MLB NEWS/RUMORS Thread

There are prospects, and there are prospects.
The nerds have my total faith.
Even bringing on a guy like Kemp.
These guys do too much homework for me to believe they don't have an ace up their sleeve.
When they zag its because everyone else is still zigging.

 

meanwhile down in miami...

Mattingly excited about new-look Marlins
Associated Press — 5 hours ago



MIAMI -- After all the deals and departures, Miami Marlins manager Don Mattingly says he's enthused about the upcoming season.

Really, he is.

"You probably think I'm crazy, but I'm really excited about what's going on," Mattingly said Saturday during the team's Fan Fest event at Marlins Park. "I can say it -- look you right in the camera, look you right in the eye -- I can tell you how excited I am to be here and what we're doing."

This will be his third season guiding the club, and he'll see a radically revamped roster without many stars when spring training begins within the week. Soon after taking over last fall, the new Marlins' ownership, overseen by majority partner Bruce Sherman and CEO Derek Jeter, traded half the club's starting lineup in an attempt to dramatically cut payroll and build an organizational foundation.

Gone in exchange for prospects were reigning NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton, who hit 59 home runs, and fellow outfielders Marcell Ozuna and Christian Yelich. They combined for a major-league-best .913 OPS by an outfield trio last season.

Also traded for additional minor leaguers was second baseman Dee Gordon, who hit .308, stole an NL-leading 60 bases in 2017 and won the league batting title in 2015.

There is also the possibility that the Marlins are not finished dealing and slashing payroll. Catcher J.T. Realmuto and second baseman Starlin Castro, the only acquisition with extended major league experience and who joined Miami in the Stanton deal, reportedly have asked to be traded.

"I know what you guys know, obviously," Realmuto said Saturday. "For me, it is getting ready to start the season, whether it's in Miami or somewhere else. No matter what happens, my job is to play baseball."

The trades have resulted in widespread displeasure with Marlins fans. But Mattingly backs the new ownership's approach.

"We knew that we had a good lineup but also knew we were 10 games out of the wild card with those guys," Mattingly said. "We didn't match up pitching and offense. There had to be something done. No matter how much offense you have, you're not going to win without pitching.

"I know some of the things have been unpopular. When you look at it, for me, they're things that had to be done."



Mattingly said he reached out to the traded players he managed the past two seasons.

"Hopefully, we've impacted their careers," Mattingly said. "As a coach you feel like you're a teacher, and you want to help these guys develop."

As with every other team approaching spring training, optimism outweighs negative expectations. Mattingly is no different, even with projections of his team losing between 90 and 100 games.

"I don't think about losing. I think about winning," Mattingly said. "It won't be any different with our guys. We're going to prepare to win. We're going to prepare to win a championship.

"I told my players every year that I've managed: I've never been in a game that I expected to lose. I don't care if it's [Clayton] Kershaw against whoever, it doesn't look good on paper. You go into every game feeling you're going to win today and expect to win today," he said.

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why do i feel an andrew cashner or ra dickey signing coming?

 

he's the right color

 

What's next for the Dodgers?
by David Schoenfield | ESPN Senior Writer — 7 hours ago

The speculation was that Darvish took so long to sign because he wanted to return to the Dodgers and that the Dodgers were interested but had to clear payroll -- in the form of Matt Kemp -- to fit Darvish under the luxury-tax threshold. The only way to trade Kemp would be to include some prospects to entice a team to take on some significant portion of the $42 million owed Kemp the next two seasons, but no taker was found. I don't think this means the Dodgers dip into free agency with another starter. They're already close enough to the threshold that signing a Lynn or Cobb would push them over that number. Plus, it's not clear those two or even Arrieta are upgrades over what they have in the likes of Kenta Maeda, Hyun-Jin Ryu and rookie Walker Buehler at the back of the rotation. Plus, the Dodgers' front office is still feeling the burn from the Scott Kazmir and Brandon McCarthy contracts, so a pitcher like Cobb, who has missed two of the past three seasons, isn't going to appeal to them. Unless they want to package Buehler and other prospects for a guy like Chris Archer, I think their rotation is set. The Dodgers are big enough favorites in the NL West that they should play out the first three months and reassess their needs in July. They may end up needing to upgrade the bullpen more than the rotation anyway.

 

What sucks is that idk how much longer it’ll be clear that the Dodgers are the top team in the NL. It would’ve been great to take advantage of a time where only the Cubs and Nationals have really good teams and the rest of the NL barely tries. Now you let the Cubs narrow the gap instead of putting yourself way above them and giving you a great chance to get to the World Series again. It might not be this open after this year and it’ll hurt to not reach the World Series again cause then, it’ll never happen.