A's trade All-Star 3B Josh Donaldson to Toronto in exchange for former top prospect 2B/3B Brett Lawrie, minor league P Sean Nolin, minor league P Kendall Graveman, and minor league SS Franklin Barreto. Really surprised this went down....I know people around the league are fairly skeptic on Josh Donaldson, but the return that Oakland just got is middling at best, and a complete bust if Nolin and/or Lawrie flop entirely. Seems like behind the scenes they were trying to work an extension and it became clear it would cost them as much or more than it would have in arbitration and decided to bail while it was still prudent. Good move by Toronto...Lawrie was never going to pan out up north, after the billing he received in going from Milwaukee to Toronto. They pick up a strong offensive 3B with good defensive skills (may or may not erode on the artificial turf in the SkyDome) to counter Boston's move of bringing in Pablo Sandoval. Looks like the Yankees have the worst 3B situation in their division now. Rays have Evan Longoria, Jays have Josh Donaldson, Red Sox have Pablo Sandoval, Orioles have Manny Machado coming off surgery. Yankees have....maybe Chase Headley?? Yeah, every player who retires from one of the four major professional sports (baseball, football, hockey, and basketball) become eligible for their sport's respective Hall of Fame, x number of years after they retire. In baseball's case, it's five years after you retire. I mention the guys who clearly won't get in because the HOF voting process is so fucked (thanks to the BBWAA) that several of these guys manage to garner a few percentage points. Now for guys who were very good for a long time and flew under the radar...Fred McGriff, for example...I understand the desire to give them some votes even if under purely objective scrutiny their career numbers don't hold up. But these other guys? If you give someone like Darin Erstad votes for the Hall of Fame, you might as well be pissing on the voting process...and I can guarantee there will be at least one bozo given 2-5% of the vote when the totals come down the newsfeed in a few months. Bet you most of the Steroid Era guys who were clearly, but legally, using substances in the 80s and 90s get voted in by the Veterans' Committee when we're all a couple decades older. The HOF VC lets in far weaker candidates than guys like Bonds, Palmeiro, Giambi, Pettitte, Clemens, Bagwell et al. Still funny to me how guys that don't show classic signs of steroid use somehow completely avoid scrutiny, even if they're on the same team. Fuckin' Jeff Bagwell can't get in but Craig Biggio spends his entire career on the same team as Bagwell and doesn't face the same judgment? Still very early. Not quite December yet. Winter meetings have yet to occur either.
yeah I feel you. I mean personally I don't really have a strong conviction on it either way. On one hand they technically had an advantage players in past decades didn't, but so did a lot of the other players they were matched up against. Barry Bonds might have been on roids hitting HRs but Roger Clemens was on roids throwing fastballs, so in a way it's a wash. there was probably a good amount of guys who didn't though, and that sucks. plus, well I wasn't alive before the 90s, so I can't really give an eye test or anything. but I've read players throughout history were trying all different types of shit to get a competitive edge. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banned_substances_in_baseball_in_the_United_States I've seen a lot of rumors going around of a Porcello trade for either Cespedes or Nava. Or Price for Yelich and somebody else. Either trade wouldn't really bother me as a tigers fan as long as they can plug that hole back up in the rotation. I'd almost rather trade price than porcello. Porcello won't demand quite as much to resign and he's younger, and has steadily improved each year. I think david price has peaked and you can still get a lot back for him cause he's david price. although in a way it kind of plugs one hole but opens up another. you fill the corner outfield hole and then you need to sign another starter to replace who you just traded at least somewhat adequately.
I'm gonna be fairly sad if Nori Aoki leaves KC. He's an underrated player, for sure. (Tim) -No donut is more delightful- =Dumars=
The biggest problem with the whole "steroid era" is that people actually believe steroids have a significant impact on a players performance.
The history of the game of baseball is also a history of competition. Many men will do what they view as "necessary" to gain a competitive advantage. It just kills me that we have a Hall of Fame populated with guys who, by modern standards, were outright cheaters, but suddenly we draw a line in the sand and say, "well, when you add drugs into your body for competitive advantage, that's a whole different level" ... ignoring the fact that players have been abusing amphetamines in baseball for decades to get through the rigorous grind of a full-season schedule. Whitey Ford, Joe Niekro, Ty Cobb, Gaylord Perry, Billy Martin, John McGraw, Howard Johnson, the entire 1951 Giants team, the entire 1919 White Sox team, etc.
No. Power spikes were no more prevalent in the steroid era than they were in any other era of baseball history. http://steroids-and-baseball.com/actual-effects.shtml Well worth the read. The media coverage of the steroid era is based almost entirely on lies (Bonds head size growing, anyone?). The unprofessional-ism displayed by the "journalist" and sports reporters during the era was astounding.
Mariners sign Nelson Cruz to DH, 4yrs/$57mil. Rays trade recently-DFA'd utilityman Sean Rodriguez to Pittsburgh for a PTBNL and cash. Pittsburgh then DFA'd Gaby Sanchez, who was supposed to platoon with Pedro Alvarez at first base this coming season.
Brandon Moss to Cleveland too. looks like Beane might've decided it's time to tear it down and rebuild in oakland.
Pirates re-sign Liriano - 3 years $39 million. Happy with the signing although I'm wondering if Liriano can pitch as well as he has the last 2 years without having Martin behind the plate.
