Category Archives: The Rest: Everything Baseball
From Cuba to Japan, Opening Day to the World Series and the WBC
Dodgers must choose between Justin Turner or Kenley Jansen
This time of year in baseball really means one thing: new faces in new places. It’s looking increasingly unlikely that Kenley Jansen returns to the Los Angeles Dodgers as their closer in 2017. This is coming on the heels of news that the Miami Marlins have offered Jansen $80 million dollars over five years to come to South Beach.
Did anyone notice at the Winter Meetings this past week that Los Angeles was ‘in’ on players but nothing really materialized? There may be good reason for this. The Dodgers were reported to be in serious amounts of debt. As soon as this news broke, it was obvious that they weren’t going to be able to retain their All-Star closer and their starting third baseman, Justin Turner.
Once Again: Why The MLB Should Consider A Geographical/Market Size Re-Alignment For The Next CBA:
The new CBA has been a godsend for the mid – market teams, and not so great for the 10 top markets, but even more devastating for the 10 lowest markets. One thing the CBA did address was to give the players an additional 4 days off during the league year – stretching from 183 Days to 187 – in lieu of expanding the rosters of 25 to 26.
This website has continued its stance since day 1, that while the economics have been a lot more fair to teams in the last 15 years, there is still much work to do. The best small market teams we have seen in the last 7 years have been the Oakland A’s, Tampa Bay Rays, Pittsburgh Pirates and of course the 2015 World Series winning Kansas City Royals. Only one of these teams actually were a decent franchise for some time before they took off.
Pittsburgh lost for 22 years before they finally made 3 straight postseason appearances. With the new CBA not giving them 1st RD Draft Picks for departing players in future seasons like Andrew McCutchen, Gregory Polanco, Starling Marter and Gerrit Cole, this is a sure fire way for the brass to cut the cord on their service team a lot of time ahead of them hitting Free Agency.
Kansas City was a laughable organization from the mid 90’s to 2013 as well, and despite winning back to back pennants in the AL< and being the first small market team to win the World Series since the 2003 Marlins, they will soon start to see their team ripped apart under the same Free Agent terms like the Bucs – with Eric Hosmer, Lorenzo Cain, Danny Duffy and Mike Moustakas likely all not re-signing with the franchise. Dayton Moore already had to trade ace Closer Wade Davis this past week.
The Tampa Bay Rays were awful from 1998 – 2007, and were able to stockpile #1 overall picks to build up the franchise. The Joe Maddon era ensued for 6 straight quality years where they competed beautifully, including a World Series Loss in 2008, but now they are at a crossroads again from a 68 win campaign. and teams all spending double what they can. Read the rest of this entry
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – December 12, 2016
In New York City, I took a look at the Yankees rebuilding process, the assumptions and the last time there were no active World Champion Yankees on the roster.
It is a step by step rebuild episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – December 11, 2016
It is Sunday and time for The Sunday Request.
@swampudlian @sullybaseball What do you think is worse: many yrs of being too terrible to make the postseason, or yrs of postseason ❤️break?
— NastyBeth Richardson (@Bethrich52) November 23, 2016
A dynamite philosophical discussion.
I decided to tackle that question at a little league field turned Christmas Tree lot on this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
The Dodgers Should Do Another Trade With The White Sox In Order To Bolster Their 2017 Roster
The Dodgers have spent over $300 MIL in back to back years, and are the clubhouse leaders in Luxury Tax penalties paid. At a 50% penalty, the Los Angeles forked out $40 MIL in Luxury Taxes in 2016. With an estimated $204 MIL payroll – considering there are several roster holes now created by departing players, the team will need to spend around $235 MIL in 2017 total payroll. With a 50% penalty – and an additional 45% hit – for going $40 MIL over the new $195 MIL limit in 2017, I highly expect the organization will be less willing to spend 90 cents extra for every dollar spent beyond that. This means that they should not re-sign Kenley Jansen or Turner. The White Sox have the Closer, Third Baseman and Second Baseman needed to complete their roster/winter shopping – if a deal can be reached.
Last year the Dodgers were in the middle of a 3 way trade with the Reds and White Sox.
