Non-NYM Off-Season News

[Frayed Knot]

And the hot stove league is officially underway !!!

The Tigers are a team said to be looking to shed payroll this winter, and it appears that may be right as they deal OF Cameron Maybin to the Angels for a minor league arm of seemingly no great promise - Victor Alcantara.
Though a CF most of his career up to now, Maybin -- the soon to be 30 y/o who was the #10 overall draft pick by the Tigers back in 2005 and on his second go-around with them after stops in Miami, San Diego, and Atlanta in between -- is due around $9 million for 2017 and is expected to be installed as LAA's everyday LF.

[smg58]

I don't know if there is still an ex-Mets thread, but RA Dickey just signed a one-year deal with the Braves.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

smg58 wrote: I don't know if there is still an ex-Mets thread, but RA Dickey just signed a one-year deal with the Braves.

[Benjamin Grimm]

The Braves seem like the right team for an aging knuckleballer.

[Edgy MD]

I wonder if Niekro will give him permission to dust off #35.

[Zvon]

smg58 wrote: I don't know if there is still an ex-Mets thread, but RA Dickey just signed a one-year deal with the Braves.

Ew, I don't like this at all. Braves are slipping into that new ballpark. I wish him well, but not against us. We shall pwn him.

[Frayed Knot]

RA Dickey in three seasons as a Met: 91 starts, 39 Wins, 2.95 ERA, 1.15 WHiP
RA Dickey in the four seasons since: 130 starts, 49 wins, 4.05 ERA, 1.25 WHiP Also Ks/9 down a shade, BBs/9 up, HRs/9 up, etc.

Turned 42 two weeks ago.


I briefly considered him a few weeks back as a 'what if' replacement for Bartolo but then quickly dismissed the idea.

[HahnSolo]

I suppose the Braves could do worse for a "veteran innings-eater"(™) but he had a lot fewer innings eaten this year, and as FK said, he's getting up there now.

[HahnSolo]

Zvon wrote: smg58 wrote: I don't know if there is still an ex-Mets thread, but RA Dickey just signed a one-year deal with the Braves. Ew, I don't like this at all. Braves are slipping into that new ballpark. I wish him well, but not against us. We shall pwn him.

If they wanted to play in a park that looks just like Turner Field, why didn't they just stay there?

[MFS62]

Are they going to acquire Josh Thole to catch him?

Later

[Frayed Knot]

HahnSolo wrote: If they wanted to play in a park that looks just like Turner Field, why didn't they just stay there?

Bigger concentration of richer, whiter fans once you get 20 miles outside of town. Plus lower crime, better parking, and less traffic (or so they hope).

[MFS62]

I don't recall any problem with parking when I went to the old park. There WAS a jam leaving once the game was over, but its probably that way in most ballparks.
But the problem I see is that they will be 20 miles away from Varsity, so a lot of hot dogs will get cold and a lot of onion rings will get soggy before the fans get them to the new stadium.

http://www.thevarsity.com/locations.php?action=view&store_id=9

OE: Its now a local chain, so there may be one near the new place. Problem solved. BTW- the onion rings are world famous, and they deserve that honor, grease and all.


Later

Edited November 12, 2016 by Guest

[Frayed Knot]

Kendrys Morales leaves the Royals for a three-year deal in Toronto, notable mostly because it almost certainly signals the end of Edwin Encarnacion's time as a Blue Jay and thus makes him more of an 'in-play' FA.
I don't think he's in play for the Mets, but someone in the 1B/DH market now won't have competition from his home club.

[Centerfield]

They've been saying the Red Sox will go strong after Encarnacion to replace Ortiz. Maybe Toronto saw the writing on the wall.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Everyone knows this is the best place to play baseball in Atlanta. The site is about 7 miles South of the current Braves ballpark and 7 miles northwest of the new one.



Its namesake was raised by a single parent just off Holcomb Ave. and played sandlot football at that site as a kid.

[Frayed Knot]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Everyone knows this is the best place to play baseball in Atlanta. The site is about 7 miles South of the current Braves ballpark and 7 miles northwest of the new one.

The Braves new digs are actually in the suburbs north and west of Atlanta by some 15 miles or so.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Doesn't look like that on the map unless I have the direction wrong.

[Frayed Knot]

I don't know how to swipe an image off of GOOGLE Maps, but the new place is in Cumberland, GA.
Taking Interstate 75 out of town in a northward (11 o'clock-ish) direction towards Marietta and eventually Chattanooga, TN, it's right where 75 crosses Atlanta's 'Beltway' (285)
You can see an in-progress version of it if you zoom in via satellite mode right on the west side of that Interstate interchange.

That area is the richer suburbs of Atlanta (Newt Gingrich's Congressional district back in the day) and also where there's a big amateur baseball program that has produced a bunch of current players [Francouer, Heyward, McCann, Markakis, others] most of whom, coincidentally or otherwise, seem to either start out with the Braves or eventually end up there.
I'm sure they feel it's much better baseball territory than the more football happy (and specifically college football happy) city of Atlanta itself.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Ah, 285 being a beltway I had the opposite intersection of it and 75.

Anywhoo it can't beat John Milner Park.

[MFS62]

Ex Mets farmhand Michael Fulmer, won the AL Rookie of the Year Award.
LAter

[Centerfield]

Brian McCann to the Astros.

