2012-13 MLB Off-Season Thread

[RyanB06]

Red Sox reportedly offer a three year, $38 million deal to Shane Victorino. I hope that's a joke.

It's a joke.

The offer's 3/39.

[Kramerica Industries]

So the Red Sox get a reprieve on the Carl Crawford and Josh Beckett contracts, and their solution is to throw gobs of money at Mike Napoli and Shane Victorino, two players coming off terrible seasons?

Well, I can't say I have a problem with it, but it does seem galactically stupid.

[NJTank]

The Red Sox just don't get it, Mike Napoli is a solid catcher but I dont think he is the answer at first base and Shane Victorino is rather overrated.

[pmoehrin]

Red Sox reportedly offer a three year, $38 million deal to Shane Victorino. I hope that's a joke.

It's a joke.

The offer's 3/39.

That's just nuts. Your talking about a .260 singles hitter that doesn't have the speed he used to have or the same defensive ability.

Juan Pierre signed for the league minimum I would rate him about the same as Victorino (maybe even better) just going by their numbers last year and is pretty comparable to Victorino in terms of style of play. Are a couple years in age difference and name value really worth that much?

[Kramerica Industries]

In fairness, Shane Victorino actually set a career high in SB last season, and even the 2012 version of Victorino has significantly more power than Juan Pierre.

But that doesn't make the contract any more logical. Guy was awful vs. RHP last season.

[pmoehrin]

In fairness, Shane Victorino actually set a career high in SB last season, and even the 2012 version of Victorino has significantly more power than Juan Pierre.

But that doesn't make the contract any more logical. Guy was awful vs. RHP last season.

I just don't get it. The Red Sox could have signed Juan Pierre and gotten at least one more decent player for what they are paying Shane Victorino. Are the Red Sox really that convinced Shane Victorino can go back to being the Shane Victorino of '07 and '08? Or are they just throwing money around for the sake of throwing money around?

What really scares me about this is that these are the type of deals you start seeing before a work stoppage. Money gets thrown around like its not even worth the paper its printed on and then right when we get to the CBA we start hearing the owners bitch about how players salaries are way too high, the economics of the game are unsustainable and how everyone is losing money. Granted the CBA isn't up until 2016 so we have a long time before we get to that point, but I don't like where all of this is going. If Shane Victorino is worth $13 million a year, then someone like Curtis Granderson has a decent argument to make that he's worth $20 million.

[Shumway]

Joe Blanton is apparently close to signing with the Angels. I'd imagine this means Grienke is signing elsewhere, not to my surprise.

The Angels' projected rotation so far:

- Weaver

- Wilson

- Hanson

- Fat Joe

- Garrett Richards

At least they're bolstering the bullpen. It sure as hell looks like they're going to need help.

[pmoehrin]

The Josh Hamilton picture is starting to clear up. Right now the two major players appear to be Seattle and Texas and I would not be surprised if Hamilton is signed by the end of the day.

http://blogs.seattletimes.com/mariners/2012/12/06/mariners-said-to-be-still-very-much-in-the-running-for-josh-hamilton/

[NJTank]

The Josh Hamilton picture is starting to clear up. Right now the two major players appear to be Seattle and Texas and I would not be surprised if Hamilton is signed by the end of the day.

http://blogs.seattle...-josh-hamilton/

Texas is where he belongs, I hope he stays.

Seattle is not a bad spot either, it would have been a disaster for him persoanally to go to a big city like LA or NY.

[Jigga]

The Josh Hamilton picture is starting to clear up. Right now the two major players appear to be Seattle and Texas and I would not be surprised if Hamilton is signed by the end of the day.

http://blogs.seattle...-josh-hamilton/

Texas is where he belongs, I hope he stays.

Seattle is not a bad spot either, it would have been a disaster for him persoanally to go to a big city like LA or NY.

It would have been a disaster for the team, too.

When his head is on straight, Josh Hamilton is simply the best player in the game (yes, better than Trout, Cabrera or anyone else). The problem is, you can't count on his head to be on straight for an entire season, let alone 6 or 7 of them consecutively. While they are among baseball's biggest of big time teams in big time markets, the Yanks, Dodgers, Mets and even the Angels (recently) have to overpay to get those big ticket free agents to come on down (both in years and in raw dollars). I don't begrudge anyone their money and Hamilton's story will be fantastic for a 50 for 50 movie in 20 years, but he's a mess in the head and he's got far more tread on the tires than the average 31 year old. No one brings that up either. He's beat his body all to hell with drugs and alcohol abuse. Good luck to the guy, but buyer beware.

[NJTank]

The Josh Hamilton picture is starting to clear up. Right now the two major players appear to be Seattle and Texas and I would not be surprised if Hamilton is signed by the end of the day.

http://blogs.seattle...-josh-hamilton/

Texas is where he belongs, I hope he stays.

Seattle is not a bad spot either, it would have been a disaster for him persoanally to go to a big city like LA or NY.

It would have been a disaster for the team, too.

When his head is on straight, Josh Hamilton is simply the best player in the game (yes, better than Trout, Cabrera or anyone else). The problem is, you can't count on his head to be on straight for an entire season, let alone 6 or 7 of them consecutively. While they are among baseball's biggest of big time teams in big time markets, the Yanks, Dodgers, Mets and even the Angels (recently) have to overpay to get those big ticket free agents to come on down (both in years and in raw dollars). I don't begrudge anyone their money and Hamilton's story will be fantastic for a 50 for 50 movie in 20 years, but he's a mess in the head and he's got far more tread on the tires than the average 31 year old. No one brings that up either. He's beat his body all to hell with drugs and alcohol abuse. Good luck to the guy, but buyer beware.

