MLB Offseason Discussion Thread

[The New F'n Show]

Cabby losing to A-Gon is a bit ridiculous, don't have a problem with Upton he is a better overall hitter than the three guys you mentioned.

 

[Killswitch]

Giants trade for Melky Cabrera

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Royals traded outfielder Melky Cabrera to the San Francisco Giants for left-hander Jonathan Sanchez on Monday, upgrading their rotation and clearing the way for hotshot prospect Lorenzo Cain to get a chance in center field.

It was the second significant trade involving a starter this offseason. The Atlanta Braves shipped Derek Lowe to the Cleveland Indians last week.

The Royals also received Double-A pitcher Ryan Verdugo in the deal.

Read full story

Great trade for the Royals. IMO Melky had a once in a lifetime, year with KC this year. He is going to be remembered as a .250 hitter with a great throwing arm, but has NO idea where the ball is going when he lets it go.

Is going to be a fourth outfielder on any GOOD team, and the Royals have plenty of hitting. Adding good starting pitching is a great move for them, and basically giving up NOTHING to get it. Yankees and Braves both DUMPED Melky just to get rid of him.

 

[The New F'n Show]

Don't trust Sanchez staying healthy but not a fan of Melky and that was a great way of maximizing his value. Plus I think Lorenzo Cain is going to be better than him.

 

[Killswitch]

Nationals C Ramos kidnapped in Venezuela

WASHINGTON - Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos has been kidnapped in his home country of Venezuela.

Reports say that Ramos was kidnapped from his home around 6:45 p.m. Venezuelan time (6:15 p.m. EST) in Maracay. The Nationals' catcher has been playing for the Aragua Tigers, a team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League.

The Tigers confirmed the kidnapping via their Twitter feed Wednesday.

Kathe Vilera, the team's PR representative tweeted that four armed men in a pickup trick took Ramos from his home.

According to a report on El Siglo, a Venezuelan news outlet, Ramos was taken while he was in the company of his family.

According to another Venezuelan outlet, El Nacional, a source close to Ramos says they are waiting for the kidnappers to contact the family.

Many players often head to countries in south and central America during the Major League Baseball off-season to continue playing baseball.

Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo says the team is waiting for more information.

"We will have something to say when there is something to say," Rizzo says.

Major League Baseball players from Venezuela have had family members kidnapped in the past.

The mothers of former MLB pitchers Victor Zambrano and Ugeth Urbina were kidnapped in the past decade.

The son of former MLB catcher Yorvit Torrealba was also kidnapped in 2009.

Ramos has played for the Nationals since being traded to Washington from Minnesota for relief pitcher Matt Capps. In 2011, Ramos hit .267 with 15 home runs and 52 RBI in 113 games.

I remember when this happened to Torrealba's family. So sad. I'm no expert on kidnapping, but I can't see how government power to freeze a family's assets is beneficial to the situation. If you have the money, which I'm sure Ramos does (or the Nationals would pay) isn't it better just to pay? Making a stand at the cost of someone's life does not seem worth it to me.

 

[No More Sorrow]

Jonathan Papelbon is closing the book on his tenure with the Boston Red Sox.

Papelbon, the longtime Red Sox right-hander who has anchored their bullpen for six years, including a World Series title in 2007, has agreed to a four-year, $50 million deal with the Philadelphia Phillies pending a physical, a source familiar with the negotiations told ESPN.com senior writer Jayson Stark on Friday.

The deal includes a vesting option that could take it beyond $60 million for the 30-year-old, the source said. Another source close to the situation said the physical with the Phillies won't occur until early next week, the earliest the contract could be finalized or announced.

If finalized, the contract would be the largest total package ever signed by a relief pitcher. The previous high was the five-year, $47 million deal signed by B.J. Ryan with Toronto in December 2005.

The $12.5 million average annual value of the deal would be tied for the second-highest ever signed by a reliever.

Mariano Rivera's $15 million a year, in each of his last two contracts, ranks No. 1.

Papelbon's annual pay would be tied with former Phillies closer Brad Lidge, who signed a three-year, $37.5 million extension during the 2008 season, covering the 2009-11 seasons.

Papelbon takes 219 career saves, with a 2.33 ERA and 1.02 WHIP, with him to Philadelphia, despite pitching his entire career in the AL East.

It remains uncertain whether the Phillies will have to surrender their first-round draft pick next June to the Red Sox as compensation for Papelbon, because draft-pick compensation is one of the unresolved issues still on the table during the ongoing labor talks.

Under the current rules, because Papelbon is a Type A free agent, the Red Sox would receive the Phillies' No. 1 pick, the 31st overall pick, in the draft.

However, the players' union has been seeking to reduce the number of premier free agents who would require a team to surrender a draft choice. So until labor negotiations are completed, neither team can be certain of the new definition of players who would still require compensation.

Nevertheless, a source familiar with the labor talks predicted Friday that Papelbon is still likely to be among the elite free agents who would cost their team a No. 1 pick.

The deal comes after the Red Sox said they would like to re-sign Papelbon, and the Toronto Blue Jays and Florida Marlins reportedly also had expressed strong interest.

Papelbon, a four-time All-Star, will replace Ryan Madson, who also is a free agent.

Madson's agent, Scott Boras, and Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. were close to a $44 million, four-year deal on Monday. But Amaro told Boras the following day that team president Dave Montgomery wouldn't approve the deal. That offer included a vesting option that would have taken the contract to $57 million over five years.

The Phillies have long been opposed to giving pitchers contracts beyond three years. They made an exception last year when they signed left-hander Cliff Lee to a $120 million, five-year deal.

