The Official MERB Baseball Offseason Thread (trades, signings, NO fucktard comments!)

[Special K]

Now that this shitty season has ended in a purchased WS for the Yanks, let's get straight to the signings of this off season.

Boston acquires Jeremy Hermida from the Marlins for two minor league left handers.

According to Juan C. Rodriguez of The Sun Sentinel, the Red Sox have acquired Jeremy Hermida from the Marlins in exchange for minor league lefthanded pitchers Hunter Jones and Jose Alvarez.
Hermida, 25, has hit .265/.344/.425 in almost 2,000 career plate appearances, which is not what many had in mind for the guy Baseball America once ranked as the fourth best prospect in baseball. He earned $2.25MM in 2009, and still has two more years of arbitration eligibility ahead of him.
The 25-year-old Jones got his first taste of the big leagues in 2009, when he put up a 9.24 ERA in 12.2 innings. He spent most of the year in Triple-A, where he held lefties to a .206 AVG against. Alvarez, 20, spent 2009 in Class-A ball, where he put up a 2.26 ERA in 26 games (12 start).

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

Interesting deal. Hermida is much more suited to Fenway than Dolphin, so this could be a could move both for him and the club. I'd hate to see him as more than a fourth outfielder. They gave up absolutely nothing for him.

The Angels also gave Bobby Abreu a 2 year, $19 M extension.

 

[Special K]

Bay files for free agency

This didn't take long. Any bets on where he signs?


It didn't take long for Jason Bay to file for free agency. He did so even before the Yankees' held their ticker-tape parade.
Bay, a key piece to the Red Sox' offseason plans, was among 79 players to file for free agency Thursday, the first possible day.
Also filing were outfielder Matt Holliday, a possible replacement for Bay should he not re-sign with Boston, and reliever Billy Wagner, who finished the season with the Red Sox.
One outfielder who won't hit the market is Bobby Abreu, who agreed to a $19 million, two-year contract to stay with the Los Angeles Angels.
"I really feel happy here with Los Angeles," Abreu said. "I really enjoy to play for them, and I think when they started with the conversation for the contract and we didn't have any problems back and forth, it was a nice negotiation. It was no problem to stay and come back with the Angels."
Abreu hit .293 with 15 homers, 103 RBIs, 30 steals and 94 walks as Los Angeles won the AL West and advanced to the AL Championship Series.
Others who filed include pitchers John Lackey and John Smoltz, and first baseman Carlos Delgado.
Mark Kotsay agreed to a $1.5 million contract to remain with the Chicago White Sox rather than become eligible for free agency. The 33-year-old infielder and outfielder hit .278 with four homers and 23 RBIs in 67 games combined with the Red Sox and White Sox.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

This didn't take long. Any bets on where he signs?

Expect the Yankees to give Bay $80 M over four years; Lackey $165 M for 10.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Expect the Yankees to give Bay $80 M over four years; Lackey $165 M for 10.

The Yankees are going to be able to re-sign Damon at a hometown discount as he already said he was going to tell Cashman he does not want to play elsewhere and presumably Cashman will respond by saying "that's nice, here are some peanuts and you can stay here." I heard Damon say this in an interview on YES last night.

As far as Lackey, I believe the Mets are going to be high bidder for his services.

 

[lgna69xxx]

why not with the sawwwx? why do they always let these guys who play hard for them get away? they can afford him..... and for the record i dont want Bay on the Yankees and i dont think you will see them going after him, Damon will be back, and Matsui wont, as far as Lackey, pffffft, dont want him either, Harden would be a good fit however and he is still young, something Cashman has said he wants to do, get younger as a team..

[] Any bets on where he signs?


.

 

[Jman47]

Expect the Yankees to give Bay $80 M over four years; Lackey $165 M for 10.

The Sox should sign Bay, but Holliday is an option and would feast off the wall at Fenway...could be interchangeable but Bay has proven he can perform in Boston. Rumor is he wants to go to Seattle to be closer to home in Vancouver.
Yankees will want one or both as they have no legitimate corner outfielders.
Question is there are dozens of guys up for options who could hit the market...should be an interesting winter.

Pitchers and catchers in 14 weeks boys...