Cubs pick up Miguel Montero from Arizona in exchange for a couple of mid-level minor-league prospects. Chicago is now likely to move Welington Castillo...not sure if they could get Matt Kemp for Castillo; the current word is that San Diego is offering Yasmani Grandal for him and that's the best they can get. Cubs sign Jon Lester, 6yrs/$155mil, $20mil more than the Red Sox's offer. Cubs look set to roll Lester-Arrieta-Hammel-Hendricks-Wood, with Tsuyoshi Wada, Dan Straily, and Felix Doubront in long relief. Probably just going to throw Edwin Jackson on the bench and consider it a sunk cost. Wonder if Boston can maybe pull a trade with Cincy and flip Yoenis Cespedes for Johnny Cueto. Cincy's been putting Cueto and Aroldis Chapman in trade talks so far at the Winter Meetings. Reds might want to move on from Jay Bruce, Sox need a front-line starter. Across town, the White Sox pick up David Robertson, 4yrs/$46mil. Also picked up Jeff Samardzija (and former teenage phenom Michael Ynoa) from Oakland in exchange for IF Marcus Semien and P Chris Bassitt.
now it's my Phils turn to start making some moves...about three years too late. Phils trade SS Jimmy Rollins to the Dodgers for an undisclosed return. Past couple years with Jimmy have been tumultuous to say the least, but you can't hate on a guy who talked the talk and then walked the walk. 2007 NL MVP, 2008 WS champion, all-time leader in hits, doubles, and at-bats. Respect. Phils also close to trading Antonio Bastardo to interstate rival Pittsburgh. Bastardo fell off a couple years ago but he has serious talent and I wouldn't be surprised to see Pittsburgh maximize that talent considering how they've been able to resurrect several pitchers' careers in the past couple of seasons. Looks like we're getting minor-league reliever Joely Rodriguez in return. Dodgers talking with the Marlins, apparently about trading Dee Gordon to Miami in exchange for top pitching prospect Andrew Heaney. Astros sign fan favorite reliever, sidearmer Pat Neshek, 2yrs/$12.5mil. Glad to see dude get paid, a couple of years ago when he hurt his arm again it was looking like the end of the line for him.
the full story on a trade that became multiple trades in one...to put it one way, it's not even fair that Andrew Friedman and his disciples are running the front office of the baseball club with the highest payroll in the game these days. Dodgers traded P Dan Haren, IF Miguel Rojas, and IF Dee Gordon to Miami for P Andrew Heaney, UTIL Kiki Hernandez, C Austin Barnes and P Chris Hatcher. The Dodgers, having acquired Heaney, traded him to the Angels in exchange for 2B Howie Kendrick. Dan Haren, who has said he will not pitch for a team outside the Los Angeles region for personal reasons, may retire. If so, the Marlins receive additional financial compensation from the Dodgers for Haren. Continuing with the Dodgers, they picked up Brandon McCarthy for 4yrs/$48mil. So in under 24hrs, the Dodgers picked up Jimmy Rollins to play shortstop, Howie Kendrick to play second/third base, a couple minor-league prospects, and a back-end rotation piece. That rotation now looks as such: Kershaw, Greinke, Ryu, McCarthy, and either Juan Nicasio (acquired earlier in the offseason from Colorado) or prospect Zach Lee. Dodgers still talking trade with their division rivals, the Padres. Rumor is Matt Kemp to San Diego in exchange for Yasmani Grandal and another player. If that comes to fruition, then the Dodgers have met their goal of unloading an outfielder so that top hitting prospect Joc Pederson can hit the majors and play alongside Puig and a likely platoon of Carl Crawford and Andre Ethier. Meanwhile, the infield is a bit murkier. Now that the Lester domino has fallen and the floodgates continue to widen... The Angels, less than an hour after trading Howie Kendrick to the Dodgers in exchange for prospect Andrew Heaney, have acquired 2B/SS Josh Rutledge from the Colorado Rockies for P Jairo Diaz. Red Sox pick up P Wade Miley from Arizona in exchange for P Rubby De La Rosa and P Allen Webster. This one surprised me. Allen Webster might succeed outside the AL East, where he was hot garbage (he was once a top-5 Dodgers prospect around the same time as Zach Lee and Dee Gordon). Rubby De La Rosa looked to be turning a corner and his primary impediment seemed to be lowering his pitches-per-inning to pitch deeper into games. Personally I'm not high on Miley nor on this trade, but I see why the Red Sox made the move that they did. Rockies talking trade with the Mets for heavily-shopped back-end starter Dillon Gee. The Mets allegedly have interest in acquiring reliever Rex Brothers from Colorado for Gee.
Tigers trade Porcello for Cespedes Rumor is that Tigers might also get Mat Latos from Cincy awwww snap. As a Tigs fan I'm OK with it. For now.
Tigers pick up Alfredo Simon from Cincy for Eugenio Suarez and Jonathan Crawford. Marlins and Reds talking a Mat Latos trade. Matt Kemp and Tim Federowicz, plus $30,000,000, to the Padres for Yasmani Grandal and Joe Wieland.
I've seen a few places say Alfredo Simon will be a long reliever and the tigers are still going after scherzer, which is what I'm hoping. I always like Porcello, so I'll hate to see him in a red sox uniform. But we needed cespedes. I'm gonna miss this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMaO8CXpJdc
Three-team, eleven-player trade between Tampa Bay, Washington and San Diego completed today. Rays receive International League MVP OF Steven Souza and pitcher Travis Ott from Washington, as well as top catching prospect Rene Rivera, first baseman Jake Bauers, and pitcher Burch Smith from San Diego. Washington receives pitcher Joe Ross and shortstop Trea Turner from San Diego. Turner will likely replace Ian Desmond at short, allowing Washington to trade Desmond at mid-season if desired. San Diego receives former AL ROY and top prospect OF Wil Myers from Tampa Bay, as well as C Ryan Hanigan, P Jose Castillo, and P Gerardo Reyes. In under a week, the Padres have gone from an outfield of Will Venable, Cameron Maybin and Carlos Quentin to an outfield of Matt Kemp, Maybin, and Wil Myers, with Venable and Quentin in bench/platoon roles. Impressive.