October's Over: The 2014-15 MLB off-season thread.

[JasonFromMiami]

what the hell ? Jose Canseco loses his finger playing poker.

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Jose Canseco ✔ @JoseCanseco

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My finger should have been amputated from the beginning. It was very loose with no bone to connect it.it was also smelling really bad.

12:51 AM - 15 Nov 2014 Las Vegas, NV, United States

[JasonFromMiami]

Cheap days are over

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So it´s true, Miami WILL be in the 2015 World Series, now what do i do, so they don´t lose to the Cubs...there has to be a way !

[CS85]

Cheap days are over - So it´s true, Miami WILL be in the 2015 World Series, now what do i do, so they don´t lose to the Cubs...there has to be a way !

You'll have to build a time machine, obviously.

[BBTV]

Stanton, Marlins Talk $300 Million Deal . I will see it before i belive it !

Report is $325,000,000 over 13 years, with no-trade provisions and Stanton having an opt-out clause once he turns 30. And if anyone in South Florida buys a single ticket thinking Stanton's going to be around until 2027, they should be committed.

More interesting to me though is A.J. Burnett, who appears to have walked away from roughly $4.5 million (when he opted out of his Phillies deal) solely to return to... the Pittsburgh Pirates, who'll be paying him "a mere" $8.5 million for 2015. Apparently his agent said not only did Burnett want to play for the Pirates next year, but he wanted to only play for the Pirates.

It's the sixth sign of the apocalypse. The 7th is a Pirates World Series victory. The rapture is nigh!

Strange, because last year he walked away from the Pirates and said he only wanted to play for the Phillies or Orioles. Anyway, he seems like a good enough guy, but he's not a good enough pitcher to make a difference anymore. There was word that he opted out of his Phillies deal as a "favor" to the club, since they didn't want him back and did hook him up with an over-market deal the previous off season.

[JasonFromMiami]

Cheap days are over - So it´s true, Miami WILL be in the 2015 World Series, now what do i do, so they don´t lose to the Cubs...there has to be a way !

You'll have to build a time machine, obviously.

obviously, but it will still be difficult , Cubs will sweep Miami in 5 games, how the hell do i turn that around !?

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[pmoehrin]

A.J. Burnett is pitching version of Eli Manning in that he's been the most well-known average pitcher over the past decade.

The best thing you can say about Burnett is that he's been durable. 2014 was the sixth straight year that saw him start at least 30 games. But that's about the only thing you can say about Burnett that would point to him being a guy you can build a rotation around.

Career ERA+ 102. Just marginally above average. Number of all-star appearances, zero. Number of times being in the top ten for WAR, zero. At no point in A.J. Burnett's career could any argument be made for him as a legitimate staff ace. But if you look at his salary since signing with the Jays, that's what he's been paid to be. So I don't find it surprising that once again he is being paid far more that what his numbers say he should be.

What I do find surprising is the team giving him the money. It may be presented as a low risk, potentially high reward move, but I'm not sure A.J. Burnett presents any reward at this point.

I don't see how he provides a staff upgrade. At best he provides you a reliable number three. He's never been much better then that, so why at 38 would you expect anything more? But at worst he winds up being someone who shouldn't even be in the staff, but has to because of the money he's making, because if your not going to start him, you might as well release him.

All that being said I tend to agree he probably did do the Phillies a favor by opting out and if I were a Pirate fan I would be very leery of this signing, even at just one year.

[CS85]

Martin to the Jays, 5 yrs $84 million. Cardinals rape the world of joy on this fine chilly Monday, acquiring Heyward for Shelby Miller and change from the Braves.

[Shumway]

Martin to the Jays, 5 yrs $84 million. Cardinals rape the world of joy on this fine chilly Monday, acquiring Heyward for Shelby Miller and change from the Braves.

Former All-Star closer Jordan Walden also joins Heyward in St. Louis.

[Sport]

First the Braves blow the 2011 season allowing St. Louis into the playoffs which led to the dumbest World Championship since 2006. Now they trade Jason Heyward for a couple of gomer pitchers.

Why do you like helping the Cardinals so much, Atlanta?

