MLB NEWS/RUMORS Thread

Scott Kazmir agrees with this assessment.

 

interesting that this (guy's) tweet has since been deleted...

Angels were the only team that agreed to let Shohei Ohtani hit and pitch every day
by Daniel Starkand | Dodger Blue — 2 hours ago

Japanese free agent Shohei Ohtani made his long-awaited decision on which Major League team to sign with on Friday, choosing the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in a stunning turn of events.

With help from a questionnaire that prospective teams completed, Ohtani narrowed his search down to seven teams in the Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs. He then met with each of the clubs in person.

The Angels recently acquired more international bonus pool money from the Minnesota Twins in pursuit of Ohtani, but they still had less than the Rangers and Mariners to offer him, so no one considered the Angels to be the favorites.

But a possible reason why Ohtani wound up choosing to sign with Angels was their willingness to allow him to remain a viable two-way player, according to Sam Miller of ESPN:

The Angels were the only team that would agree to let Ohtani both hit and pitch every day
— Sam Miller (@SamMillerBB) December 8, 2017​

Ohtani succeeded as both a hitter and pitcher in Japan, so it will be interesting to see how the Angels plan to use him, and why other teams were unwilling to commit to him as an everyday player.

Japanese pitchers are accustomed to pitching only once a week, as opposed to every fifth day, so the Angels could keep Ohtani on that schedule and use him as a designated hitter on the other days. That of course is not an option National League teams could offer.

And with an aging Albert Pujols, there doesn’t figure to be a lack of opportunities for Ohtani as a DH.

Ohtani has played some outfield in his career, but with Mike Trout, Justin Upton and Kole Calhoun locked into the three outfield positions it is hard to see Ohtani working his way in there.

 

Dodgers reportedly “most likely” landing spot for Giancarlo Stanton
by Hunter Thompson | Dodgers Nation — 2 hours ago

It was reported recently that Giancarlo Stanton’s list of teams he would approve includes the Dodgers, but not the Giants or Cardinals. It came as a pretty big surprise to see the two favored teams not included. With that being the case, it appears that the Dodgers are now the favorite to land the reigning MVP.

Jim Bowden tweeted that he believes the Dodgers and Yankees are the most likely destinations. Craig Mish followed with a tweet of what he believes the odds are for each team to land the slugger.

​

As noted by Mish, the Giants and Cardinals are not completely out of the conversation. This was also reported on by Joe Frisaro of MLB.com, who had this to say:

"Giancarlo Stanton is keeping all of his options open, and the reigning National League Most Valuable Player Award winner has not ruled out either the Giants or Cardinals from trade consideration, a source told MLB.com."​

The Marlins are getting serious about cutting down their payroll, and they’ve already traded Dee Gordon. They likely won’t waste any time trying to work out a deal with one of Stanton’s preferred teams. If they can’t find a deal that works, they may have to resort to moving other stars to get their payroll to a level that they feel in manageable. If that were to happen, Stanton could remain in Miami until the trade deadline next season or even the off-season. This would be the worst case for both sides, so expect a deal to be found sooner rather than later.

If a deal can be found with one of Stanton’s preferred teams, they will likely have to take on a big portion of Stanton’s contract. The Cardinals and Giants were both reportedly expected to take on the majority of it in a trade, but it’s less likely that the Dodgers or Yankees would be willing to do the same. For either of them to do it, they would have to unload a bad contract of their own. This wouldn’t be the worst thing for the Marlins if it’s a player on a one year deal, since they they would only have to worry about paying that player for 2018.

There’s still no definitive timetable for a Stanton trade, but it could easily happen during the upcoming winter meetings.

 

Puig is that one guys anti-Villar.