The Dodgers, Padres and Blue Jays appear to be the finalists to land Roki Sasaki. Other teams are getting told they are no longer in the running.
The Reds have a new broadcast deal with FanDuel Sports Network.
First baseman Dominic Smith has a minor league deal with the New York Yankees. The Mariners hired Donovan Solano to a one year deal. The Orioles signed reliever Andrew Kittredge to a one year deal with an option. They designated catcher Blake Hunt for assignment to make room on the roster.
Photo credit: Rex Fregosi
So I’m thinking of the late April series vs Seattle. It’s just two games. One night and then the next afternoon. I could stay in Seattle that one night, come home the next evening. Anyone in the Seattle area thinking of going? Would be fun to meet up.
ZOMZZ! Sasaki to have another meeting with the Doyers to get their story strait as to how neither side knew he was signing with Big Blew until just hours before Sasaki announced he is taking his talents to fake beach. Get ready to be shocked! Where will he sign!?!? Let’s all play like we don’t know!
Alex, I’ll take anywhere but Anaheim for $200
I’ll take “ABD – Always Be Deferring” for $1000 Alex.
Uh oh. The Twins just promoted three guys to assistant GM…. and they will be totally different than a GM…. who is totally different from a POBO who doesn’t just do what a guy once called a GM does at all. Totally different jobs. Extremely vascular commit to championishness. How is Sasaki not going the Mosquitosota?
we’re doomed. I hate dad.
It’s Jan 14th and still no big splash. I am enjoying the dryness.
There are still plenty of solid pen arms out there that won’t require 10M a year for three years. It’s just a dream, but between what a lot of our pitching prospects appear capable of (I mean this in a positive way) and what we have already I really wish we’d just let Kikuchi and Soriano act as traditional starters and throw bulk relief pen games the rest of the 5 game rotation. Go out and sign a couple more guys who you know can go one time through an order clean and give it a shot. Plenty of prospects can get 30-50 innings by being shuttled up to rest and replace injured and tired arms…. or those that fail. A delicious buffet of pitching delights.
Like just go out and sign me Jon Berti. Can likely hit 10 HR with 400 ABs and is also fast. He can legit play 3B, SS, 2B and LF. Added to Newman that’s pretty good utility depth that will have an OPS+ right around 100, which is great for depth guys.
Then go sign some left/right tandem with good first time through the order numbers, like Marco Gonzalez and Cal Quantrill or Alex Wood and Domingo German to use as bulk relief/openers.
This, of course, makes trading Rengifo, Ward and Anderson easier. Yay! Prospects!
A line up stuffed with kids, Soler, Newman, Burti, and hope for Trout and Rendon isn’t gonna light the world on fire but it will be flexible and allow kids to play without a huge drop off to no where when an “adult” starts at a position. The pitching will be unexciting, but may actually perform better than it has in years if the “don’t let a hitter see most of your pitchers twice” theory that is statistically sound works out.
Of course you’ll have the ol’ coachdad types that will complain that starters went eight and women kept quiet back in their day (which actually wasn’t true for a lot of teams like the Big Red Machine or late 70s Pirates), but a no name pitching staff could work great for us and be easier to build up fast.
The goal is .500 and a better farm for 2025. Just adding Santander or getting lucky and landing Alonso on “just a two year deal” doesn’t really help us with a lot of that.
I’m all for the one time through the order guys. I’d like two of them in the bullpen, each capable of throwing twice per week.
Silent C for 5 innings followed by Silseth for 2 to 3 means we only need another inning or two from the bullpen that night.
A couple of days later Soriano only goes 5.2 so we have Bachman get us through the 7th, again setting up only the final two innings.
Over the course of 162, that saves a ton of innings from the middle relief type guys and allows the single inning relievers to be fresh.
Does the team rotate pitchers as the long men to give the younger guys inning at the major league level, or are they dedicated to long relief and only replaced due to injury and such?
The way the Indians, Rays and Detroit in a smaller sample size have done it is basically have all abut a couple leverage arms able to go at least two innings. Even leverage guys can usually go 2. That’s why the rays keep burning out closers.
They also do rotate in call ups, both when injury needs it and when a guy becomes ineffective. This, of course, requires a fair number of pitchers with options on the roster and some dumpster dives.
Starting to get a bit concerned the Angels will sign Santander on a 3-year. Who really wants him other than Blue Jays, just horrible defense. Why can’t this team see the value in good defense? If I am forced to watch a team lose more often than win, get back to basics, cover ground and catch the damn ball. Minasian teams have lacked defensive chops.
To answer your question, reality. That’s why.
How many players have both above average offensive skills AND defense? Go ahead and look it up, it’s not hard to look at the top 20 defensive outfielders and offensive outfielders.
How many names are on both lists?
How many of those names do you think are available each year in and out?
That’s why, every off season, if we are the type of person that wants to, we can complain about how the team doesn’t care about offense… or defense…. or go back and forth between the two for each guy that gets added to the team.
Cause all the guys we wouldn’t be able to gripe on are either 24 years old or signed for the next eight years.
Free agency just sucks now.
ESPN: Ranking all 30 MLB rosters if trades, free agency didn’t exist
18. Los Angeles Angels
What-if wins: 79.0 (+5.4 better than actual)
Playoff odds: 21.5% | Title odds: 0.5%
Hit rank: 12 | Pitch rank: 23
Regulars: Nolan Schanuel (1B), Christian Moore (2B), Zach Neto (SS), Taylor Ward (3B), Edgar Quero (C), Jo Adell (LF), Brandon Marsh (CF), Mike Trout (RF), Shohei Ohtani (DH)
Rotation: Shohei Ohtani, Jose Soriano, Patrick Corbin, Griffin Canning, Reid Detmers
Bullpen: Ben Joyce, Ryan Brasier, Justin Anderson
It’s basically similar to what the Angels have on hand, plus Ohtani is back as a two-way star. Having Ohtani is always better than not having Ohtani, but undoing his departure wouldn’t change the things that have undermined the Halos on the field for most of the Trout era.
Good comment.
So Kyle Bradish doesn’t make the rotation?
Andrelton Simmons just signed up to play in Mexico at age 35, good luck Simba. 🐼
Still atop the 21st century leader boards – best defensive player this century.
WTF is Simmons signing a contract for the Mexican League? Doesn’t one MLB team understand that signing a great defensive shortstop is a good move? Even for a late inning replacement? Having a shortstop who can hit 20+ homeruns is good but having one who can stop the other team’s offense during a rally is also great.
#FREE SIMBA!
Angels: Hi Roki, we would like to schedule a meeting with you.
Roki:
I wonder what Washington is saying in the above picture. Maybe it’s something like “See this shadow? It knows how to lay down a bunt properly.”
🤣
Wash: I’m telling you, there was no “White Line” here.
“Count my fingers: I said 14 WAR this season just from my leadership abilities”
The player standing halfway out of the picture is thinking “they have lost their minds looking for fishing worms”.
“Why are you worried home plate is behind us, I’m trying to show you how to field with your back to the plate”