moonslav59

I'm not misremembering it. Was he not 2 for 21? Yes, he had a hit that led to a run.

We didn't even sign Papi to a 5 year deadl!

Chicago is nearing agreement on a deal to bring Jim Hickey aboard as the new pitching coach, Patrick Mooney of NBC Sports Chicago tweets. Hickey long served as the Rays’ pitching coach, including a long run with Maddon. He had reportedly drawn interest from quite a few other organizations as well.

Not quite dead yet!

134 Starting Pitchers 180 IP+ since 2016 ERA- 9. Sale 72 15. Pomeranz 77 18. Arrieta 22. L Lynn 81 28. Darvish 83 36. Porcello 87 44. Price 90 45. Wright 90 80. ERod 100 (We have 5 in the top 45: ERod is not one of them.)

193 players with 1500 PAs since 2014 ISO 1. Stanton .301 2. Ortiz .280 4. JD Martinez .274 9. Donaldson .254 13. Duda .242 18. Upton .228 25. Dozier .222 27. Bruce .220 46. Moustakas .201 50. Santana .199 53 Morrison .196 54. Betts .196 61. HRam .189 64. Moreland .187 94. JBJ .170 115. Hosmer .160

Still, don't count him out!

900+ PAs 2016 to 2017 SLG% 1. JD Martinez .610 6. Stanton .573 9. Donaldson .553 18. Dozier .521 22. Abreu .510 24. Bruce .507 26. Ozuna .503 28. Upton .502 29. Betts .498 33. Castellanos .493 39. Cozart .484 48. Santana .477 52. Morrison .474 59. HRam .469 65. Hosmer .465 91. JBJ .447 92. Nunez .445 103. Moreland .433 107. Alonso .432 111. Pedroia .436 112. Bogey .426 (155 qualified)

Selected top wRC+ players from 2016-2017: 162 Votto 153 JD Martinez 153 Donaldson 140 Stanton 128 Dozier 125 Ozuna 125 Fowler 124 Conforti 124 Santana 123 Braun 122 Betts 121 Upton 119 Hosmer 118 Morrison 116 Cozart 114 Bruce 114 Pedroia 113 McCutchen 113 Moustakas 112 HRam 110 Granderson 109 Alonso 108 Duda 106 Nunez 106 Bogey 106 Beni 105 T Shaw 106 JBJ

Although the Cards are paying $4-6M a year on Leake's contract, the Mariner's still will owe about what Castillo makes. Of course, Leake has had some good WAR years recently, but it is a pretty big contract worth mentioning.

Luxury Tax... A club exceeding the Competitive Balance Tax threshold for the first time must pay a 20 percent tax on all overages. A club exceeding the threshold for a second consecutive season will see that figure rise to 30 percent, and three or more straight seasons of exceeding the threshold comes with a 50 percent luxury tax. If a club dips below the luxury tax threshold for a season, the penalty level is reset. So, a club that exceeds the threshold for two straight seasons but then drops below that level would be back at 20 percent the next time it exceeds the threshold. Clubs that exceed the threshold by $20 million to $40 million are also subject to a 12 percent surtax. Meanwhile, those who exceed it by more than $40 million are taxed at a 42.5 percent rate the first time and a 45 percent rate if they exceed it by more than $40 million again the following year(s). Beginning in 2018, clubs that are $40 million or more above the threshold shall have their highest selection in the next Rule 4 Draft moved back 10 places unless the pick falls in the top six. In that case, the team will have its second-highest selection moved back 10 places instead. I had originally thought going over by $20M was the trigger to a lower draft pick, but it's actually $40M. Maybe Castillo does have a chance at making the 25 man roster. Also, a 20% tax on about $12M is not much, but once we add him back to the 40 man roster, we can't get rid of it. So, if we go over again next year, it's 30%. In 2020, it could be 50%. The total added cost could possibly be ... $2.4M (20% of $12M) + $3.6M (30% of $12M) + $6.0M (50% of $12M) $12M/3 years That's not a bad "added cost", assuming he does well. It's what we paid Young for 2 years.

The Pablo deal is worse. We are paying $19M, and it counts against the luxury tax. I'm not aware of any team paying a minor league player more than $11.7M.

Sometimes surgery actually works and helps a player going forward. I'm trying to be optimistic he returns when we need him, and he can be more dependable.

I agree that he is the most likely B to be traded, if one is traded, but I may not be disappointed. I'm fine with trading anyone for the "right return". If Stanton is the guy coming back, I'll be happy. (I'd rather trade Bogey and a better prospect than JBJ, but I'd love to see GS for the window and maybe beyond.

That actually could happen! He's a very good pitching coach. He may wait to see if he can manage somewhere else first. (Not likely)

Not for anything of value. That's the break even point. I think some GMs would pay the Sox $22M for Groome.

A whole lot were!

LOL. I was thinking more like HRam and Groome or Mata plus maybe someone like Holt or Swihart, if they're interested and have roster space.

True, but he was 2 for 21 vs the A's that year (.317 OPS). Amazingly, he then went 8 series in a row with an OPS over .900, including 5 straight over 1.080!

Almost any GM with money to spend would take HRam, if we gave them JBJ with him. Only cash-strapped teams would say no.

I get that, but 3 years of JBJ is too much, IMO. I'm a huge JBJ fan, so maybe I'm biased. You have any big contracts on your team, we could just flip?

Yup

MLBTR... The Cubs announced today that they’ve hired former Red Sox coaches Chili Davis and Brian Butterfield to their staff. Davis will take over for hitting coach John Mallee, who will not return to the organization. Butterfield will be the team’s third base coach, replacing Gary Jones. Additionally, the Cubs announced that minor league hitting coordinator Andy Haines will be the team’s new assistant hitting coach, replacing Eric Hinske, who took a job as the Angels’ hitting coach earlier this week.

Maybe because the view him as a classic AAAA coming off a big year.

If we traded for Stanton or signed JD, dumping HRam would help a lot. I think giving up JBJ is too much to offset 3/4ths of HRam's deal. Even without the $5M added, I still would not do it.