***OFFICIAL 2017 MLB HOT STOVE THREAD***

[gut]

Orioles finally giving in and trying to trade Machado. Orioles want young pitching in return. Should be fun to watch this play out. His willingness to sign an extension with whoever acquires him will be the most important part of this. I actually think most of the "usual suspects" will be out on this (yankees can't anyway since Angelos supposedly refuses to trade with them lol), and the Cardinals, Phillies, and Braves seem like the best fits. Phillies and Cardinals interest has already been reported.

[GambleBotsChafedPenis]

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, who has agreed to a new deal, is operating under a directive from owner Hal Steinbrenner to steer the Yankees' payroll under $197 million to lower their luxury-tax threshold from 50 percent.

interesting to see where harper now goes since it seems like the Yankees would be out of the bidding on him...

[Sanlmar]

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, who has agreed to a new deal, is operating under a directive from owner Hal Steinbrenner to steer the Yankees' payroll under $197 million to lower their luxury-tax threshold from 50 percent.

interesting to see where harper now goes since it seems like the Yankees would be out of the bidding on him...

I honestly don’t know so tune me up.

I have this impression that you can reset your luxury tax if you stay under one year then the penalties scale up from year to year if you go over in subsequent years

Yankees behave this year then resume the shenanigans that is their god given mission

[GambleBotsChafedPenis]

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, who has agreed to a new deal, is operating under a directive from owner Hal Steinbrenner to steer the Yankees' payroll under $197 million to lower their luxury-tax threshold from 50 percent.

interesting to see where harper now goes since it seems like the Yankees would be out of the bidding on him...

I honestly don’t know so tune me up.

I have this impression that you can reset your luxury tax if you stay under one year then the penalties scale up from year to year.

Yankees behave this year then resume the shenanigans that is their god given mission

there would need to be one helluva reset in order for them to avoid that tax to sign harper...

boras' ego as his agent, he's definitely gonna be shooting for 10/500...wouldn't surprise me if he gets at least 10/400 given what Stanton has...

[Sanlmar]

10 years for hot head Harper is so scary give the balls out way he plays. But that’s why we love him.

There is a huge hole in my heart that he didn’t remain a catcher. What a show that would have been with his cocky attitude and his cannon of an arm.

Good piece about Yu Darvish tipping pitches by SI’s Tom Verducci. He quotes an anonymous Astros player that it was indeed true.

Hats off to the inept Dodgers. It is on the coaches not the player to be on top of this. They always find a way to lose as coaches and managers. You can trust this as sure as spring follows winter.

https://www.si.com/mlb/2017/12/11/wi...-shohei-ohtani

[simpdog]

Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani has a damaged right ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.

While the injury is not as severe as other UCL issues, further damage could lead to Tommy John surgery, which typically sidelines pitchers for up to a year.

[Sanlmar]

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, who has agreed to a new deal, is operating under a directive from owner Hal Steinbrenner to steer the Yankees' payroll under $197 million to lower their luxury-tax threshold from 50 percent.

interesting to see where harper now goes since it seems like the Yankees would be out of the bidding on him...

I honestly don’t know so tune me up.

I have this impression that you can reset your luxury tax if you stay under one year then the penalties scale up from year to year if you go over in subsequent years

Yankees behave this year then resume the shenanigans that is their god given mission

This article answered my question best and offers insight into Yankees strategy - lately, the Headley trade.

Yankees are looking to reset back to zero and pay a lesser tax after they sign Harper
(and Kershaw - kidding ... random grenade)

The tax is 20% 1st year offender, 30% 2nd year, 50% 3rd year. There are nasty progressive surtaxes too.

Harper in NY with real media and fan interest will be a colossal endorsement windfall for the guy too.

Collectively a billion dollars over 10 years???

Suck it Dodgers & Red Sox. Red Sox are the Cleveland Browns of baseball front offices

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...lls/100833934/

[GambleBotsChafedPenis]

I honestly don’t know so tune me up.

