MLB NEWS/RUMORS Thread

70 percent of contract plus Kazmir...what would we have to give up prospect wise to get MIA to take that?

 

Man, I hope there is some truth in this post. Stanton is an opportunity for LA to land a Harper/Machado type bat at a fraction of the cost. And given the age of our core guys, having financial flexibility to retain what we have is more important than a ton of strong prospects in the pipeline.

 

That's effectively a 65% contract. Miami would be eating $105 million, and moving $190 million. I guess it just depends on how motivated they are to move him, and if Stanton will 100% hold out for LA.

From LA's perspective, that has to easily be worth Verdugo + Alvarez + other smaller pieces... I imagine.

 

i've met you so i know you are too young to have been around in the 70s
but 74 was one of the first of many painful Dodger losses w Rudi and Bando and Catfish and Odom, Campy and Tenace, Rollie and Vida, Reggie and Finley
that was a legitimately great team and they pretty much dominated

 

To add onto the 70% + Kazmir deal:

Kazmir's salary next year is basically 70% of Stanton's, meaning we would break even in 2018 if we pulled that off. Important if the Dodgers are serious about getting under the tax threshold next year, which they certainly are.

 

It's kinda sad to see a team with their history turn into what they now are.

 

Dodger team was very good, too. A's were just better.

 

They're NoCal. Fuck 'em.

 

Similar to word magically making its way to Heyman and other insiders. Zero reason for LAD to go out and get permission from Miami to speak with Stanton and do the whole song and dance that STL/SFG just did.

We're pretty much now at a point where it's easier to read the tea leaves. What one guy wrote the other day is that this trade would be over and done if LAD had no interest at all..Stanton would've moved on from the LAD dream a long time ago. And then Heyman backs that up and says LAD is still working on this.

I do wonder how the Stanton stuff could effect Ohtani's decision..if Ohtani wants the option of playing some corner OF, obviously, plugging Stanton in flies in the face of that. But maybe Ohtani could be convinced into playing some 1B and Belli moves out to CF on those occasions with Taylor of course taking 2B?

 

FUCKTARD genius coming back to haunt. Epitaph reads: Kazmir killed Stanton.

 

I would think its not only stanton himself but also miami that wants to see something from us first
the other two are offering very little beyond salary dump and a few bodies

 

The final 7 for Ohtani here are somethings he should certainly take into account...

• Angels- Owner has shown a reluctance to spend money in recent years to add what could be just a missing piece. Org is rated with one of the worst farm systems in baseball. Only high ceiling talent is years away with HUGE question marks. Potential long term 1B spot, but COF and DH is pretty well locked up. Very little in SP department, would be teams ace.

• Cubs- One of the best run organizations in baseball with a load of young talent already on the roster. Farm system has been drastically depleted and rotational depth is severely lacking. COF is the only potential openings in the field to play everyday as 1B is locked in longterm.

• Giants- A FO with a tenacity to want to win and a city with a strong Japanese population(I guess, that's what people say, but I only ever see white people when I go to SF). They will spend spend spend/ trade trade trade to keep that going, but by doing so have destroyed their farm system and are kissing up against the tax and penalties. If Stanton is acquired, the immediate depth will be nada from the farm, but their window as a title contender is reopened for at least one more season. The big thing will be if they can stay healthy. Ohtani in a rotation along with Bumgarner and a better Cueto would pose as the best 1-2-3 in baseball and all parties would be locked in relatively long term. If the experiment crumbles again in 2018, the ramifications could be disastrous as the org will drop 2 items of dead weight in 2018, but nothing else big until 2020. May be worth waiting to see what happens with Stanton before making a decision. COF is the only immediate opening, but with Stanton, long term it becomes hazy. Brandon Belt is perceived to have a future in LF if Posey continues to die in the 2nd half of the season.

• Mariners - Oh boy do they have a GM that LOVES to tinker and a town also known for it's strong Japanese contingent(once again, no clue as I've never been). Dealin' Dipoto will certainly do everything he can to make what he perceives to be an upgrade. Mariners have the base for a strong team, but have just never been able to put it all together. Nelson Cruz, Robbie Cano, Kyle Seager and Jean Segura are a formidable core and Mike Zunino turning a corner could help make them a contender. The problem is that their pitching staff has never been able to stay healthy and FA hitters just don't want to go to Seattle, which makes their player development key to their foundation. When you hear something like that, you'd probably say, "well if that is the case, they must have a strong farm system." Well, much like the Giants and Angels before this, the Mariners have one of the worst farm systems in baseball and Dipoto has only gutted it further since taking over. If the team is unable to succeed in 2018, it could be a few years before you hear about the Mariners again as Nelson Cruz is a FA at the end of the season. The rapidly declining Felix Hernandez is a FA at the end of 2019, so the club could be due for a huge spending spree. 1B could be available with Ryon Healy there, COF is open, but DH could be tricky with Cruz being an abomination in the field at this point.