December 16, 2015: Todd Frazier was Traded as part of a 3-team trade by the Cincinnati Reds to the Chicago White Sox. The Los Angeles Dodgers sent Brandon Dixon (minors), Jose Peraza and Scott Schebler to the Cincinnati Reds. The Chicago White Sox sent Micah Johnson, Frankie Montas and Trayce Thompson to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
with the full rebuild going on in the south side of Chicago now, the Los Angeles Dodgers brass should be targeting some players back in return. This time they should acquire Todd Frazier, but I also think they should go for Brett Lawrie and White Sox team Closer David Robertson.
The total net projected salary of those 3 players would equal $28.5 MIL – which would be substantially less than what it would take to re-sign Justin Turner and Kenley Jansen. David Robertson has pitched for a big market like New York before, so playoff baseball is not foreign to him.
Lawrie would adequately replace the production the club had with Chase Utley and Howie Kendrick this past year for a fraction of the cost.
Having Todd Frazier’s power would really benefit the ailing/aging slugger of Adrian Gonzalez, and also the young and brilliant Corey Seager,
So who goes back in return for these guys? Read the rest of this entry
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – December 10, 2016
Attention White Sox fans!
The next few years will not feature a lot of wins for your team and LOTS for the Cubs. But if you stay loyal to your team, the amazing rebuilding process by the GM will reward you soon.
Good things happen to those who wait on this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
How Did Rick Porcello Go From Afterthought to Ace?
Rick Porcello went from league-average starter to Cy Young winner in one year. Unfortunately, it was a year too late to save Red Sox GM Ben Cherington’s job.
(READ THE FULL STORY ON PLATE COVERAGE)
Breaking Down The Chicago White Sox Winter Meetings
Thee Chicago White Sox sent a very clear message on Tuesday when they traded longtime ace pitcher Chris Sale to the Boston Red Sox. After failing to end the fourth longest current postseason drought despite lofty expectations, it was time to rebuild, and nobody was safe. Sale, the team’s dominant pitching ace had worn management’s patience thin this season, first by taking potshots at team president Kenny Williams in light of the Adam LaRoche fiasco, then by taking a knife to some admittedly ugly throwback uniforms that were scheduled to be worn on one of his starts. By dangling Sale this offseason, the White Sox were given carte blanche, able to make as high of a demand as they wanted for their talented, yet still an affordable superstar.
In return for the mercurial All-Star, the Sox received a package of baseball’s top prospect in Yoan Moncada, an electric arm in Michael Kopech, center field prospect Luis Alexander Basabe, and pitching prospect Victor Diaz.
White Sox Trade Breakdown
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – December 9, 2016
Rob Carr/Getty Images North America, Tim Bradbury/Getty Images North America and Elsa/Getty Images North America
It looks like Koji Uehara is heading to the Cubs. They will have three pitchers who have clinched a World Series title out of the pen.
Why not try to get more?
It is time to celebrate and clinch in this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Enjoy this video podcast.
The 19 Most Powerful MLB Hitters Who Didn’t Hit 30 Homers in 2016
One of the biggest displays of power on a baseball field includes a hitter stepping into the batter’s box and mashing a pitch over the outfield wall. A lot of fans enjoy watching home runs more than anything, and posting a gaudy number in that department can help a player land a huge pay day.
But in today’s game, we all know there are more ways to value a player’s power than by simply seeing how many homers they’ve hit in a given season or career. We displayed that in a recent article when talking about New York Yankees rookie sensation, Gary Sanchez.
FanGraphs’ Isolated Power (ISO) metric is one of my favorite advanced stats because it shows a player’s raw power. Those who posted 30-plus homers dominate the 2016 ISO leaderboard, but the presence of a few players got me thinking…
Which hitters had the highest ISO without reaching the 30-homer plateau? FanGraphs says an “excellent” ISO is .250, while a “great” one is .200 or above.
So, I sifted through the leaderboard for all the qualified hitters with at least a .200 ISO to see which ones were the most powerful from this past season.
Here is that list. The bolded and italicized numbers indicate they led this group in that particular category. Below the table, I provide one takeaway for each player.
Giants Trade Chris Heston to the Mariners
After the San Francisco Giants signed one of the elite premier closers in the game Mark Melancon, they had to figure out who would be the odd man out on the 40-man roster. The Giants decided that they would be willing to part ways with pitcher Chris Heston. Let’s not forget that Heston tossed a no-hitter for the Giants a little over a year ago. Which is probably why they were able to trade him last night to the Seattle Mariners for a “Player to be Named Later”.
