Let The Hot Stove Heat Up: 2015-2016 MLB Offseason

[FiddySicks]

I think the Giants have a very good shot at winning the division in 2016, but they need to grab a couple of key pieces this offseason. They certainly have the money to make it happen. This year there are a myriad of good options on the pitching market, but they really need that second ace (Price/Greinke). After that, they could turn their focus to adding another starter or a quality option in LF. Among the available outfielders, Zobrist probably makes the most sense, as he provides insurance for Panik if his back issues linger.

Thankfully, they didn't make a qualifying offer to Aioki. I have a feeling that this means they're going to try to make a big push for a big name, or maybe even two.

I'd like to say Grenkie/Price AND Heyward, but dare to dream, right?

But they'll probably only walk away with Leake and make another offer to Byrd, because that's what the Giants are prone to do. I think they've still got a bit of PTSD from the Zito deal.

I think the Giants are going to make some big moves this off-season. The Aoki decision tells me that they (1) are stockpiling their funds for starting pitching and (2) want a real leftfielder. Internally, they know they need something more than Mike Leake to fix the rotation. We saw what happened with the quantity over quality approach this year, and it wasn't pretty on most days. Every single NL Postseason team this season had multiple aces. Frankly, Zito was already on a downward trend when the Giants signed him - it was just a terrible decision all-around.

Look at the approach the Giants took at the deadline. They had a deal in place for Cole Hamels before the Rangers swooped in. They tried for Kazmir, Cueto, and Price before they turned to Leake. IMO, it's pretty obvious that they want that second ace in the rotation. Now they have the chance to pay in cash instead of prospects.

2 hours, 40 minutes until free agency begins.

They really need to make a splash this off season. I'm of the opinion that they can find quality starters past the eliete guys, and really need to focus on a solid outfielder. I think Jason Heyward would be a fantastic pickup, he's a solid gap hitter which fits what they need really well, but mainly because of his defense. The Giants won three titles IMO on the backs of their completely underrated D.

[BBTV]

I think the Giants have a very good shot at winning the division in 2016, but they need to grab a couple of key pieces this offseason. They certainly have the money to make it happen. This year there are a myriad of good options on the pitching market, but they really need that second ace (Price/Greinke). After that, they could turn their focus to adding another starter or a quality option in LF. Among the available outfielders, Zobrist probably makes the most sense, as he provides insurance for Panik if his back issues linger.

Thankfully, they didn't make a qualifying offer to Aioki. I have a feeling that this means they're going to try to make a big push for a big name, or maybe even two.

I'd like to say Grenkie/Price AND Heyward, but dare to dream, right?

But they'll probably only walk away with Leake and make another offer to Byrd, because that's what the Giants are prone to do. I think they've still got a bit of PTSD from the Zito deal.

I think the Giants are going to make some big moves this off-season. The Aoki decision tells me that they (1) are stockpiling their funds for starting pitching and (2) want a real leftfielder. Internally, they know they need something more than Mike Leake to fix the rotation. We saw what happened with the quantity over quality approach this year, and it wasn't pretty on most days. Every single NL Postseason team this season had multiple aces. Frankly, Zito was already on a downward trend when the Giants signed him - it was just a terrible decision all-around.

Look at the approach the Giants took at the deadline. They had a deal in place for Cole Hamels before the Rangers swooped in. They tried for Kazmir, Cueto, and Price before they turned to Leake. IMO, it's pretty obvious that they want that second ace in the rotation. Now they have the chance to pay in cash instead of prospects.

2 hours, 40 minutes until free agency begins.

What deal did they have in place for Hamels? The Phillies confirmed that they had deals with Houston and Texas and that's who they presented to Cole who said he wouldn't waive no trade for Houston.

[Packid]

I think the Giants have a very good shot at winning the division in 2016, but they need to grab a couple of key pieces this offseason. They certainly have the money to make it happen. This year there are a myriad of good options on the pitching market, but they really need that second ace (Price/Greinke). After that, they could turn their focus to adding another starter or a quality option in LF. Among the available outfielders, Zobrist probably makes the most sense, as he provides insurance for Panik if his back issues linger.

Thankfully, they didn't make a qualifying offer to Aioki. I have a feeling that this means they're going to try to make a big push for a big name, or maybe even two.

I'd like to say Grenkie/Price AND Heyward, but dare to dream, right?

But they'll probably only walk away with Leake and make another offer to Byrd, because that's what the Giants are prone to do. I think they've still got a bit of PTSD from the Zito deal.

I think the Giants are going to make some big moves this off-season. The Aoki decision tells me that they (1) are stockpiling their funds for starting pitching and (2) want a real leftfielder. Internally, they know they need something more than Mike Leake to fix the rotation. We saw what happened with the quantity over quality approach this year, and it wasn't pretty on most days. Every single NL Postseason team this season had multiple aces. Frankly, Zito was already on a downward trend when the Giants signed him - it was just a terrible decision all-around.

