jaysfan2014

Baltimore will NOT get the 2016 All-Star Game. http://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2014/12/random-orioles-notes.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter Apparently, MLB is ticked off at the O's.. this is the likely same reason the 2015 game went to Cincy (it was originally intended for Miami IIRC). San Diego is the favorite now: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/12/19/padres-expected-to-host-2016-all-star-game-at-petco-park/ This may also have to do with the O's facing trouble regarding MASN: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/nationals-journal/wp/2014/12/15/ny-judge-grants-masn-partial-discovery-in-dispute-with-mlb-nationals/

Then Scherzer and Shields are going to need to lower their demands. Nobody will sign them at their current demands, not even big market teams, especially with concerns about durability and regression risk.

Almost January, Nick Cafardo has 2015 projections.. http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2014/12/28/despite-losses-orioles-still-perched-top-east/5owubn1HI2KQBnRQq6j90M/story.html Of course, his projections are way off.. he doesn't realize that Baltimore losing Cruz and Markakis (despite Wieters and Machado's return) is going to hurt a lot. Considering this team can't draw walks to save their life, they're going to struggle to score and get on base unless they hit consistently. And Peter Angelos already has closed his wallet.. he's not going to add more payroll, especially with significant arb raises driving the payroll to a record $126M ($115M+benefits). Yes, Boston needs an ace.. but they're already over the tax and are in a roster crunch on the 40-man with several top prospects on it being unmovable without threatening the team's long-term health, and will need to trade someone just to find room(Victorino? Craig? Nava?). So far, nobody's biting. And if Boston had money in the budget right now, wouldn't they have signed Scherzer or Shields? And they still need to DFA/trade someone to get Breslow on the roster. Yes, the Jays need bullpen help.. but why is everyone pushing us to getting top-of-rotation help?

Uh.. no. Harper is terrible in CF. He can only play in the corners. And Nate Schierholtz was terrible last year. Of course, Taylor might get a chance if the Nats DFA Schierholtz, which they will likely do after spring training.

Pompey projects to hit better than Taylor according to MLB's top prospects lists. Until Taylor learns to hit a breaking ball and cut down the strikeouts, he's not going to be a regular for a while yet. Defensively, Taylor is ready.. but his bat needs at least another year in the minors. Pompey was already advanced for the levels he was in.

In AAA maybe. Besides, Taylor needs more AAA time, as he would get eaten alive in the majors with his high strikeout rate of near 30%. Besides, trading Span would be stupid right now.. until Taylor can prove he can handle AAA pitching, you cannot move Span.

Last season.. remember, they're not trying to get Jeter a World Series ring like last season, as he's retired. And so far, those deals are not working..

Stroman. Tanaka is an injury away from Tommy John surgery, Rick Porcello will likely regress in Boston, and the Rays pitchers will depend on the roster by the season's start.

Zero chance. Ownership has indicated it will not hand out 6-7 year contracts, considering the Yanks already are burdened by several albatross contracts. Plus, nobody will touch him for being a Boras client.. it's very likely he may not sign until February.

Jack Z has denied any issues with Walker, so that trade's out of the question. http://gregjohns.mlblogs.com/2014/12/10/zduriencik-denies-club-has-issues-with-taijuan-walker/ And as for that rookie CF in Washington, Michael Taylor needs more seasoning in AAA(only 52 ABs in AAA last year) plus Span is owed $9M in 2015, plus Washington probably would prefer Taylor (and Goodwin) to be insurance in AAA for 2015, considering they traded prospect Steven Souza Jr. to Tampa. And Sanchez is a major part of Toronto's future.

J.C.(Juan) Gutierrez resigns with the Giants on a minors deal. Surprising he didn't get a major league deal considering his strong year in San Fran..

Phillies close to minors deal with Wandy Rodriguez.

That's an awful trade and even the mention of Taijuan Walker is a killer.. Seattle refuses to trade him. Ditto goes for Span and Sanchez on their respective teams. Plus, Desmond is a free agent after 2015, and isn't worth Walker.

