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

[gut]

Hot stove still not hot. Not a surprise, this is a tough year to be a free agent. The big spenders are trying to reset their luxury tax obligations....Dodgers don't really have any holes and don't need to sign anyone outside of cheap relievers. Yankees had Stanton fall into their lap (thanks, Jeets!)so that limits their finances. Red Sox just re-signed their own 1B as opposed to overpaying Hosmer (smart move).

Speaking of Hosmer, those "big 3" Royals bats are probably facing a harsh reality that despite what their agents say, they are all flawed players. Cain is 2 years away from being Denard Span 2.0, Hosmer ultimately is a 1B with very little power, Moustakas at least is coming off of a career year, but his career OPS+ is still that of a slightly below-average hitter. I doubt any of these guys are getting 6/120 or whatever insanity they might be asking for.

you think any of those guys go back to KC?

Honestly I wouldnt be surprised if 1 of them does. Probably a 1 year deal to then re-enter the market next year when money will be thrown around.

Its hard to find a lot of places for them. Cain probably has the most options (Giants still make the most sense). Hosmer is quickly running out of suitors....Indians just signed Alonso today to replace Santana. I keep reading that the Padres are into Hosmer but that makes little sense, I wonder if that is just Scott Boras bullshit. Then again, the Padres arent exactly known as being a competently run franchise......

[gut]

Also, can we have a lulz at the Royals? There is literally no reason you should have 4 starting position players entering free agency at the same time. A monkey could run a front office better than that. Team is gonna be watching the Tigers and White Sox start catching up with all those young assets they acquired by, you know, actually trading players away to begin a rebuild.

[GambleBotsChafedPenis]

you think any of those guys go back to KC?

Honestly I wouldnt be surprised if 1 of them does. Probably a 1 year deal to then re-enter the market next year when money will be thrown around.

Its hard to find a lot of places for them. Cain probably has the most options (Giants still make the most sense). Hosmer is quickly running out of suitors....Indians just signed Alonso today to replace Santana. I keep reading that the Padres are into Hosmer but that makes little sense, I wonder if that is just Scott Boras bullshit. Then again, the Padres arent exactly known as being a competently run franchise......

isn't the 2018 offseason the offseason of harper/machado? that money is gonna dry up quick if that's the case and these guys are banking on getting that payday then...

I get if youre a client of boras he's never gonna let you take a deal that doesn't boost his ego, but fuck if a team offered me 5/75 and I thought I was gonna get 20 a year I think I could live with it just to have that whole thing locked up...

[gut]

Honestly I wouldnt be surprised if 1 of them does. Probably a 1 year deal to then re-enter the market next year when money will be thrown around.

Its hard to find a lot of places for them. Cain probably has the most options (Giants still make the most sense). Hosmer is quickly running out of suitors....Indians just signed Alonso today to replace Santana. I keep reading that the Padres are into Hosmer but that makes little sense, I wonder if that is just Scott Boras bullshit. Then again, the Padres arent exactly known as being a competently run franchise......

isn't the 2018 offseason the offseason of harper/machado? that money is gonna dry up quick if that's the case and these guys are banking on getting that payday then...

I get if youre a client of boras he's never gonna let you take a deal that doesn't boost his ego, but fuck if a team offered me 5/75 and I thought I was gonna get 20 a year I think I could live with it just to have that whole thing locked up...

I doubt anyone is offering that, even. Look at what Santana quickly signed for.....3/60 with a 4th year TEAM option. Hosmer might seriously be staring at like 3/45 now and debating whether to do that or just try for the 1-year prove it deal.

And yeah you are correct with the 2018 machado/harper....but it seems that with all the big-market teams trying to be reset on the luxury tax money this year, they will spend hardcore next year. Spend like mad, then around 2021 figure out how to cut that payroll down again.

[Sanlmar]

It really is surprising the MLB players accepted this new luxury tax scheme in collective bargaining. It is serving to limit salaries.

I never really paid attention to salary caps. I guess the teams didn’t either. Now they do cause the rates went nuclear.

The luxury tax was a form of revenue sharing - smaller markets got free tax money.

It’s like a municipal speed limit that is obeyed by everyone. That isn’t good. It cuts down on municipal revenue. Children won’t get school books. You want a sweet spot where some teams disobey the law and pay the fine.

Edit:

Oops. Preemptive strike against the big market teams and the perceived unfair advantage.

Rest easy my friends. The big market teams (Dodgers, Red Sox) are for the most part run by idiots.

