Baseball Hot Stove

[njmeadowlanders]

So now that the Fall Classic has come to an end, the hot stove is already heating up:

Abreu re-ups for 2 yrs/19 million w/ the Angels (and an incentive-based 3rd year option). Good move for both sides there.

KC sends Teahen to the ChiSox for Fields and Getz. Royals save some $ and get two cheap decent players. Perhaps this means that Chicago is going to try as hard as they can to deal Dye?

The Red Sox acquired Jeremy Hermida from Florida for two pitching prospects.

The Mets declined JJ Putz's $9 Million option making him a free agent. Tampa anyone?

Supposedly the Cards are going to make Holliday a 6/96 offer...but as a Boras client I expect he'll get more and will drag his signing out past the new year.

[ZapRowsdower8]

Pirates get 2B Akinori Iwamura from the Rays in exchange for right-handed reliever Jesse Chavez. Iwamura becomes the highest paid Pirate until he is traded at the deadline.

[Bmac]

Nothing official, but the Twins and back-up catcher Mike Redmond may be parting ways. As good of a back-up to Mauer as Redmond is, he may not be kept with Jose Morales coming up.

[raysox]

The Mets declined JJ Putz's $9 Million option making him a free agent. Tampa anyone?

Oh yes please.

The Aki deal makes sense, the Rays have Zobrist, Aybar, and a player from the Kazmir deal.

[Breakwood]

Who needs the off-season when the Cuban League just started up...real baseball to keep me occupied till March.

[BBTV]

Phillies Hot Stove Primer

Given that they will pick up Cliff Lee's option (duh), they are already committed for $103 Million just for 12 players, with seven players (4 or 5 key players) eligible for arbitration.

MUST:

offensive upgrade at 3rd base. Picking up the $5M option for Pedro Feliz isn't the worst move in the world, but we clearly saw that you can't have that kind of a hole in your lineup when you're playing at American League parks in the WS.

Bench help. Eric Bruntlett, Ben Fransisco, Greg Dobbs, and Matt Stairs aren't going to be good enough. Need players that can spell Rollins and Utley, and actually contribute at the plate.

Left-handed relief. No idea if JC Romero is ever going to be the same, and Scott Eyre is likely to retire (or just be old and sucky.) Nobody in the minors who is really ready for the role.

[infrared41]

The Cleveland Indians should...OK they need to improve everywhere. Any suggestions?

[crashcarson15]

The Cleveland Indians should...OK they need to improve everywhere. Any suggestions?

Move outta Cleveland

[NJTank]

Its not the hot stove season until we get our first off-season arrest and to that end we have Tim Lincecum.

San Francisco Giants star pitcher Tim Lincecum is facing misdemeanor marijuana charges following a traffic stop in his home state....

Some how I am not shocked at all, maybe its becuase he looks like Jimbo Jones.

[NEW.ERA]

It's almost set in stone that Roy Halladay will probably be moved but he does have one year left on his deal so I wouldn't be one bit surprised if he is moved at next year's trading deadline.

[ZapRowsdower8]

Its not the hot stove season until we get our first off-season arrest and to that end we have Tim Lincecum.

San Francisco Giants star pitcher Tim Lincecum is facing misdemeanor marijuana charges following a traffic stop in his home state....

Some how I am not shocked at all, maybe its becuase he looks like Jimbo Jones.

Maybe it is because I am now older, married, and thinking about starting a family but my first reactiom to this news is, "who cares." He is a young kid with everything going his way. He has lots of down time between seasons, is this a shock to anyone? Is anybody seriously outraged about this? I can't wait to hear the talking heads at ESPN vilify this kid.

[mania]

It's almost set in stone that Roy Halladay will probably be moved but he does have one year left on his deal so I wouldn't be one bit surprised if he is moved at next year's trading deadline.

His value will be minuscule at the deadline comparative to now.

[crashcarson15]

It's almost set in stone that Roy Halladay will probably be moved but he does have one year left on his deal so I wouldn't be one bit surprised if he is moved at next year's trading deadline.

His value will be minuscule at the deadline comparative to now.

Exactly, it's the same reason why the Indians traded Sabathia a month early in '08. If the Jays don't think they can compete and keep him, they should deal him now.

