave he'll have a much better exit strategy than Duquette.  We'll probably just see a report on ESPN that Elias was traded to the Mets for cash considerations.

Beat the Yankees so thoroughly even Hal Steinbrenner sadly recognizes he has to let go of Brian Cashman.    I believe some around the game are eyeing that plum many years out like Ohtani's free agency and Sasaki's arrival.    Near term the Orioles look pretty well situated to have a lot to do with how successfully the late primes of Judge and Cole play out.

Will Colton Cowser be able to hit the fancy breaking ball they teach every ordinary Arm and then trade four of them for Juan Soto?    Find out in 2024!

[Just Regular]

I could see an argument Hector Neris is not too far away from where Dylan Cease is in the ~85th percentile of the pyramid.     Neris also had that Lyles/Gibson thing Elias likes - 5th in Innings Pitched among all RP last 3 years.    fWAR sees him 27th of 203 in output (Felix got to 11th in the 3-year readout with ~1.9 years of excellence.)

Relieverization of baseball - guys with Neris and Ryne Stanek's role - Kyle Gibsons carry them to October and then they empty the tank.   Your 4th reliever is more important than your 4th starter.

Tyler Wells and DL Hall are two ballplayers where I think the Sigbot might even think their path to riches is more efficient becoming Neris/Stanek, but what do those guys think about themselves?     Drew French has to have some real life conversations soon what they are training for...20 sets of 80 pitches, 40 sets of 40 pitches or 60 sets of 15 pitches.

We don't really know yet if the Sigbot RP pipeline with Felix, Cano will repeat results on a 3rd guy as it seems to have with Gunnar, Mayo, Basallo.    Its harder to idenfity signal there as relievers are so mercurial.    Let's see if Michael Baumann has a good deathball this spring.

[Jammer7]

10 minutes ago, Just Regular said:

I could see an argument Hector Neris is not too far away from where Dylan Cease is…

We don't really know yet if the Sigbot RP pipeline with Felix, Cano will repeat results on a 3rd guy as it seems to have with Gunnar, Mayo, Basallo.    It’s harder to idenfity signal there as relievers are so mercurial.    Let's see if Michael Baumann has a good deathball this spring.

The first part is interesting. It is mitigated by the last part, though. Relievers are so volatile, in general.

While Neris would have been interesting, certainly, I am more intrigued by what Dillon Tate can do in 2024. He can be as good as Neris, in the same proximity anyway, and we already know him and what it takes to get him going. He should be healthy and rested.

Baumann is someone I believe they like a lot in the pen. When he was healthy, Hyde used him in many higher leverage situations, and with good results until he wore down. 

[Just Regular]

37 minutes ago, Jammer7 said:

The first part is interesting. It is mitigated by the last part, though. Relievers are so volatile, in general.

While Neris would have been interesting, certainly, I am more intrigued by what Dillon Tate can do in 2024. He can be as good as Neris, in the same proximity anyway, and we already know him and what it takes to get him going. He should be healthy and rested.

Baumann is someone I believe they like a lot in the pen. When he was healthy, Hyde used him in many higher leverage situations, and with good results until he wore down. 

Yea, fingers crossed for good Dillon Tate, but I'll admit overall for me this is in the ballpark of hoping rest helps an arm strain, and I'm pessimistic in general.    I don't think you can really know until the pitcher has to throw hot amplified by real game adrenaline.

I'm used each March 1 to getting the first crop of bad news reports on one batch of pitchers where the chinks in the armor show up even in hot bullpens, and then another cycle closer to Opening Day.

If Baumann and Cionel are good, I could see the Sigbot utilizing options with one of the Tate-Hall-Cano trio who still have them.     Whenever the pitching staff stacks a few bad nights in a row, Elias will at some point have the decision how cemented into the 26-man roster Webb, Baumann and Cionel are.

If I had to guess today if one of those guys will pitch for say the Colorado Rockies sometime this season, I think I'd guess they will.

[Jammer7]

26 minutes ago, Just Regular said:

Yea, fingers crossed for good Dillon Tate, but I'll admit overall for me this is in the ballpark of hoping rest helps an arm strain, and I'm pessimistic in general.    I don't think you can really know until the pitcher has to throw hot amplified by real game adrenaline.

I'm used each March 1 to getting the first crop of bad news reports on one batch of pitchers where the chinks in the armor show up even in hot bullpens, and then another cycle closer to Opening Day.

If Baumann and Cionel are good, I could see the Sigbot utilizing options with one of the Tate-Hall-Cano trio who still have them.     Whenever the pitching staff stacks a few bad nights in a row, Elias will at some point have the decision how cemented into the 26-man roster Webb, Baumann and Cionel are.

If I had to guess today if one of those guys will pitch for say the Colorado Rockies sometime this season, I think I'd guess they will.

Absolutely. They need to keep adding young pen arms who have upside and options for that purpose. Coulombe was huge last year. Can he be that good again? 

I am curious what happens to Baker, Akin and Zimmermann. I believe Baker has an option left, the other two do not. (Fangraphs roster resource says they have one remaining, but I think that is incorrect.) All of them could be in, say Colorado, but the end of the year. 

Heasley is interesting. Ultimately, I think Seth Johnson and Chayce McDermott are pen arms. 

[RZNJ]

22 minutes ago, Jammer7 said:

Absolutely. They need to keep adding young pen arms who have upside and options for that purpose. Coulombe was huge last year. Can he be that good again? 

I am curious what happens to Baker, Akin and Zimmermann. I believe Baker has an option left, the other two do not. (Fangraphs roster resource says they have one remaining, but I think that is incorrect.) All of them could be in, say Colorado, but the end of the year. 

Heasley is interesting. Ultimately, I think Seth Johnson and Chayce McDermott are pen arms. 

Why don’t you think Akin and Zimmerman each have an option?

 

Roch, back in November seemed to think Akin did.

Mateo, Akin, McKenna and Hilliard have contracts but no promises. Akin is the only one with a minor league option.

Edited January 28 by RZNJ

[Sports Guy]

28 minutes ago, Jammer7 said:

Absolutely. They need to keep adding young pen arms who have upside and options for that purpose. Coulombe was huge last year. Can he be that good again? 

I am curious what happens to Baker, Akin and Zimmermann. I believe Baker has an option left, the other two do not. (Fangraphs roster resource says they have one remaining, but I think that is incorrect.) All of them could be in, say Colorado, but the end of the year. 

Heasley is interesting. Ultimately, I think Seth Johnson and Chayce McDermott are pen arms. 

Even if they don’t have options, you DFa them and they won’t be picked up in all likelihood.

[bpilktree]

16 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

Even if they don’t have options, you DFa them and they won’t be picked up in all likelihood.

Lefty reliever with a pulse and major league experience are hard guys to pass through waivers.  They might not be good but they get picked up and moved around pretty often.  

[Sports Guy]

9 minutes ago, bpilktree said:

Lefty reliever with a pulse and major league experience are hard guys to pass through waivers.  They might not be good but they get picked up and moved around pretty often.  

Every org has several arms just like them. If they lose them, who cares?  You just pick up another clone. 

[btdart20]

How much does it take to get Snell to sign a 1-year deal to pitch in OPACY?  $35m?  $40m?  

 

[RZNJ]

4 minutes ago, btdart20 said:

How much does it take to get Snell to sign a 1-year deal to pitch in OPACY?  $35m?  $40m?  

 

Stop!