Dear Santa: An Open Letter To Saint Nick From All 30 MLB Teams Fanbases
NY Yankees: They need to speed the clock up like Back To The Future 2. The Pinstripers are resetting for the 2019 season and beyond Bryce Harper era.
Based on how good the Red Sox Winter meetings have gone this far, you have to know there will also be a lot of Yankees 27 World Series Rings to Boston’s 8 on a T-Shirt scoreboard.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner)
Follow @stokes_Hunter21 @mlbreports
It is time for our yearly letter to head to the north pole. Perhaps the ‘fat old jolly’ guy will respond promptly at the 2016 Winter Meetings.
The Bronx Bombers will also ask for their former Captain to please make more appearances in the public eye so they can milk the retiring of Derek Jeter‘s #2 on May 14, 2017 for about the next 6 months in a viable smokescreen to their 2017 performance.
Boston: Can we ask that Richard Simmonds become Pablo Sandoval‘s personal trainer all offseason?. For a guy who had more broken belts than hits in 2017, Sandoval can re-write his Boston legacy by proving what he can do when they are in the 2017 playoffs.
There also needs to be a discounted rack at Fenway Park for all of the S-Medium shirts that may have been there for the recently departed Yoan Moncada.
The Red Sox are always the clubhouse leaders in big tall lanky pitchers who herk and jerk when throwing, so can we ask the home broadcasting network for extra wide lenses.
Signing Ian Desmond Is Just as Risky This Year as it Was Last Year
Chances are Ian Desmond regrets a decision or two on the business side of his MLB career. He could be in the midst of a seven-year, $107 million extension with the Washington Nationals, but instead bet on himself and paid for it dearly.
Desmond hit the open market last winter for the first time following a lackluster 2015 campaign, and finding a new home wasn’t easy. Having draft-pick compensation attached to him didn’t help, either.
It got to a point where Desmond, an All-Star shortstop in 2012, settled on a one-year, $8 million at the end of February with the Texas Rangers to play the outfield. You don’t see many shortstops having to do that in advance of their age-30 season to facilitate finding a job.
Unlike the first time, Desmond’s second bet on himself to rebuild value and re-enter free agency the next winter appears to have worked. He turned into the Rangers’ everyday center fielder, hitting .285/.335/.446 with 22 home runs, 21 stolen bases, 86 RBI and 107 runs scored in another All-Star campaign.
A Different Story This Time Around?
Behind the Scenes at the Winter Meetings…. AKA Baseball Heaven
First things first, the MLB Winter Meetings are nirvana for baseball nerds like myself…..
Oh, hey legendary sportswriter Peter Gammons, how are you? What’s that Boston Red Sox GM Dave Dombrowski? Sorry I couldn’t hear you because I was too busy saying hi to your manager John Farrell. Hey LA Times Dodgers’ beat writer Andy McCullough, have you seen NBC Sports’ Craig Calcaterra? I need to follow up on our conversation earlier and I got sidetracked by the New York Posts’ Joel Sherman. Oh, by the way, cool new glasses Pirates’ manager Clint Hurdle.
You couldn’t turn around without being starstruck by people who would only be stars to readers of this blog. It was fantastic.
It wasn’t just shaking hands and pleasantries, though. I was able to have some really good conversations. For instance, while waiting for the guys on the MLB TV set to announce baseball’s two newest hall of famers, John Schuerholz and Bud Selig (whom I have some thoughts on), I had a really interesting semi-debate with MLB.com’s Mark Bowman about the independence and objectivity of an MLB-owned news organization and the conflicts faced by writers of even nominally independent outlets like ESPN.
To continue reading about Max Frankel’s trip to the Winter Meetings, please click on over to our mostly baseball blog, Off The Bench.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – December 6, 2016
Elsa/Getty Images North America
The Indians could be making a run for Edwin Encarnacion. Do you know why? Because every other team in their division is rebuilding.
That and the Giants are signing a closer long term which is never smart on this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Giants On The Verge Of Signing Closer Mark Melancon
With the Winter Meetings underway… This is the time where you’ll start to see a lot of names fall off the free agent board. Right now the San Francisco Giants are on the verge of taking off one of the three top closers on the board.
