The Table Setter, Dec 18, 2023: Yoshinobu Yamamoto Does New York

[Ted Schwerzler]

We're down to the final week before the holidays, at which point MLB essentially shuts down for a week or two. Let's see what it has in store for us.

Image courtesy of © Yukihito Taguchi-USA TODAY Sports

Los Angeles and New York remain the foci of the baseball world. Although the Yankees haven’t spent anything in free agency, they swung a massive trade for Juan Soto. Meanwhile, the Dodgers ponied up big-time for Shohei Ohtani, and then paid Tyler Glasnow after acquiring him from the Tampa Bay Rays. A few other storylines have continued to play out over the weekend.

Eating With Yamamoto
With Ohtani off the board, it is Yoshinobu Yamamoto who is expected to get the next-largest free-agent deal this offseason. The Japanese pitcher is just 25 years old and has been downright dominant overseas. He is being courted heavily by the Dodgers, Yankees, and New York Mets. After he reportedly dined at the home of Mets owner Steve Cohen on Saturday and had a last-minute meeting with the Yankees Sunday, things are getting serious in The Big Apple.

The Bronx Bombers need another top-tier arm to pair with Gerrit Cole. Yamamoto would represent that sort of upgrade, and Brian Cashman has come up short on too many big names of late. However deep the Yankees' pockets, no one can spend with Cohen, so it probably comes down to where Yamamoto sees the best fit.

Diamondbacks Looking for a Reunion
After coming up just short in the World Series against the Texas Rangers, Arizona continues to find ways to improve. After agreeing to a deal with Eduardo Rodriguez and trading for Eugenio Suarez, the Snakes also brought Lourdes Gurriel Jr. back on a three-year deal.

Acquired in a trade that also yielded Gabriel Moreno from Toronto when they sent out Daulton Varsho, Gurriel clearly enjoyed his time in the desert. The contract is worth a reported $42 million, and there's a club option for 2027 at the end of that term.

Slashing Isn’t Just a Twins Thing
The Minnesota Twins made waves with the fan base when they started the offseason by hinting that the payroll was going to decrease in 2024. That always seemed likely, given the television uncertainties and emergence of pre-arbitration players, but being so unflinching about it seemed an odd approach.

It isn’t just Minnesota feeling that impact in the year ahead, though. San Diego is going to bring down their payroll in a big way, and moving Soto was part of that plan. Cleveland could find themselves in a similar boat, as they seem to be unsure of where they stand with Bally Sports going into 2024, as well.

Belli Looking for the Bag
Former Dodgers and Cubs first baseman and center fielder Cody Bellinger is looking for a contract north of $200 million. Given his representation by Scott Boras, that’s not at all surprising. However, it’s a relative gamble for a new organization, given that Bellinger’s renaissance happened over the span of just a single season.

The .881 OPS he put up with Chicago earned him MVP votes this season, but that came on the back of three seasons in which he struggled to stay healthy and posted a bleak .648 OPS. If he’s still the Rookie of the Year- and MVP-caliber player he once was, then a big deal could pay off in a big way. If he reverts to prior form, then that goes belly up quickly.

Eventually, Minnesota will start to make their moves. It remains highly unlikely that all of Kyle Farmer, Christian Vazquez, Max Kepler, and Jorge Polanco are on the Opening Day roster. Moves like those might have to wait, though. Free-agent decisions like Yamamoto's will have trickledown effects on the market for any trade candidate.

Derek Falvey has often taken his time and picked his spots. We are now past the point in which Vázquez was signed as the first move a season ago, and Joey Gallo was brought in not long after. January is a good month for the Twins to get going, but a present under Twins fans' Christmas trees would not go amiss.

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[Riverbrian]

18 minutes ago, Ted Schwerzler said:

Slashing Isn’t Just a Twins Thing
The Minnesota Twins made waves with the fan base when they started the offseason by hinting that the payroll was going to decrease in 2024. That always seemed likely, given the television uncertainties and emergence of pre-arbitration players, but being so unflinching about it seemed an odd approach.

It isn’t just Minnesota feeling that impact in the year ahead, though. San Diego is going to bring down their payroll in a big way, and moving Soto was part of that plan. Cleveland could find themselves in a similar boat, as they seem to be unsure of where they stand with Bally Sports going into 2024, as well.

The Padres are a mess right now. 

Yes, they do have very good talent on the top end with Machado, Tatis, Bogaerts and Kim... Along with Darvish and Musgrove fronting the rotation. 

After those big names... Uff Da. Almost every other 26 man roster spot is at best a question mark and at worst extreme question marks so they have a ton of work to do just to put players in uniform while they reduce payroll.  

32 players currently on the 40 man roster so they have roster space. Top prospects were AA or below last year.

They look like they need about 6 position players on the major league roster, a couple of starters and the bullpen isn't exactly overwhelming. 

We probably won't hear a lot of comments about how the Twins should be like the Padres this year.   

[Doctor Gast]

A note: LAD is pursuing any top line SP except Snell, no one is pursuing Snell except PHI. Most don't want to pay what Snell is asking with all his warts.

[Matthew Trueblood]

1 hour ago, Doctor Gast said:

A note: LAD is pursuing any top line SP except Snell, no one is pursuing Snell except PHI. Most don't want to pay what Snell is asking with all his warts.

Nah. Snell's market will be sufficiently robust for him to get north of the $172 million Nola elicited from the Phillies (who, by the way, are extremely NOT in on Snell). Boras is just waiting out Yamamoto, because not enough suitors will turn serious about Snell until after he signs.

[Ted Schwerzler]

2 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

A note: LAD is pursuing any top line SP except Snell, no one is pursuing Snell except PHI. Most don't want to pay what Snell is asking with all his warts.

I think the Mariners are also in on Snell, which is where he is from. Giants also have been linked.

[DJL44]

Cleveland only has a $90M payroll. That should be easy to sustain with the pooled revenue from MLB.

[Blyleven2011]

It would be nice to have a present  under the tree from the Twins ...

But if there is no present , the best next thing is for our FO  , dynamic duel to come out and set it straight with the fans what our payroll will be , what they might be working on ( wouldn't have to name team or players  ) , say something solid to the fans  that they are trying to add positions players or starting pitching or bullpen  help to shore up the teams flaws  ...

Get in front of the camera falvey  and help us with some encouraging  words  ...

 

As of now I am not thrilled to be going to twinsfest , where's the excitement going to come from  , Lewis yes , Julien  and a few others ...