Balta1701

Ok, Rendon or Stras for MVP?

The only thing I really don't think I'd do is pull Greinke when they did. I wouldn't have had Cole sitting down there "Warm" waiting for Greinke to walk someone, so I get that part.

But that carousel has happened while we've spent money on the position. Huge amounts of money, frankly. So yeah, I see the matchup here, but I'm also skeptical about doing that same thing again.

You just can't, not after such a long outing last night. Even if he said he's good to go I wouldn't do it. Maybe in like the 12th inning. Not even worried about injury - I just don't think his arm can perform at a reliable level.

I do not disagree with that, I just question whether a team with a payroll limit can afford to lock that much up at 1b/DH. We've literally done that over and over and over for the last decade, spending more resources at those 2 positions than at any other on the diamond, and it hasn't been effective since 2008. If we had done a better job of development over the last few years, and found some additional spare pieces from other organizations who could fill spots like RF or SP, then going for the premium DH might be the right move. We've got a lot of positional needs for next year, we have to pick and choose which position is going to be the one where we put really big resources, if any.

Yeah and Barry Bonds was productive into his mid 40s. There's nothing at all that has changed in the last decade compared to those guys that would affect their performance late in their careers except maybe their head sizes, so we can still expect that from all players.

So apparently the Houston Rockets are at the Washington Wizards tonight and I think even the coaches may not be watching.

Maybe not opt-outs but definitely on qualifying offers.

The crazy thing you could do with that is trade Cease for someone who shouldn't otherwise be available, a Conforto perhaps.

I'd be cheering for the Astros but they made a mess of that with their Closer decisions and all the recent stuff going with it.

Are there rules against under the table talks like that in MLB? If so, do we really think that the White Sox would break rules to chat with Scott Boras to get an advantage in free agency? This doesn't sound like them at all. Texas? Maybe, I don't know their ownership as well.

I think Texas has a ton of money available to spend, at least as much as Chicago, counting the opening of a new ballpark. The Dodgers and Yankees are in good shape, the Nationals have enough room to retain their 2 big guys if they want, the Giants could have a ton of money to spend, the Braves are in good shape for a big move or two.

I can see some ways that this could go more rapidly than last year - Cole and Stras could both conceivably come off the board at the winter meetings if there is real demand for him and teams realize they're more likely to lose them if they wait for a bargain. If those guys move then the market could clear itself over the next few weeks. But the back side of the list, the guys who aren't in a ton of demand - Puig, Martinez, etc. - I'd very much suspect that guys like that will be hunting for Jobs in January and February. MLB has done nothing to make this like the NBA where teams grab what's available quickly; teams know that prices on those guys can and will drop as the season approaches, and the player's only leverage is to stay out of the league completely, which is hard for many players to do.

If people are talking about it being possible that Wheeler getting $120 million he might be waiting until after Cole and Stras sign, because the bids probably won't shoot that high unless the other big pitchers are off the market. If suddenly the Yankees and Dodgers are both staring at having missed Cole and Stras because of a surprise bidder and Stras staying put in Washington, the bidding on Wheeler could go up considerably.

And then remove any teams that can't afford a $20 million contract.

it might be an OPS+/wRC+ thing, slugging did go up throughout the league this year, so maybe it was just every other position went up more? Not sure how to quickly find that stat league-wide.

A quick check shows that this year had the highest OPS out of the DH spot, league-wide, in the last 5 years.

Personally that's why if I were in his spot I wouldn't opt out, I'd hold onto the guaranteed money for the next year (and I believe he could still opt out next season as well). It's a fairly high risk in exchange for a moderate reward; there's enough other options out there and fairly few teams, where you could see demand drying up. Castellanos, Moustakas sign with those 2 teams and now he's still on the market at the end of February again. But then, ballplayers do like to be aggressive and bet on themselves.

The Astros have Yordan Alvarez, they are set at DH for the forseeable future.

No player in actual demand is going to accept a mutual option. A player option/opt out is one thing - that's all on the player. If it's a mutual option - then if they get hurt, years 3 and 4 aren't guaranteed. Those years, to a player, are a huge downside.

While they're a fair counterpoint - how many times did the Nats miss the playoffs entirely because of their bullpen? 3 years in a row?

IMO - the pitching isn't strong if you don't upgrade this team's bullpen, regardless of what else you do.

a mutual option is not a 2 year deal. They are virtually never picked up.

I don't want to overspend on a 6th starter when I already have 4.5 starters on this roster, so I need 1 strong starter not 2, and I am not calling this team competitive with the rest of the league next year if they don't get bullpen help regardless of what they do in the rotation or lineup.