It’s been reported that the Giants have agreed to terms with closer Mark Melancon.
The Unluckiest Pitching Staff Ever Assembled
“Big Ed” Walsh, HOF right-hander for the Chicago White Sox, was an ornery sort. He wasn’t the type of guy who went in for small talk. If he had a problem with you, you knew it – and you didn’t want a problem with Big Ed. He intimidated opponents and teammates alike (he once threatened to kill his third baseman for misplaying a bunt – and his third baseman didn’t think Walsh was speaking figuratively).
He was also tougher than glove leather. Joe McGinnity, a stalwart contemporary, might have been known as the “Iron Man” – but Walsh was at least his equal in terms of endurance. In 1908, Walsh started a third of Chicago’s games, winning 40 and pitching 464 innings.
Big Ed was even better in 1910, leading the league in ERA (1.27), adjusted ERA (189), WHIP (0.820), SO/W (4.23), and saves (only five, but still). He fashioned seven shutouts, racked up 369.2 innings and generated 10.9 pWAR. For his efforts, he was rewarded with an 18-20 record, leading the league in losses (and, one assumes, withering glares at one’s teammates).
Ernie Fazio’s Meteoric Rise to a Major League Baseball Career
In baseball, young players are rushed to the majors all the time for a variety of reasons. This can be especially true for expansion teams, who are attempting to stock their rosters with any semblance of big league talent. Sometimes it ends up working out for the player and other times, like in the case of infielder Ernie Fazio, things just don’t up clicking and leading to a lengthy career.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – December 4, 2016
Ed Zurga/Getty Images North America
It is Sunday and time for the Sunday Request.
@sullybaseball Should Bud Selig make the Hall of Fame?
— Wesley Hofmann (@wesjoke) December 2, 2016
No way. No f—ing way. Yeah, I know good things happened on his watch. But he also was involved with one of the most shameful episode in the history of baseball.
I am not talking about steroids or the strike.
One word: Collusion.
I am thinking about the good of the game on episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – December 3, 2016
Justin McGuire, former MLB Editor of the Sporting News and creator of the new podcast Baseball By The Book, is my guest today.
We talked about which teams should have the greatest sense of urgency going into 2017 and some Hall of Fame thoughts.
The clock is ticking on this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Follow Justin on Twitter by clicking HERE.
Atlanta Braves Deal for Jaime Garcia Puzzling
The Atlanta Braves completed a swap for St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Jaime Garcia last night, sending a package of 3 fringe Major League prospects to Missouri. The deal is an interesting one, but not the type of franchise-altering swap of which Braves fans have become accustomed. If you’re a casual fan, you probably aren’t entirely sure who this Garcia guy is and that is the most puzzling part of the deal for me. The Braves just clogged up their rotation with another #4 starter.
Off the Bench once ribbed the Red Sox for fielding a rotation full of #2 starters. There is likely not verb strong enough to adequately condemn a rotation full of #4 starters, but here we are. Atlanta just added their third veteran starter of the offseason, planning to pay these old guys $36 million in 2017. For a rebuilding team still treading water and waiting on the full calvary of prospect talent to arrive, this is the type of deal that can disrupt the years-long plan.
But let’s get into this deal for a moment before I talk Braves fans back off the cliff.
Just one year ago, Garcia posted a 2.43 ERA across 130 innings but he’s always been injury prone, a result of a delivery that stresses his arm more than one might like.
To continue reading about the Atlanta Braves Puzzling Deal for Jaime Garcia, please click on over to Off The Bench.
Royals Acquire RHP Jared Ruxer From Angels For RHP Brooks Pounders
The Kansas City Royals announced today that they have acquired right-handed pitcher Jared Ruxer from the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for right-handed pitcher Brooks Pounders.
Ruxer, 24, split the 2016 season between Burlington [Iowa] (A) and Inland Empire (A), posting a combined 3.08 ERA in 29 appearances and 19 starts and a 4-8 record. He opened the season with the Bees, going 3-2 with a 1.44 ERA (10 ER in 62.1 IP) in his first 18 outings, before being promoted to the 66ers on July 8, where he was 1-6 with a 5.18 ERA in his final 11 outings (all starts). Last season marked Ruxer’s second year in professional baseball after being selected by the Angels in the 12th round the of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft.
