2016-2017 off season thread.

[Ranma]

we've had Nomo, Chan Ho, Chin-Feng Chen and hell, we even got Dean Kramer the first Israeli to be drafted in MLB. this is of course without mentioning Jack and Kim.

we won't have issues. at the same time, Maeda will only be packaged in a deal that will significantly improve us, not just another frivolous deal that will bring a marginal improvement.

I understand that we've been pioneers in breaking racial barriers and such, but free agents tend to have short-term memory and I'm sure some will have concerns if our new-age front office will follow through with our old traditions. Who knows how much lingering feelings, if any, are still left from the McCourt regime's way of doing business? Again, it's a minor concern because, overall, we have a good standing in the international community, especially with having the biggest wallets.

In the end, I think we're all in unison in thinking that Maeda is not untouchable, but the right deal would have to come along for us to pull the trigger.

[Ranma]

The White Sox are reportedly telling other ballclubs that they are willing to trade any player on their roster with less than 4 years of team control.

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[Quake Griffin]

Just lol at Frazier. That guy sucks. I dont know why people keep throwing his name out there.

Robertson is good but the FA market is ripe with options that wont cost us a pick or a prospect.

Wheres Eaton?

Win now blockbuster that I MIGHT consider.

In:
Sale
Eaton

Out:
Puig
Maeda
DeLeon
Calhoun
Buehler
Will Smith

I think I can justify DeLeon, Calhoun, Puig n Buehler for Sale. Doubt I could justify Maeda and Will Smith for Eaton but whatever....that would make me somewhat comfortable.

[AGAVE]

Reading along and listening to my instincts; whether they are good or bad.
If we are considering obtaining Kinsler and also SALE in an acquisition, then the FO must be prioritizing the compensation pick by losing Turner &/or Jansen.
Wouldn't trading for players replace open spots and improve our drafting abilities?

[Neddy]

Reading along and listening to my instincts; whether they are good or bad.
If we are considering Kinsler in a SALE acquisition, then the FO must be prioritizing the compensation pick by losing Turner &/or Jansen.
Wouldn't trading for players replace open spots and improve our drafting abilities?

Ian Kinsler plays for the Tigers.

Sale is a WhiteSox.

unless you are proposing a 3 team trade, which will complicate and become more spendy in terms of our prospects, I don't think that is a possibility. besides, KInsler has us on his no trade list.

[Neddy]

Just lol at Frazier. That guy sucks. I dont know why people keep throwing his name out there.

Robertson is good but the FA market is ripe with options that wont cost us a pick or a prospect.

Wheres Eaton?

Win now blockbuster that I MIGHT consider.

In:
Sale
Eaton

Out:
Puig
Maeda
DeLeon
Calhoun
Buehler
Will Smith

I think I can justify DeLeon, Calhoun, Puig n Buehler for Sale. Doubt I could justify Maeda and Will Smith for Eaton but whatever....that would make me somewhat comfortable.

they are probably gonna build around Adam Eaton. he is on a very cheap, team friendly deal for another 5 more years.
besides, he is yet another lefty outfielder with a terrible power numbers against LHP. he doesn't solve our issues. it will lead to crowding our OF with Toles, Eaton, and Joc and none of them can hit against LHP and one or two immediately would need to be platooned. if we want him for his superior defense, we need to package Joc instead. also, I don't know if the Sox will want Will Smith when they drafted Zach Collins in the same draft ahead of Will.

if we are giving up Joc, Puig, Maeda, AND prospects in De Leon, Willie, Buehler and possibly another, I want Sale, Eaton, Robertson, and Trey Michalczewski back.

ultimately I don't know if that is gonna be the deal that puts us over the Cubs. we will still be in need to improve the lineup against lefy pitching and the bullpen is still a work in progress. but Kershaw-Sale-Quintana-Urias-McCarthy will make a one dynamic rotation even without counting on Kazmir or Ryu's return. but Toles-Seager-Eaton-Gonzo-Ethier-Grandal-2B-3B lineup doesn't look very good, even if we resign Turner who basically hits like a lefty. that is all lefty lineup.

potentially the better team to consider a trade with, now that with Jose Fernandez's tragic death has depleted the front end of the Miami's rotation, maybe the Marlins. Maeda+Gonzo for GianCarlos Stanton. they only get 2 years of Gonzo ( and we may even pay for a half of it) and a cheap low end ace for a massive deal that Jeff Loria never meant to pay for. Maeda gets paired up with his countryman Ichiro, Gonzo gets his retirement from another sunny coastal city, and Marlins can package Justin Bour for another pitcher they desperately need.

