The Mets and David Wright agree to a 7-year, $122 million extension

 

Good day for METS fans.

I know that to better the team they should have traded him but there was little upside. Trading a guy making $16 million in the year before free agency is not going to bring a lot of return. Maybe one good prospect or a couple second tier guys.

The best part is that it hopefully shows that they are willing to build around him. The METS was probably the only team last year to start 9 players in a game that came up through the farm system.

 

Braves send Tommy Hanson to Angels for Jordan Walden.

Seems like LA got the better end of this deal. More risk, but bigger upside.

 

So the Angels had the worst bullpen in the league (or close to it) and then trade a reliever Guess the rotation is important but you'd think they'd send a guy from somewhere they had a strength, like a 1B prospect

Hanson and Heyward were supposed to be monstars when they came up.

 

I'm not a fan of monster contracts but if you're going to give them, at least give them to players that are good people and won't likely embarrass your franchise or turn into a clubhouse cancer. So yeah, good signing for them. You guys needed some good news like this.

Now we'll have to see if he gets to play for a competitor at any point during this contract

 

Walden really struggled with his command last year, and the Angels needed rotation help after losing (will lose) Santana, Greinke and Haren.

The key to this move for the Braves was dumping $4 million of salary. They had better options for the rotation than Hanson and decided to move on because of his lingering shoulder issues.

 

The MN Twins traded center fielder Denard Span to Washington for pitching prospect Alex Meyer.

"prospect" which could be good or not so good for the rotation - either way we need to get some talented starters for 2013!

GM Terry Ryan has been very conservative in his trades......

 

Looks to be 4 years - $40 million.

That's sounds like a lot to me.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?...s_mlb&c_id=mlb

 

Unofficial pending a physical. 3 years and $39 million.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?...s_mlb&c_id=mlb

 

A-Rod...worst contract ever


Lots of activity today. Somebody is gonna overpay Hamilton for too many years.

 

Fish to deal Escobar and nolasco wants out SHOCKER

 

Nats sign Dan Haren. 1 year, $13M.

Good deal, scary rotation.

 

Nice, they were short one pitcher and now need a closer with some balls to throw.

 

The Red Sox sign Shane Victorino to a three-year, $39M deal.
I think they overpaid.

 

^ Definitely. Looks like Boston never learned anything from their last batch of horrible FA signings.

 

I was at my parent's house looking over today's newspaper sports page. There was a story about the Reds, and in it mentioned how Michael Bourn was the new Rangers center fielder. Correct me if I'm wrong but I've read zero rumors about that

 

Nope. Hasn't happened (yet)

 

Maybe they take a chance on Brian Wilson?

 

Dodgers sign Greinke. 6 years, $147M. No no-trade clause.

Phillies acquire Michael Young

 

Dodgers will finish 66-96, last in the NL West.

 

Indians sign Mark Reynolds, 1-year, $6M

Royals acquire James Shields and Wade Davis from TB

 

Reminds me of the Reds trade last year. Major trade that will take years before we see if one team "won" the deal, or if it worked out for both. Scary for both but it seems like a good baseball trade.

 

Speaking of Reds, signed Ludwick for two years with a mutual option for a third. A lot of my friends were groaning about it, but I think he fits in perfectly here with the short fence in left. Comes and does his job every day without saying much...perfect player to me.

 

The Ludwick deal was definitely a good signing for Cincy.

And the Royals are making big moves...they've already added James Shields, Wade Davis, Ervin Santana and Jeremy Guthrie to the rotation this off-season. But in the last trade with TB, they gave up 4 minor leaguers including the #1 prospect in baseball, Wil Myers. Dayton Moore could lose his job if the Royals don't compete in 2013.

 

Yep, seems like Dayton Moore realizes if he doesn't start winning now, he's out regardless. How many years have we been hearing the Royals have the best farm in the league and are ready to break out at any time, and it never happens. They picked a good time with how weak the AL Central is.

I hope this turns the corner for them...have always liked the franchise and reading about some of their older teams and players.

 

Yankees sign Youkilis, 1-year $12M. Crazy.

Reds get Shin Soo-Choo & Jason Donald in 3-team trade. Gregorius to Diamondbacks, Drew Stubbs & others to Indians.

 

Big part of that deal was pitching prospect Trevor Bauer. For whatever reason Arizona didn't like him anymore, even though he has the stuff to be an ace. Indians gain I suppose.

Couple this with the Mark Reynolds signing and I'm starting to think that someone finally injected some sense into the Indians front office. They still aren't entirely there, but they're at least plugging holes with logical signings (ie NOT Casey Kotchman) and smart trades. I still want Dolan to sell the team, but this is at least a step in the right direction.

