biggentleben

These rumors just make minimal sense to me. Jarrod Saltalamacchia was solid (albeit not spectacular) last season, David Ross reportedly went to Boston on assurances that he'll be able to start 1-3 times per week behind the plate, and Boston's best pure hitter in the minors is a catcher (though only by name, not defensive ability). That the BoSox are so strongly associated with Mauer currently doesn't seem to me to make sense as they shouldn't be offering much to bring in Mauer as they already have a decent catching situation, and it'd be like going from a B to an A, and the Twins wouldn't move Mauer without a monster return. I just don't get it.

Some always will. Baseball's system is light years behind the NFL's system, for instance, but there are still those who get away with steroids in the NFL. Random testing will allow that. You start doing mandatory testing 1-3 times per year on players, and it will become near impossible to dodge drug use unless, of course, that darned Fed Ex guy screws up again.

The return isn't worth it at all for the Reds.

I think some of the more "inside" information would be interesting. What have their experiences been in getting a straight answer from management? Who on the team is a willing interview, and who is a prick about it? What are some of the team feelings on all the trade rumors abounding this season about any hitter not nailed down by a bloated contract? How much contact does a writer have with non-management Twins in the offseason? Inside info on covering the winter meetings? Those would be some of the questions I'd ask. The Up and In podcast with Goldstein and Parks did a very good coverage on the winter meetings last year, but they're doing it as non-team writers. I'd love to hear the perspective from a beat guy on covering those meetings.

That trade makes no sense for the Reds.

Interesting that Paul Janish isn't listed in that list as he's a likely non-tender as well, and I do believe he will have a solid market. On Jurrjens, I'm under the opinion that he could be a big pickup for someone. The Braves haven't lost faith in him; it's just a financial issue. The Braves would have to pay him ~$4.5M in order to keep him, and with a limited budget, they won't be doing that. They will non-tender him, but it honestly would not surprise me to see them still make an offer to him after the non-tender.

Man, I'm thankful that you are doing what you're doing so I have the freedom and ability to post on a forum like this without worry of censorship from the government, among so many other freedoms. Thank you for your service from the bottom of my heart!

No way he'll be at a FBS school. I'd even doubt FCS. He'll likely play DII in order to have somewhere to play.

From all I've heard from friends who have been in the program since Wacker was coaching, Kill is the most players' coach of anyone who's been there as of late, but he has very high expectations and he never coddles anyone. The ones that I've talked to today simply laugh at the letter because of all the stuff left out and Barker's obvious self-centered importance (he's the best player on the team, yet he's not good enough to start at wide receiver on a running team...hmmmm). Basically, he presented about 1/10th of the story from what I've been told, and what he did present was slanted by his subjective views on what was said and what was intended. He's trying to be like the kid from Washington State that did the same thing this year.

The innings and a chance to prove themselves is true for many of the names posted in this thread. Astros and Marlins would have a better chance as the pitcher can pad statistics with the other pitchers and more weak teams. Astros will be in the AL West, which was a very tough division last year.

So simple a caveman can do it:

Bringing it up again because they're so lauded in their development, but the Rays have not drafted a player that's made the major leagues since 2008, and they're the only team in baseball that can say that.

When you're given time away, it is a wise idea to not return from said time away bad mouthing those who gave you the time away. The first amendment has nothing to do with a public internet forum. Those running the forum have every right to ban, suspend, etc. any user that violates the terms of service. Perhaps a refresher on those terms would be best before spouting off against those who do such a great job running this site.

ahh. shouldnt there be a ruling by some third party arbitrator to decide what the standard formula should be? Early in the process, having competing metrics is a good thing. In time, one will prove more accurate and the industry will move in that direction. The more people you have striving for the same goal with different approaches, the more likely you will be to uncover something that works. See Blu-Ray vs. HDDVD or Beta vs. VHS

Except their owner fired Girardi after he didn't win enough with another low budget team (but did win MOY). Hopefully, Redmond shows enough ability as a manager that, after his eventual firing, he can land somewhere better. That was a lot about personality with Girardi, though.

John, any time Gleeman throws the "Rays current regime" argument back at you, let him know that they have not drafted a single major leaguer since 2008, and they are the ONLY team in baseball who hasn't drafted a player who made the majors since 2008. They have still done well internationally, but facts are facts. Not one major leaguer drafted while every other major league team has multiple in the same time period.

Really easy to see a big difference here - Kyle Rudolph. He had more targets this game than the last 3 games combined. Rudolph has his faults, but often times he is a matchup issue for the defense. Ponder's recent struggles have coincided with a monster drop in targets toward Rudolph. Ponder is at his best when he's tossing short, quick passes to receivers and letting them pick up yards after the catch, and he has been throwing deeper in the last few weeks. He has completed all of 46% of his passes over 10 yards this season. He's got the receivers (Rudolph, Harvin, and Peterson especially) in the passing game that can break those throws for extra yardage.