Look at the approach the Giants took at the deadline. They had a deal in place for Cole Hamels before the Rangers swooped in. They tried for Kazmir, Cueto, and Price before they turned to Leake. IMO, it's pretty obvious that they want that second ace in the rotation. Now they have the chance to pay in cash instead of prospects.

2 hours, 40 minutes until free agency begins.

What deal did they have in place for Hamels? The Phillies confirmed that they had deals with Houston and Texas and that's who they presented to Cole who said he wouldn't waive no trade for Houston.

They were close enough to being done that Hamels agreed to waive his no-trade clause to come to SF. http://www.knbr.com/2015/07/30/report-hamels-waived-no-trade-clause-for-giants/

[The Six]

The Giants actually had a very good season, all things considered. There were just too many injuries, most of them coming from terrible Cubs pitchers hitting Giants batters. Aoki was underrated and will be missed. He was an All-Star until he got hurt, and then got hit by another pitch after he came back.

They probably won't sign a big name, though. They'll bring back Vogelsong on a minor league deal, re-sign Lincecum for two more years, and give Mike Leake #2 starter money to be a #4 starter, and he probably won't even live up to that. Then some AA guy will get called up in June, start off hot and get everyone believing he's a diamond in the rough, only for him to collapse by September. That's just how it works.

[FiddySicks]

The Giants actually had a very good season, all things considered. There were just too many injuries, most of them coming from terrible Cubs pitchers hitting Giants batters. Aoki was underrated and will be missed. He was an All-Star until he got hurt, and then got hit by another pitch after he came back.

They probably won't sign a big name, though. They'll bring back Vogelsong on a minor league deal, re-sign Lincecum for two more years, and give Mike Leake #2 starter money to be a #4 starter, and he probably won't even live up to that. Then some AA guy will get called up in June, start off hot and get everyone believing he's a diamond in the rough, only for him to collapse by September. That's just how it works.

Ehh, I disagree. He found ways to get on base a lot but there were times where he absolutely killed the Giants with his poor defense and base running. He was frustrating as hell and I think the Giants made a smart move by letting him walk. The Giants need a real left fielder, and by taking the risk of letting Aioki go, I think it shows that they know that.

[ninersdd]

Tommy Hanson, former Brave and Angel has died at age 29.

[Almighty]

Let The Hot Stove Heat Up, and wifes beat up you guys think Jose Reyes will be deported like the Kings slava voynov ?

[pmoehrin]

Hall of Fame ballot came out yesterday and is 32 names long.

I would use up the full 10 names, but this is how I would rank the eligible players this year.

The No-Doubters Steroid issues aside, these are the players whose arguments against them being in Hall I just don't understand.

1. Barry Bonds

2. Roger Clemens

3. Ken Griffey

4. Mike Mussina

5. Curt Schilling

6. Jeff Bagwell

7. Alan Trammell

Probables Players who I think have a very strong case for the Hall and should be in, but could think of reasons why people may not want to vote for them.

8. Edgar Martinez

9. Larry Walker

10. Tim Raines

11. Nomar Garciaparra

12. Jim Edmonds

13. Mark McGwire

14. Mike Piazza

15. Sammy Sosa

Doubtfuls Players who I don't think should be in the Hall but understand the cases being made for them and wouldn't be overly upset if they got in.

16. Gary Sheffield

17. Fred McGriff

18. Jeff Kent

No-Ways Players whose HOF case I don't even consider to be borderline. Its just a flat out no.

19. Trevor Hoffman

20. Billy Wagner

21. Lee Smith

22. Troy Glaus

23. Jason Kendall

24. Randy Winn

25. Garret Anderson

26. Mike Hampton

27. Mike Lowell

28. Luis Castillo

29. Mike Sweeney

30. Mark Grudzielanek

31. David Eckstein

32. Brad Ausmus

Think the most interesting name on the list this year is Trevor Hoffman. All-time NL saves leaders and the writers seem to love the idea of saves. I would say if you offered me Mike Piazza straight up for Trevor Hoffman at the start of the '93 season, the only issue I would have with it would be the amount of time it would take to finalize the trade.

I don't think Hoffman will get in, but I would not be surprised to see him leap frog a bunch of guys who I would take over Hoffman without giving it more than two seconds of thought. In fairness though I'm also someone who isn't a huge fan of putting relievers in the Hall. Mariano Rivera, Goose Gossage, Hoyt Wilhelm and half of Dennis Eckersley, because I have to include his time as a starter to get him in. That's it. Next closest to being in would be a tossup between Dan Quisenberry and Bruce Sutter, both of whom I would say no to.

