John_Havok

Well, he's still under contract for 2022, so ... as of now, yeah of course he's coming back. If they announce an extension... may Allah save us.

If Stroman is a team's #2, they aren't winning jack.

You can firmly put me in the camp of not caring about optics. Just saying it is a reality that the FO needs to deal with

It would definitely be optically terrible for the franchise to watch a Cy Young finalist (possible winner) and a guy whos going to get MVP votes walk, but at the same time, you cant just givem a blank check. There's enough history for both of them for any front office to be wary of signing either of them to big money, long term deals. Semien is probably the better bet to be closer to his 2021 performance going forward but that's probably true of all position players vs pitchers in general. Ray is basically a 2 pitch starter and somehow makes it work. Would it really surprise anyone to see Ray lose his command and be terrible next year? Would it really surprise anyone for Semien have 20 HR next year rather than 45? Not really. To me Semien is the safer bet because he still has that 20HR, excellent defense floor. He's still probably a 3-4 WAR player without 40+ HR. But Ray could be even more amazing if he developed the change to be average to compliment the Fastball and slider. His curve could still be a show me pitch that he uses 2-5 times a game just for something different.

Stroman is a good #4, if he would accept that instead of preening around the world like he's the best pitcher on earth, he'd be better off. Sure, sign him to replace Matz and that would be fine, but if he thinks he needs to lead the staff like a hero and be paid like an ace, he's just delusional. There's confidence, and then there's delusion and I think Stroman crossed that line some time ago. Like we get it, you're short, you think you have to tell the world every time you open your mouth how hard it is for short people to excel in sports and how everytime something bad happens it only makes you come back stronger. So cliche. Be original, not some little/big man headcase.

Agreed that Espinal looks pretty good, but we’re still talking about very small datasets at the mlb level overall. Even for him to be an above average hitter he has to rely his babip being really high since very few of his batted balls will ever leave play. Is it possible? Sure. I wouldn’t necessarily count on it. His ceiling is just relatively low without any real game power. His K rate was halved this year, walk rate went up. Positive signs. I like Espinal a lot for what he is, but for him to be a truly positive regular he has to have Elite defence and run a consistently high babip. That’s a tough ask. Defence can also fluctuate season to season due to a variety of factors. I’m not saying it’s impossible, he did this year. I just don’t know that I’d be willing to bet that it continues. At worst though he’s a legit super utility guy that can pinch run and play multiple defensive IF positions that won’t embarrass himself with the bat. But his floor and ceiling aren’t that far apart. As for him being a low cost Chapman replacement…I don’t think a highly analytical team like Oakland will be seeing him that way. Maybe the Pirates would….

A 20 inning game between these two teams would still going on in December.

Al-Qaeda.

League average hitter with elite D at 3b still plays. He can hit 7th or something. It’s not a bad option but there’s no way I’d be offering any of our truly top prospects for him.

I don’t necessarily agree. Marginal upgrades are quite valuable on an already high win projected team. The question is where you get the marginal upgrades from and how much you pay for them.

He's Aaron Judge minus 70 pounds. I hope he sticks around for a long time because he makes baseballs cry.

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/controversial-mlb-umpire-joe-west-to-retire-after-breaking-record-for-most-games-193844024.html REJOICE!!!!

I think the hate gets thrown around alot in the media and it's not that bad, but both sides have to present their sides as being unyielding and demanding and try to paint the other side as evil due to optics and making sure each represented party feels like they are actually fighting rather than just negotiating over cocktails. I hope there's no lockout. Already losing the opportunity to watch Vlad and Bo etc over the past 2 partial seasons has been torturous and losing out on more of that while their service time clicks away is a piss off.

I think the biggest thing that will make this offseason the most painful in recent memory is the CBA negotiations. Teams will be very hesitant to start signing bigger name players when they don't know what the luxury tax or potential salary floor is going to look like. We could be in for the looooooooooooooooooooooong offseason with regards to signing of FAs.