[BBTV]

It's almost set in stone that Roy Halladay will probably be moved but he does have one year left on his deal so I wouldn't be one bit surprised if he is moved at next year's trading deadline.

Read a report that the Phillies have at least thought about the idea of using Cole Hamels to land Halladay for this season. Cole is as soft of an athlete as I think I've ever seen (right up there with Bobby Abreu), but he's also a WS MVP, and the kind of guy that could flourish in a less "intense" environment. If I'm Toronto, I probably do what I can to make this happen.

The Phillies would then have to decide which pitcher (Lee or Halladay) to give the ridiculous money to after the season. They probably could do both, but then they'd be approaching Mets / Yankees payroll.

[njmeadowlanders]

By the way, before anything comes out on negotiations with him and whatnot, no matter which team ends up signing him, Matt Holliday is NOT a $100 Million player. Don't get me wrong, he's very good, and would be a huge upgrade for most teams in left field. To me though, giving him in excess of $100 million will only hamstring your franchise further down the road...but someone will be suckered into fake hype by Scott Boras and give him some ridiculous contract. I just hope the Mets aren't those suckers, because there are WAY too many holes to fill and they've all but said payroll needs to be cut because of Bernie Madoff, even though they deny that it has an effect on them.

...well, that and the fact that starting this year, they'll be paying Bobby Bonilla $1 Million a year for the next 20 years for agreeing to defer some of his salary back in 1999. What foresight!

[njmeadowlanders]

It's almost set in stone that Roy Halladay will probably be moved but he does have one year left on his deal so I wouldn't be one bit surprised if he is moved at next year's trading deadline.

Read a report that the Phillies have at least thought about the idea of using Cole Hamels to land Halladay for this season. Cole is as soft of an athlete as I think I've ever seen (right up there with Bobby Abreu), but he's also a WS MVP, and the kind of guy that could flourish in a less "intense" environment. If I'm Toronto, I probably do what I can to make this happen.

The Phillies would then have to decide which pitcher (Lee or Halladay) to give the ridiculous money to after the season. They probably could do both, but then they'd be approaching Mets / Yankees payroll.

Well now that certainly is interesting. Everything I read was it couldn't happen because they can't have Hamels and two of them...but taking the two of them and getting rid of Hamels...oh boy. That would be downright scary. Could you imagine those two on a staff? Hell, I could be the third starter and they'd still run away with the NL. [Ducking Tomatoes]That may cause MLB to lose its anti-trust exemption b/c it would just be a per se violation of the Sherman Act[/Ducking Tomatoes].

By the way I've read that the Phillies are already looking at $103 Million committed towards something like only 12 or 13 players next season. How do you think they'll proceed in terms of the entire 25-man in that respect?

[BaltimoreFan]

It's almost set in stone that Roy Halladay will probably be moved but he does have one year left on his deal so I wouldn't be one bit surprised if he is moved at next year's trading deadline.

I still think it was really stupid for the Blue Jays to refuse to trade Halladay within the division. The Red Sox appeared to have the best deal on the table. If they traded Halladay at last seasons deadline, they would have essentially been giving up on this season anyway. Then Halladay becomes a free agent, and can sign with anyone he wants, he may choose the Red Sox anyway. Might as well take some players from the Sox rather than just let him walk for essentially nothing.

Any Brewers fans on here. If so, what do you guys think about trading JJ Hardy for Jeremy Guthrie? I've seen the trade on some other Orioles message boards, and it seems to make sense. Both players had down years, and both fit needs of the other team. I think it could be a great "buy low" for both teams.

[BBTV]

It's almost set in stone that Roy Halladay will probably be moved but he does have one year left on his deal so I wouldn't be one bit surprised if he is moved at next year's trading deadline.

Read a report that the Phillies have at least thought about the idea of using Cole Hamels to land Halladay for this season. Cole is as soft of an athlete as I think I've ever seen (right up there with Bobby Abreu), but he's also a WS MVP, and the kind of guy that could flourish in a less "intense" environment. If I'm Toronto, I probably do what I can to make this happen.

