Hot Stove: MLB Offseason Thread

[Dexter Morgan]

Looks like Theo Epstein is near close to (or in some places reported as "is") leaving Boston to become the GM of the Chicago Cubs.

Boston Herald, USA Today, ESPNChicago

...have to wonder what's going on in that front office when Francona and Theo want to bolt from a team that will be in the thick of it again next season.

[Cujo]

You would have to think the Cubs are in for a total overhaul and Ricketts will be willing handing over blank checks if Theo Freaing Epstein is willing to leave Boston and join the Northside.

Theo's (probable) arrival begs the question: "Who's next?" Francona?... Pujols??...

[NEW.ERA]

Fully expect the Jays to be quite active this year, be it trades or signing guys like Prince Fielder. I think AA can pull it off, just has to work at it.

[pmoehrin]

You would have to think the Cubs are in for a total overhaul and Ricketts will be willing handing over blank checks if Theo Freaing Epstein is willing to leave Boston and join the Northside.

Theo's (probable) arrival begs the question: "Who's next?" Francona?... Pujols??...

How about getting some starting pitching before anything, unless they think Carlos Zambrano can still work out somehow. Worst ERA amongst starting pitchers in the National League. Only Kansas City and Baltimore were worse amongst all of baseball.

[Punch]

Twins are looking for middle infield, a backup catcher, and God help them some :censored:ing relief pitching. I'm hoping we get a semi-ace pitcher to complement Pavano, which could be Mark Buehrle or Jonathan Sanchez.

[Still MIGHTY]

Angels' GM spot is still open, and I was hoping it was going to be Theo with the rumors of him leaving the Sawx. Realistically, I knew it was never going to happen. It was either the Cubs or Boston.

For the Halos, they're probably going to have to do some finagling with the current line-up. If Morales comes back healthy, Trumbo might be shifted from 1st to 3rd. (Trumbo is being tried at 3rd base through the Fall/Winter leagues.) With Trout proving that he's major-league-ready, I don't see how he's not at in the starting outfield or at the very least, in the rotation of Outfield/DH. To fit him in, one outfielder is going to need to be cut loose from Abreu, Borjous, Hunter, Trout, and Wells. It's going to be a mountain to try and move Wells and his albatross, so I expect Abreu to be shopped/moved.

For whatever reason, they're going to be linked to Fielder and Pujols (and already have been) purely because of the money they can offer up. Unless they know that Morales isn't coming back or plan on shopping him, Fielder or Pujols aren't going to be in Anaheim. They aren't going to split time at first base or be primary DHs at this point in their careers. Of course, I'd love to have them, but I'm not sure of any new GM's plans/tendencies, obviously. I love what I've seen from Trumbo, but who knows what's happening with Morales. Until more comes out on that front, I don't know how the Angels are going to handle that.

Needs for improvement are most definitely in the bullpen and trying to nail down a 4th/5th starter. They're set with Weaver/Haren/Santana. Walden needs to improve his consistency along with his secondary pitches if he wants to stay in the closer role and be effective. The middle relief and setup still need an overhaul.

And there's always the lingering Mathis problem. One day he'll be gone. Halo fans watched as Brandon Wood's time was frustratingly strung out, and he eventually got ditched. Mathis' time has to be close to being up. I don't care about his "defensive prowess." I hope this has come painfully clear this season with Napoli's career season in Texas and the hole in the lineup that Mathis' season was.

[FiddySicks]

Twins are looking for middle infield, a backup catcher, and God help them some :censored:ing relief pitching. I'm hoping we get a semi-ace pitcher to complement Pavano, which could be Mark Buehrle or Jonathan Sanchez.

Do the Twins have a bat they could sacrifice in return? The Giants need hitting so bad it's not even funny.

[Punch]

Twins are looking for middle infield, a backup catcher, and God help them some :censored:ing relief pitching. I'm hoping we get a semi-ace pitcher to complement Pavano, which could be Mark Buehrle or Jonathan Sanchez.

Do the Twins have a bat they could sacrifice in return? The Giants need hitting so bad it's not even funny.

The Twins' bats end at Morneau and Mauer, and even those two are sketchy due to health issues. Kubel and Cuddyer are the only other significant hitters on the team but they are free agents this year.

[pmoehrin]

Twins are looking for middle infield, a backup catcher, and God help them some :censored:ing relief pitching. I'm hoping we get a semi-ace pitcher to complement Pavano, which could be Mark Buehrle or Jonathan Sanchez.

Do the Twins have a bat they could sacrifice in return? The Giants need hitting so bad it's not even funny.

The Twins' bats end at Morneau and Mauer, and even those two are sketchy due to health issues. Kubel and Cuddyer are the only other significant hitters on the team but they are free agents this year.

Twins aren't giving up Joe Mauer who they're trying to make out to be Mr. Twin and I don't see anyone being interested in Justin Morneau for $14 million a year for two years. Twins are going to have to eat at least $4 million of that salary to generate any interest if they are trying to shop him, something I don't see happening either.

The Twins aren't as bad of a team as their record would indicate. I don't know if any team in baseball had more injury problems then the Twins did. What they need is to get their farm system back up and running. Free agent pickups aren't going to help them out all that much because while I don't think they a 100 loss team, I don't think they are on the cusp on winning a World Series either.

[oaklandhusker]

I'm sorry, people, BUT IT'S NOT THE OFFSEASON YET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[McCall]

I'm sorry, people, BUT IT'S NOT THE OFFSEASON YET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

STOP YELLING AT PEOPLE! Another example of needing an age requirement.

[Cujo]

I'm sorry, people, BUT IT'S NOT THE OFFSEASON YET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is if you're the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Angels, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, Atlanta Braves, Florida Marlins, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Washington Nationals, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Houston Astros, Pittsburgh Pirates, Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres or San Francisco Giants.

