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The Cubs signed former Rockie closer Rex Brothers to a minor league deal. Who knew Brothers was even still pitching? Even Rex himself probably wondered if he was, since he has only thrown 37 IP since 2014...

MLB fans should never count on the draft to make a difference...

The Ottavino deal was not so much about Ottavino. And if they make Ottavino the closer, I am fine with that. Last year, his horrific ERA is basically from 2 of his 22 appearances. He allowed 1 ER or less in the other 20, including 17 appearances of 0 ER. But if they want to avoid costly relievers like Rosenthal or Melancon, they could still add much cheaper arms like Yusmeiro Petit, Sergio Romo, Brandon Workman, or Keone Kela. The Hernandez to CF thing would be a surprise, but certaily it appears that it would be one with merit. Most of the 2B and OF options remaining have an OPS+ in the 93-98 range since 2018, including Schoop. Ozuna is the clear leader in that time frame with his 120. The only 3 players I have found above 100 outside of Ozuna are Yasiel Puig (108), Brian Goodwin (102) , Danny Santana (101) and Nick Markakis (106). Now, Puig did not play in 2020 and Goodwin and Santana both have limited time in starting roles. And Markakis is 37 already, and his his number is carried more so by his 2018 than the recent years, as his OPS has gone down in each of the past 2 seasons. So who is the best option? The Sox could sign either a 2B or an OF. Or go with Michael Chavis, whose OPS+ is 88 and therefore the worse than most that I looked at. (Unless you count Jake Marisnick and his OPS+ of 86.) But Chavis is also only 25...

That would be great if true. Bloom's goal should be to finish the outfield and do what it takes to push Brice and Valdez out of the opening day bullpen. This does mean DFAing Brice, but I am ok with that. As is everyone except maybe Austin Brice and his wife...

Oh I am far from thrilled with Bloom this offseason. While I am completely on board with building up the farm system and with not signing 30yo players for contracts longer than 4 years, at some point you have to put a watchable product on the field. In an offseason where more teams than usual are punting and cutting salary, now is the time to actual spend some cash, as the competition for free agents is lower than usual. And the whole notion that "this team cannot compete in 2021" is a fallacy. They certainly could with the right additions. But more important, if you do nothing, how will 2022 be different? It's not like this team has a slew of young minor leaguers ready to make a major impact on the team next year. The Sox are not one Bryan Mata and one Jarren Duran away from an elite roster. It's a good time to add some key pieces now that will still be there in 2022. The biggest consolation for Sox fans right now is that on February 4th, 12 of MLBTR's top 50 free agents (including 2 of their top 4) are still available. And several of them could easily improve this team in 2021 and potentially beyond...

At this point, I think the Sox might be done with pitching, beyond MiLB deals. If the soxprosects.com plan is right, the only MLB deals will go to a 4th outfielder and a LHH bench bat. Somehow I’m thinking Marcell Ozuna won’t be that 4th outfielder...

Colome to the Twins...

But Kike does not pitch or catch, and Bugs Bunny did both in "Baseball Bugs" against the Gashouse Gorillas (which is my most commonly used name in Fantasy Baseball)...

Rays in talks with Marcell Ozuna. You read that correctly...

And Payamps gets the DFA. We hardly knew ye...

We're talking about Portland. Maybe Everclear would be a better choice...

Solid deal, although they are getting a bit of a logjam with middle infielders, considering they already had Keston Hiura, Luis Urias and Orlando Arcia. I suppose this bumps Hiura to 3B. This move does make Hernandez at 2yrs/$14mil look a bit questionable...

... unless it gets paid for by the revenues of legalized marijuana...

DD spent his post-2019 budget extending oft-injured pitchers and Bogaerts. Last off-season was null and void. This year has also been a bit of a dud. I don't consider any of Richards, Hernandez or Renfroe to be game changers. The only psositive is I don't think anyone thought any of Napoli, Drew, Victorino, Dempster and Uehara were going to put a last place team over the top, either...

Delmonico was the hitting version of Dylan Covey. Former White Sox minor leaguer who was only good against the Red Sox. Bloom had no reason to sign him other than preventing anyone else from taking advantage of his singular skill...

His only real baseball skill is crushing Red Sox pitching. His .934 OPS vs the Red Sox, which includes a walk off home run off Ryan Brasier, ranks his best against any team he has faced with at least 10 PA.. .

Correct. They used the nickname due to manager Wilbert Robinson. Now if Tampa relocated to Brooklyn, they could adopt the old "Grays" moniker and that only requires adding one letter to their home jerseys...

A low-steaks signing...