 

[Special K]

why not with the sawwwx? why do they always let these guys who play hard for them get away? they can afford him..... and for the record i dont want Bay on the Yankees and i dont think you will see them going after him, Damon will be back, and Matsui wont, as far as Lackey, pffffft, dont want him either, Harden would be a good fit however and he is still young, something Cashman has said he wants to do, get younger as a team..

You've just shown your complete lack of knowledge in baseball by stating that you would not want Bay on the Yankees? That may be the most asinine thing you ever said, well, let's not go that far. Damon over Bay...lucky for the Yanks you're not the GM Iggy. Lol.

Problem with Harden is that he's injury prone so yea, I'm sure the Yanks will probably go after him too. Lol.

 

[Jman47]

Problem with Harden is that he's injury prone so yea, I'm sure the Yanks will probably go after him too. Lol.

Yup, perfect fit...Can you say...Kevin Brown...Carl Pavano...

 

[lgna69xxx]

i will forgive that hurtfull remark because i know your having Rio withdrawls p)

but it was not lack of anything, it is MY OPINON and nothing more, Damon fits the Yankee mold and Bay doesnt, and the Yanks are set with the hitting, all they need is a starting pitcher, maybe a bench player and maybe one pitcher for the bullpen.... it would be nice to sign nomar dirt cheap so he can be a red sox killa

Sometimes in business ya gotta take risks, Harden, if the price is right would be worth the risk, he is still young and still has some good stuff

You've just shown your complete lack of knowledge in baseball by stating that you would not want Bay on the Yankees? That may be the most asinine thing you ever said, well, let's not go that far. Damon over Bay...lucky for the Yanks you're not the GM Iggy. Lol.

Problem with Harden is that he's injury prone so yea, I'm sure the Yanks will probably go after him too. Lol.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Damon fits the Yankee mold and Bay doesnt

I agree with this. Damon has his flaws as a player - a weak arm, declining range, and he has become very streaky as a hitter. But he was a productive player this year and if you look over his last 4 years, except when he was hurt, he has been a very productive player offensively. He may have had a career year this year, but I do not have a problem re-signing him for a year or two.

A lot of people have forgotten about Xavier Nady. I saw him on the field for the celebration after the World Series. He had season ending surgery and is a free agent but could be re-signed to platoon with Damon, or perhaps Swisher. None of these guys are great defensively though, and the defense on the corners could be upgraded. I am not sure how much of an upgrade Bay really is. Has he won any gold gloves?

It seems like the plan is for Hughes to be the #4 starter next year. Pettite will likely be signed to another one year, incentive laden contract. His base last year was a mere $5.5 million and when you consider what he did, the Yankees got him cheap. That leaves the usual scramble for #5. Joba is going back to the bullpen which is where he belongs.

So basically what the Yankees need to do is maybe get one more defensive-minded corner outfielder, sign a young pitcher who can be developed (to wit: Aroldis Chapman), and perhaps scour the market for a bullpen guy who can assist with the 7th and 8th innings. I have to say though Marte was lights out in the World Series. In game 6 he struck out Utley and Howard on fucking 3 pitches each, which brought back memories of Mike Stanton striking out Dave Justice on 3 sweeping curveballs in the 1998 ALCS. I don't think I have ever seen back to back 3 pitch strikeouts in the World Series by a lefthanded specialist.

 

[Special K]

Phillies exercise their option on Cliff Lee at $9M/ 1 year. At this point that looks like a bargain!!

 

[Jman47]

A lot of people have forgotten about Xavier Nady. I saw him on the field for the celebration after the World Series. He had season ending surgery and is a free agent but could be re-signed to platoon with Damon, or perhaps Swisher. None of these guys are great defensively though, and the defense on the corners could be upgraded. I am not sure how much of an upgrade Bay really is. Has he won any gold gloves?

Good point EB, I did forget about Nady...still unsure if he can perform consistently in the big market, some guys just can't.

Bay, defensively...144+ games this season without an error, his name is being tossed around for a gold glove for 2009.
But you have to remember, he replaced Manny in LF, hell you or I could look like a gold glove out there if we replaced Manny...
In all fairness, Bay plays the game right, plays hard and plays to win.

 

[lgna69xxx]

exact reason why Boston should sign him, but will they? or will they let him walk instead of paying him what he deserves? the way i see it, they need him desperately, can you imgaine what their run production would have been last year without him? especially when big papi started out last season as big poopie, el big stinko

In all fairness, Bay plays the game right, plays hard and plays to win.

