Official MLB Offseason Thread

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 5:35 pm

May as well start this off with a bang ... Daniel Norris has thyroid cancer.

howard · Post by **howard** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 5:46 pm

Well, he delayed surgery since the spring, until after the season, so must be the good kind of cancer. Most thyroid cancer is extremely treatable.

DC47 · Post by **DC47** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 11:22 pm

When I heard he was living in his VW van in a Wal-mart parking lot, he instantly became my favorite player. Then a few years later, the Tigers got him in the Price deal. So there is/are a god(s)/(dess)(s).

It's been a long time since I had a deep interest in one player. Probably going back to Gibson in the early 80s, when he was easily the biggest bust in baseball. My office door was covered with newspaper columns and stories about his latest apocalyptic failure, on and off the field, taped there by my fellow baseball fans at work.

My favorite in the off-the-field category were the stories about Gibson going to a bar with his girlfriend's dad to watch her strip. That might be colorful if you're winning the World Series while walking on one leg. But when he was hitting .225 again and breaking bats after striking out, it was fodder for the bleacher creatures when Gibson trotted to the outfield. It's hard to believe that Gibson now has Parkinson's. And, yes, he did marry that girlfriend; I think they're together still.

Post by **brian** » Tue Oct 20, 2015 12:19 am

I have to assume it was disclosed to the Tigers in the Price trade so probably not a big deal. Which is great for everyone. I love the kid and did even when he was a Blue Jay. Nothing but good thoughts.

Johnny Carwash · Post by **Johnny Carwash** » Tue Oct 20, 2015 8:40 am

Barry Zito retired. Just wanted to bring this up because I always thought "Barry Zito" was the least likely name for a sports star. Sounds like a shady talent agent from the 1930s.

Ryan · Post by **Ryan** » Tue Oct 20, 2015 8:41 am

I'd like to hear a clip of Bob Sheppard announcing his name. That must have sounded cool.

Post by **Sabo** » Thu Oct 22, 2015 8:19 am

Jon Heyman is reporting on Twitter that Don Mattingly and the Dodgers have parted ways.

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Thu Oct 22, 2015 8:26 am

I think they should hire Dusty Baker.

I am serious. He would be a perfect fit for that team.

rass · Post by **rass** » Thu Oct 22, 2015 8:44 am

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu Oct 22, 2015 9:22 am

Since Sabathia to the Yankees, I've never been more positive of a team change free agent than Jason Heyward to the Cubs. Just makes waaaaaaay too much sense on every single level.

Joe K · Post by **Joe K** » Thu Oct 22, 2015 9:35 am

mister d wrote:Since Sabathia to the Yankees, I've never been more positive of a team change free agent than Jason Heyward to the Cubs. Just makes waaaaaaay too much sense on every single level.

FWIW, there's an emerging consensus among the St. Louis sports media that the Cardinals will be willing to break the bank to keep Heyward. Especially since Holliday struggled so badly down the stretch and the plan seems to be to play Piscotty at first. Who knows if Heyward wants to stay in St. Louis but I wouldn't assume that he'll get a much higher offer to go elsewhere.

Steve of phpBB · Post by **Steve of phpBB** » Thu Oct 22, 2015 9:37 am

mister d wrote:Since Sabathia to the Yankees, I've never been more positive of a team change free agent than Jason Heyward to the Cubs. Just makes waaaaaaay too much sense on every single level.

I was coming in here to ask about that. Any downside for the Cubs? Can he cover the entire outfield while Schwarber learns left field on the job and Soler stands in right?

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu Oct 22, 2015 9:55 am

In my scenario, Soler is the one who goes to bring back some pitching. I might feel ok with Heyward in CF, but not flanked by those two.

Steve of phpBB · Post by **Steve of phpBB** » Thu Oct 22, 2015 10:23 am

I think that in exchange for a reliable #3 starter, the Cubs could let the other team choose between Soler, Baez, and Castro. If the Cubs lose Soler, they could move Bryant to right. He's athletic enough that with some practice, he could be at least serviceable out there.

With Schwarber, obviously a great bat, but unless the NL adopts the DH soon, he will have to learn on the job. I guess the original plan was for him to take a few years in the minors to learn a position, but he hit so damn well they had to call him up.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu Oct 22, 2015 10:47 am

I can't imagine Castro bringing much value back at this point. $38MM over 4 years isn't crazy money, but its high enough that its more on the "agree to take" side than the "line up for" side. Baez should be the 2B in the most erotic young IF in forever.

Steve of phpBB · Post by **Steve of phpBB** » Thu Oct 22, 2015 11:23 am

mister d wrote:I can't imagine Castro bringing much value back at this point. $38MM over 4 years isn't crazy money, but its high enough that its more on the "agree to take" side than the "line up for" side. Baez should be the 2B in the most erotic young IF in forever.

I'm hoping someone thinks highly of him. He had an OPS+ of 115 last season, and an OPS+ of 112 for the second half of this season. And he showed himself to be a team player with the way he handled his demotion and came back strong.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu Oct 22, 2015 11:35 am

On behalf of the Yankees, I offer you Jacoby Ellsbury for Castro.

