The Official 2024 MLB Regular Season Discussion Thread

[Bobby Barrows]

Not Garver.

 

[Doom]

New York Mets acquire RHP Chris Bassitt from Oakland Athletics after All-Star season​

ESPN

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Right-hander Chris Bassitt, who made a remarkable recovery from a frightening line drive to the head last year, was traded by the Oakland Athletics to the New York Mets on Saturday for a pair of minor league pitchers.

The Mets sent right-handers J.T. Ginn and Adam Oller to the A's for Bassitt.

Bassitt gives the Mets a much-needed starter for the middle of the rotation, seemingly a good fit behind aces Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer.

The 33-year-old Bassitt came back to make two starts in late September, just more than a month after he took a 100 mph liner to the face on Aug. 17 in Chicago. The drive came off Brian Goodwin's bat in the second inning of a 9-0 loss to the White Sox.

Bassitt underwent surgery for three fractures in his right cheekbone. Immediately after the injury, his right eye was swollen shut.

Bassitt wound up 12-4 with a 3.15 ERA in 27 starts, including his first career complete game and All-Star selection. He had been an AL Cy Young candidate when he got hurt and his absence took a toll on the A's beyond the field. He was 12-3 with a 3.06 ERA and leading the AL in victories when he was injured.

Oakland, which won the AL West in the virus-shortened 2020 season, finished 86-76 and nine games behind the division champion Houston Astros to miss the playoffs following three straight appearances. The small-budget A's have long been known for trading away their key players during the offseason.

The Athletics will be led by first-year manager Mark Kotsay, a former outfielder for the club.

New York made a huge splash by landing Scherzer in free agency before the Major League Baseball lockout, giving the team an imposing duo with deGrom that's combined to win five Cy Young Awards. But overlooked a bit in that excitement was the fact that Marcus Stroman, the club's best starter last season, signed with the Chicago Cubs and right-hander Noah Syndergaard, coming back from Tommy John surgery, left for the Los Angeles Angels.

So the Mets need to add depth on the mound, especially with deGrom coming off an injury-abbreviated season and Scherzer set to turn 38 in July. They also have Carlos Carrasco, who managed 12 mostly ineffective starts last year in his first season with the Mets, and Taijuan Walker, who followed up an All-Star first half with a miserable second half.

Third-year lefty David Peterson and right-hander Tylor Megill are also rotation options after each showed some promise as a rookie.

The 22-year-old Ginn was a second-round pick by the Mets in 2020. He was a combined 5-5 with a 3.33 ERA in two levels of Class A ball last year.

Oller, 27, was a combined 9-4 with a 3.45 ERA in Triple-A and Double-A last year.

The pitching lineup with him, Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom looks dangerous.

 

[Rosie]

New York Mets acquire RHP Chris Bassitt from Oakland Athletics after All-Star season​

The pitching lineup with him, Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom looks dangerous.

Now give them run support for the love of God. As a former pitcher, I love good pitching, but you need to give them some runs damnit.

 

[Lethal]

Mike trout probably but it's way more of a team game so Superstars don't have as much success

I'm looking forward to watching my first game. Might be more interesting with a team to 'support.' A bloke I work with is a Rangers fan and has a cracker of a time so I want in on that

 

[Swerve]

I'm looking forward to watching my first game. Might be more interesting with a team to 'support.' A bloke I work with is a Rangers fan and has a cracker of a time so I want in on that

You can be an honorary Braves fan. They don't play the Rangers.

 

[Swerve]

All is quiet again on the Freeman, Correa front. I was online for an average of 58 minutes per day on my phone. It is usually around 25, i don't expect much to happen on a Sunday but you never know. With this short Spring Training you'd think the sooner the players got with a team the better.

 

[Bobby Barrows]

 

[Doom]

I like the move by the Twins to add Sonny Gray to their pitching rotation.

 

[Swerve]

From a Braves forum:

FYI: On MLB Network Radio this morning, Jim Bowden said the Braves are being very aggressive in years and dollars with Freeman. Heard this from a source close to his camp. Says the 6th year narrative is false and that it’s basically the Braves or Dodgers.

 

[Swerve]

Is this dude a human or a robot with this sloppy reporting?

 

[Bobby Barrows]

God damn

 

[Apoho Creed]

Love that deal with both teams^

Phils please do something stat.

 

[Rosie]

I know people are going to bitch about the name, though I am fine with them changing it as the name is one of the ones based on Aboriginal peoples which didn't age well (and ESPECIALLY since they got rid of their Chief Wahoo logo), but the wordmarks on their new jerseys all look very solid! Though the wing baseball logo isn't the best.

 

[Rosie]

damn

 

[Chris]

Terrible news, Tatis is such a stud