[Neddy]

we've had Nomo, Chan Ho, Chin-Feng Chen and hell, we even got Dean Kramer the first Israeli to be drafted in MLB. this is of course without mentioning Jack and Kim.

we won't have issues. at the same time, Maeda will only be packaged in a deal that will significantly improve us, not just another frivolous deal that will bring a marginal improvement.

I understand that we've been pioneers in breaking racial barriers and such, but free agents tend to have short-term memory and I'm sure some will have concerns if our new-age front office will follow through with our old traditions. Who knows how much lingering feelings, if any, are still left from the McCourt regime's way of doing business? Again, it's a minor concern because, overall, we have a good standing in the international community, especially with having the biggest wallets.

In the end, I think we're all in unison in thinking that Maeda is not untouchable, but the right deal would have to come along for us to pull the trigger.

I am guessing the one you are referring to may be Otani? if keeping Maeda helps us getting Otani, it's a no brainer. we live and die with Maeda. I don't know if Otani would feel that strongly about a rival pitcher from another league tho. the Carps are from Central league and his home team just got trashed and his ex teammate Kuroda's retirement plan got ruined by young Otani. but if Shohei wants to have another Japanese speaker in the clubhouse, hell we can even sign his high school catcher from when he made it to the Koshien 5 years ago.

[Quake Griffin]

Just lol at Frazier. That guy sucks. I dont know why people keep throwing his name out there.

Robertson is good but the FA market is ripe with options that wont cost us a pick or a prospect.

Wheres Eaton?

Win now blockbuster that I MIGHT consider.

In:
Sale
Eaton

Out:
Puig
Maeda
DeLeon
Calhoun
Buehler
Will Smith

I think I can justify DeLeon, Calhoun, Puig n Buehler for Sale. Doubt I could justify Maeda and Will Smith for Eaton but whatever....that would make me somewhat comfortable.

they are probably gonna build around Adam Eaton. he is on a very cheap, team friendly deal for another 5 more years.
besides, he is yet another lefty outfielder with a terrible power numbers against LHP. he doesn't solve our issues. it will lead to crowding our OF with Toles, Eaton, and Joc and none of them can hit against LHP and one or two immediately would need to be platooned. if we want him for his superior defense, we need to package Joc instead. also, I don't know if the Sox will want Will Smith when they drafted Zach Collins in the same draft ahead of Will.

if we are giving up Joc, Puig, Maeda, AND prospects in De Leon, Willie, Buehler and possibly another, I want Sale, Eaton, Robertson, and Trey Michalczewski back.

ultimately I don't know if that is gonna be the deal that puts us over the Cubs. we will still be in need to improve the lineup against lefy pitching and the bullpen is still a work in progress. but Kershaw-Sale-Quintana-Urias-McCarthy will make a one dynamic rotation even without counting on Kazmir or Ryu's return. but Toles-Seager-Eaton-Gonzo-Ethier-Grandal-2B-3B lineup doesn't look very good, even if we resign Turner who basically hits like a lefty. that is all lefty lineup.

potentially the better team to consider a trade with, now that with Jose Fernandez's tragic death has depleted the front end of the Miami's rotation, maybe the Marlins. Maeda+Gonzo for GianCarlos Stanton. they only get 2 years of Gonzo ( and we may even pay for a half of it) and a cheap low end ace for a massive deal that Jeff Loria never meant to pay for. Maeda gets paired up with his countryman Ichiro, Gonzo gets his retirement from another sunny coastal city, and Marlins can package Justin Bour for another pitcher they desperately need.

Our leadoff hitter was Chase Utley. He would solve that problem fairly quickly. Given that he has a good BA and OBP against LHP (similar to his RHP numbers) consistently throughout his career and given that he's a good base runner, I could live him not having the same pop against LHP that he does against RHP. Just get on in front of Corey so he can double you in. It's much better than the alternative of platooning Chase for a guy like **** every time a LHP takes the mound....not to mention he hits righties better than Chase.


Plus Eaton is garbage in CF but he is the best def RF in the game. Go figure. There is no mistake about where he should play in the field. There would be NO log jam.

Toles - Joc - Eaton. All LHH...but one can actually hit LHP and has done so throughout the course of his career.

With the news of us being in on Logan Forsythe....I'd most definitely consider Eaton and Forsythe a quality offseason if no elite prospects left.