Best example I can point out is Jason Bay, Citi Field :censored:ed him up and its doubtful he will ever recover to be an All-Star again. It was a terrible contract for the Mets and bad for Bay's career. Difference is Bay is not an addict and if the same struggles happen to Hamilton and the fans start getting on him and he is alone in such a big market that is when someone falls off the waggon and often they fall off the waggon hard.

The best place is Texas for Hamilton he has done well there he is liked there and he can stay in a somewhat comfort zone.

[bosrs1]

Padres just lost starting pitcher Andrew Cashner for 3 months. Friend apparently stabbed him in the pitching hand with a knife while dressing a carcass while hunting. Bone headed move along the lines of Jeff Kent with his ATVs.

[Dexter Morgan]

Yankees have offered Kevin Youkilis $12 million on a 1 yr deal.

[Jigga]

The Josh Hamilton picture is starting to clear up. Right now the two major players appear to be Seattle and Texas and I would not be surprised if Hamilton is signed by the end of the day.

http://blogs.seattle...-josh-hamilton/

Texas is where he belongs, I hope he stays.

Seattle is not a bad spot either, it would have been a disaster for him persoanally to go to a big city like LA or NY.

It would have been a disaster for the team, too.

When his head is on straight, Josh Hamilton is simply the best player in the game (yes, better than Trout, Cabrera or anyone else). The problem is, you can't count on his head to be on straight for an entire season, let alone 6 or 7 of them consecutively. While they are among baseball's biggest of big time teams in big time markets, the Yanks, Dodgers, Mets and even the Angels (recently) have to overpay to get those big ticket free agents to come on down (both in years and in raw dollars). I don't begrudge anyone their money and Hamilton's story will be fantastic for a 50 for 50 movie in 20 years, but he's a mess in the head and he's got far more tread on the tires than the average 31 year old. No one brings that up either. He's beat his body all to hell with drugs and alcohol abuse. Good luck to the guy, but buyer beware.

Best example I can point out is Jason Bay, Citi Field :censored:ed him up and its doubtful he will ever recover to be an All-Star again. It was a terrible contract for the Mets and bad for Bay's career. Difference is Bay is not an addict and if the same struggles happen to Hamilton and the fans start getting on him and he is alone in such a big market that is when someone falls off the waggon and often they fall off the waggon hard.

The best place is Texas for Hamilton he has done well there he is liked there and he can stay in a somewhat comfort zone.

I don't know about the comfort zone thing...he :censored:ed up in Texas, too.

[dfwabel]

The Josh Hamilton picture is starting to clear up. Right now the two major players appear to be Seattle and Texas and I would not be surprised if Hamilton is signed by the end of the day.

http://blogs.seattle...-josh-hamilton/

He and his agent know that the current market is only a four year contract and will most like stay there. Why not wait until possibly after the holidays when others have signed, specifically Upton who got five years and Bourne? Then see if a team (SEA or other) is desperate enough to give in and offer him a fifth year to take back to the Rangers to see if they will match.

[BigEd76]

Ben Revere to the Phillies for Vance Worley and pitching prospect Trevor May

[Kramerica Industries]

Padres just lost starting pitcher Andrew Cashner for 3 months. Friend apparently stabbed him in the pitching hand with a knife while dressing a carcass while hunting. Bone headed move along the lines of Jeff Kent with his ATVs.

These kind of injuries only happen to baseball players.

[Punch]

Ben Revere to the Phillies for Vance Worley and pitching prospect Trevor May

The Twins have a solid center field prospect in Aaron Hicks, so I'm not too sad at the loss of Revere. They desperately need starting pitching, so I consider this trade a win for Minnesota.

Apparently, May is a "power pitcher with control issues". After Rick Anderson is through with him though, he'll just be a pitcher with control issues. And I absolutely cannot wait to hear management declare Worley our "ace" after a few starts with an ERA under 4.00 and 5 strikeouts. Minnesota: Where Pitchers Go To Die.

[OnWis97]

Ben Revere to the Phillies for Vance Worley and pitching prospect Trevor May

So the Twins traded Denard Span and Ben Revere. Wow. I wonder who is going to be leading off? And who is going to be playing CF. Excuse me while I scour the want adds for the job.

Ben Revere to the Phillies for Vance Worley and pitching prospect Trevor May

The Twins have a solid center field prospect in Aaron Hicks, so I'm not too sad at the loss of Revere. They desperately need starting pitching, so I consider this trade a win for Minnesota. Apparently, May is a "power pitcher with control issues". After Rick Anderson is through with him, he'll just be a pitcher with control issues. Minnesota: Where Pitchers Go To Die.

Hicks is 23 so maybe he's ready, though the Twins tend to be scarred to bring anyone up who is under 26. I understand the Revere trade, had the Span trade never been made.

Over/under on losses: 105

[pmoehrin]

Thing with the Twins is they have some pretty good hitting prospects, but nobody that's really ready to make an immediate impact outside of Aaron Hicks, who I don't think anyone is really looking at as much more then a B level. So I don't think its a bad idea for them to be shooting for 2014 or '15 as opposed to next year.

Main thing they need right now is pitching. They have a guy in Scott Diamond that can probably win up being a decent #1 or a solid #2, but they need more and they just don't have the tools at the moment to produce from within. So they are probably going to have to build their rotation and bullpen off of free agency and moves like this, because they just don't have anybody at the moment on the farm that you can look to with much promise.