These 6 MLB Hitters Have a lot To Prove in 2017
Now that it’s been about a month since the Chicago Cubs won the World Series and we’re assured there won’t be a work stoppage related to Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations, baseball’s full focus can officially shift to 2017.
With MLB’s Winter Meetings on the horizon, we’ll soon be engulfed in countless rumors as front office executives attempt to improve for next season.
While that’s all taking place, players — who are obviously the subject of these impending rumors — are likely at home watching it all happen as they mentally and physically prepare for 2017 themselves. Some are feeling confident after a solid showing over the past several months, but others are looking to regain their old form.
Just as we recently pointed out a handful of starting pitchers who are entering next season with a lot to prove, we’ve chosen six hitters also feeling that same kind of pressure. However, unlike those hurlers, not all of the below hitters are coming off disappointing campaigns.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – December 2, 2016
I couldn’t find my car. I had no idea where I parked it. So as I wondered around a parking lot late at night, I tried to remember the 1987 Twins and 1988 Dodgers and praised the powers that be for signing a new CBA.
I remembered all the 87 Twins and 88 Dodgers except for George Frazier on this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Is it Time for the Joey Gallo Era for the Texas Rangers?
Over at Off the Bench we’ve written a lot about where this offseason’s free agents might end up. Some of the bigger names that generate all sorts of buzz are the likes of Aroldis Chapman (who threw an incredible pitch), Kenley Jansen, and Yoenis Cespedes, whom we think might end up back with the New York Mets, we were right. We even pondered about the final destination of lower profile players like Michael Saunders, but we never got so deep in the weeds as to discuss the fate of free agent first basemen Mitch Moreland.
Moreland has spent the last few seasons manning first base for the Texas Rangers, taking his place as the lowest profile position player on a team full of offensive studs. With Prince Fielder’s tragic forced retirement this summer, Moreland became the answer to the oft-posed question ‘So who’s the Texas Rangers’ first basemen these days anyway?’
Why The Philadelphia Phillies Should Be Aggressive This Offseason (Their Infield Is Good)
The Philadelphia Phillies are coming off of a year in which they went 71-91. They performed better than most pundits thought they would, but they are still a few pieces away from truly competing. Those pieces are likely in the outfield where the team managed a 0.6 WAR all told. They could use help at all three outfield positions, even as Odubel Herrera does his best 3-hitter impression. I expect the Phillies to make a push for a big time bat (Andrew McCutchen, anyone?) and a complimentary bat to add to a young roster that could suddenly look pretty good. Why am I so optimistic about the Phillies 2017 chances? Well, it starts with a surprisingly strong infield that is ready to be among the game’s best in short order.
Consider:
Second Base
Cesar Hernandez posted a 4.4 fWAR in 2016 that was buoyed by an all-around game that was nearly unmatched in baseball last year. The advanced stats simply loved this guy. According to fangraphs, he earned the Phillies a run on the basepaths, 7.1 at the plate, and 16.1 in the field. Those totals seem pretty good, but are definitely abstract. For context,the only players to match those numbers last year were Corey Seager, my boy Adam Eaton, Francisco Lindor, and Brandon Crawford.
To continue reading about why @OTBB_Sean thinks the Phillies offseason plan should be aggressive, please click on over to offthebenchbaseball.com.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – December 1, 2016
One Thousand Five Hundred straight days of podcasting.
Today, along with the audio that as always can be found on Soundcloud and iTunes, I did a video podcast to mark the occasion.
I looked at the concept of baseball nostalgia and realized that everything is trying to celebrate the late 1940’s. Why should post WWII monopolize traditional baseball?
Celebrating 1500 shows in the can and many more to follow on this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Corey Seager’s 2017 STEAMER Projections
Los Angeles Dodgers‘ Corey Seager stormed on the scene in 2016, winning the National League Rookie of the Year Award (unanimously), and finishing third in the league’s Most Valuable Player ballot. Seager sported an OPS of .877 and played a Gold Glove quality shortstop all season. He was the best player – even including Clayton Kershaw – on baseball’s second best team in 2016. This was evidenced by his 7.5 fWAR. When the 2016 season began, the player I couldn’t wait to see the most was Carlos Correa. By the time the season ended, I emphatically decided that the player I couldn’t wait to see the most in 2017 was Seager.
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