[AGAVE]

My bad. I messed that up.
Corrected.

[Neddy]

Just lol at Frazier. That guy sucks. I dont know why people keep throwing his name out there.

Robertson is good but the FA market is ripe with options that wont cost us a pick or a prospect.

Wheres Eaton?

Win now blockbuster that I MIGHT consider.

In:
Sale
Eaton

Out:
Puig
Maeda
DeLeon
Calhoun
Buehler
Will Smith

I think I can justify DeLeon, Calhoun, Puig n Buehler for Sale. Doubt I could justify Maeda and Will Smith for Eaton but whatever....that would make me somewhat comfortable.

they are probably gonna build around Adam Eaton. he is on a very cheap, team friendly deal for another 5 more years.
besides, he is yet another lefty outfielder with a terrible power numbers against LHP. he doesn't solve our issues. it will lead to crowding our OF with Toles, Eaton, and Joc and none of them can hit against LHP and one or two immediately would need to be platooned. if we want him for his superior defense, we need to package Joc instead. also, I don't know if the Sox will want Will Smith when they drafted Zach Collins in the same draft ahead of Will.

if we are giving up Joc, Puig, Maeda, AND prospects in De Leon, Willie, Buehler and possibly another, I want Sale, Eaton, Robertson, and Trey Michalczewski back.

ultimately I don't know if that is gonna be the deal that puts us over the Cubs. we will still be in need to improve the lineup against lefy pitching and the bullpen is still a work in progress. but Kershaw-Sale-Quintana-Urias-McCarthy will make a one dynamic rotation even without counting on Kazmir or Ryu's return. but Toles-Seager-Eaton-Gonzo-Ethier-Grandal-2B-3B lineup doesn't look very good, even if we resign Turner who basically hits like a lefty. that is all lefty lineup.

potentially the better team to consider a trade with, now that with Jose Fernandez's tragic death has depleted the front end of the Miami's rotation, maybe the Marlins. Maeda+Gonzo for GianCarlos Stanton. they only get 2 years of Gonzo ( and we may even pay for a half of it) and a cheap low end ace for a massive deal that Jeff Loria never meant to pay for. Maeda gets paired up with his countryman Ichiro, Gonzo gets his retirement from another sunny coastal city, and Marlins can package Justin Bour for another pitcher they desperately need.

Our leadoff hitter was Chase Utley. He would solve that problem fairly quickly. Given that he has a good BA and OBP against LHP (similar to his RHP numbers) consistently throughout his career and given that he's a good base runner, I could live him not having the same pop against LHP that he does against RHP. Just get on in front of Corey so he can double you in. It's much better than the alternative of platooning Chase for a guy like **** every time a LHP takes the mound....not to mention he hits righties better than Chase.


Plus Eaton is garbage in CF but he is the best def RF in the game. Go figure. There is no mistake about where he should play in the field. There would be NO log jam.

Toles - Joc - Eaton. All LHH...but one can actually hit LHP and has done so throughout the course of his career.

With the news of us being in on Logan Forsythe....I'd most definitely consider Eaton and Forsythe a quality offseason if no elite prospects left.

hmmm I suppose my mental block of the need of right handed hitter spliting our lefty heavy clean up trio, stopped me from thinking Eaton is coming in to lead off. he would make a great leadoff man with .360 OBP or better.

but this also means we still need to aquire a strong right handed bat. and that is not Turner. Justin is a left handed batsman who happen to swing from the right side of the box. we need a #3 or #4 bats man who is a true righty, even if we bring back Turner which I will not be saddened at all if we do bring him back. just do not wish to see L-L-L(lefty disguised as a righty)-L-L lineup to start with.

[Neddy]

BTW the more I read about Vidal Nuno we've got from the Mariners in Ruiz trade, the more I think he won't make the opening day roster.
he pitched 58 innings for the Mariners and both his advanced and traditional stats are worse than JP Howell. his "stuff" isn't very impressive either. if anybody in the majors threw less fastball than Kenta, it was Vidal.

[Neddy]

Toles - Joc - Eaton. All LHH...but one can actually hit LHP and has done so throughout the course of his career.

With the news of us being in on Logan Forsythe....I'd most definitely consider Eaton and Forsythe a quality offseason if no elite prospects left.

well Eaton in RF and not risking Joc is established, and you are right about Adam's OBP and as a lead off not needing the power as he would if he was hitting in 3-4 spots, but

Chris Sales and Adam Eaton together brings fWAR value of 11.2. Eaton alone brings 6.0, more than Sale. what do you think it will take to get him in dodger blue knowing his contract is so damn cheap for the next 5 more years?