I have this impression that you can reset your luxury tax if you stay under one year then the penalties scale up from year to year if you go over in subsequent years

Yankees behave this year then resume the shenanigans that is their god given mission

This article answered my question best and offers insight into Yankees strategy - lately, the Headley trade.

Yankees are looking to reset back to zero and pay a lesser tax after they sign Harper
(and Kershaw - kidding ... random grenade)

The tax is 20% 1st year offender, 30% 2nd year, 50% 3rd year. There are nasty progressive surtaxes too.

Harper in NY with real media and fan interest will be a colossal endorsement windfall for the guy too.

Collectively a billion dollars over 10 years???

Suck it Dodgers & Red Sox. Red Sox are the Cleveland Browns of baseball front offices

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...lls/100833934/

if theyre trying to stay right at 200 theres no way theyre gonna be able to sign harper and field a competitive team...that would mean 40 (minimum) in harper, 30 in Stanton, 20 in tanaka, 15 in chapman, 15 in gardner...that's 115 in 5 guys right there, plus at some point during the harper/Stanton tenure theyre gonna have to pay betances and judge...doesn't leave a lotta meat on the bone to build a team right there...

[Sanlmar]

I’m not suggesting they want to stay under forever. They ARE gonna pay the tax after Harper and god knows who.

They are seeking to pay less tax the first few years after this reset.

[GambleBotsChafedPenis]

I’m not suggesting they want to stay under forever. They ARE gonna pay the tax after Harper and god knows who.

They are seeking to pay less the first few years after this reset.

then theyre gonna start paying it heaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaavy if they sign harper...don't think Steinbrenner is gonna wanna pay a 100+ ball tax on a payroll at anytime which I think is an almost guarantee if you sign harper...yes their farm system has gotten a lot better so that's cheap labor, but I haven't heard much about them having really great young pitchers coming up...that's always been what has fucked the Yankees come playoff time recently...they cant pitch for shit...

[Sanlmar]

Memories of Betances & Chapman will haunt you all winter.

However, Urias is back - fading him was so choice last year... I really want a new boat this spring but alas he will prolly be held back

[GrenadaRoger]

Yu Darvish tipping pitches in World Series, story in Sports Illustrated

supposedly the Astros knew the pitches coming from the way Darvish put the ball into his glove when getting ready to throw

--really?

if false: this is just an attempt/cover story to restore value to a free agent?

if true: Dodger coaches / management have a lot to answer for -- don't they watch for that/self scout?

[Sanlmar]

GrenadaRoger

The sorrow and the pity. The Kershaw Dodger story.

That a pitcher destined for the HOF and a nice chap too will never get a ring.

Chicks love the sad stories.

[sah_24]

Cards finally get Ozuna, even tho it appears Mo got raped and gave up way too much .

[BCR]

Damn, Phillies giving Carlos Santana 3/60 seems quite the overpay. I really liked Carlos. Decent power, his walks always offset his average, and he’s a good clubhouse guy, but I’m glad the Indians didn’t go that deep. I’d have offered him like 3/39 and not felt great about it. 3/60 would have been an albatross around a small market neck. He was AIDS iirc at the all-star break last year and then got hot. That last 60ish games had to make him an extra $30 million. He looked on the decline before that. I confess to never understanding the Phillies plan. Their signings always seem a random mix. Never going young or veteran. Kind of just throwing darts and praying.

[GambleBotsChafedPenis]

Damn, Phillies giving Carlos Santana 3/60 seems quite the overpay. I really liked Carlos. Decent power, his walks always offset his average, and he’s a good clubhouse guy, but I’m glad the Indians didn’t go that deep. I’d have offered him like 3/39 and not felt great about it. 3/60 would have been an albatross around a small market neck. He was AIDS iirc at the all-star break last year and then got hot. That last 60ish games had to make him an extra $30 million. He looked on the decline before that. I confess to never understanding the Phillies plan. Their signings always seem a random mix. Never going young or veteran. Kind of just throwing darts and praying.

lol this is why I'm a BCR fan...just saw that on the crawl and made me scratch my head...

didn't encarnacion get less than 20 a year? seems like a lot...youre gonna go deep trade for machado and stick him in the middle of the young core that you got there...now what are the phils gonna do with joseph? guy's not a world beater by any means, but hes a decent enough player...

phils don't need these like middlish guys...save the money get a stud or two and go from there...machado woulda been a nice start to that process...

