G-Snarls

Yep. He's rocketing up the ranks. Sanchez is stagnating.

Underground umpire network?

He could turn out to be our best draft pick in a decade (trying not to get too excited but it's hard not to...)

Oh my f*** When I watch him pitch I touch myself That stuff is so good and he has composure for days #ReleaseTheStroman PLEASE oh my god he has to pitch in the bigs this year

Stroman's stock is rising by the week KLaw seems to be a fan

If ever there was a time to overpay a little bit... But we're presumably bidding against Yankees and at least 3-4 other teams

This is so true. With the cost and quality of available free agent starters these days, and the massive trade cost for top of the rotation starters, you need to produce some of your own.

If we don't upgrade at catcher there's no point doing anything else. Just write off the season.

Cool. Lot of guys with bad playing careers but good second careers as manager/coach/GM.

Kyle Lohse's bang for the buck is looking good so far.

Binders full of... donuts?? (Apologies to Mitt Romney)

I wish we could have all seen "the binder" that he was circulating about Prince Fielder last year.

Hmm. True. Truth is, AA will call over half the teams in baseball this month inquiring about catchers, second basemen and starting pitchers. Most of those calls will lead to nothing. Some of the players names he's calling about will be leaked anyway, generally by the other team. That's just how it goes.

Starting pitching is still the team's top priority this offseason, but an upgrade at catcher has leapfrogged left field for the team's No. 2 priority, writes MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm in his latest Blue Jays Inbox. Chisolm notes that the free agent market will be expensive and competitive and adds that the Jays are interested in Wilson Ramos of the Nationals, though he would be an expensive trade target himself (in terms of prospects). Still, Chisolm writes that GM Alex Anthopoulos "seems determined" to make an upgrade behind the dish.

Yep AA inquired about him

He will get offered contracts by 4-5 teams. Not coming here.

That's why I said free agents specifically. Trades yes it's been leaked that AA has inquired about those guys. And Ramos too. Problem is we need a SOLID free agent acquisition (or two) this off season. We don't have the trade chips to add enough wins. We need to buy some.

We haven't been linked to a single free agent yet. May be meaningless but I'm not sure.

Be hilarious if the Tigers got Balfour They could actually really use him, but...

Five Teams Showing Early Interest In Grant Balfour By Steve Adams [November 6 at 2:16pm CST] Grant Balfour is expected to sign with a new team as a free agent this offseason after three excellent years with the A's -- two of which came as the team's closer. According to the latest from Susan Slusser at the San Francisco Chronicle, the Yankees, Tigers, Rockies, Rays and Angels have all expressed interest in the hard-throwing Aussie. Balfour, 36 in December, saved 62 games for the A's over the past two seasons as their primary ninth-inning option and has a sparkling 2.47 ERA with 9.2 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 254 2/3 innings dating back to 2010. It's a buyer's market for closers this offseason, with Balfour, Joe Nathan, Fernando Rodney, Joaquin Benoit, Chris Perez, Jose Veras, Edward Mujica and Kevin Gregg among the free agents who saved at least 20 games this past season. Brian Wilson, who returned as a dominant setup man, figures to garner interest for ninth inning jobs as well. Interest between the Tigers and Balfour will turn a few heads due to the fact that Balfour's signature shouting on the mound didn't sit well with Victor Martinez in the ALDS, leading to a benches-clearing confrontation. Still the Tigers figure to add at least one high-profile arm this winter after opening last season with no set closer and experiencing ugly results from a carousel of relievers until Benoit solidified the job.

It's one thing if you can at least go scout them well in advance (like Cespedes, Darvish, etc) because you know they're going to be available. But a guy like this is a total crap shoot.

Thanks for the Edwin GIF, not sure how I forgot that Not so much thanks for the suicide help picture. Ug

So hard to evaulate these guys and deice what they're worth on the free agent market

Lots of Phillies tidbits, bold emphasis is mine Phillies Notes: Ruiz, Free Agents, Front Office By Zach Links [November 6 at 12:47pm CST] Earlier today, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported that the Phillies have kicked around the idea of making an offer for David Price, but it's unlikely to happen because GM Ruben Amaro Jr. knows he has multiple needs to address and one big splash won't fix the team. Here's more on the Phils... The Red Sox, according to sources, are quietly doing their due diligence on Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz, writes Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. While there are other free agent catchers available, Ruiz is the guy that the Phillies want and the guy that the pitchers want. The Phillies need to prioritize right-handed hitting and both Brian McCann and A.J. Pierzynski are left-handed hitters. Jarrod Saltalamacchia is a switch-hitter, but he struggles from the right side. The Rockies are also known to be pursuing Ruiz and are reportedly planning to offer him a multiyear deal this week. GM Ruben Amaro says that he has already made offers on "several" free agent players, writes Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. While Amaro declined to name names, Zolecki suggests that Nelson Cruz, Carlos Beltran, and Mike Morse could be among their targets. The Phillies hired Scott Freedman from Major League Baseball's Labor Relations Department to help the club incorporate analytics into their personnel decisions, Zolecki writes. "I don't know if it's going to change the way we do business, necessarily," Amaro said. "We still plan to be a scouting and player development organization, but I think it's important to get all the information and analyze not just what we're doing, but how other clubs are evaluating players."