I think the price will take virtually all of our top prospects. De Leon would be the headliner in pitching to replace Sale in the future, with Maeda being the one to carry them there until young guns develop on a cheap, incentive driven contract. Verdugo and Bellinger will both be done as Eaton's fWAR is just too good, he would instantly become the second best player we have just behind Seager and even better than Turner. Verdugo may eventually replace him in the RF, but if they are selling Sale and Eaton, they will surely sell off Abreu and Bellinger would be the ideal one to replace him. I still don't think they would want Will Smith. they have Collins, a even better projected catcher from the same draft. if it is between Willie plus Buehler and Bellinger, I think they have more leverage than we do. but I don't know for sure.

the genius of going after a player like Forsthye is that if Turner does get a contract and leave, he can fill in the 3rd but if Turner is unable to come to terms with anyone and comes back to us for say, 1 year 10 million for him to test the market next season again, we can move him to his natural 2B. it would be a steal if we can get Archer along with Forsthye and we still get to keep bellinger and 3 out of the top 5 prospects to do it.
one issues I see, is that Archer's trouble seemed to have started from not his fastball dropping its velocity, but his off speed and breaking pitch elevating their velocity. Archer is still throwing 94 mph fastball he always had, but his slider and changeup that used to sit on low 80s are now in high, upper 80s. I wonder if Honeycutt can fix that in a hurry. if possible, knowing Archer is truly on a slave contract of 5 more years at this point, I would trade away 24 year old De Leon to do this. De Leon, Verdugo, and Branden Davis and I think we can have a deal.

[Ranma]

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[Ranma]

I'm glad it seems like we're not going to pay a steep price in prospects for a 2B this offseason, but things could change once the winter meetings start, heaven forbid. With Kinsler and Dozier apparently not looking likely, the Dodgers and/or media are now focusing on talks for Forsythe. I didn't want to re-sign Utley, but if we're going to do that, we might as well just sign Brandon Phillips as his platoon partner. It's admittedly not sexy, but it should be an inexpensive stopgap that pushes our 2B concerns into next offseason.

This just steams me more that we didn't sign Lourdes Gurriel, Jr. Yeah, he's not generally projected to play in MLB for a couple years and as seen as a utility player, but I still believe in this kid and think he would have been our 2B some time during the 2018 season.

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[Neddy]

I'm glad it seems like we're not going to pay a steep price in prospects for a 2B this offseason, but things could change once the winter meetings start, heaven forbid. With Kinsler and Dozier apparently not looking likely, the Dodgers and/or media are now focusing on talks for Forsythe. I didn't want to re-sign Utley, but if we're going to do that, we might as well just sign Brandon Phillips as his platoon partner. It's admittedly not sexy, but it should be an inexpensive stopgap that pushes our 2B concerns into next offseason.

This just steams me more that we didn't sign Lourdes Gurriel, Jr. Yeah, he's not generally projected to play in MLB for a couple years and as seen as a utility player, but I still believe in this kid and think he would have been our 2B some time during the 2018 season.

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if we get Phillips, do we really need Utley as his platoon partner?

Brandon Phillips did better than Utley against RHP as a RHB. he of course did undisputedly better against LHP.

[Ranma]

if we get Phillips, do we really need Utley as his platoon partner?

Brandon Phillips did better than Utley against RHP as a RHB. he of course did undisputedly better against LHP.

Not really. I didn't intend to bring back Utley at all, but if the Dodgers are intent to do that anyway, we should at least bring in the better option who will eventually supplant him. Personally, I'd cut out the middle-man altogether and go with Phillips to handle the job outright to start the season. I appreciate what Chase has done for us in serving as an example for the team and mentor to Seager, but his on-field performance is approaching A.J.-Ellis-like levels.

[Neddy]

if we get Phillips, do we really need Utley as his platoon partner?

Brandon Phillips did better than Utley against RHP as a RHB. he of course did undisputedly better against LHP.

Not really. I didn't intend to bring back Utley at all, but if the Dodgers are intent to do that anyway, we should at least bring in the better option who will eventually supplant him. Personally, I'd cut out the middle-man altogether and go with Phillips to handle the job outright to start the season. I appreciate what Chase has done for us in serving as an example for the team and mentor to Seager, but his on-field performance is approaching A.J.-Ellis-like levels.