[gut]

Funny trade today between the Dodgers and Braves that amounts to a simple re-allocation of sunk costs. Kemp back to LA for AGonz, Kazmir, Mccarthy, Culberson.

Trade actually works well for both teams. Dodgers get below the luxury tax level for next season, meanwhile Braves get out of the extra year on kemps deal still left, pay AGonz 20 million to go away (already DFA'd him), and get 1 year flyers on Kazmir n McCarthy to maybe eat some innings for them.

[Dan Druff]

Funny trade today between the Dodgers and Braves that amounts to a simple re-allocation of sunk costs. Kemp back to LA for AGonz, Kazmir, Mccarthy, Culberson.

Trade actually works well for both teams. Dodgers get below the luxury tax level for next season, meanwhile Braves get out of the extra year on kemps deal still left, pay AGonz 20 million to go away (already DFA'd him), and get 1 year flyers on Kazmir n McCarthy to maybe eat some innings for them.

It is an interesting trade, and I like it.

Funny how Culbertson was thrown in. I thought he sucked in Colorado, but I got to like him on the Dodgers, as he was one of those enthusiastic, clutch guys who seemed to perform surprisingly well when needed. But I don't think he has the ability to be an everyday player. He's the only one who doesn't have a large contract.

Amazing how quickly Gonzalez's value plummeted. He's only 35, but seems like he's 40 at this point. He went from a superstar to solid middle-of-lineup guy to useless liability really quickly. He never had injury problems until last year, but obviously that doesn't bode well for his future, hence the DFAing.

I'm actually glad the Dodgers got rid of him, as he was already a distraction in the playoffs when he was clearly insulted that they were leaving him off the roster. He was going to be a negative clubhouse presence sitting on the bench while watching Bellinger make everyone forget he existed.

But at least Gonzalez's contract was a remnant from the Colletti regime.

Kazmir and McCarthy represent failures by the new front office. The sad thing is that neither of these signings even looked good at the time. Both were given $48 million -- Kazmir for 3 years, McCarthy for four. McCarthy was one of those "big potential but always injured" guys, who never end up working out in the long run. Kazmir was simply a has-been, and had his own history of injuries.

Friedman/Zaidi were too much in small-market mode when signing these contracts -- pretty much from the standpoint of, "We don't have money for a real ace, so let's pay $12-$16 million per year for a guy who might surprise people and become an ace." That thinking can work in a place like Tampa Bay, but is a poor way to spend money in a large market like LA.

So now they get rid of the final year in those two contracts AND the one of Gonzalez ($22 million, I think), and they get back Kemp, who can actually still be useful.

Kemp is admittedly dreadful in the outfield, but the guy can still hit.

They also get back a player who was generally popular with fans in LA. I always thought Kemp got a bum rap with the reports that he was a clubhouse cancer. I watched all of the Dodgers games when he was on the team, and when he was injured, he was always right there on the bench, rooting hard for his teammates to succeed. When the Dodgers got the big hit, nobody was more excited than Kemp. Compare this to AGon who basically sulked.

Kemp developed his bad reputation because he had a temper and high expectations for himself, and occasionally he would lose control of that. But overall I saw no evidence that he was causing real problems in the clubhouse, and he really did seem like a team player.

I'm glad he's back. He's not the guy you build the offense around, and he's not worth the money he's being paid, but he's still quite useful, especially if he's acquired in a dead-money trade.

[Dan Druff]

From Adrian Gonzalez's Twitter:

[Sanlmar]

Boston Herald headline the day Red Sox unloaded Gonzalez, Becket, Crawford on the Dodgers

Sox subsequently won the World Series.

AGon was a stiff. Pretty numbers but not a winner.