Hot Stove Baseball Thread

[Flipper 69]

According to MLB.com's Jason Beck, the Tigers have agreed to terms with Brad Penny on a one-year, $3 million contract.

The deal also includes another $3 million in performance-based incentives. It should prove to be a nice move for the Tigers, as long as Penny can stay healthy for more than a handful of starts. He registered a quality 3.23 ERA and 35/9 K/BB ratio over nine outings in 2010 for St. Louis and he still owns a strong 4.11 career ERA and 1.34 career WHIP. The 32-year-old righty will be relevant in most mixed leagues this season.

 

One of the better pitching staff's in the MLBs!!

[kilroy69 1,268]

One of the better pitching staff's in the MLBs!!

I agree. Too bad we have the single worst manager in the game of baseball.

[Flipper 69]

I agree. Too bad we have the single worst manager in the game of baseball.

 

Not the worst .... Maybe sensile. Forgot some of the little things they do in the NL that would have moved a few games from the Loss column to the Wins column.

[kilroy69 1,268]

Not the worst .... Maybe sensile. Forgot some of the little things they do in the NL that would have moved a few games from the Loss column to the Wins column.

I pray every day that he gets lost on the way to the park and never comes back.

[tikigods 76]

Rafael Soriano, Yanks agree to three years 35million.

 

 

14 million in year three.

[sorrycharlie 0]

Rafael Soriano, Yanks agree to three years 35million.

 

 

14 million in year three.

They also gave up a 1st rdr for him

[tikigods 76]

They also gave up a 1st rdr for him

 

draft is overrated.

[Drizzay 745]

WWW.startribune.com/sports/twins/113520824.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUac8HEaDiaMDCinchO7DU

 

Twins signed Thome to 1-year deal. Worth around $3 million plus incentives.

[Patriotsfatboy1 1,433]

WWW.startribune.com/sports/twins/113520824.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUac8HEaDiaMDCinchO7DU

 

Twins signed Thome to 1-year deal. Worth around $3 million plus incentives.

That is a nice deal for Minny. Thome still has something left in the tank and he seemed to fit in there.

[tikigods 76]

Reds sign Votto for three years, 38 million.

[kilroy69 1,268]

So Im assuming with Jose Bautista willing to show Napoli how to adjust his swing Napoli should push 60 home runs. I mean Jose went from 16 to 54 with this adjustment Napoli should be able to go from 26 to 60 right?

 

 

 

FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reports that the Angels have traded Mike Napoli to the Blue Jays, pending a physical.

There's no word on who the Angels will be receiving in the deal. It will be interesting to see where the Jays give Napoli most of his at-bats, but the presumption is that he'll split time between catcher and DH, which means J.P. Arencibia's upside just took a hit. On the Angels' side of things, Jeff Mathis now is in line for the bulk of the starts behind the plate, while prospect Hank Conger could play his way into some at-bats.

[kilroy69 1,268]

Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com reports that the Blue Jays are working toward a trade that would send Mike Napoli to the Rangers for Frank Francisco.

The deal is either done or close to being done. Napoli was acquired by the Jays only a couple of days ago in a trade that allowed Toronto to dump Vernon Wells and his massive contract onto the Angels' payroll. Now the Blue Jays are looking to improve their bullpen in a swift give-and-go. Napoli should start at catcher in Texas with Yorvit Torrealba serving as his backup. Francisco is likely to beat out Octavio Dotel for the Jays' ninth inning gig.

 

 

Man Mike Napoli is going to ###### crush in that bandbox. I dont see any reason why he shouldn't hit 35 homers. His average is going to be shitty but ya get what ya can out of backstops and not many have the potential to hit 30+ hr's.

[kilroy69 1,268]

Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com suspects that the Yankees might try to trade for Indians starter Fausto Carmona.

The Yanks have not publicly acknowledged having interest in Carmona and Indians GM Chris Antonetti said last week that the right-hander is not on the market. But the Yankees could certainly make a play for him if they are unwilling to unload a top prospect or two from their farm system. Carmona, 27, registered a cool 3.77 ERA and 1.31 WHIP across 31 starts last season. The Yanks are hustling now against the news of Andy Pettitte's retirement.