 

That would be hilarious!

 

Good riddance Drew Stubbs!!!!!!
Besides Dusty, he was the main reason my blood pressure would spike every game

I really couldn't be happier with this trade. New and improved centerfielder, utility man, and 3.5 million cash

Stubbs might benefit from the change of scenery, but he'll never cut down enough on his strikeouts. Look at other players that have strikeout problems in their careers...rarely if ever improves.

Didi was essentially blocked by Cozart, and Choo might be gone after this year but Billy Hamilton should be ready in centerfield by '14.

In Walt we trust!

 

It seems like this trade is pretty decent for the Reds and Indians, but I have no idea what the D-Backs were thinking. I know they were unhappy with Bauer, and they have Skaggs waiting (not to mention Miley's awesome rookie year), but he's still considered a top prospect.

You guys will be very happy with Choo, he's a very good player. The one thing that was frustrating about him was his average, but he had no lineup protection at all in Cleveland. Throw him in with Votto, Bruce, Phillips (you're welcome for him btw), etc and he should be just fine. Also, Donald is a solid, solid player. I really thought he could be a starter in the big leagues, but he was never really given a fair shot.

How bad is Stubbs really? His stats look decent enough, even if the Ks are a bit high. Considering the Indians complete lack of power hitters though he could have a significant impact on their lineup.

 

I think Choo will have a great year once he adjusts to the park and playing CF every day. Donald will fill a major void from last year...I'm equally happy to have both. Our utility players were complete garbage. Some couldn't lay down a bunt to save their lives along with zero hitting ability.

I said above that Stubbs needed a change of scenery and I think it will help him a lot. A lot of pressure on him here, and they insisted on him becoming a leadoff batter. Seems like he wants to be a power hitter with speed more than slap hitting leadoff. Can't bunt either

He's got all the tools, but I think his strikeouts and lack of on base ability will hinder his entire career. Great speed, not much stealing ability (yet). I think he's great as an 8 batter, gets on and is bunted over by P, then top of order has him in scoring position. Dusty the clown has some retarded obsession with only pure speed as leadoff, regardless of OBP, which makes no sense. And we wonder why we had possibly the worst leadoff production in history

As for Phillips, I still remember him coming here and wondering who the hell he was. Nobody would've ever guessed he would turn it around like that, but maybe a change of scenery is all he needed

 

I hope you're right about Stubbs and the change of scenery. I can't imagine Francona being as stubborn as Dusty about Stubb's lineup slot. I actually expect him to hit 3rd, 5th or 6th while Brantley hits leadoff. Based on what you're saying that may make a world of difference for him.

Ah yes, Phillips, he was the centerpiece of Mark Shapiro's signature trade. He was the top prospect in the Bartolo Colon trade to the Expos that netted the Indians Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee and Brandon Phillips. I forget who the manager was at the time, but he never cared much for Phillips and didn't really give him a fair shot to settle in. After a few years they traded him to you guys for basically a bag of old used baseballs, and well, the rest is history.

 

Angels to sign Josh Hamilton, 5 years, $125M

Red Sox to sign Ryan Dempster, 2 yrs, $26.5M

 

Are the Angels the new Yankees?

 

Battle of the LA billionaires. Pujols, Trout & Hamilton is just silly but Oakland will probablyy still win the West.

...And Boston continues to overpay for mediocrity.

 

Hard to believe how much cash is being thrown around LA for the baseball teams.

Is it bad that among those 3 players, Trout could potentially be the best one while he's getting paid tens of millions less?

 

I agree that Trout could be the best of the 3.
And he'll be scary with a full season under his belt batting in front of Pujols/Hamilton.

Hamilton makes Trout's annual salary in about 3 games.

 

Nuts spending that much more money Glad he stayed in the AL.


What are the odds that Trout continues on this sort of pace, doesn't sign any extensions, and signs the largest free agent contract in history? I say if anybody could do it, it would be him. But then again, he might sign an extension that buys out a few years of his rookie contract and then hits the FA market when it expires.

Arod's contract won't be the largest for long.

 

Nobody could be as stubborn or as sucky as Dusty Not sure where to bat him though in that lineup. I have nothing against Stubbs, just think he needs some time to develop in a low pressure environment, so good luck to him.

And yeah, I read when Phillips came to us that he had some maturity problems, wrote something like "Franchise" on his batting gloves and generally thought he was hot stuff before he even played and rubbed everybody the wrong way. I guess they put him in his place once he got here!

 

Mets, Jays close to trade for Dickey: http://tracking.si.com/2012/12/15/me...2_a4&eref=sihp