MLB Offseason Moves/Rumor Thread

[Just Regular]

2 hours ago, sportsfan8703 said:

And we also need to understand that no matter how great the Astros have been in the regular season, it took a combo of “lucking” into two trades for Verlander and Cole, Charlie Morton becoming CY Young, lots of sticky stuff, trash cans, Altuve’s device, and trading for Roberto Osuna and his questionable background that nobody else touched afterwards. 

I don't think the Verlander/Cole targets were luck.    I do believe Luhnow-Stearns-Elias-Sig (and the guy who left to Atlanta whose name I can't recall but was characterized in Evan Drellich's book as the Sig, only Better type guy) have sharp eyes and good process who the greatest players are.

We haven't seen it play out yet, but I give them credit as tight poker players and I expect them to push in at some point before Adley goes.

Dylan Cease represents both a substantial upgrade to our top of rotation talent and someone who seems to me to be among the 50 best, not the 20 best, pitchers in the world, so I'll get it if he's "not it".       Adley had better get somebody championship caliber to catch soon-ish though, regardless whether Grayson/Bradish are better or worse than Cease in the medium term.

[interloper]

2 minutes ago, Pickles said:

Other than finding out about a trade an hour before the general public because they have contacts in the League's Office, what "investigative reporting" do you really expect from a baseball writer?

None, really. I'm simply saying Roch doesn't play the game of trying to back John Angelos into a corner on finances, and stuff like that. And I'm not really judging him for not wanting to be Dan Connolly or other non-team/MLB-affiliated types. 

[Pickles]

2 minutes ago, interloper said:

None, really. I'm simply saying Roch doesn't play the game of trying to back John Angelos into a corner on finances, and stuff like that. And I'm not really judging him for not wanting to be Dan Connolly or other non-team/MLB-affiliated types. 

It's not like Dan Connolly does that either.  Virtually no reporter on Earth is going to "back a baseball owner into the corner on finances."  They're all employed by city newspapers, and guess who has a lot of financial pull with those papers?  The owners of the local baseball team.

People really just want Roch to act out their fantasies of publicly berating and humiliating John Angelos.  As if that's a reporter's job.

[interloper]

4 minutes ago, Pickles said:

It's not like Dan Connolly does that either.  Virtually no reporter on Earth is going to "back a baseball owner into the corner on finances."  They're all employed by city newspapers, and guess who has a lot of financial pull with those papers?  The owners of the local baseball team.

People really just want Roch to act out their fantasies of publicly berating and humiliating John Angelos.  As if that's a reporter's job.

Ok - I'm really just generalizing. I didn't mean to start any larger conversation. 

And I'm not saying Roch should be doing any of that. I was just trying to say the guy seems content in his role! 

[RZNJ]

3 minutes ago, interloper said:

Ok - I'm really just generalizing. I didn't mean to start any larger conversation. 

And I'm not saying Roch should be doing any of that. I was just trying to say the guy seems content in his role! 

His day is usually done by 4 AM.    Not bad.

[interloper]

4 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

His day is usually done by 4 AM.    Not bad.

Lol, sayin'... 

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

1 hour ago, wildbillhiccup said:

I get your point, but I think there's a difference between actual news and a paid infomercial. Roch's basically the Shamwow guy. 

I now want to see a photoshop of Roch as the Shamwow guy. I’d do it if I had any photoshop skills. 

[wildbillhiccup]

31 minutes ago, OsFanSinceThe80s said:

I now want to see a photoshop of Roch as the Shamwow guy. I’d do it if I had any photoshop skills. 

I got you. 

https://imgur.com/a/7G8ntvk

[SemperFi]

3 hours ago, Moose Milligan said:

 

But I also don't think Elias lands this job if he and JA don't see eye to eye on things like spending on free agents.  I'm assuming, at some point during the interview process, that JA asked Elias what his philosophies were on spending in free agency and if it's necessary to build a winner.  And Elias told him what he wanted to hear, either because he really feels that you don't need to spend a lot of money in free agency or because he wanted the job.  He wouldn't be the first person to tell a lie on a job interview.

 

 

Great post Moose-thanks for taking the time and effort. 

I'm going to switch around the above paragragh on you.  I would venture that it was more of Elias interviewing JA, ME at this point already had the SF offer or was close to it so he had a lot of leverage-at least in his mind.  I don't think there is any way ME takes the job without an idea of what his budget specifically payroll is to be going out in 1-5 year increments.  As buttoned up as ME is, knowing the Angelos history I'm sure he likely would have wanted to know plans for after PA's death also.