 

 

I was reeeeeeallly hoping that the tigers would make a move for him. He made an adjustment to his changeup last year. From then on he focking killed it. The yanks would do very well to land him.

[kilroy69 1,268]

Wow what the fock are the rangers waiting on. They need to jump all over this.

 

 

FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reports that the Rockies are offering Jose Lopez to the Rangers in a trade proposal for Michael Young.

It's not clear who else, if anyone, would be involved in the deal. If it's just Lopez, it would be purely a salary dump trade for the Rangers, as Young is due $16 million each of the next three years and Lopez, while he is owed $3.6 million next season, doesn't have a guaranteed contract. The Rangers could cut him loose and owe him only $600,000. The problem, though, is that the Rockies can't afford to pay Young that much, so the Rangers will have to eat some money in order for a deal to be consummated. The Rox claim to have received "mixed messages" from the Rangers as to whether they even want to trade Young. Young has a limited no-trade clause that does not include the Rockies, but he will be able to veto any deal starting in May, when he earns his 10-and-5 status.

[kilroy69 1,268]

ESPN's Buster Olney reports that there continues to be no progress made in the Albert Pujols extension talks.

Multiple news outlets have consistently reported that the talks aren't going well, so this is nothing new. We're drawing closer and closer to the February 16 deadline, and obviously significant ground will have to be made up in order to get something done. An extension seems unlikely at this point.

[Flipper 69]

ESPN's Buster Olney reports that there continues to be no progress made in the Albert Pujols extension talks.

Multiple news outlets have consistently reported that the talks aren't going well, so this is nothing new. We're drawing closer and closer to the February 16 deadline, and obviously significant ground will have to be made up in order to get something done. An extension seems unlikely at this point.

 

I think the Cards are better-suited to start working on a sign-and-trade. Cause the only teams that are going to be able to afford his services are the Yanks and BoSox. Sabathia and Teixeira would be fine in Cardinal Red.

[kilroy69 1,268]

I think the Cards are better-suited to start working on a sign-and-trade. Cause the only teams that are going to be able to afford his services are the Yanks and BoSox. Sabathia and Teixeira would be fine in Cardinal Red.

There are about 5-7 teams that could afford to sign him if he was a FA.

[tikigods 76]

There are about 5-7 teams that could afford to sign him if he was a FA.

 

Mets. Dodgers. Cardinals. Angels. Tigers. Braves.

 

They could all sign him.

[shotsup 835]

Mets. Dodgers. Cardinals. Angels. Tigers. Braves.

 

They could all sign him.

 

Have you been following the Mets situation and Bernie Madoff ????

[tikigods 76]

Have you been following the Mets situation and Bernie Madoff ????

 

I don't follow the NL.

[shotsup 835]

I don't follow the NL.

 

Mets are not signing anyone worth any $$. Ownership is looking to sell 25% of team because they may be sued for 700 + million dollars relating to Madoff.

 

I bet Reyes is traded in his walk year because they cant afford him.

[kilroy69 1,268]

Have you been following the Mets situation and Bernie Madoff ????

I would say the mets situation for not this year but NEXT year would be pretty solid with a new owner coming in. Cause that maddoff trustee aint to joke. Its probably going to look bad for them THIS year. But by the time next season rolls around the new owner(cuban?) is going to want to make a splash.

[kilroy69 1,268]

Mets. Dodgers. Cardinals. Angels. Tigers. Braves.

 

They could all sign him.

Oh my god I could only wish.

[shotsup 835]

But by the time next season rolls around the new owner(cuban?) is going to want to make a splash.

 

depends - you think Wilpon's will sell 100% of team ?? They are (as of now) looking for 25% with NO day to day say in the operations (which I do not think is going to happen)

[kilroy69 1,268]

depends - you think Wilpon's will sell 100% of team ?? They are (as of now) looking for 25% with NO day to day say in the operations (which I do not think is going to happen)

Absolutly. I read a really good rundown into the finances of the mets. if they sold their entire interest on the mets PLUS their interest on their reigonal sports network they would come out MAYBE....maybe 30 mil ahead.

 

This from 2 weeks ago put their book value at 225 mil and its from forbes so its not likely that they are guessing about it much.