As far as who I think will get in, I would have to think Ken Griffey is as close to a lock as you can get. I'm hoping Alan Trammell gets in on his final vote although I don't see it happening. Schilling is another one I think with an outside of chance of building support, but I don't see it happening.

I think it will just be Griffey nobody else and glut of deserving candidates with little to no chance of getting in (Jim Edmonds, Larry Walker, Nomar) will grow even more next year.

[OnWis97]

Twins bid over $12M for the rights to negotiate with power-hitting Korean firstbaseman Byung Ho Park. Very curious move. I assume they actually wish to sign him. So their corner positions are getting full:

Plouffe (3B), Sano (3B/1B), Mauer (1B), Park (1B).

Why do this if you don't want Park to be your 1B? So I'd guess the smart money's on trading Plouffe. Then Sano at 3B. So what of Mauer? There is no way the Twins just eat the huge salary for the next few years (though I think I'd be OK with that). Perhaps the $23 Million Dollar man will be hitting his grounders as a part-time DH, part-time 1B playing in 100 or so games a year. That would be fine by me. I love when Twins fans say to trade him. He very may well be the least trade-able guy in MLB. Nobody wants a $23 million player hitting .270 with 8 HR. (Plus his no trade clause; I think he'd just like to sit here, get his money and retire after 2018).

http://www.startribune.com/twins-win-rights-to-power-hitting-korean-first-baseman/343722232/

[TheOldRoman]

It's sad what's become of Joe Mauer. I hate the Twins, but it was really something to watch him hit. He was on path to be an upper-echelon hall of famer. Then he started getting injured. And now he's to the point where even when he does play, he's not a great hitter anymore. LOLTWINS for that contract, but it's still a shame.

I read up on Park because the Sox were one of the teams in heavy on him. Apparently he's a pretty bad defender. But Sano is terrible anywhere you put him on the field, right? Knowing that Mauer can't play a whole year at first, it's perplexing from a lineup standpoint. I guess they'll live with Park at first, DH Mauer and try to hide Sano in LF. You can hide a great hitter in LF for a while, but as we saw with the Cubs in the NLCS, eventually the ball's going to find the guy who has no business wearing a glove.

[OnWis97]

I am not totally convinced that Sano is going to always be bad defensively. And I hope that's what the team is thinking with this move; that Sano can be a legit 3B. Now I am reading that they are considering the outfield for Sano. I hope not; assuming Buxton pans out, a Rosario-Buxton-Hicks OF is really good, defensively (and offensively, it looks like).

Regarding Mauer, I think this shows that the Twins are, with three years left on that terrible contract, acknowledging that he just cannot be a central part of the team anymore. So I like this move for that alone. You cannot have your firstbaseman hitting .265 and 8 HR. So if he cannot (or will not) catch, then he's going to have sit on the bench at least a 3rd of the time for the next three years, collect his money and retire to his solid gold house. I would love him to be the backup catcher in order to work him into some games but, despite his and the team's quietness, I don't think his body can take even that much catching. And I think it's probably responsible for his overall regression. Yes, on this date in 2009, he was going to be a Hall-of-Famer. Now he's just a great player who flamed out. He's a terrific athlete (offered a scholarship to play QB at Florida State; very good high school basketball player). If he had it to do over again, I wonder if he'd have avoided the tools of ignorance and just been an outfielder or infielder. When he was young and healthy, his ability to hit .340 and 25 HR at that position made him one of the most valuable players in baseball...but he's always been injury-prone and the position seems to have taken its toll.

Take a look at his 2009 season. As a catcher. He was MVP and flat-out deserving. He actually had a pretty productive 2012 and was pretty good in 2013. 2014 and 2015, though...he's just not holding up.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mauerjo01.shtml

[TheOldRoman]

That 2009 season was other-wordly. It's got to be on the list of top non-steroidal seasons ever, and he did it while catching over 100 games. And he was as good as anybody defensively at catcher! Not only was that the highest average he ever had (by 18 points), but his 28 homers more than doubled his next closest output. And everybody thought "his power is finally coming around. This guy will hit 30 HR a year." The Twins were in a really tough spot. Even though we knew he was injury-prone at that point, they pretty much had to extend him following that monster season. They probably figured he'd have to be moved from catcher in a few years, but thought his newly-developed power and great hitting would continue with him at 1B. But they moved into the new park which was harder to homer in, his injuries worsened, and he's now an albatross. There were literally a time each of the last two seasons where I turned on a Sox-Twins game and said, "Oh, yeah. I forgot Mauer was still playing." I don't think there were many as great as him who flamed out as quickly.

