I don't really know how much I can add to this, but today Dave Cameron of Fangraphs released his "Best Transactions of the Offseason" article. While I don't always agree with the lists, I think #1 is about as unanimous in the baseball world as you'll find. Those crazy Diamondbacks don't seem to value prospects the same as the other 29 teams.
The only one I would have had higher would be the Heyward signing. I understand the value is limited because of the opt outs, but that deal also hurt the Cardinals in the short term. The Cubs are a legitimate World Series threat so the short term benefit is much higher for the Cubs than most teams.
My Buccos rarely make these kind of lists. I looked back at all the lists since 2012 and they failed to make any of them. Generally speaking they are given credit for finding value where others don't see it, but these deals are almost always looked upon favorably after the fact. Last year the signings of Jung Ho Kang and trade for Francisco Cervelli proved to be arguably two of the best deals in all of baseball when you weigh the financial commitment to each player was minimal. Hopefully Jon Niese and John Jaso can be those dark horse guys this year.
Are you happy with your teams offseason?
As a fan of one of the most active teams in the offseason (literally have had a 20-player turnover on the 40-man roster), I think David Stearns has done an excellent job.
ReplyDeleteAnd, even though the Brewers didn't get much beyond a CF lottery ticket in Keon Broxton, I still don't quite understand the Pirates trading for Jason Rogers. What's the thinking there?
The Pirates love guys with high obp's. Rogers has been one of those guys his entire minor league career. I haven't looked but I'm guessing options came into play too. I'm pretty sure Broxton was out.
DeleteI'm very happy with what the Cubs have added. As you mentioned, Heyward was big, but Zobrist and Lackey will bring patience at the plate and rotation depth, respectively. I'm most excited about Adam Warren. He may not play a huge part this year, but after Hammel and Lackey are out of the picture I think Warren will blossom.
ReplyDeleteZobrist was a great pick up ;)
DeleteBen Zobrist > Castro for sure. Plus the extra position flexibility will help.
DeleteWell the Yankees didn't sign any free agents to gigantic deals that would jeopardize their chances of signing Bryce Harper in 2018 so I'm fairly satisfied with what the Yankees didn't do.
ReplyDeleteI know some Yankees fans are worried about the starting rotation, but one saving grace is that the AL East is really mediocre this year.
It was kind of cool to see the Yankees make some shrewd trades instead of handing out mega contracts. The Hicks and Chapman deals will probably pay big dividends.
DeleteI can't wait to see what Harper gets on the open market. You have to think only 3 or 4 teams would have the resources to pay him.
I like the Mets picking up Walker and Bastardo for the bullpen.Adstrubal Cabrera Im on the fence about.Not sure what he'll do this year.Overall Id give the Mets a C+.
ReplyDeleteWalker is about as consistent as they come with the bat. He will hit 15-18 homeruns and have an obp of around .330. All well above average for a second baseman. The only blemish on his game is defense, but the Pirates masked the issue by shifting the most in baseball.
DeleteThe Cespedes deal was great too. That was a huge discount for the Mets.
Doh!I forgot about Cespi.Yeah,that was a good move,too.
DeleteI think the main thing the Mets have to worry about is infield defense. On paper it is probably the worst in baseball with Cabrera and Walker up the middle.
DeleteYeah ,I haven't seen Cabrera much but he and Walker have to be an upgrade over Flores at short and Murphy at second.Then there's the whole,where and when do you play Flores ,deal.Come to think about It,Flores wasn't that bad at short last year.It's going to be an interesting season to say the least.
DeleteMurphy actually rated a little higher defensively last year than Walker, but not by much. They are very similar players. Walker has a little more power, but Murphy seemed to provide a little more flexibility.
DeleteIs there a top 50 list? If so perhaps the Redbirds made that=its-going to be a long season.
ReplyDeleteThe Cardinals are still very good. They are just getting to the point where the core is showing its age. They will use devil magic that will turn Kolten Wong into Robinson Cano.
DeleteThe A's didn't lose much from their farm system this off season, which is and should be their top priority. None of the free agent signings really blew my skirt up, but I'm curious about the Khris Davis kid that they got from the Brewers. The potential for a power bat in the lineup is something that was sorely missed when Donaldson was traded.
ReplyDelete"The A's didn't lose much from their farm system this off season" -- well, except for the third-best prospect in the system in Nottingham, the catcher given up to get Davis.
DeleteDavis is a low-average slugger with good power. He has his issues with making contact at times, and as long as he plays outfield you'll hear tons about how weak his arm is. He really turned on the power in the second half of last year -- 22 HRs after the break -- but with the change in ballparks (Miller Park is one of the best HR parks in baseball), a 30-HR season should be a good return. Good luck to y'all!
Davis still has 4 years of control so the A's must think upside still exists. This trade still proves that youth and power can still bring a premium in the trade market. My guess is the A's must think the catching prospect Nottingham won't be able to stay behind the plate. Either way it was the right move to make. That really only leaves Lucroy as an asset to trade. You have to like the way the Brewers rebuild is going.
DeleteI've definitely seen Nottingham lower in the A's prospect rankings, and you're right about them thinking he won't stick as a catcher. Honestly, he only arrived this off-season, so I wasn't all that attached to him.