Post by **Sabo** » Thu Oct 22, 2015 12:04 pm

I wonder if the Cubs would part with Soler in exchange for Trevor Bauer or Danny Salazar.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu Oct 22, 2015 12:58 pm

No and "hmmm"?

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Thu Oct 22, 2015 12:59 pm

Cubs would drive Soler to Chicago for Salazar probably. It's not a bad thought on either end.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu Oct 22, 2015 1:04 pm

Cubs and Mets would be, by far, the most interesting trade partners. Pretty much inverse rosters.

Steve of phpBB · Post by **Steve of phpBB** » Thu Oct 22, 2015 1:10 pm

Is there an age by which pitchers are generally safe from serious injury? For example, if a pitcher makes it to age 27 without serious arm trouble, can a team generally assume that he is less likely to have serious arm trouble going forward than, say, a 24-year-old?

Rex · Post by **Rex** » Thu Oct 22, 2015 1:27 pm

"No, that's preposterous." --Frank Wren

Post by **Sabo** » Thu Oct 22, 2015 1:32 pm

tennbengal wrote:Cubs would drive Soler to Chicago for Salazar probably. It's not a bad thought on either end.

There's a rumor going around these parts that the Indians might make a run at Todd Frazier. The Indians would have to part with one of their two best batting prospects (Bradley Zimmer or Clint Frazier) and a pitcher, but I can see them making the move. The Indians are in a "win now" mindset because they have a lot of their core players (Brantley, Kipnis, Gomes, Kluber, Carrasco) locked up on team-friendly contracts. I think it makes sense for both teams, although I imagine the Reds fan base wouldn't be too keen on losing such a well-liked player.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu Oct 22, 2015 1:34 pm

Mark Buehrle had shoulder problems this year.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Thu Oct 22, 2015 1:36 pm

And it restricted him to ONLY 198 innings. I think any injury he has is because of throwing so many innings forever.

howard · Post by **howard** » Thu Oct 22, 2015 7:26 pm

Steve of phpBB wrote:Is there an age by which pitchers are generally safe from serious injury?

A great question. I happened upon an article about Bronson Arroyo, he was more or less injury free until blowing out his tommy john elbow ligament at age 37. That's just one, though.

Brontoburglar · Post by **Brontoburglar** » Fri Oct 23, 2015 8:22 am

howard wrote:
Steve of phpBB wrote:Is there an age by which pitchers are generally safe from serious injury?
A great question. I happened upon an article about Bronson Arroyo, he was more or less injury free until blowing out his tommy john elbow ligament at age 37. That's just one, though.

I'm not sure there would ever be a magic # in terms of age because of the multitude of variables including biomechanics, (over)use, strength capacity, etc, etc, etc.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Fri Oct 23, 2015 8:29 am

Only thing that might be a slight predictor is post-first-TJ. Like I'd be curious to see what percentage of MLBers have had one and then what percentage has a second. I would leave Josh Johnson out of the study.

Ryan · Post by **Ryan** » Fri Oct 23, 2015 8:41 am

Can we get average fastball speed for certain ages over time?

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Fri Oct 23, 2015 8:58 am

howard wrote:
Steve of phpBB wrote:Is there an age by which pitchers are generally safe from serious injury?
A great question. I happened upon an article about Bronson Arroyo, he was more or less injury free until blowing out his tommy john elbow ligament at age 37. That's just one, though.

Speaking of...

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Fri Oct 23, 2015 9:40 am

Ryan wrote:Can we get average fastball speed for certain ages over time?

You could using Fangraphs, but I can't see a way to dump out pitcher age into the query so you might have to run every age as a separate dump.

howard · Post by **howard** » Fri Oct 23, 2015 10:18 am

A_B wrote: Speaking of...

I'm sorry, I forgot to link the Arroyo story. Interesting guy.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Fri Oct 23, 2015 10:25 am

Interesting in that his body is 38 and his brain is "19 year old who's a few weeks into his first philosophy course and totally digging it"? Like reading the part about girls who his teammates tried to bail him out of, is there any chance they weren't "he's a good looking baseball player so I'll just listen to his dumb shit for a while then F"?

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Sat Oct 24, 2015 3:10 pm

Ruben Amaro Jr. from Phillies GM to Red Sox 1B coach is legitimately the funniest baseball thing ever.

(Even better, the guy he's replacing was the most pedophile looking coach in the league.)

Gunpowder · Post by **Gunpowder** » Sat Oct 24, 2015 5:16 pm

More pedophile than their actual pedophile?

That is pretty funny. Gotta be the weirdest change of positions in baseball history.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Mon Oct 26, 2015 10:06 am

I hope he wears a suit onto the field. Dress for the job you want.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Tue Oct 27, 2015 5:29 pm

This is an amazing story, but should we believe Lenny Dykstra?

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Tue Oct 27, 2015 6:28 pm

My mom and I still point to Dykstra as proof that parents know a lot more about character than their idiot 9 year olds.

howard · Post by **howard** » Tue Oct 27, 2015 6:36 pm

Many people will mistake this fact for proof, but he did lead the league in walks when he said he did this. His walks went dramatically higher that season.

But I don't believe him, out of habit.