Also Brooklyn baseball is obviously most famous for the Dodgers, and that name is clearly unavailable. But the team did have a long history of changing names, going by the following Brooklyn Atlantics Brooklyn Grays Brooklyn Grooms Brooklyn Bridegrooms Brooklyn Superbas Brooklyn Robins And informally, they were once known as the Brooklyn Infants. Lots of good names to choose from each with historical significance.. Of course, if they kept the name Rays, they could make an easy tie-in with a slew of unconnected pizza parlors in NYC. Maybe they could keep the name the Brooklyn Rays. Or be more obvious and use the Brooklyn Original Rays or the Brooklyn Famous Rays or the Brooklyn Famous Original Rays or ....

Nashville would be a true small market, as it ranks 36th among USA metropolitan areas. On it's own, only Milwaukee represents a smaller market with an MLB franchise. Charlotte, Portland, San Antonio and Sacramento are all larger markets, barring drastic changes fro the 2010 census, which is possible. I need more current data. And of course the Memphis metro area should be considered, which does make Nashville larger than Charlotte. (But Memphis is like 3 hours away, so it is not a given.) Now a free stadium would be nice, although I hate when cities do that (and hate it more when teams hold them hostage for one). Despite the obvious competition from the Yankees and Mets, they might have their best chance to carve out a fanbase in Brooklyn...

So any thoughts on who the 2021 Breakout prospect is? Assuming they have a season. I am going with Hudson Potts. I think another year in AA will put him in position to make some massive steps forward...

You have to go back to the old days when we just wrote everything on Post-It notes and stuck them to our monitors...

In February, all improvements are on paper only. Now one could argue the arms of Taillon and Kluber are baasically made out of paper. Personally, I think the Yankees did improve their rotation, but not by a whole lot. They also drastically increased their injury risks. As far as the 2021 season goes, the Yankees have had a more productive off-season than the Red Sox. The Rays have gotten worse on paper, but somehow that type of thing never seems to stop that team...

There is something to be said for the financial situation of these owners. John Henry has a net worth of $2.6 billion (per Forbes). While he (and other owners) do not use their own cash, Henry clearly has shown he has no issues keeping the Sox at or near the top of the MLB payroll hierarchy. The Greater Boston Area is the 10th largest metropolitan area in the US per the 2010 census, which certainly helps. Oakland A's majority owner John Fisher has a net worth of $2.8 billion (per Forbes). The A's play in the 12 largest metropolitan area. Now they do share it with the Giants, which is a big deal. But does this impact them to the point where they have to operate among the lowest payrolls in MLB? I can see the issue here somewhat, as it would be like if Boston had two MLB franchises. Can Boston support two MLB teams? It only seems to work in the 3 largest markets (NY, LA, Chicago). If Philadelphia-DC-Baltimore was considered one metropolitan area and not 3 separate ones, it would be the second largest market in the USA, ahead of LA and behind only New York. (Again, all data per the 2010 census.) Miami Marlins majority owner Bruce Sherman does "only" have a net worth of $500 million (per Forbes), but the Marlins do play in the 7th largest market in the USA per the 2010 census. But a lot of other money does come from his rather wealthy partnership group that includes Derek Jeter (Forbes net worth - $200 million) and Michael Jordan (Forbes net worth - $1.6 billion). So why do the Marlins frequently cry poverty? They have the population and the money upfront to put a team together. On the surface, this team appears to have the worst excuses for crying poverty and small market. It's not a small market. Pittsburgh Pirates majority owner Robert Nutting has a net worth of $1.6 billion per Forbes, which dstill makes him one of the 10 richest owners in MLB. Now they do play in the 27th largest market in the USA, which certainly has an impact. But at what point is he just refusing to invest in his team to put a better product on the field and take advantage of what is still a rather large and robust market? I get it is easier to support NFL teams (with a lot fewer home games) and NHL teams (significantly lower budgets). Tampa Rays owner Stuart Sternberg has a Forbes net worth of $800 million, and the Tampa market ranks 18th largest in the USA. Wht I think kills this team is 1) the inconvenient stadium and 2) the Tampa market is flooded with retirees mostly from other states who brought with them their own team allegiances. It's a large market, but I am not sure how accessible it is to the Rays, who really need to relocate at some point. If there is a market that could support a second team, the Dallas-Forth Worth-Arlington market is probably the best option. Personally, I think New York City could support a third team, like they did for a long time. Bring back the Brooklyn Superbas!!

https://www.talksox.com/forum/threads/19120-2019-Yankees-Prospects-Thread Post #13, he refers to Whitlock's projection as a "backend starter." I can live with that...