[CS85]

Cardinals also acquire the rights to all condoms. When you reach the peak of happiness, as dopamine floods your brain, your load will spill forth into a Cardinals-branded prophylactic. The world's orgasms will be ruined, knowing that upon release, your ejaculate splatters into a hollow vessel filled with likenesses of Michael Wacha and Matt Carpenter.

[FGM13]

Russell Martin to the Jays, huh? I think I can live with that. I think they overpayed for a good but not great catcher on the wrong side of 30, but it's nice knowing that AA will go after big guys in free agency.

[Kramerica Industries]

While I personally think Jayson Heyward is massively overrated, he's still the best player in that deal and Shelby Miller comes with more red flags than my personality does.

As for Russell Martin - the Jays just gave a non-elite catcher a five-year contract that will take him through his age 32-36 seasons. Good luck with that one.

[JasonFromMiami]

Cardinals also acquire the rights to all condoms. When you reach the peak of happiness, as dopamine floods your brain, your load will spill forth into a Cardinals-branded prophylactic. The world's orgasms will be ruined, knowing that upon release, your ejaculate splatters into a hollow vessel filled with likenesses of Michael Wacha and Matt Carpenter.

I like it, but don´t understand it, even though i have read it 10 times.

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Where exactly is Michael Wacha and Matt Carpenter hiding ? and do they approve of this ?

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Anyway......5 yrs $84 million for Martin seems like way too much $ imo

[FiddySicks]

While I personally think Jayson Heyward is massively overrated, he's still the best player in that deal and Shelby Miller comes with more red flags than my personality does.

As for Russell Martin - the Jays just gave a non-elite catcher a five-year contract that will take him through his age 32-36 seasons. Good luck with that one.

It sure does seem like a lot for the Cardinals to give up for a guy who hasn't progressed into the hitter that everyone thought he was going to be, but the Cards never did seem to find the sweet spot with Miller either. He has top of the rotation potential, but like you said, he's really suspect at times.

Basically, this was a swap of one really streaky high end player for another really streaky player with high end potential. Overall, I think the Cardinals probably won due to the addition of Jordan Walden (That part I DO NOT get from Atlanta's perspective). The Cards just improved immensely on defense, and picked up a great setup guy for a starting pitcher who, while good, they really never could seem to find a spot for.

Frankly, I think the change of scenery will help both guys.

[pmoehrin]

A little surprised to see the Blue Jays pick up Martin.

I thought Dioner Navarro did a pretty good job behind the plate last year, and if I was pick a weak point on the Blue Jays last year, catcher would not be it.

Still I think Martin does give them an upgrade, and barring injury should be a decent signing at least initially. Just not the area I would be focusing on if I were the Jays.

Looking at the number of years he got, it does seem a little much, but the Jays also have the benefit of the DH to rest him and may allow him to still be a productive player even at the end of the deal. He would not have lasted another five years just being behind the plate in Pittsburgh, so while it will hurt them at least in the short term, probably not a bad move for the Pirates to let him walk if that's what they had to match.

The Heyward trade has me floored.

I look at Jason Heyward as a modern day Dwight Evans. He's so good defensively, if he does anything at all of note at the plate, he's should automatically be in the MVP discussion.

Offense you can work on and he's only 25, so he's definitely young enough to make improvements to that part of his game. But defensive is something your either good at or not almost from day one. And defensively Heyward is as good now as guys like Clemente, Kaline and Evans ever were.

Why you would ever trade away someone like that at the peak of their career is beyond me.

Best I can tell the Braves just traded away someone who if they can improve at the plate, has a chance to go into the Hall of Fame for a guy in Shelby Miller who looks like he can develop into a good starter, but good is about it. And what your hoping could be a potential staff ace in Tyrell Jenkins.

If Jenkins pans out, the Braves actually may wind up making out pretty good in the deal. So you can't call it a good or a bad deal yet. But the thought process behind it seems very strange to me.

I don't like trading away good young players even if I'm getting another good young player in return. If there's something your seeing in him or something you see in what your getting back that makes you think its a steal, that's one thing. But both Miller and Jenkins have to turn into solid top of the rotation starters just for the deal to break even in my opinion, so I don't think that's it.