The Phillies would then have to decide which pitcher (Lee or Halladay) to give the ridiculous money to after the season. They probably could do both, but then they'd be approaching Mets / Yankees payroll.

Well now that certainly is interesting. Everything I read was it couldn't happen because they can't have Hamels and two of them...but taking the two of them and getting rid of Hamels...oh boy. That would be downright scary. Could you imagine those two on a staff? Hell, I could be the third starter and they'd still run away with the NL. [Ducking Tomatoes]That may cause MLB to lose its anti-trust exemption b/c it would just be a per se violation of the Sherman Act[/Ducking Tomatoes].

By the way I've read that the Phillies are already looking at $103 Million committed towards something like only 12 or 13 players next season. How do you think they'll proceed in terms of the entire 25-man in that respect?

Read the article that I linked to earlier:

http://zozone.mlblogs.com/archives/2009/11/a_phillies_hot_stove_primer.html

The good news is that they're not paying the 20M or so for Adam Eaton, Jim Thome, and Geoff Jenkins, but they're probably going to eat Jamie Moyer's contract (or pressure him into retiring.)

The odd thing is that they are on the hook for so much money, but it's not like it's from big free-agent signings or anything. It's mostly home grown young players (or guys they got when they were young and not yet stars) that are just arbitration eligible, not even free agents yet. The Hamels and Ryan Howard deals were just to buy out their arbitration years.

The Phillies make an insane amount of money. They have one of the top two or three revenue-producing parks in the league, are in one of the largest markets, have a great local TV deal (not as good as owning their own network, but from what I've read, it's still pretty good), and are just doing everything "right" right now. They can afford to have an insane payroll, and become one of those teams that everyone seems to hate.

The past couple of seasons have shown that for the first time in my lifetime, they're taking the stance that they are a "large market club", and are not afraid to spend a couple of dollars in order to maintain this momentum. I think they know that their window may only be a few more years, so I really can't see payroll being a factor that would prevent them from improving the club. I'm not sure that they'd ever get to the point where people hate them like the Yankees and Mets though, since so many of their players are home grown or home developed, and not bought.

Look for them to upgrade third base, replace Eric Bruntlett with a legitimate backup right-handed-hitting infielder that can hit, maybe replace Dobbs with a legitimate backup corner infielder, and replace Stairs with a strong left handed bat off the bench.

In the bullpen, they need to decide if JC Romero will be healthy and if they're going to retain Scott Eyre or let him retire (he said that if the Phillies want him he'll be back, otherwise he's just done.) Either way, they could use another lefty. They will also need to decide if Brett Myers is worth bringing back on a 1-year deal, and if he'd accept a role in the bullpen.

For the starters, they're pretty much set with Lee, Hamels (assuming that he's not moved), Happ, Blanton, and some fifth starter - possibly Kyle Drabek? Kyle Kendrick? Maybe Jamie Moyer? Some free agent? Doesn't really matter - they'll find someone.

[BBTV]

LOL - the first poorly-written article calling for the Phils to get Halladay:

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/20091106_Rich_Hofmann__Phillies_should_start_building_for_next_year__starting_with_acquiring_Halladay.html

[BrySmalls]

By the way, before anything comes out on negotiations with him and whatnot, no matter which team ends up signing him, Matt Holliday is NOT a $100 Million player. Don't get me wrong, he's very good, and would be a huge upgrade for most teams in left field. To me though, giving him in excess of $100 million will only hamstring your franchise further down the road...but someone will be suckered into fake hype by Scott Boras and give him some ridiculous contract. I just hope the Mets aren't those suckers, because there are WAY too many holes to fill and they've all but said payroll needs to be cut because of Bernie Madoff, even though they deny that it has an effect on them.

...well, that and the fact that starting this year, they'll be paying Bobby Bonilla $1 Million a year for the next 20 years for agreeing to defer some of his salary back in 1999. What foresight!

It's a bit more than $1 million per year:

When the New York Mets placed Bonilla on unconditional waivers in 2000, they agreed to pay out the remainder of his contract by deferring the remaining $5.9 million. Instead of paying him upfront for that money they came to an agreement where the Mets would pay him 25 equal payments of $1,193,248.20 every July 1 from 2011 until 2035.