Red Sox luckboxed into Theo Epstein but that is once in a generation binkage. They have regressed to normal big market dopes

[Sanlmar]

Yankees took the Astros to 7 just like the Dodgers. It’s a bad look to see Yankees and Dodgers do so well.

Just remember the Yankees did it with a bunch of rookies and kids. They overachieved and the money was wasted elsewhere. Yankees won despite themselves to some degree

I enjoyed the Yankees a great deal.

[GambleBotsChafedPenis]

BTW can we just abolish regular season baseball in florida? jesus Christ what a fucking abortion those two teams are...

[gut]

It really is surprising the MLB players accepted this new luxury tax scheme in collective bargaining. It is serving to limit salaries.

NFL players would laugh at that, and dream of a league with a soft-cap and fully guaranteed salaries.

[gut]

BTW can we just abolish regular season baseball in florida? jesus Christ what a fucking abortion those two teams are...

I'm actually shocked Longoria wasn't traded to the Yankees. Rays are basically Steinbrenner's farm team creation. Now they have Jeter in MIA as well, two Yankee farm teams.

[Sanlmar]

BTW can we just abolish regular season baseball in florida? jesus Christ what a fucking abortion those two teams are...

I'm actually shocked Longoria wasn't traded to the Yankees. Rays are basically Steinbrenner's farm team creation. Now they have Jeter in MIA as well, two Yankee farm teams.

Longoria caught me by surprise. I forgot about him. The Yankees have an issue at 3rd.

Just biding their time for Harper I guess.

[gut]

I'm actually shocked Longoria wasn't traded to the Yankees. Rays are basically Steinbrenner's farm team creation. Now they have Jeter in MIA as well, two Yankee farm teams.

Longoria caught me by surprise. I forgot about him. The Yankees have an issue at 3rd.

Just biding their time for Harper I guess.

With Stanton gifted to them, methinks theyre looking more at Machado now than Harper.

[Sanlmar]

Longoria caught me by surprise. I forgot about him. The Yankees have an issue at 3rd.

Just biding their time for Harper I guess.

With Stanton gifted to them, methinks theyre looking more at Machado now than Harper.

Machado at 3rd? Never considered it. Learning some stuff here

Harper would own NY. There is literally no end to the endorsement money and back page newspaper headlines. NY was made for that personality. I think it has to hold enormous appeal for him and his agent. Madison Avenue baby.

Not to mention the appeal of that silly little band box that is their home field.

I’m pumped

[big dick]

Harper will be a Chicago cub

[gut]

As a Twins fan, i'm actually hoping these new wonderkids in the FO go out and spend some dough and land Darvish. The time is now to strike in the AL central, CLE is the only other team that will be worth a shit the next couple years....throw the chips in now and see what happens. A Darvish-Santana-Berrios-Gibson-Hughes(if healthy) rotation looks fine to me. Extend Dozier as well while theyre at it.

Twins have been raping other teams this offseason with under-the-radar moves (selling INT $ to the angels and mariners for prospects, cheap lotto tickets on Pineda and Rodney), time for the big splash.

[gut]

Harper will be a Chicago cub

he seems destined to be a Met, but we'll see.

[Sanlmar]

Harper will be a Chicago cub

I’m okay with that. If Epstein says it’s correct then it is.

How does sports talk work with regard to Cubs? You can’t second guess Epstein

[big dick]

Him and KB are tight im hoping they want to win a few world series together but these guys salaries are gonna be massive so idk if it can happen
http://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/chi...ionals-yankees

[GambleBotsChafedPenis]

Harper will be a Chicago cub

he seems destined to be a Met, but we'll see.

there's another sorry ass franchise...know the mets will never be the yanks, but their spend and competitiveness relative to the Yankees if fucking embarrassing...ill be amazingly stunned if they opened up the checkbook for harper...

[GambleBotsChafedPenis]

Him and KB are tight im hoping they want to win a few world series together but these guys salaries are gonna be massive so idk if it can happen
http://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/chi...ionals-yankees

stopped reading right here:

2019 will be Bryant's second season in arbitration and don't expect him to sign a team-friendly deal like Rizzo's given Boras is also Bryant's agent and almost always lets his players hit free agency to drive up the price on the open market.

I would think bareass minimum Bryant/harper cost 70 per year unless something dramatically changes in the next year or so...

[ftpjesus]

BTW can we just abolish regular season baseball in florida? jesus Christ what a fucking abortion those two teams are...

Dan Lebatard literally pulled a Stone Cold Steve Austin verbally when he had Manfred on his show earlier this week. Manfred about lost it and trying to CYA which was proven to all be bullshit that in fact MLB KNEW what Jeter and companies plans were to firesale the Marlins AGAIN.