caulfield12

You can't give McKnight the job. He's not ready...even for a team nobody's going to pay attention to. And there's no way Stone is going to survive for more than one more season of Grifol Ball. Beckham will get a JB eventually...he won't rock the boat, just like Getz.

https://africa.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/39105636/inside-shohei-ohtani-700-million-contract-los-angeles-dodgers

Bill Walton/Johnny Depp

Attention AL East...Toronto and Baltimore are going to have to respond, somehow. Would also be a shock to the Yankees and Mets as well. Basically every team in the AL East arguably better on paper than all Central teams with the possible exception of Minnesota behind a Royce Lewis MVP-caliber season.

Seems Monaco didn't come as easily as expected...McKnight or Beckham would be demoralizing in different ways. McKnight being too peppy in the face of a miserable season....Beckham too cocksure and every other sentence being about those professional at-bats that he could never even come up with as a player.

One MLB writer pointing to CLE despite no major changes yet...but Royals and Tigers at least building hope and goodwill for fanbases. 4. Guardians The Guards get a high ranking only because someone is definitely going to win the AL Central next season, even if the record isn’t pretty. The defending division-champion Twins, who were only an 87-75 team to begin with, are vulnerable after the loss of co-ace Sonny Gray, as well as Kenta Maeda and Pagán, in free agency. Elsewhere in the division, the White Sox are rebuilding and, while the Tigers and Royals have very interesting pieces and have already made some frisky moves on the Hot Stove, they also have plenty to prove. So the safest bet to upend the Central -- for now, at least -- is the 2022 division-champion Guardians. Because even if they move Shane Bieber and/or closer Emmanuel Clase, a full season of health from Triston McKenzie would further stabilize a rotation that got exciting contributions from Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams and Logan Allen last season. The Guards have Lake Erie-sized holes in their lineup and they also have a rookie manager in the dugout in Stephen Vogt. But it’s a low bar for entry in this division, and a competitive pitching staff gives Cleveland as good a chance of anybody to clear it. https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-teams-who-could-rebound-after-missing-2023-playoffs

The main advantage of going to the MLB-driven/controlled model was going to be the blackout issue being resolved. And of course you have the streaming rights issues as well. Without that...you've just stripped away that $30-50 million so many small market teams were desperately relying upon last year....so you'd obviously have to address the revenue model's validity. Dodgers and Yankees emerging as the two theoretically dominant team helps a bit here, too. "The pending agreement with MLB is not fully done. There are three teams of the 11 not on board. DSG is looking to cut the fees of those three teams, in return for ending their contracts at the end of the ‘24 season. Two clubs–the Cleveland Guardians and Texas Rangers–had lawyers at the hearings (they are two of the three teams; it’s unclear the third)."

Nearly $70 million tied up in top four hitters.

https://www.mlb.com/stats/team/pitching?sortState=asc Padres and Mariners both missed the postseason

Ragans Lugo Wacha Singer Lynch That’s really not too bad of a rotation. The lineup could definitely improve but it’s not like it’s terrible…if Ragans is real Garcia 3b Witt SS Pasquantino 1b Salvy C/DH Melendez LF/DH Velasquez RF/DH Renfroe RF/DH Massey 2b Isbel CF

https://www.foxsports.com/stories/mlb/yankees-dodgers-or-mets-predicting-which-team-will-sign-yoshinobu-yamamoto Seems the Yankees are the favorites simply due to the fact that he doesn’t want to be stuck in Ohtani’s shadow and then there’s history of guys like Irabu and especially Tanaka with the Yankees…makes a lot of sense to pair with Cole and have two aces together at the top of the rotation.

https://sports.yahoo.com/why-shohei-ohtani-contract-deferral-232114904.html Four points… 1) Ohtani suggested it 2) No other players are getting $50 million in endorsements to keep the cash flow maintained, let alone $5 million with Trout going backwards 3) The difference in payroll threshold only amounts to adding Joe Kelly’s $9 million…$46 million vs. $55 million salary hit to LAD in 2024 4) Numerous teams could have offered similar packages, we already know the Giants did, for example…so less about Friedman/Warner and more about Ohtani’s desire to be a champion

And the Washington Nationals... Royals closer to Detroit and the Guardians than the White Sox. And that's in the very worst division in baseball. Cubs so far have lost Bellinger and Stroman, and not really punished all that much.

White Sox would never have the vision to pull something like that off... as early as the kid being in high school in Japan, he was on their radar with his destiny written in the stars seemingly. Then when things didn't align six years ago...they still had the foresight to wait for the right moment to strike.

Note to Sox: Might want to use an inspirational "Air"-like MJ video the next time you go after Machado Harper Wheeler-esque free agents. https://sports.yahoo.com/shohei-ohtani-free-agency-dodgers-reportedly-used-6-year-old-kobe-bryant-video-pitch-to-land-star-230419392.html

Or run the Nashville project into the ground with Stewart.

Thanks KW Philosophy...minus the Burger/Eder trade.

Was just joking...no point not to play Colas except Grifol Grudge.

Pitcher was Top 5 organizationally....second half of Top 100 MiLB, but then put up really solid big league numbers in the late season call up.

After the Eloy deal...

And the Pohlad Family in MN is worth roughly $4 billion. Reinsdorf is a lot closer to revenue sharing territory (personally) were it not for the Bulls.

Especially starting pitchers. Everything points to Ohtani having 3-4 years left, period.

Just how much can KC improve???...written before Renfroe and Wacha moves. Posits that .500 is a lot easier to do than 100+ losses unless you're tanking or just totally inept. https://www.royalsreview.com/2023/12/15/24002208/just-how-much-can-the-royals-improve-you-might-be-surprised

Yes but the second/revision ones are becoming more and more common. Ohtani and his agent still won't agree that it was a reconstruction like his first procedure. 2019 Clemson https://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-braves/before-and-after-how-braves-spencer-strider-evolved-after-tommy-john-surgery/ZYEZSP2U2FHARBJ7I6Q5KM55D4/

They're closer to the Tigers than the White Sox without Cease.