 

http://blogs.forbes.com/mikeozanian/2011/02/02/the-new-york-mets-book-value-negative-225-million/

[shotsup 835]

They want to sell portion of team with NO part of SNY - which generates 300 million in ad revenue.

 

NOT going to happen.

[kilroy69 1,268]

No actually re reading this they are even more ######. Even if they sell everything they will owe picard 300mil. So even if they settle they are still going to be flat broke. They are living in a dream world if they think that selling 25% of the team is going to come anywhere near close what they are going to need just to maintain control of the team.

 

Ever since he bought controlling interest of the New York Mets in 2002, Fred Wilpon has used leverage to juice his MLB franchise. He borrowed heavily to buy out Nelson Doubleday, even promising his former partner tens of millions of dollars if the Mets ever moved into a new ballpark (they did, with Citi Field opening in 2009). His team is also on the hook for $40 million a year in debt service tied to the bonds used to finance Citi Field (the bonds now carry a junk rating).

 

Now all this debt could very well come crashing down on Wilpon as a result of his involvement with Bernie Madoff. As I wrote earlier, the Mets and their lease to Citi Field are worth about $845 million. But there is $375 million of debt attached to the Mets franchise and $695 million tied to the ballpark, leaving these assets with an aggregate negative book value of $225 million.

 

Thus if he needs to get a lot of cash from his sports assets Wilpon will have to unload his 60% stake in SportsNet NewYork, the regional sports network in which Comcast and Time Warner are also investors. The team’s 60% stake in SNY could fetch about $1.3 billion (the price would be substantially higher if it were not for $239 million in dividends the owners of SNY paid themselves with borrowed funds) and has proportionally $270 million of debt, giving the team’s stake a book value of $1,030 million. After netting out the negative book value of $225 million from the franchise and Citi Field, selling SNY could leave Wilpon with $805 million.

 

Which will hopefully be enough money to satisfy any money he is on the hook for as a result of his involvement with Madoff.

[tikigods 76]

A year ago, before the Philadelphia Phillies signed Ryan Howard to a five-year, $125 million extension, they had an internal conversation about pursuing the idea of a swap of Howard for Albert Pujols.

 

And the context is very important.

 

Because it was a year ago that the Phillies were into their negotiations with the first baseman and knew how expensive it would be to retain Howard. And as they considered the best ways to get bang for their buck, they kicked around this scenario: What if the Cardinals have a tough time re-signing Pujols? What if it ever looks like Pujols might leave St. Louis? What if his salary demands are just too high for the Cardinals' comfort level?

 

The conversation was appropriate. The best front offices think outside of the box, and think boldly. It was prescient. Because a year later, the Cardinals are now faced with an extraordinary gap between what they are willing to pay Pujols and what he is looking for. I don't know exactly what the last St. Louis offer was, in total dollars. But given that the two sides basically agreed on the length of the deal but not on the annual salary, the guess here is that the Cardinals were willing to pay Pujols about $20 million a year over 10 years.

 

Which means that if Pujols is looking for Alex Rodriguez money, St. Louis is about $75 million to $100 million short of the asking price.

 

That has opened the door now for Pujols to go into free agency, and for other teams to start thinking about what signing Pujols would mean to their franchise.

 

from ESPN Insider

[Cruzer 1,996]

Mets. Dodgers. Cardinals. Angels. Tigers. Braves.

 

They could all sign him.

The Rangers were willing and prepared to give C. Lee upwards of $125 million - they could afford him too.

[tikigods 76]

The Rangers were willing and prepared to give C. Lee upwards of $125 million - they could afford him too.

 

I never understood the philosophy of overpaying for starting pitching. The way to do it is through the draft/growing your own. If you're going to overpay, overpay for a bat.

[Cruzer 1,996]

I never understood the philosophy of overpaying for starting pitching. The way to do it is through the draft/growing your own. If you're going to overpay, overpay for a bat.

I don't know, the Yankees have been pretty successful buying aces off the market shelf. Mussina, Clemens, Wells, David Cone, CC, etc... But I do agree it's a much better system to draft and develop your own. But sometimes teams reach a point when they are ready to win now, don't have time to wait for a kid to come up. The Rangers have pretty much all the pieces in place now - but no real true big time ace.