Law is on a podcast by a major sports network at least 3 days per week all through the season and about once per month in the offseason. He chats at least once weekly. Fans do have a lot of opportunity to base an opinion on Law. Just saying.

So, we're just past the first meetings of the year, with the major meetings coming the first week of December. Let's use a common thread (so as to not overly confuddle everyone involved, including those who browse into the site) to review the non-Twins signings and deals. What's happened so far: Boston traded IF Mike Aviles to Toronto for P David Carpenter and rights to sign manager John Farrell Arizona, Florida, and Oakland completed a three way trade with Oakland receiving OF Chris Young and cash, Arizona receiving SS Cliff Pennington, RP Heath Bell, and cash, and Florida receiving IF Yordy Cabrera Kansas City claimed SP Chris Volstad off waivers Oakland resigned suspended P Bartolo Colon Toronto acquired RP Esmil Rogers for Util Yan Gomes and IF Mike Aviles Orioles claimed IF Alexi Casilla off waivers Seattle resigned SP Hisashi Iwakuma to a two-year deal Atlanta claimed CF Jordan Schafer off waivers Houston claimed RP Sam Demel and IF Jake Elmore off waivers Kansas City acquired SP Ervin Santana and cash from Los Angeles (AL) for P Brandon Sisk Chicago (AL) resigned SP Jake Peavy Los Angeles (NL) resigned RP Brandon League Kansas City traded RP Jeremy Jeffress to Toronto for cash Toronto signed IF Maicer Izturis to a three-year contract San Diego traded OF Blake Tekotte to Chicago (AL) for P Brandon Kloess New York (A) claimed RP David Herndon and RP Josh Spence off waivers (sometimes I hate how smart Cashman is!) Seattle claimed OF Scott Cousins off waivers Boston resigned DH David Ortiz to a two-year contract New York (A) claimed C Eli Whiteside off waivers Seattle resigned RP Oliver Perez Boston signed C David Ross to two-year contract Feel free to add as new ones are confirmed...

KLaw's admitted bias is for guys that he was impressed with in person. Trevor Bauer is a big example. He was a big pusher of the "Free Trevor Bauer" hashtag on Twitter that found its way to ESPN's main baseball coverage multiple times. He has admitted having a hard time downgrading Bauer because he saw him so incredibly good.

Thanks BGB! Viva Chipper Jones! Wow. Already wrong after the BoSox signed David Ross today. That puts the Braves in need of at least one catcher, if not two, depending on how they feel about Evan Gattis in a Ryan Doumit-esque role.

The difference is they only cost you money. Span costs less money but other assets as well. The "Would You pay him big money?" quote was in reference to Pagan. Agreed, but money is the issue for the Braves, Rays and some others. They have assets to trade and want to save money. Otherwise wouldn't they sign Bourn and Upton and be done with it? The money isn't really the issue for the Braves. They're still trying hard to sign Bourn. However, they cannot afford a mistake contract, so going after Pagan at 4/36 would be poorly spent resources, so if they don't get Bourn, Span's salary relative to talent becomes a big factor, but they will be going hard after Bourn.

Depends on where you're looking... CF Trade market is fairly deep, though weak at the top, highlighted by Span and Dexter Fowler most likely, and with a few guys like Lorenzo Cain, Carlos Gomez, Craig Gentry, Peter Bourjos, Gerardo Parra, Franklin Gutierrez, Wil Venable, and more that could be available depending on free agent signings. CF Free agent market is okay, though: Michael Bourn, BJ Upton, Angel Pagan, and Shane Victorino along with a collection of guys who could be non-tendered and guys who may or may not work in center defensively like a Josh Hamilton, Ichiro Suzuki, Juan Pierre, or Grady Sizemore. You realize that the only two available via trade that aren't below average (at best) are Span and Fowler, and I'm not sure if Fowler is even on the block. Ichiro and Pierre are not major league starting CF's at this point. Fowler's been strongly rumored in a move for pitching as the Rockies have some depth at the position ready to hit the majors (he's also a Georgia boy, so there's some ties that could lead to stronger interest by the Braves in Fowler than Span). However, note that other than Span and Fowler, I listed that the rest of that list COULD be available, not that they all were. As far as Pierre and Ichiro in CF, I wouldn't want them in CF for a team I was rooting for, for sure, but I could absolutely see some team thinking they could strike one last nugget of gold out of those guys in that position.

Depends on where you're looking... CF Trade market is fairly deep, though weak at the top, highlighted by Span and Dexter Fowler most likely, and with a few guys like Lorenzo Cain, Carlos Gomez, Craig Gentry, Peter Bourjos, Gerardo Parra, Franklin Gutierrez, Wil Venable, and more that could be available depending on free agent signings. CF Free agent market is okay, though: Michael Bourn, BJ Upton, Angel Pagan, and Shane Victorino along with a collection of guys who could be non-tendered and guys who may or may not work in center defensively like a Josh Hamilton, Ichiro Suzuki, Juan Pierre, or Grady Sizemore.