Giancarlo Stanton traded to Yankees

[LittleHurt05]

Cubs just shredded their biggest competition for Bryce Harper

[Bob Sacamano]

I would bet on Castro being flipped (Brewers or Angels).

[fathom]

Yolmer makes a lot of sense as a cheap 2b for Yankees to help out Torres

[caulfield12]

Yankees, Red Sox, Indians, Astros...Hahn has at least 50% of his work cut out for him still.

For the next two years, those are the AL teams to beat, with the Angels (Omani/Trout) and Twins interesting as well.

 

Rangers aren’t going to play dead, either.

 

 

[Chicago White Sox]

Cubs just shredded their biggest competition for Bryce Harper

Honest question, but can the Cubs actually add him and stay below the 2019 luxury tax threshold of $206M?

 

The Cubs have nearly $100M committed to six players already (Lester, Quintana, Chatwood, Rizzo, Zobrist, Heyward). Bryant, Russell, & Hendricks will be in their second year of arbitration. Baez & Schwarber will be in their first year of arbitration. Let’s just hypothetically say those five guys earn a combined $40M. That basically puts them at $140M give or take for eleven guys. Even with Contreras & Happ still dirt cheap, they’d have roughly $67M to add Harper and fill all their remaining holes and quite frankly there are quite a few on the pitching side.

 

Unless they’re willing to blow through the luxury tax, I just don’t see how they make Harper’s potential $40M AAV fit into their payroll.

[Chicago White Sox]

Yolmer makes a lot of sense as a cheap 2b for Yankees to help out Torres

He’d definitely make some for them, especially if Andujar is in the Stanton deal. Just don’t see the Yankees giving up the prospect currency is would take though. I still think Sanchez is a better match/fit for the Brewers.

[Dick Allen]

Honest question, but can the Cubs actually add him and stay below the 2019 luxury tax threshold of $206M?

 

The Cubs have nearly $100M committed to six players already (Lester, Quintana, Chatwood, Rizzo, Zobrist, Heyward). Bryant, Russell, & Hendricks will be in their second year of arbitration. Baez & Schwarber will be in their first year of arbitration. Let’s just hypothetically say those five guys earn a combined $40M. That basically puts them at $140M give or take for eleven guys. Even with Contreras & Happ still dirt cheap, they’d have roughly $67M to add Harper and fill all their remaining holes and quite frankly there are quite a few on the pitching side.

 

Unless they’re willing to blow through the luxury tax, I just don’t see how they make Harper’s potential $40M AAV fit into their payroll.

I don't think paying a luxury tax kills them initially. What might is a couple years down the road when everyone has to get paid, but by then, a few will weed themselves out, and Theo will probably trade a couple.

 

The Cubs are buying up the area around them. Their new station is going to be interesting. Although they are so beloved, so are the Dodgers and a lot of LA couldn't watch them. Signing Harper might be something they need to strengthen their position with cable and satellite providers to carry their channel.

[GreenSox]

Yolmer would return a B prospect or 2, who's ceiling is probably current Yolmer. No need to trade him.

[bmags]

I still think our most likely trade with the Yankees this offseason is taking on a headley. But I don’t see it likely. If we acquire a Yankees prospect it will most likely be in rule 5.

[bmags]

I also think the interesting thing is the astros and dodgers showing that pitching depth is showing to be as successful as top pitching impact.

 

Do Yankees go for top guy or let their pitching prospects develop and look for a few of their own Charlie Morton / etc type pitchers.

 

 

[bmags]

One more, if jones comes back healthy having a cheap dynamite RH reliever could be a huuuge trade chip (or asset to us anyway)

[LittleHurt05]

For real though, the Marlins should be contracted or moved. It never fails, they spend some money, then a few years later sell the players off for pennies on the dollar.

[fathom]

For real though, the Marlins should be contracted or moved. It never fails, they spend some money, then a few years later sell the players off for pennies on the dollar.

 

Really wish Sox would go get Yelich and Pradi now. Agree with you, the Marlins are a joke

[bmags]

Someone posted Stanton’s zips for his contract at yankee stadium. Basically has him average 55 hrs a year and still has him a 3 WAR player in 2028

[Sleepy Harold]

Ken Rosenthal @Ken_Rosenthal

12s

Hearing #Yankees taking vast majority of $295M owed Stanton. One source says $260M. Another says $273M.

[dpd9189]

I don't see how this move doesn't put the Yankees as the AL favorites for years to come. Wow.

[Balta1701]

So...I think people should remember this day. Remember the concept that KW and Hahn pushed for several years - that with enough pitching, if we could just make the Wild Card, that pitcher could go on a run and take us to the end? Take a look at the teams now.