I tend to think its more related to Ken Rosenthal is hinting at and that's salary. But even with that it leaves me scratching my head, because they had no problem paying Freddie Freeman, no problem paying Andrelton Simmons, no problem paying Craig Kimbrel and no problem paying Justin Upton. But with Heyward there could have been a problem, and I think Heyward has as much if not more upside then all of them.

[The_Admiral]

Slow your roll! Heyward is really good, but not talk-Hall-of-Fame-five-years-in good!

[TheOldRoman]

Slow your roll! Heyward is really good, but not talk-Hall-of-Fame-five-years-in good!

He's a really nice player, but yes, his numbers don't look HOF to me. However, I've read a number of statheads who claim he plays historically great defense and therefore is essentially the best player in baseball today. The Cards came out way ahead on this deal if they can extend him, which is going to require at least $170 million.

As for Martin, he's a really good catcher, and clearly the best on the market, but holy crap the Jays overpaid. Anthropoulos is not a good GM.

[The_Admiral]

You can't make the Hall of Fame primarily on great fielding numbers as a corner outfielder, can you? Shortstop, yes, center field, maybe, but right field? He's gotta hit.

[STL FANATIC]

Heyward is good, and probably better than he played last year. He fills a big need for the Cardinals, and hopefully they'll lock him up long-term.

Walden also fills a need in the bullpen. He'll be another valuable piece.

But the Braves didn't get a couple of scrap guys. In Shelby Miller, they got a 24-year pitcher that was one of baseball's best prospects a couple years ago. He slumped mid-way through his first season to about the same point during his second season. He then put it together and was one of baseball's best pitchers in September. He's gonna be good. He might be a future ace. And he's under team control for at least 4 more years, I believe.

They also got another young pitcher in Tyrell Jenkins. He hasn't advanced far enough in the minors to put much of a read on him, but in the past year he's started to put all the tools together. There's definitely excitement around him. And he's only 22.

And think the Braves made out very well in this trade. Very well.

The Cardinals may have done the same.

[pmoehrin]

Slow your roll! Heyward is really good, but not talk-Hall-of-Fame-five-years-in good!

He's a really nice player, but yes, his numbers don't look HOF to me. However, I've read a number of statheads who claim he plays historically great defense and therefore is essentially the best player in baseball today. The Cards came out way ahead on this deal if they can extend him, which is going to require at least $170 million.

As for Martin, he's a really good catcher, and clearly the best on the market, but holy crap the Jays overpaid. Anthropoulos is not a good GM.

I won't say he's the best player in the game. But I am someone who feels that Jason Heyward could end up being to right field as Ozzie Smith was to shortstop before all is set and done.

As mentioned earlier right now defensively he is as good as any other right fielder in history was at their peak. How long he will be able to do it remains to be seen. What made Ozzie special was that even in his mid 30's you could still regard him as one of if not the best defensive shortstop in the game. Most guys are done being elite defenders by the time they hit 30.

As far as HOF potential goes, he's already been top ten in the league in WAR three times in his career and he's only going to be 25 next year.

If he's not on a Hall of Fame track, I would say he's pretty close to it.

The question is going to be can he bring up his offensive game up when his defense starts to decline? In his rookie year he finished 10th in the league for offensive WAR, so just at that alone it tells me he has the potential to. And that's the one thing you can be a late bloomer at.

Guys won't suddenly find speed or defense when they hit 28 or 29, but plenty of guys have found their stroke at that age.

As a side note I did find it very upsetting that he did receive a single top 20 MVP vote. I tend to wonder if that wasn't a statement vote by the writers who don't agree with everything the sabermetric group comes with. (see Derek Jeter winning a gold glove at 36 for further info.)

I think most tend to be scared off by how unique Heyward really is. Its the third most important offensively prevalent position after 1st base and left field. And yet here's a guy who nobody would argue is much better then average in that regard, but yet is so dominant defensively, he's only maybe a half step behind Giancarlo Stanton who most including myself would regard as the best right fielder in the game. And the one area that Heyward's game needs work at also happens to be the one area where a guy can get better at even late in his career.