[OnWis97]

That 2009 season was other-wordly. It's got to be on the list of top non-steroidal seasons ever, and he did it while catching over 100 games. And he was as good as anybody defensively at catcher! Not only was that the highest average he ever had (by 18 points), but his 28 homers more than doubled his next closest output. And everybody thought "his power is finally coming around. This guy will hit 30 HR a year." The Twins were in a really tough spot. Even though we knew he was injury-prone at that point, they pretty much had to extend him following that monster season. They probably figured he'd have to be moved from catcher in a few years, but thought his newly-developed power and great hitting would continue with him at 1B. But they moved into the new park which was harder to homer in, his injuries worsened, and he's now an albatross. There were literally a time each of the last two seasons where I turned on a Sox-Twins game and said, "Oh, yeah. I forgot Mauer was still playing." I don't think there were many as great as him who flamed out as quickly.

Yeah, the new ballpark probably hastened the drop in power. It's a tough park to homer in. Unless you are Jose Batista (who once led the ballpark in HR into June).

And you were right about the Twins being painted into the corner. Moving into a ballpark paid for by taxpayers that did not want to pay for it and you let your home-grown, perennial MVP candidate go to the Yankees or Red Sox? While some people may have understood why, I think the PR woulda been a nightmare. I was not going to be upset with the team either way. Yeah, I knew that year 8 may not be as productive as year 1, but I never dreamed the dropoff would be so quick and so big. It's not that he should not be in MLB. He walks a lot and has a decent OBP. But he should be making about a 10th of his salary.

[JTernup]

http://www.federalbaseball.com/2015/11/2/9662054/washington-nationals-manager-search-dusty-baker-still-a-possibility

Idiots.

I hope you are talking about the author as well, this quote is pulled directly from the story. BRUTAL

Baker, 66, who hasn't managed in the majors since 2013 when he was relieved of his duties on the bench after his sixth season on the bench with the Cincinnati Reds, but does have a 20-year-old on the bench with the San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs and Reds, told Bloom he thought it went well.

[The_Admiral]

Even Mike Krukow thinks that sentence grabbed too much bench.

[FiddySicks]

No-Ways Players whose HOF case I don't even consider to be borderline. Its just a flat out no.

19. Trevor Hoffman

First guy to 500 AND 600 saves in a career, second all time in saves (held the record for about 5 years, too). I think that gets him in. He was the best closer in the NL for quite awhile.

[Dynasty]

Let The Hot Stove Heat Up, and wifes beat up you guys think Jose Reyes will be deported like the Kings slava voynov ?

I honestly forgot this guy was still in the league.

[Crabcake]

No-Ways Players whose HOF case I don't even consider to be borderline. Its just a flat out no.

19. Trevor Hoffman

First guy to 500 AND 600 saves in a career, second all time in saves (held the record for about 5 years, too). I think that gets him in. He was the best closer in the NL for quite awhile.

Thank you. How does a guy who is probably considered the second best player in his role EVER be "a flat out no"?

Here would be my ballot (cap logo I think they should wear):

1. Ken Griffey Jr. (Mariners) - One of the best hitters to ever play the game. A no-doubt first ballot HOFer.
2. Mike Piazza (Mets) - Might be the best offensive catchers ever. Incredible he hasn't gotten in yet.
3. Trevor Hofmann (Padres) - Possibly the best closer in the NL ever. Second only to Rivera in my mind in terms of best closers ever.
4. Curt Schilling (this one I'm not too sure about, could be either Phillies or Red Sox) - Can't say it better than this article: http://www.sportingnews.com/mlb-news/4632466-baseball-hall-of-fame-2015-curt-schilling-results-election
5. Larry Walker (Rockies) - This one will be controversial because of the whole Coors Field thing, but even with the Rockies, he had really good numbers on the road. The Coors Field argument has some validity, but not enough in my mind to keep him out.
6. Mike Mussina (Orioles) - I'm sure the first thing that people will think of will be "Orioles bias," but Mussina was a legitimately great pitcher during the height of the steroid era. Sure, there were better pitchers in his era, but the fact that he was so good during what was essentially the worst period for pitchers in baseball history for me gets him in.
7. Jeff Bagwell (Astros) - An absolutely incredible hitter. I almost always keep PED guys off my ballot, but he wasn't named in the Mitchell Report and even though he did admit to taking "andro" in '98, it wasn't a banned substance until 2004.

That's my preliminary ballot. It could change, but that's what I'm going with for now.

[Kramerica Industries]

Because being a compiler of saves on generally bad teams in a weaker league and a mediocre division and choking in every big spot you ever appeared in doesn't make you the second best at what you did in your career. Trevor Hoffman can't sniff the jockstrap of the 2nd best closer or relief pitcher in general of all-time.

[Crabcake]

Because being a compiler of saves on generally bad teams in a weaker league and a mediocre division and choking in every big spot you ever appeared in doesn't make you the second best at what you did in your career. Trevor Hoffman can't sniff the jockstrap of the 2nd best closer or relief pitcher in general of all-time.

Okay, so maybe "second-best ever" was a bit of a reach. To me, though, at worst he is a borderliner. Not even close to a definite no.