 

The Yankees, the first wild card team last year, won >90 games and they just added the guy who hit the most homers in baseball for basically nothing. They have enough talent coming up that even without this, you'd have thought they could be better next year. The Red Sox won >90 games in a season where their team never got comfortable and their #2 starter spent basically the whole year on the DL. The Astros won 100 games. The Indians won 100 games.

 

There's not only 1 way to do it - you can get there by spending a lot of money and having some talent coming up (Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers), you can get there by fully rebuilding and having an enormous glut of talent come through (Indians, Astros), but if you want to be a team that does damage in the MLB now, you have to have a team on paper capable of winning 100 games. That's the message today. The AL now has 4 teams that, on paper, you can look at and say "This is a 95 win team", and that's without knowing what other teams do or what Ohtani can do.

 

That model of "oh let's just sneak in at the backside and that's good enough", that model is broken.

[Balta1701]

I don't see how this move doesn't put the Yankees as the AL favorites for years to come. Wow.

Favorites? There were two 100-win teams in the AL last year in Houston and Cleveland and they could easily do that again. This just makes for another 100-win caliber team.

 

Right now it pushes them past Boston, but let's see what Boston does in reply. They can't sit on their hands. There could readily be 4 different 100-win caliber teams in the AL next year and injuries/guys struggling would be the difference between them.

[Jerksticks]

So...I think people should remember this day. Remember the concept that KW and Hahn pushed for several years - that with enough pitching, if we could just make the Wild Card, that pitcher could go on a run and take us to the end? Take a look at the teams now.

 

The Yankees, the first wild card team last year, won >90 games and they just added the guy who hit the most homers in baseball for basically nothing. They have enough talent coming up that even without this, you'd have thought they could be better next year. The Red Sox won >90 games in a season where their team never got comfortable and their #2 starter spent basically the whole year on the DL. The Astros won 100 games. The Indians won 100 games.

 

There's not only 1 way to do it - you can get there by spending a lot of money and having some talent coming up (Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers), you can get there by fully rebuilding and having an enormous glut of talent come through (Indians, Astros), but if you want to be a team that does damage in the MLB now, you have to have a team on paper capable of winning 100 games. That's the message today. The AL now has 4 teams that, on paper, you can look at and say "This is a 95 win team", and that's without knowing what other teams do or what Ohtani can do.

 

That model of "oh let's just sneak in at the backside and that's good enough", that model is broken.

 

I like everything you're saying here. I think it's worth noting that parity might be at an all time low as well. Maybe not but it feels that way.

 

[Balta1701]

I like everything you're saying here. I think it's worth noting that parity might be at an all time low as well. Maybe not but it feels that way.

I think that's a great thought too

 

To stress - it doesn't mean that low payroll teams can't win. But for a low payroll team to win in this era, when the Yankees and Dodgers and Red Sox are combining big payrolls with big contracts and with big time talent coming through their systems...the way you have to win is to make yourself a 100 win team by development. If your team has to go through the "win 100 games then rebuild cycle", you still have the shot to win 100 games and put yourself in the world series. A successful rebuild is more important for competing today than it was yesterday.

 

So parity may be going away, but the era of small market teams winning titles is not.

[JUSTgottaBELIEVE]

Certainly makes you wonder how the Yankees view Frazier. Not that the Sox line up as a great fit but would a package of Sanchez and Fulmer get it done for Frazier?

[Balta1701]

Certainly makes you wonder how the Yankees view Frazier. Not that the Sox line up as a great fit but would a package of Sanchez and Fulmer get it done for Frazier?

Frazier might be the way they're thinking about satisfying their pitching needs. They probably don't have a ton of money to spend but I've got to figure they'll be after someone who is more ready.

[JUSTgottaBELIEVE]

Frazier might be the way they're thinking about satisfying their pitching needs. They probably don't have a ton of money to spend but I've got to figure they'll be after someone who is more ready.

Assuming Fulmer would be too much of a risk for the Yankees? He'd be a young controllable 5th starter (potentially). I'm not sure Frazier by himself nets more than an established 3rd/4th starter type.

[Balta1701]

Assuming Fulmer would be too much of a risk for the Yankees? He'd be a young controllable 5th starter (potentially). I'm not sure Frazier by himself nets more than an established 3rd/4th starter type.

Yeah, I was thinking they would target someone who was several years above that.

 

Scrolling through names, now that the M's missed out on Ohtani, James Paxton was a guy that came to mind. First year arb guy, 29 years old, hasn't put up more than 136 innings in a year, but is really good when he's on the mound.

[oldsox]

Maybe MLB will disallow the trade. Fact is, they allowed the Jeter Group to buy the team and watch as they immediately tried to make the team worse. Never saw that before. I always thought that one of the requirements for new ownership is to have the liquidity to run the franchise. I guess MLB looked the other way in order to get Jeter in the Owners Club.

Edited December 9, 2017 by oldsox