I think we outta offer Utley a coaching job to begin the season with.

[Ranma]

I am guessing the one you are referring to may be Otani? if keeping Maeda helps us getting Otani, it's a no brainer. we live and die with Maeda. I don't know if Otani would feel that strongly about a rival pitcher from another league tho. the Carps are from Central league and his home team just got trashed and his ex teammate Kuroda's retirement plan got ruined by young Otani. but if Shohei wants to have another Japanese speaker in the clubhouse, hell we can even sign his high school catcher from when he made it to the Koshien 5 years ago.

You're certainly correct in that assumption. If Otani doesn't want Maeda here...sorry, Kenta...Shohei is the future. You make an interesting point illustrating the dynamic of their Japanese clubs. There is so much talk about what teams would need to offer Otani to convince him to sign with them. Can we offer him the dual role of everyday hitter and starting pitcher? We shouldn't, in my opinion. Who's going to offer him the most money? I think we got that one covered, or at least we should. How deep of a connection does he have with Logan White, the guy who almost signed him out of high school in Japan? I'm guessing it's fairly shallow even with Hideo Nomo serving as an advisor for the Padres.

The obvious priority is to bring Otani in at whatever feasible cost. Adding him to a rotation that would likely include Kershaw, Sale/Verlander/Archer, and Urias would be an absolute coup, especially if we get Sale given the left-handed bias of our top pitchers.

[Ranma]

I agree with AGAVE that the Dodgers seem inclined to let Jansen and Turner sign elsewhere in order to get the compensatory picks. I just have concerns about getting suitable replacements for them. The White Sox do seem like a fitting trade partner for us, but there does seem to be more openness expressed by the Rays, Tigers, and A's with the notion of dealing away Archer, Verlander, and Gray, respectively. A lot of people are convinced that Tampa Bay will deal one of their starters this offseason with speculation centering around it being either Archer or Odorizzi with Cobb and Smyly also as possibilities. Including Robertson in a package with Sale from the White Sox would scratch off a couple of big items from of our to-do list.

However, the cost would be high and it would be unavoidable to not include De Leon in a trade for Sale, which I'd be fine with, but if we can get Verlander without having to pay as much and not include De Leon, then I'd be tempted to go make a deal with Detroit over Chicago. I'm still not keen on acquiring Eaton, especially with the cost from our side. I was also an advocate for acquiring Frazier last year, but this winter that is a less attractive proposition for me, though I'm still open to it.

I'm also encouraged to hear names like Calhoun and Verdugo are drawing trade interest, but I remain quite reluctant to part with Bellinger. It's interesting that Puig's name has been bandied about in the talks with the White Sox but I'm hesitant to even part with him until we get more legitimate right-handed power bats into the lineup. Ryan Braun does not qualify for me.

I'm convinced we're going to get a legit #2 starter this offseason, so I want to push again to deal Kazmir to the Yankees for one of their prospects ranked in the latter half of the top 12 in their system.

[Ranma]

potentially the better team to consider a trade with, now that with Jose Fernandez's tragic death has depleted the front end of the Miami's rotation, maybe the Marlins. Maeda+Gonzo for GianCarlos Stanton. they only get 2 years of Gonzo ( and we may even pay for a half of it) and a cheap low end ace for a massive deal that Jeff Loria never meant to pay for. Maeda gets paired up with his countryman Ichiro, Gonzo gets his retirement from another sunny coastal city, and Marlins can package Justin Bour for another pitcher they desperately need.

The funny thing is that Adrian Gonzalez was actually taken 1st overall by the Marlins in the 2000 draft even though he never actually played for them. It'd come full circle for him to be dealt back to that organization. I'd also love to see us getting Stanton for Maeda, but his contract looks to overpay him and we'd have to bite the bullet in terms of swallowing more cash to pay for half of A-Gon's remaining salary commitment on his current deal. Plus, I don't see the Marlins settling for just Maeda. They'll ask for Urias (before we hang up the phone laughing) and angle for De Leon. I'm not really interested in dealing with the Miami, especially in light of their outrageous demands for Fernandez. If they accept the terms of your particular proposal, then I'm more receptive to opening the lines of communications with them, but I'd personally rather just take messages from them at this point and let them stew in the mess they've created.

Obviously, Friedman & Co. can't do business this way but I'm more inclined to deal with the just the Yankees, White Sox, Rays, Tigers, and A's at the moment unless the Angels put Mike Trout on the auction block.