The five-time NL East champions are seeking their second Series victory since 2008. They lost in the World Series to the New York Yankees in 2009, were eliminated in the NLCS in 2010 and got knocked out in the NL division series this year.

Madson was outstanding in his first year as the team's closer, converting 32 of 34 chances. He was Lidge's setup man for the previous three years, and spent his first nine seasons in Philadelphia. Madson was 47-30 with a 3.59 ERA and 52 saves in 491 career games, including 18 starts.

Papelbon, a starter in the minor leagues, has converted 88.3 percent of his save opportunities to go with a 23-19 record in 396 career appearances. He had a career-high 41 saves in 2008.

Signing a closer and re-signing former NL MVP Jimmy Rollins were Philadelphia's top two offseason priorities. Rollins, a three-time All-Star shortstop, wants to return to the Phillies and the team wants to bring him back at the right price.

ESPN.com

 

[No More Sorrow]

MIAMI -- A surprising visit by Albert Pujols sent a message: The Miami Marlins will be a much different franchise than the Florida Marlins.

Pujols picked an unlikely locale to begin his free-agent tour Friday when he was courted in Miami by the Marlins, only hours before they officially changed their name during a ceremony at their new ballpark. Pujols had lunch with team officials, checked out the stadium and received a contract offer.

The notoriously thrifty franchise, suddenly in the mood for a spending spree, declined to disclose details of the contract proposal. Free agents Jose Reyes and left-hander Mark Buehrle also received offers after taking ballpark tours earlier this week.

"We've never been penny-pinchers," owner Jeffrey Loria said. "We just haven't had the ability to do it in the old stadium. Now we're looking forward to a new era."

The 31-year-old Pujols, a three-time NL MVP, is a free agent for the first time after spending his first 11 major league seasons with St. Louis. Pujols and the Cardinals didn't discuss a contract extension during the season, which ended with a World Series title, but he hasn't ruled out remaining in St. Louis.

"We're just going to see where God takes us," Pujols said last week.

It could be Miami, now that the Marlins have become aggressive free-agent shoppers. They expect crowds of more than 30,000 nightly next season, meaning a revenue increase that will allow the frugal franchise to be more active in free agency.

Loria and a contingent of team officials even visited the Dominican Republic on Thursday to watch a private workout by highly regarded Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes.

"We're looking at everyone," Loria said. "We want to make this team as special as we can. We would be foolish not to entertain the possibility of some of these players. It's just one of those things that mean you're going forward. We've had our hands tied for a long time. With this new stadium we want to step into a new light."

New manager Ozzie Guillen is expected to help recruiting efforts.

"Miami is a magnet -- the city, the manager, the new ballpark, the players we have," Loria said. "We have a terrific core here. All of it put together is the magnet."

The Marlins are expected to increase their payroll from $57 million this year to at least $80 million in 2012. Signing Pujols would likely mean spending even more.

Marlins president David Samson made it sound unlikely that the team would be willing to pay all three veterans they're courting if Pujols, Reyes and Buehrle accept offers.

"It's a problem we never suspected could happen," Samson said. "It didn't even occur to me. We have a first choice, a 1A and a 1B after 1. This week did not happen by accident. We knew who we wanted to see, and when we wanted to see them."

Pujols would be the big prize. The Cardinals exercised a $16 million option on his contract after last season. The slugger rejected a multiyear extension that included a small percentage of the franchise during the winter, and he cut off negotiations on the first day of spring training.

Pujols' numbers in nearly every major offensive category are on a three-year decline, but he remains among the game's elite players. He hit 37 home runs this year, running the 30-homer streak to 11 years, and batted .299 with 99 RBIs. He led the Cardinals' improbable late-season surge and became only the third player to hit three home runs in a World Series game.

Loria said the meeting with Pujols went well.

"He's terrific," Loria said. "I can only tell you that he loved the stadium, he liked being here, he liked the flavor of Miami. We're hopeful some of these deals will happen."

ESPN.com

 

[Killswitch]

Why did the Marlins offer a contract to the biggest free agents? Because it generated publicity for their team. When is the last time the Marlin's offseason activities been a lead story for ESPN? The offers only cost you if the players agree.

 

[Ben]

Home hat

Road hat? (not shown in team picture)

BP hat

Home jersey

Road jersey

Alternate jersey 1

Alternate jersey 2

BP jersey

There's all the new uniforms for the renamed Marlins. Personally think there for real with signing big names, there going to want buts in the seat in the new stadium, and I bet they at least get someone like Reyes.

 

[No More Sorrow]

I'd say Reyes is more likely than Pujlos.

 

[Killswitch]

Papelbon got 5 years from the Phils and 50 mil. Philly's gone full blueberry.

 

[Ben]

That's way to much for the guy, can't wait for the insane deals that Fielder and Pujos are going to get.

 

[Killswitch]

Cardinals hire Mike Matheny as manager

 

[The New F'n Show]

Papelbon to Philly makes sense but damn that's a lot of dough for a RP. Those Marlins logo's are awful. Matheny is a good baseball man, didn't mind that hire.

 

[Killswitch]

I doubt he (or really any) closer will be worth $12.5 million a year. But if anyone would, Papelbon would be on the shortlist. Strikes me as silly for the Sox to punish personal characteristics only to leave themselves with a RP gap, which they'll probably fill by buying the lesser K-Rod.

 

[The New F'n Show]

I still think despite a poor year Bard has closer stuff. I'd give him a shot.