[Frayed Knot]

Brian McCann to the Astros.

Pitchers Albert Abreu and Jorge Guzman going to the Yankees. The latter has touched 102-103.
JJ Cooper at BA: both have great arms and Guzman has touched 102-103 - but they also were the 5th and 8th best Ps in Astros system in our upcoming 30.

NYY kicking in $5.5MM each of the next 2 seasons. So net the Astros are on the hook for $11.5MM in each of 2017 and 2018. McCann also has a vesting option of $15MM for 2019 (1,000 PAs from 2017-18, 90 games caught in 2018 and does not end 2018 on the DL).


The papers were talking about the Yanx holding out for "top level" prospects in return for McCann such as they got in the mid-season Miller & Chapman deals but it looks like they dealt more for hopeful promise here than for sure-fire talent.
The Astros also have Evan Gattis (that's a lotta beef behind the plate on one team!!) to catch part-time plus the 'stros are in the DH league these days.

On a side note this essentially confirms the end of the road for former Houston 1st round draft pick Jason Castro and that he'll now be a no-strings attached FA.
I've mostly lost track of him over the last few years but he never seems to have hit the way they hoped ... don't know much about his defense. Just wondering out loud if he's a candidate to supplement (not take over) the catching corps in Queens.




Astros reportedly have also signed FA Josh Reddick

[ashie62]

With Reddick and McCann the Astro's lineup looks like,

]1. George Springer, RF
2. Alex Bregman, 3B
3. Jose Altuve, 2B
4. Carlos Correa, SS
5. Brian McCann, C
6. Evan Gattis, DH
7. Josh Reddick, LF
8. Yulieskey Gurriel, 1B
9. Jake Marisnick, CF

[Vic Sage]

power, speed, defense, albeit with a shit ton of Ks. Now they just need some more pitching.

[Frayed Knot]

Houston was slightly below average in scoring runs last year, but they got shit years out of Colby Rasmus, Carlos Gomez, Jason Castro and others. Every full time player except for Altuve struck out 100+ times and even some guys with less than 300 ABs were K'ing 85 times or more.
You figure that with MCann plus full seasons out of Marasnick, Gourriel, Bregman et al they'll be a lot better although you still figure it to be a feast or famine type of offense.

And we get to face them this year too.



On the other side of Texas, the Rangers signed RHP Andrew Cashner to a one year deal.
A 1st round pick (19th overall) by the Cubs in 2008, this will now be his 4th organization overall and third in two years (also SD & Miami) since being dealt by Chicago to SD in exchange for ... Anthony Rizzo.

[Frayed Knot]

In case you might want to get a sense of where the price for LH relievers is these days, the Cardinals have signed Brett Cecil to a 4-year / $30.5 mil deal.

Cecil, a life-long Blue Jay up until now, was a former 1st round pick (38th overall in 2007) by Toronto out of the Univ of Maryland. He started for a couple of seasons before becoming a full-time reliever by 2013.
Was very steady out of the pen -- 2013-2016 combined = 243 Games; 2.90 ERA; 1.17 WHiP; 11.5 K/9; 3.1 BB/9; 7.4 H/9 with one ASG appearance -- although is coming off his worst season of the four: 1-7; 3.93; 1.28 and with only 36 IP
Will turn 31 in mid-season 2017



Jerry Blevins, three+ years older and without quite the track record, doesn't figure to get a deal of that size, but he now has his target.

[Frayed Knot]

Catcher Jason Castro, former 1st round pick of the Astros, inks a three-year deal with the Twins.

[Frayed Knot]

The new front office in Arizona makes their first major move, dealing off SS Jean Segura plus two minor league names to the Mariners for RHP Taijuan Walker and IF Ketel Marte (not sure if he's named after the vodka or vice versa).

The Snakes just acquired Segura from the Brewers a year ago and got a great season out of him [20 HRs, led NL in hits, 13th in MVP] but he's eligible for FA after 2018 so this smells like a youth movement thing for them.

The just-turned 24 y/o Walker was a top of the charts prospect a couple years back although in two full seasons has yet to keep his ERA under 4.00
Marte, 23, was more or less the M's full-time SS this past season.
Seattle also gets CF prospect Mitch Haniger, former 1st round draft pick of Milwaukee who got some playing time with Arizona in 2016, and reliever Zac Curtis who adds to the variety of ways ML moms and dads have found to spell Zack/Zach. Plus there's that guitarist Zakk that Piazza used to like.

[ashie62]

Zakk Wylde? Love Taijuan Walker if healthy.

[Frayed Knot]

Ashie62 wrote: Zakk Wylde?

That's the one.
Piazza even pulled some strings to get him to played the anthem prior to a game one time. I was there for that one and let's just say it's not going down alongside Jimi's rendition.



The Cobb County Braves, who continue (along with Houston) to be the most active team early in this off-season, have added super-utility man Sean Rodriguez to a reported two-year deal.
Along with his ethnically mixed name, the 31 y/o Rodriguez has displayed Zobrist-like versatility over the last few years with Tampa & Pittsburgh by playing seven different positions plus DH, and is someone I wouldn't have minded the Mets looking into.

Edited November 25, 2016 by Guest