 

[Jman47]

exact reason why Boston should sign him, but will they? or will they let him walk instead of paying him what he deserves? the way i see it, they need him desperately, can you imgaine what their run production would have been last year without him? especially when big papi started out last season as big poopie, el big stinko

He has my vote my man ... he was one of the stars of my fantasy team ...
Question is how high will the money driven morons with the checkbook in NY (and I mean both of them) drive the price?!
Good news is Scott BorASS is not his agent...

And you may want to check the production numbers in MLB AFTER mid June...you may just find Mr Ortiz (who's your Papi to you) to be among the leaders...

 

[lgna69xxx]

i dont care what price Bay's stock goes to, Boston can afford him but will they pay him? he was there MVP last year, it is a no brainer, reward him or else someone will, and the sox cant afford to lose him.... GO METS!!!! sign him!!!!

He has my vote my man ... he was one of the stars of my fantasy team ...
Question is how high will the money driven morons with the checkbook in NY (and I mean both of them) drive the price?!
Good news is Scott BorASS is not his agent...

And you may want to check the production numbers in MLB AFTER mid June...you may just find Mr Ortiz (who's your Papi to you) to be among the leaders...

 

[EagerBeaver]

i dont care what price Bay's stock goes to, Boston can afford him but will they pay him?

You bring up a valid point. There are a lot of teams in MLB that could spend more, but they choose not to. Not necessarily the Red Sox, but there are some teams that are content to continually churn younger players and prospects, keep payroll down and then collect luxury tax payments from the Yankees. The Yankees spend more than other teams, and not just on payroll but also on scouting and player development and facilities, because Steinbrenner has ALWAYS been committed to putting his profits back into his team. He wants to win, and he has never cared more about putting money into his various other businesses than winning, unlike some other owners who have been accused of using luxury tax payments to defer losses or expenses in their other, non baseball businesses. This is the disgusting other side of the coin that you never hear about in the media because IT DOES NOT SELL COPY. But the truth is that if those same owners gave a crap about the alleged inequity in the system, they would do something about it. They don't, because under the system they are guaranteed money and rewarded despite not using all resources to win like the Yankees do.

Getting back to Bay. He is a nice player and he will likely get some big offers, but I don't think he fits with the Yankees. He could also end up getting offers from the Mets, and since the White Sox bought their option on Dye making him a free agent, they could also be a player for his services.

http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/mlb/news/story?id=4629090

I think the Red Sox and those teams may be in the hunt. The White Sox are going to use that $11,000,000 saved on Dye on an outfielder, or perhaps even on Matsui as a DH.

 

[EagerBeaver]

J.J. Putz Available

The Mets declined their option on Putz, a sign that they intend to spend their money elsewhere, likely on Lackey.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4630682

 

[EagerBeaver]

Phillies exercise their option on Cliff Lee at $9M/ 1 year. At this point that looks like a bargain!!

The biggest no brainer move of the offseason.

 

[Jman47]

i dont care what price Bay's stock goes to, Boston can afford him but will they pay him? he was there MVP last year, it is a no brainer, reward him or else someone will, and the sox cant afford to lose him.... GO METS!!!! sign him!!!!

This begs the entire question of free agency and salary caps...which by the way I believe in, salary caps that is...but we will save that for another discussion.

The Sox can't afford to lose him...hmmm...
The Sox could not afford to lose Nomar...
The Sox could not afford to lose Pedro...
The Sox could not afford to lose Lowe...
The Sox could not afford to lose Manny...
BS, BS, BS
I have learned in business (and the hard way) that (unfortunate as it may be) no one is irreplaceable. I believe the same is true in BB to a large degree.

I believe there are 25 guys on a team, the team wins games. The Yankees FINALLY figured out you need team chemistry to go along with all of the high priced talent and managed to put it together, not with ARod or CC but with clowns like Swisher, Cabrera and Cano. You need the right combination. (And having ARod find Kate Hudson doesn't hurt either...lol.)

For that reason, and because Bay is a good team guy in addition to being a good basic ball player and he plays the game right, they should pursue him in earnest. But if the price to pay starts to exceed the value he provides, move on...it is the business side of baseball.