BREAKING:

The New York Mets have inked their prize LF Yoenis Cespedes to a 4 Year Deal worth $110 MIL or $27.5 MIL per year.

The deal comes with a full no Trade Clause.

Cespedes, now 30, will see his pact take him through age 34.

If you factor in last year’s one year deal, the big slugger will still take home $135 MIL on his years of full service with New York.

For the Mets, this is a sure fire sign they will spend the money to contend as this puts them to a projected $150 MIL for 2017, although they will likely trade Jay Bruce away to save his $13 MIL in 2017.

Our own Hunter Stokes said earlier today that New York should not pay more than $27 MIL AAV and more than 4 years to the Cuban star and it turns out they did just about that.

Cespedes clubbed 31 HRS and added 86, with a .864 OPS RBI in 2016 despite missing almost a month of injury time..

With the Hot Stove League heating up and baseball’s winter meetings happening soon, Milwaukee Brewers fans are wondering what could possibly be on General Manager David Stearns’ holiday shopping list. To take a look at what Stearns might do during the remainder of the offseason, first let’s recap what roster moves have happened so far and what holes need to be plugged.

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The words “electric”, “exciting” and “high-upside” will never be used to describe Ariel Jurado or any of his offerings, but neither will the words “risky”, “wild”, or “bullpen-bound”. With plus command, a solid changeup and a pair of fastballs that work off of each other well, the 6’1” Panama native has a high likelihood of eventually making a big league rotation, perhaps as soon as late-2017. Once he’s there, expect few strikeouts, few walks and lots of groundballs.

The Full Ariel Jurado Scouting Report On BaseballRanks

Connie Mack is one of the most enduring figures in the history of baseball. The Hall of Famer spent 15 years playing professionally as a catcher and then went on to manage and own the Philadelphia Athletics for 50 seasons. To say that he knew the game would be quite the understatement. That’s why when he gave his opinions it was best to listen—including the time he talked about his all-time team of players who debuted prior to 1900.

In 1944, Mack was getting towards the end of his illustrious career (he stepped down as manager following the 1950 season) but had been on hand to have observed a major portion of baseball history to that point. Therefore, when he was asked by the AP’s Chip Royal to compile a list of the best players who started their career prior to 1900 to ever play the game, it was fascinating to see his answers. Keep reading for his full roster.

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Thanksgiving is upon us, a time of family and friends and turkey and stuffing and fall leaves and one of America’s vastly inferior sports, football. Baseball season, sadly, is on its annual winter hiatus but even still, there are things baseball fans should be thankful for.

Here at OTBB, we’ve compiled our list of the Ten Baseball Things We’re Thankful For This Thanksgiving:

1. Vin Scully

Earlier this week, Scully was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his contributions to the very fabric of the game. He was baseball for a great number of Dodger’s fans and his send off this year was beautiful in every aspect. We’ve written about Scully many times here on Off The Bench, but this from Max before the year was the most poignant:

88 year old Vin Scully has been calling Dodger games since 1950, 67 years. For context, when Scully first started working play by play for the Dodgers in Brooklyn, Dwight Eisenhower had just taken office as President of the United States, Bill Clinton was 4 years old, John Kennedy was two years from becoming a US Senator, and Barack Obama wouldn’t be born for 11 years. But its certainly not his remarkable longevity that makes Scully a legend. It is the fact that he is, objectively and unequivocally, the best sports announcer there has been and the best there will ever be. He is the only man to still work games alone, carrying the entire weight of both TV and radio broadcasts simultaneously while telling stories of the players that only he could possibly know. How, after nearly 70 seasons and thousands and thousands of players he can still remember the details of individual players lives and weave them so effortlessly into a broadcast is amazing.

There is no one like Vin Scully. If baseball is the soundtrack of summer, Scully is the soundtrack of baseball. 2016 will be his final season in the booth before a well deserved retirement. Soak up as much as you can.

2. David Ortiz

Similarly, David Ortiz announced his retirement before the year started.