Yeah, cant remember if it was this thread or another, but... 3 years, 120 million wouldn't even be that crazy when you think of Gerrit Cole's AAV at 36 million. Sure he's a few years younger, but Scherzer still hasn't shown any signs of slowing down. I would think if I'm Scherzer's agent, my starting AAV is 37 million per season and then let the teams who are willing to pay that fight over how many years they want to guarantee, or how much higher in AAV they are willing to go. Best combo from the team he wants to sign with will win.

Here's the FA list for SS and 3b in this offseason. I include the SS because you never know who might be willing to move to 3rd. Still, beyond the obvious top top tier guys, it's not a very good place to shop. Shortstops Javier Baez (29) Carlos Correa (27) Freddy Galvis (32) Greg Garcia (32) Leury Garcia (31) Jose Iglesias (32) Corey Seager (28) Marcus Semien (31) Andrelton Simmons (32) Trevor Story (29) Chris Taylor (31) Jonathan Villar (31) Third Basemen Ehire Adrianza (32) Nolan Arenado (31) — can opt out of remaining five years, $164MM (probably won't) Kris Bryant (30) Asdrubal Cabrera (36) Matt Carpenter (36) — $18.5MM vesting option ($2MM buyout) - i dont know if it vested or not Eduardo Escobar (33) Maikel Franco (29) Todd Frazier (36) Marwin Gonzalez (33) Josh Harrison (34) Brock Holt (34) Jake Lamb (31) Brad Miller (32) Jose Ramirez (29) — $11MM club option ($2MM buyout) - 0% chance this isn't picked up Kyle Seager (34) — $15MM club option (buyout size dependent on stats in 2020-21) Travis Shaw (32) Eric Sogard (36) Yoshitomo Tsutsugo (30)

There's only 6 catchers in baseball that had a WRC+ over 110 this year setting a min PA of 150. The bar for offense as a catcher is not exactly high. In fact, Kirk and Jansen would be in a group of 12 catchers that feel between 100 and 111 wRC+ As they are, Kirk and Jansen are already suitable starting catchers as far as their bats go, its more of a question of how much more higher is realistic. I don't think either of them are going to be challenging the 130+ range, but 115-120 isn't out of the question.

According the Jason Stark of the Athletic, the Jays were on his list of approved trade teams. If his info is correct, he would have approved trades to: Los Angeles Dodgers San Diego Padres Boston Red Sox Tampa Bay Rays Toronto Blue Jays Houston Astros New York Mets Interestingly, the Yankees were left off.

Just found a quote from Vlad, yesterday after they saw they were out: “It hurts. Knowing that you win 91 games and you didn’t make the playoffs, it really hurts me, hurts all my teammates,” Guerrero said. “Like I said before, that’s just gonna make me stronger. [i’ll] come back next year even better than this year.”

I hope so also. He was motivated last offseason and lost some weight. He had stretches late this season where it looked like he was running on fumes a bit, so hopefully he realizes another 20 pounds+ this offseason would do him even more good. a 10 WAR Trout-like season isn't unattainable if he puts in the work. It shouldbnt be expected, but it's attainable.

Fine I retract the first sentence. Second sentence stands.

The Offseason 21/22 thread I think.

I didn’t pick up any anger. More like a dash of pessimism, a sprinkle of sarcasm and a healthy dollop of apathy. That’s a winning combo in my books

Dude cuts his dogs ears off because he thinks he needs to. I hope he gets hit by a bus while walking that dog and said pooch eats his still beating heart out of his chest while he’s trying to dial 911.

I think signing a top end starter plus a defence first IF that isn’t a complete limp noodle would be better, cheaper and still leave lots of room to play with pen additions. I’m too many vodkas into the evening to think clearly enough, but I would really consider backing up the Brinks truck to Scherzers doorstep for 3years 100m+. I doubt he gets more than 3 guaranteed years at his age despite his incredible performance this year. If needed, add an 4th year team option with 5m buyout or some s***. The Jays need a real top end guy. I also haven’t looked too deep into Espinals numbers but he may have played himself into something more than just a utility bench afterthought.