Agreed. Hopefully AA adds someone before spring training.

As for Andrus, his wRC+ has been far inferior, from 2009-present: 81, 75, 93, 97, 79, 79. And his defensive numbers are already slipping based on UZR/150: 13.3, 1.8, 7.5, 8.5, 5.0, -4.4. Where did his defense go? Is he hiding an injury, or is he already in decline? That 2014 number (-4.4), is only slightly better than Reyes, who was at -6.6.. but Reyes has never been known for defense, being a similar player to Derek Jeter, but with more speed.

Agreed. And compared to Andrus, Reyes still has some offensive value. There's a good chance the Rangers are eventually going to have to move Andrus' contract.. but nobody's going to touch all that money.

Andrus has $148M remaining on that albatross of an extension the Rangers gave him, starting in 2015.. and he's not worth it. As for Reyes' defense, the Yanks lived with a defensively challenged Jeter for 19 years.. who only got Gold Gloves because voters didn't take sabermetrics seriously until recent years, mostly focusing on Jeter's contributions. Reyes' offense hasn't really declined.. he's just hitting more singles and doubles and less triples. All he really needs is more DH time.. hopefully the Jays will find a backup SS to relieve Reyes on off days.

Most fans seem to think Reyes is bad because of his defense.. but he hasn't been sound defensively since his age 24 season. He was awful defensively in New York and Miami as well. Most of his value is in his bat.. remember, we didn't give him that awful contract, Miami did. As for Andrus, he is getting $15M/year starting in 2015 to hit for little power.. if he were able to hit for 10-15 HRs a year and had a much better OPS, he'd be more worth it. Not even the Mets and Yankees will touch him, especially with that huge extension. That contract is going to cripple the Rangers for years..

Some actual news and not outrageous trade proposals, and it's a major blow to the Yankees.. no wonder they traded for Eovaldi:

So much for a rebuild in Atlanta.. they've already dealt Upton and Heyward..

Preston Claiborne got claimed by the Marlins.. almost a bonus to go with David Phelps and Martin Prado. Wheter he's any good for the Marlins is questionable.. he wasn't very good with the Yankees.

Not a bad move by the Jays. 10.1K/9IP in AAA, has never had an extended chance in the majors.. maybe he'll discover it in Toronto.

ESPN giving caveat emptor(buyer beware) warnings regarding James Shields: http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/54109/james-shields-is-a-risky Surprisingly, Shields, like Scherzer, has not signed yet.. teams must be concerned about the risk due to age, wear and tear on their arms, and ridiculous demands for pitchers who will not age well due to decreases in velocity and/or injury risk, especially with Scherzer.

That person who wrote the e-mail doesn't know much about baseball. They'll just replace Kemp with top propsect Joc Pederson, who may be even better offensively and defensively at this stage than Kemp. Jimmy Rollins needed out of Philly, due to that horrible team. And Howie Kendrick didn't choke.. the Angels pitching did that in the playoffs this past season. As for Yasmani Grandal, he's got to be an upgrade over A.J. Ellis, who is mostly there for defense and pitch framing.. his offensive numbers were awful last year, and for a World Series contender that the Dodgers are, they needed someone better. And Hanley Ramirez at this stage is a DH in waiting.. I still feel he will be awful in LF in Boston, especially outside of Fenway.

Myers and Kemp are long-term Padres(regardless of Kemp's injuries), Upton is a one-year stopgap until another young outfielder (Liriano?) emerges, and they had a lot of farm pieces to deal. They still have a gaping hole at 1B, and Quentin's bad contract. Plus, they still have to fight the Dodgers and Giants. The Jays are already deep offensively, and really only need a 2B and bullpen help. Padres needed to make these deals because the team had a strong farm, but no free agents will sign in San Diego due to offensive suppression. So they used the pieces to get Kemp, Myers and Upton. And yet their farm is still strong. Remember, the Padres offense was terrible last season.