DeleteYou can definitely make sense of the trade from both teams perspective. Power is expensive on the open market so if you like somebody you have to pay. The A's were fortunate in that they didn't have to trade any big prospects that were close to mlb ready.
DeleteThe last couple years have been pretty painful for Braves fans, as will the next couple. We looked like we had a real contender on our hands and then the front office gutted the team just as they seemed to be reaching their potential. A lot of the moves they've made I have not been a fan of. I did like the trade with the Padres to move Justin and BJ (thank God!!) Upton as well as Craig Kimbrel. We got some great prospects out of those deals as well as a decent year out of Cameron Maybin.
ReplyDeleteBut the trade to move Shelby Miller to Arizona has to be my favorite. I almost feel like Miller for Ender Inciarte alone would have been a good trade and to get Dansby Swanson and Aaron Blair on top of that is a huge bonus. This trade should work out really well for the Braves in the long run.
It is really hard to understand what the Dbacks were thinking. The Braves front office had to been shocked when that trade was agreed on.
DeleteYou are right about Inciarte being just about an even swap for Miller. That package should have netted something better than Shelby Miller. You have to think a team like the A's would have given up Sonny Gray or the Indians giving up one of their young pitchers for the package.
I like what the Braves did, rebuilding yay!
ReplyDeletePedro Alvarez still a Bucco?
If your team is going to rebuild it is best just to tear the whole damn thing down. The Pirates for years would only partially go through with a plan and it continuously bit them in the ass. Many of these players the Braves are receiving will flame out, but if you continue to add guys eventually some will hit.
DeleteAlvarez is a free agent. The Pirates non tendered him because his projected salary was over 8 million. Too much to pay for a guy that can't play defense.
The Dodgers disappointed me. They let Grienke get away to a division rival, and did not land another big arm in his spot. They picked up a long list of pitching question marks instead.
ReplyDeleteDon't even get me started on them doing nothing for the overcrowded outfield.
Bright spot - new manager!
In the Dodgers defense, Grienke got a crazy offer from the Dbacks. At least you guys have the international market cornered. So much so that I read they are going to have to change the rules the next collective bargaining agreement.
DeleteMaybe not handing out a big free agent pitching contract is a blessing. They almost never work out in the teams favor. I feel like the Dodgers will make a trade for younger more controllable arms such as Sonny Gray, Chris Archer and Carlos Carrasco.
Not a fan of the Twins off-season. Murphy is an upgrade over Suzuki, Park is a wild card, nothing significant was done to fix the shaky bullpen, and they still have Ricky Nolasco. Addition by subtraction would have been nice. Also Park sealed the fate of my favorite player.
ReplyDeleteI think the Twins are in a rough spot as they probably didn't expect the season to go as well as it did last year. Maybe they are wanting to see more out of the young guys before giving them a supporting cast. With that being said it is always frustrating when you have a glaring hole in the rotation. I'm surprised they weren't in on some of the balance back candidate pitchers like Latos.
DeleteI mean, Nolasco is a bounce back candidate... I think the Twins ' GM Terry Ryan sells low and buys high. He's a little too patient with "proven veterans" and they could have benefitted from embracing the rebuild sooner. I think the Twins will miss the playoffs again this year but Buxton, Sano, and JosƩ Berrios will be too good to miss it next year. I want them to make it this year, I just don't see it happening...
DeleteThe Pirates went through a terrible stage of signing no upside stop gap veterans. Thankfully that has stopped. Now they are looking for under value commodities. That has really paid off lately. Guy like Cervelli, Kang and even Liriano.
DeleteThe Twins case is kind of similar to the Pirates. The farm system started producing high end positional talent, but it took us hitting on Gerrit Cole and getting tons of value out of guys like Burnett, Volquez and Liriano. That is why it was surprising the Twins didn't chase after balance back guys that could either help them make the postseason or flip at the deadline if things go south.
Well my Red Sox could not do worse than the year before when they handed out millions to Hanley, Panda, and Porcello. This year they added David Price, Craig Kimbrel, Chris Young, & Carson Smith (plus a few minor additions. Price has proven he can pitch in the AL East, and will be here for at least 3 years. Kimbrel was expensive in prospects, but both guys were blocked by Betts and Bogaerts. Young is a JAG, I though Smith was a steal. The concern is not what we acquired, but what we still have. I think Hanley will be a complete bust at 1st base, and Castillo might be a 72M dollar mediocrity. I hope they move Joe Kelly to the pen, I would love to see a pen with Kelly, Smith and Kimbrel all throwing 98+ miles an hour.
ReplyDeleteFrom the Red Sox perspective you have to think that Panda and Hanley will be at least a little bit better. Not having Hanley in left field already is a huge win.
DeleteThe Kimbrel trade was kind of puzzling. Even if a prospect is blocked that was a huge price to pay for 3 years of an expensive reliever. Either way though having Kimbrel back there makes you better in the short term.
Pretty happy with who they acquired. But I don't think it will matter until they get rid of Hanley.
ReplyDeleteI guess if the Hanley experiment at first doesn't work they can use him at DH the following year. He is untradeable anyway....
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