Elias didn't have to take this job, he could have been the big budget GM of the Giants-his career is ascending (unlike Duquette) and to accept this job-total rebuild without some idea of payroll in the AL East-that's a career killer.  Also to get all the secondary things-approval over his hires, the Academy, analytics, InternationaI staffing and signings without an agreement on payroll......

I agree with you it's not all on JA, ME is complicit on some level but I just don't see a mental midget like JA playing someone like Elias, it's generally the other way around.

   

[OriolesMagic83]

5 hours ago, sportsfan8703 said:

A prospect-prospect trade with the Dodgers could make sense. The Dodgers have done two of those so far this offseason. Once with the Yankees. Then with Michael Busch for Jackson Farris. 

So they have like 5-6 SP that are around 25-27 in AAA/MLB that are just depth right now for them. If we could flip them a bat that doesn’t need to be on the 40 man then that would make sense. 

Dodgers SP Depth on the 40 man - Sheehan, Grove, Stone, Hurt, Frasso, and Knack. 

Orioles bats that aren’t on the 40 man - Norby, Horvath, Beavers, Wagner, Fabian, Arias, Willems, etc…

This is a good chance to use a bat to buy an arm. Wagner and Horvath are probably our best bets to bring back one of their guys. 

Gavin Stone would be a good get, imo.  He pitched some in LA last year with not the greatest of results.  He was a prospects in the 50's range before he lost eligibility.  If the O's could get him for someone like Norby and a lesser prospect I would do it.

[foxfield]

I don’t really see what is happening as bad. We can’t see behind the curtain and there are plans that we simply don’t know. 
 

I think the FA thing is more of a feature than a bug. But time will tell. 

[Moose Milligan]

1 minute ago, SemperFi said:

Great post Moose-thanks for taking the time and effort. 

I'm going to switch around the above paragragh on you.  I would venture that it was more of Elias interviewing JA, ME at this point already had the SF offer or was close to it so he had a lot of leverage-at least in his mind.  I don't think there is any way ME takes the job without an idea of what his budget specifically payroll is to be going out in 1-5 year increments.  As buttoned up as ME is, knowing the Angelos history I'm sure he likely would have wanted to know plans for after PA's death also.

Elias didn't have to take this job, he could have been the big budget GM of the Giants-his career is ascending (unlike Duquette) and to accept this job-total rebuild without some idea of payroll in the AL East-that's a career killer.  Also to get all the secondary things-approval over his hires, the Academy, analytics, InternationaI staffing and signings without an agreement on payroll......

I agree with you it's not all on JA, ME is complicit on some level but I just don't see a mental midget like JA playing someone like Elias, it's generally the other way around.

   

I don't think JA played Elias.  I just think they agree on certain philosophies and not spending a lot on payroll is one of them.

I also don't know Elias could ask for their budget every year for the next 5 years when interviewing.  So many things can change...it can be hard to predict those things, but perhaps they just ballparked it.

Last but not least, he could have gone elsewhere but he grew up in the area (sort of).  I'm sure that was a factor that helped, too.

[24fps]

1 hour ago, Pickles said:

Other than finding out about a trade an hour before the general public because they have contacts in the League's Office, what "investigative reporting" do you really expect from a baseball writer?

Astroball by Ben Reiter is an example that comes immediately to mind.  He also produced the excellent PBS Frontline documentary on the cheating scandal.

There is still a place for investigative reporting in sports and elsewhere in public life but institutional (often meaning financial) support for the process remains limited as it always has been.  It's costly and time-intensive but not yet in danger of becoming extinct.

 

[24fps]

4 minutes ago, OriolesMagic83 said:

Gavin Stone would be a good get, imo.  He pitched some in LA last year with not the greatest of results.  He was a prospects in the 50's range before he lost eligibility.  If the O's could get him for someone like Norby and a lesser prospect I would do it.

He did a Cowser last year for sure.  That said, it's a deal I would be all over if I was Elias.

[Sports Guy]

1 hour ago, interloper said:

Ok - I'm really just generalizing. I didn't mean to start any larger conversation. 

And I'm not saying Roch should be doing any of that. I was just trying to say the guy seems content in his role! 

Should he not be content?