jaysblue

So Mets moving Vientos to first base I assume with Alonso leaving as a FA?

Nootbaar would be a nice pickup!

Still a ballpark I need to check off my list. Might look into going next summer since now they suck. Tickets are probably a lot cheaper than they were 5 to 6 years ago.

Weren't a bunch of you all Cards fanboys at one point in time? Haha. Yeah their organization has looked awful recently. You would think they trade Willson Contreras instead of playing at 1B.

Awesome write-up! Thank you! Definitely need to address 2B and have been trying to acquire one early in the offseason. I'm confident with Bart behind the plate. His OBP skills play well in these scoring settings and should be the Pirates No. 1 catcher heading into 2025. Will utilize Jazz in CF with Vientos at 3B. Hope Yelich comes back healthy and like his old self. Hoping I could play Smith or Noel in the other OF spot. Both showed some promise in 2024. Smith kinda reminds me of Adam Lind haha. Casty is just there for HR's and RBI's and was an emergency trade last season when most of my OF was on the IL, but yeah hopefully I don't have to start him. If my pitching can stay healthy, I think I built up a solid rotation. Bibee and Woo are nice young arms to have. Francis will be fun to watch in 2025. Hoping to get a full season of deGrom. Fedde and Morton might be boring, but they can provide innings and solid ratios. Hicks pitched well earlier in the season, so hopefully he can handle the workload of a starter in 2025. If Ray is healthy and returns to top form, hope he can be a solid contributor in K's. Matthew Liberatore could be a lottery arm. Looked good at times in 2024 and willing to roll the dice on him again. Bullpen wise, I agree that adding another top closer would be icing on the cake. Was looking at Devin Williams from TCA at the trade deadline back in August but wasn't able to put anything together. Looking forward to seeing what Troy Taylor and Edwin Uceta can do over a full season. My farm system and draft picks are awful haha. Really happy about Bubba Chandler's resurgence though.

Haha. His age though and a career bouncing back and forth between the bullpen and the rotation. He's never been a full time starter before.

Raps have played well and have been entertaining to watch despite their injuries. They lost some close games this season. They probably could be .500 instead of 2-6 right now. I said at the beginning of the season, they're good enough to be a play-in team. But we'll see. Not sure I would tank completely, but if Barnes misses more time and IQ is out longer, than definitely have to think about getting a Top 5 pick next year.

Yeah defensively, they've been awful. They can score but geez they allow other teams to score at an alarming rate. If some of their top guys don't commit to defense, you might have to move one or two of them to shake things up.

I think so. Looks like he's also adding rebounds, assists and steals to his game, and isn't just a one-dimensional offensive player. Looks like he can be a key piece in their starting lineup. I bought two Dick jersey's last year and very proud of the investment thus far!

Haha why was Nick Martinez offered a QO?

Yeah don't forget about Jazz. They have him under control until 2027 as well. Torres started hitting better in the second half. Stanton always is a power threat and we saw him get hot in the Postseason. Yankees offense wasn't that bad, but yeah 1 through 9 their lineup wasn't as scary as in years past.

Blue Jays should trade for him!

Most rational posters on this board weren't s***ing on Atkins for trying to change the makeup of the team to address the s***** defense. After witnessing that mess in Game 2 against the Mariners in person, I wanted the Jays to make upgrades defensively. I think some, including myself, criticized him for not taking a balanced enough approach when it came to the lineup. Like yes improve the defense, but that doesn't mean you sacrifice offense completely. And to further that point, a lot of criticism on Atkins was for failing to address the lack of offense in 2023, when it was clear that it was an issue. Yes the offensive collapse of Vladdy, Kirk and Springer didn't help, along with Varsho disappointing with the bat in 2023. They still had an entire offseason to add bats with extra pop in left field or DH, but they failed to do so. Hopefully Atkins and the FO have learned from their mistakes. Hopefully we can see a more balanced team in 2025.

Yeah and he's already 34. I wouldn't want to sign him for 5/180 after the season he just had.

LMAO. The Brewers are even cheaper than the Athletics. Like geez, one of the best closers in the game. They're going to go to arbitration over 1M. Pick up the damn option at $10.5M! That's a steal for an arm like Devin Williams.

Rangers so far have only got 9 starts from deGrom over the last two seasons lol. Geez, he better make 25-30 starts in 2025 at least.

Yankees might be better putting that money towards someone like Corbin Burnes and/or Blake Snell. Both are younger and coming off better seasons.

Yeah would be a great target. How much do you think he will cost? Would fit in really nicely at lead-off! Has some decent pop & speed and can take a walk. Can play him at 2B or 3B this season and then move him over to short once Bo is gone.

At least it's only a 3 year deal lol. So long term, it's not like he's locked up for 6 or 7 years. Needs to at least put up 3 WAR seasons minimal.

Nick Martinez declined his $12 million player option for 2025 on Friday and became a free agent. Likely trying to seek a multi-year deal with higher AAV. Wonder how much he gets? He's already 34 and pretty much has shifted between the bullpen and rotation throughout his career. Likely going after a similar deal Seth Lugo signed last offseason (3 years, $45M).

The big question is does LA go after Juan Soto this offseason? Will be interesting.

Atlanta already has Ozuna at DH, and with a healthy outfield returning in 2025, there really isn't any room for Soler to begin with. Nice move dumping his contract and freeing up some salary. Nothing against Soler and his contract isn't that bad. He's capable of putting up monster power numbers. Just an overcrowded OF in ATL when everyone is healthy and Ozuna already at DH. Canning is alright as a back-of-the-rotation starter who can eat innings. Posted a 1.8 fWAR in 2023 in 24 games (22 starts) with the Angels. Not sure if he cracks their rotation though but good depth to have.

One of my favourite arms to watch 14 to 15 years ago. Drafted him in one of my first dynasty fantasy leagues I believe in the 5th round of a prospect draft and watched him rise through Chicago's system and then he was traded to Arizona and was fantastic in his 11 starts with them during the 2010 season. He had a full breakout season in 2011 and looked like he was going to be one of the top starters in the NL for sometime. Him and Ian Kennedy were great at the top of the D'backs rotation in 2011. Sucks his career as a starter was derailed because of injuries, but he came back and carved out a really nice career as a reliever. Nice way to go out on top with the Dodgers like he did.

Imagine if Ohtani signed with Boston and won a World Series, Grant would be having nightmares.

I think with his performance in the postseason, he likely gets between $15-20M now on a one-year deal.