To continue reading about baseball things to be thankful for, please click on over to offthebenchbaseball.com.

It has only been a couple short weeks since the Cubs clinched game 7 in Cleveland on the 2^nd November and ended their 108-year curse. Yet the ruthlessness of Major League Baseball is evident in the fact that Theo Epstein, just named Executive of the Year in the biggest understatement of the 2016 season, is already back to work.

The Cubs, clearly the best team in baseball, are once-again looking forward to next year, so think how the other 29 GMs must be feeling. As soon as Michael Martinez grounded one to Kris Bryant at third and the ball reached the mitt of a jubilant Anthony Rizzo waiting at first, the off-season began. But to move forward you must first reflect.

That’s the purpose of this series of posts, highlighting the highs and lows, strengths and flaws of each franchise in turn during 2016. From this we can begin to evaluate what each club’s offseason might look like, which gaps will be addressed first and who might upset the apple-cart in 2017. This week we’re starting with the AL East:

Boston Red Sox:

2016 recap: As a Red Sox fan myself it is challenging to know what to conclude about 2016. A resurgence was expected after the signing of David Price to headline the rotation, but a division title nevertheless proved a satisfying result for Red Sox nation. But the languid, tepid even, performances against the Indians confirmed a worrying trend of inconsistency during 2016. When the bats were hot this Red Sox squad was unbeatable, frequently putting double figures on teams throughout the year, but when the bats were cold… yikes. This might seem a harsh criticism of a young team on an incredibly strong bounce back year from being basement dwellers in 2015. But the postseason proved that this team is still some way from where it wants to be, even before losing David Ortiz.

Please click on over to offthebenchbaseball.com to continue reading about the Red Sox offseason agenda. 

It has only been a couple short weeks since the Cubs clinched game 7 in Cleveland on the 2^nd November and ended their 108-year curse. Yet the ruthlessness of Major League Baseball is evident in the fact that Theo Epstein, just named Executive of the Year in the biggest understatement of the 2016 season, is already back to work.

The Cubs, clearly the best team in baseball, are once-again looking forward to next year, so think how the other 29 GMs must be feeling. As soon as Michael Martinez grounded one to Kris Bryant at third and the ball reached the mitt of a jubilant Anthony Rizzo waiting at first, the off-season began. But to move forward you must first reflect.

That’s the purpose of this series of posts, highlighting the highs and lows, strengths and flaws of each franchise in turn during 2016. From this we can begin to evaluate what each club’s offseason might look like, which gaps will be addressed first and who might upset the apple-cart in 2017. This week we’re starting with the AL East:

Baltimore Orioles:

2016 recap: A decision not to use star reliever Zach Britton in the AL wild-card has rightly left some Orioles fans wondering what might have been – and that’s a significant dampener on what was a successful 2016 for the Orioles. Securing third place in a super-competitive AL East and losing the lottery that is the wild-card game must not be considered a failure given the payroll situation in Baltimore, annually competing with the free-spending Red Sox and Yankees.

Please click on over to Off The Bench to check out the Baltimore Orioles’ offseason agenda.

After failing to sign with Houston in 2014, Jacob Nix was drafted by San Diego in the third round in 2015. The right-hander brings a solid fastball-curve duo to the table, and, perhaps most importantly, has advanced command, especially considering his age (20). His changeup is a work in progress, but he has the potential to be a solid #4-5 starter as soon as 2018.  Article by @BaseballRanks

Jacob Nix Scouting Report

Afraid you missed something that happened in the MLB Hot Stove last week? Don’t worry we have you covered at 9 Inning Know It All. Check out all the news about awards, the AFL, trades, signings and even a few rumors.

Read it all at Hot Stove Week In Review Nov 14-20 via 9 Inning Know It All

Boston Red Sox legend David Ortiz rode off into the sunset at the end of the 2016 season after spending 14 historical years with the team. He can never be truly replaced but the lineup will have a huge hole if a reasonable successor is not identified. Fortunately, Boston seems to be hot on the trail of a tremendous candidate in veteran Carlos Beltran.

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