Did I mention the New York Yankees?

[Dexter Morgan]

Any Giants fans on here? What would it take for the Yankees to take Matt Cain off your hands?

[FiddySicks]

Any Giants fans on here? What would it take for the Yankees to take Matt Cain off your hands?

Well, in a sense, A LOT. Lincecum, Cain, Bumgarner and maybe Vogelsong (He may be a free agent though, not sure. I expect him back on San Francisco either way) are the starting pitchers that are pretty much off limits for the Giants. I'd even argue that keeping Cain around is the Giants' biggest priority, even over Lincecum. He's the most experienced pitcher on our staff, he had a great ERA and a stellar WHIP, and has been incredibly durable. Unless the Yankees can offer up something that is absolutely mind blowing, it's not going to happen. There are are quite a few guys on this team that are absolutely essential to this roster, and only one, may be two of them are not pitchers. The Giants need hitting BAD, but they're more likely to overspend in free agency this year (especially considering the available players) for a bat than trade away the guy who is arguably the anchor of this whole entire team.

Now if your looking for a guy like Jonathan Sanchez, then we can talk. We'll even throw in Zito too

[Dexter Morgan]

Must read:

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2011/10/12/red_sox_unity_dedication_dissolved_during_epic_late_season_collapse/?page=full

[Dexter Morgan]

Any Giants fans on here? What would it take for the Yankees to take Matt Cain off your hands?

Well, in a sense, A LOT. Lincecum, Cain, Bumgarner and maybe Vogelsong (He may be a free agent though, not sure. I expect him back on San Francisco either way) are the starting pitchers that are pretty much off limits for the Giants. I'd even argue that keeping Cain around is the Giants' biggest priority, even over Lincecum. He's the most experienced pitcher on our staff, he had a great ERA and a stellar WHIP, and has been incredibly durable. Unless the Yankees can offer up something that is absolutely mind blowing, it's not going to happen. There are are quite a few guys on this team that are absolutely essential to this roster, and only one, may be two of them are not pitchers. The Giants need hitting BAD, but they're more likely to overspend in free agency this year (especially considering the available players) for a bat than trade away the guy who is arguably the anchor of this whole entire team.

Now if your looking for a guy like Jonathan Sanchez, then we can talk. We'll even throw in Zito too

What if the Yankees offered you Nick Swisher, Jesus Montero, and Eduardo Nunez. (Not sure the Yankees would even do that by the way, just throwing it out there)

[FiddySicks]

Double double

[FiddySicks]

Any Giants fans on here? What would it take for the Yankees to take Matt Cain off your hands?

Well, in a sense, A LOT. Lincecum, Cain, Bumgarner and maybe Vogelsong (He may be a free agent though, not sure. I expect him back on San Francisco either way) are the starting pitchers that are pretty much off limits for the Giants. I'd even argue that keeping Cain around is the Giants' biggest priority, even over Lincecum. He's the most experienced pitcher on our staff, he had a great ERA and a stellar WHIP, and has been incredibly durable. Unless the Yankees can offer up something that is absolutely mind blowing, it's not going to happen. There are are quite a few guys on this team that are absolutely essential to this roster, and only one, may be two of them are not pitchers. The Giants need hitting BAD, but they're more likely to overspend in free agency this year (especially considering the available players) for a bat than trade away the guy who is arguably the anchor of this whole entire team.

Now if your looking for a guy like Jonathan Sanchez, then we can talk. We'll even throw in Zito too

What if the Yankees offered you Nick Swisher, Jesus Montero, and Eduardo Nunez. (Not sure the Yankees would even do that by the way, just throwing it out there)

I honestly don't know enough about Montero or Nunez so I can't say for sure, but I'd still assume No. Considering we already have our catcher of the future and want to keep him there, and are pretty satisfied with our second baseman (assuming he can stay healthy), I'd really say no. Like I really can't stress how important Cain is to this team. Years ago they were thisclose to dealing Cain to the Blue Jays for Alex Rios, and had it happened, it would've knocked their starting rotation so hard that it would've been detrimental to the whole staff. I would even argue that without Cain in the Rotation, Lincecum wouldn't have the accolades he has. This rotation has the potential to go down as one of the best in history and the Giants really can't afford to mess with that.

[Dexter Morgan]

Fair enough.

[dfwabel]

Any Giants fans on here? What would it take for the Yankees to take Matt Cain off your hands?

Well, in a sense, A LOT. Lincecum, Cain, Bumgarner and maybe Vogelsong (He may be a free agent though, not sure. I expect him back on San Francisco either way) are the starting pitchers that are pretty much off limits for the Giants. I'd even argue that keeping Cain around is the Giants' biggest priority, even over Lincecum. He's the most experienced pitcher on our staff, he had a great ERA and a stellar WHIP, and has been incredibly durable. Unless the Yankees can offer up something that is absolutely mind blowing, it's not going to happen. There are are quite a few guys on this team that are absolutely essential to this roster, and only one, may be two of them are not pitchers. The Giants need hitting BAD, but they're more likely to overspend in free agency this year (especially considering the available players) for a bat than trade away the guy who is arguably the anchor of this whole entire team.

Now if your looking for a guy like Jonathan Sanchez, then we can talk. We'll even throw in Zito too

The Giants have the following players who are arbitration eligible:

Tim Lincecum, Jonathan Sanchez, Pablo Sandoval, Sergio Romo, Ryan Vogelsong (who is 34).

If the Giants' corporate board was not happy with Bill Neukom spending money, then they will not spend money for more bats. This season was the largest attendance at ATT Park ever, so they get money.