• Padres- The first entry that doesn't have a depleted/fucking abomination of a farm system, plus a FO that Ohtani is extremely familiar with. San Diego offers the strongest group of prospects to come along with Ohtani of any of the 6 other finalist, plus a couple guys already in MLB that could make for a potentially dangerous and cheap core. The city is will offer the most laid back atmosphere to play in with the least intrusive media presence. He has a familiarity with the clubs spring training complex which should amount to diddly shit, but people are saying it matters. One thing that he should take into account is the club has a GM that much of baseball does not like and many will no longer do deals with him. Something that will matter down the road if the Padres ever become contenders. Another thing to take into account is of all the orgs that he selected, this is easily the only one that will not spend to compete. 1B and RF are pretty well locked up, but LF is a spot that could work, there has also been a rumor that Myers is open to going back to LF if it meant accommodating a 1B move for Ohtani.

• Rangers- I'll admit that of all the teams in baseball, this is probably one of the orgs I am least familiar with. The Rangers have a solid young core coming along that does two things pretty well, hit a bunch of HR's and likes to strike out just as much. They've graduated a bunch of guys, much like the Cubs so their farm is a little on the weak side. Their starting pitching is also a bit of a disaster with no real good prospects on the way. The Rangers offer the murkiest of opportunities as to where he could play as they have Mazara in the COF, as well as a not cheap Shin-Soo Choo, Beltre at 3B making it so that Joey Gallo is at 1B/DH and now and Willie Calhoun in the big leagues who is a DH/LF, likely worthy of a shot. He'd be at the front of a rotation that has Cole Hamels coming off a terrible year and not much else. I hate Dallas, so not sure what desire there is to play in a place where it gets 100+ for weeks in the summer, but they seem to be here due to how nicely they treated Yu.

• Dodgers- Hey hey, it's us and time to sum the boys in blue up with those rose colored glasses. The Dodgers, along with the Cubs are one of the best run organizations in baseball and like the north-siders, are creative to boot. Of the teams left, they are the only one that has a strong core of young prospects AND distinguished vets, plus a farm system still rated amongst the best in baseball. In the event that Ohtani were to sign with the Dodgers, they would likely have the highest rated farm on this list and should jump into the top 3 in all of baseball. The Dodgers currently could offer time in both in LF and 1B on days off due to Bellinger's versatility and even just 1B if the team somehow nabs Stanton. Of this list, the Dodgers historically have had the best luck with Japanese born players and a strong group of support in the city. The negative is that outside of Chicago, it is going to have the hardest to deal with media presence (though nothing like NY, Boston or Philly) and an immediate expectation to push the Dodgers over the top and be World Series Champs.

If I were him, obviously the Dodgers are my first choice, but would be followed in order with Cubs, Giants, Angels, Rangers, Padres and Mariners in that order.

 

The Yankees had to give up a young Alfonso Soriano, so it would probably need to be something substantial to get that much of a discount + the salary relief. Verdugo is probably leading the charge and I could also see Alvarez, probably two of White/Santana/May and another top 30 positional prospect.

 

If the Gnats get both Stanton AND Ohtani, I’m gonna be pissed. That would suck big chunks.

 

One thing that would be interesting to watch and could have some effect on the season in the event the Dodgers DO land Ohtani... What will the media start to say if Ohtani and Buehler enter the rotation and are the real deal? Add on if Urias is anywhere near where he was before the injury. You are going to have A LOT of talk about whether or not Clayton Kershaw has a future with the franchise. I could see this FO saying if he opts out, "Yeah Kersh, we would love to have you return, but with the questions about your back and those post season blemishes, we are hoping that you will go the Taylor/ Jansen route and take a discounted contract."

 

When is Walker's ETA?

 

Depends on how things go to start the season, but most folks expect June-July. He is about ready, but they may bring him along slowly this year in hopes that he can have enough in the tank to be a part of another deep playoff run.

 

If Ohtoni signs with the Dodgers trades are going to need to take place. I would guess that part of Ohtoni's negotiations with the 7 remaining teams is that he is viewed as a stater in 2018. That being said, the Dodger rotation will needs some spots to be freed up. Kerhaw/Hill/Maeda/Wood all have spots. Ohtoni fills the last spot, that leaves Urias/Walker/Ryu/McCarthy out and does not even take into consideration Kazmir/Stewart/Striping.

 

It’s not as huge a deal with the Dodgers as it may seem. Buehler and Urias are a bit out, Stewart should probably start the year in AAA, Stripling is a break glass in case of emergency SP, Kazmir is done and McCarthy is probably gone no matter what. Ryu is probably the only one that’s future is in jeopardy and he’d be easy to move.

 

I found this tweet funny:

The Padres make a lot of sense for Ohtani if he wants to play in front of mostly Dodgers fans and not live in Los Angeles.