[tikigods 76]

I don't know, the Yankees have been pretty successful buying aces off the market shelf. Mussina, Clemens, Wells, David Cone, CC, etc... But I do agree it's a much better system to draft and develop your own. But sometimes teams reach a point when they are ready to win now, don't have time to wait for a kid to come up. The Rangers have pretty much all the pieces in place now - but no real true big time ace.

 

Sabermetrically, pitchers are a crap shoot. The only stats they can control, which is limited, is strikeouts, walks, and home runs allowed. Obviously, K/BB is subjective based on umpiring. If I was a GM, I would never spend money on pitching.

 

Hitting, on the other hand, is more statistically reliable.

[tikigods 76]

Vladimir Guerrero has signed an $8 million, one-year contract with the Baltimore Orioles.

 

The free-agent slugger agreed to terms Feb. 4 on a deal that was contingent upon him passing his physical. The physical was delayed until Wednesday because of scheduling conflicts.

 

Guerrero signed Friday morning, and the Orioles scheduled an afternoon news conference to announce his arrival. He will serve as Baltimore's designated hitter and bat cleanup.

 

The 36-year-old Guerrero is a lifetime .320 hitter with 436 home runs in 15 major league seasons. He has won eight Silver Slugger Awards and is only the 14th player in history to hit at least .300 with 400 doubles and 400 home runs.

[kilroy69 1,268]

Thats great. Baltimore is not going to contend this year but I am willing to bet this is the best year for them in probably 10 years. I am thinking at least a .500 season and vlad is going to pick up a good bit of rbi chances. His numbers will probably be remarkably smiler in Balt. .290/25/90 at the end of the season. At this point he won't ever get another multi year deal. But if he keeps up constant production from a DH spot he will be able to get 5 one year deals.

[Patriotsfatboy1 1,433]

Thats great. Baltimore is not going to contend this year but I am willing to bet this is the best year for them in probably 10 years. I am thinking at least a .500 season and vlad is going to pick up a good bit of rbi chances. His numbers will probably be remarkably smiler in Balt. .290/25/90 at the end of the season. At this point he won't ever get another multi year deal. But if he keeps up constant production from a DH spot he will be able to get 5 one year deals.

 

I doubt they will be .500. They have 72 games against Boston, NY, Toronto (won 85 games) and Tampa. Vlad in his prime could not carry this team to .500 this year.

[Cruzer 1,996]

$8 mil, one year, for a DH, for a team that has no shot - wow.

[kilroy69 1,268]

I think that with the additions of Mark reynolds, Vlad and Derrick lee, plus Brian roberts coming back healthy and having a manager they can believe in will push them very close to .500 and they will be a surprise team. They are in desperate need of some of their Staff to step up or for some of their youngsters to take a few steps forward but they are moving in the direction that leads me to believe them to be a much improved team.

[Patriotsfatboy1 1,433]

I think that with the additions of Mark reynolds, Vlad and Derrick lee, plus Brian roberts coming back healthy and having a manager they can believe in will push them very close to .500 and they will be a surprise team. They are in desperate need of some of their Staff to step up or for some of their youngsters to take a few steps forward but they are moving in the direction that leads me to believe them to be a much improved team.

 

That optimism is what is so great about spring.

 

I can't see them winning more than 72 games this year. They were 24-48 against the East last year. They were almost .500 against the rest of the league (3 games under), but I don't see them being able to able hold their own in the AL East. I figure that if they go .500 against the rest of the league and lose 2 of 3 to AL East teams (like they did last year), that puts them at 69 wins. Add in a few extra wins and you might get to 72.

[kilroy69 1,268]

That optimism is what is so great about spring.

 

I can't see them winning more than 72 games this year. They were 24-48 against the East last year. They were almost .500 against the rest of the league (3 games under), but I don't see them being able to able hold their own in the AL East. I figure that if they go .500 against the rest of the league and lose 2 of 3 to AL East teams (like they did last year), that puts them at 69 wins. Add in a few extra wins and you might get to 72.

Thats why I am calling them a surprise team.

[TimmySmith 2,783]

$8 mil, one year, for a DH, for a team that has no shot - wow.

Are you mystified why Vlad signed? I am. For the O's this is a no brainer, steal. The guy would hit 35-40 easy in that short porch, I say "would" because he will be gone at the trade deadline and Baltimore might end up with someone young and good for him.