The Mets have won the off season,so far, but Padres have scored

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The Mets sent a jolt through the baseball world by trading for shortstop Fransisco Lindor and right hander Carlos Carrasco from Cleveland on Thursday. The move came exactly a week after the completion of a three-day wheel-and-deal whirlwind of seismic proportions out west by the Padres.

The two clubs have lit up the Hot Stove, and they’ve been the biggest stories in baseball. So the question is: Who’s winning the offseason so far?

Let’s break it down into two categories: potential impact on the field, and overall shock value.

 We had the privilege of watching a Dodgers-Padres National League Division Series last October, and you’re not alone if you got the feeling these two clubs will be battling at the top of the NL West for years to come. The Dodgers showed why they're the defending eight-time division champs. But fast-forward a couple of months and add former American League Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell and 2020 NL Cy Young Award runner-up Yu Darvish to San Diego’s rotation. Oh, and we can’t forget that the Padres also won the Ha Seong Kim sweepstakes. 

How much closer does this bring the Padres to the World Series champs? We obviously can’t know until the 2021 season plays out, but if we’re already talking about a club that had a legitimate shot last year to become the first team other than the Dodgers to win the NL West since 2012, it’s pretty clear these teams are not far apart. Last season, San Diego swung a deal with Cleveland to acquire Mike Clevinger for the stretch run, but he’ll be out for the 2021 season recovering from Tommy John surgery. Well, the Padres certainly made up for that loss and then some with their recent moves.

After his Cy Young Award campaign in 2018, when he posted a 1.89 ERA and 32 percent strikeout rate, Snell struggled to a 4.29 mark in an injury-shortened ’19, when he had to undergo elbow surgery. But he bounced back in the abbreviated ’20 campaign, finishing with a 3.24 ERA and 31 percent K rate over 11 starts. He then worked in and out of trouble through the first three rounds of the postseason before turning in a sterling performance in Game 6 of the World Series, yielding one run and striking out nine Dodgers over 5 1/3 innings for the Rays. And Snell just turned 28 last month.

 

Darvish was as good as he’s ever been in 2020, pitching to a 2.01 ERA  while fanning 31 percent of the batters he faced over 12 starts. The right-hander owns a career 3.47 ERA in eight MLB seasons, and there’s no reason to think he won’t pick right back up where he left off when he takes the mound in a Padres uniform.

Kim can play all around the infield, but was mostly a shortstop in seven Korea Baseball Organization seasons (he’s still only 25 years old). He had a huge 2020 with the Kiwoom Heroes, slashing .306/.397/.523 with 30 home runs and 23 steals in 138 games. Acquiring Kim was, of all things, a very Dodgers-esque move -- he’s likely going to be deployed as a super-utility player.

The Dodgers, for their part, have been rumored to be in the mix for some big names, but have yet to make a major move this offseason. Of course, they are the defending champs, and the Friars’ aggressiveness isn’t necessarily causing anyone to lose sleep in L.A. Still, San Diego has moved significantly closer to Los Angeles, and we’re not talking geography.

Mets: The Braves have won three consecutive NL East titles, and the Nationals are only a season removed from winning the World Series. But they’ll be stepping right up to greet some new Mets in 2021, specifically a pair that may very well shift the balance of power in the East. Lindor is one of the best shortstops in the game, and Carrasco has the stuff to be a sleeper Cy Young Award candidate year-in and year-out.

They call Lindor “Mr. Smile,” and he just brought a smile to the face of countless Mets fans in Queens and beyond.The 27 year old shortstop is entering the final year of his current contract, but an extension to stay in New York certainly isn’t far-fetched, particularly if the club makes a deep postseason run in ’21. He’s won two Gold Glove Awards and a Platinum Glove Award, owns a career .833 OPS and hit 30-plus homers in each year from 2017-19 before launching eight in last year’s shortened campaign.

Carrasco joins a rotation that already features Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard (though he’ll be out until midseason due to Tommy John surgery) and Marcus Stroman. Outside a 2019 campaign in which he missed a big chunk of the season undergoing treatment for leukemia before making an inspirational return to the mound in September, Carrasco hasn’t posted an ERA above 3.63 since he became a full-time starter in 2015. He was stellar in 12 starts last year, finishing with a 2.91 ERA (157 ERA+) and 29 percent strikeout rate. With him in the fold, the Mets have bolstered a rotation that entered the offseason with a lot of question marks, now with three ace-caliber starters at the front.

Like the Dodgers and most other teams so far, the Braves have had a relatively quiet offseason, though they did make a big move to add veteran depth to a loaded young starting rotation by signing Charlie Morton.

Edge: Padres. This is a tough call because the Mets made big strides viz-a-viz the Braves in one fell swoop Thursday. But while New York added two impact players, including one to bolster the starting rotation, San Diego transformed its starting staff with two elite arms. Its rotation stacks up well with the Dodgers’ group -- we can’t forget about Dinelson Lamet (2.09 ERA in 12 starts last year) and Chris Paddack (a season removed from a 3.33 ERA over 26 starts as a rookie).

Last season, the Padres’ rotation was third in baseball with a 3.46 ERA, behind the Dodgers’ 3.29 and the Indians’ 3.17. But San Diego’s staff had a better FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching), at 3.71 to the Dodgers’ 4.11. With the offseason additions, it’s not crazy to suggest San Diego’s group might even be slightly better than the defending World Series champs’.

Padres: General manager A.J. Preller had an incredibly prolific calendar year in 2020, right up through the very last day. Preller and company showed just how committed they are to winning, and winning now with their flurry of big splashes. San Diego was the first team to truly light the Hot Stove, so there are major points for that when it comes to shock value. And the Padres were already the darlings of the NL, a fun group of young players led by the most exciting player in the game -- Fernando Tatis Jr. Building even more around him and Manny Machado raised a lot of eyebrows and ramped up anticipation of the NL West race in 2021.

Mets: From Day 1 of new owner Steve Cohen’s administration in Queens, it was clear the Mets were going to be major players this offseason. And somehow Cohen and Co. still managed to send shockwaves across baseball with the acquisition of Lindor and Carrasco on Thursday. A big reason why may be that while it wouldn’t surprise us if the Padres were done with big moves this offseason, it certainly would surprise us if the Mets were. It is anticipated that Thursday’s blockbuster was just the beginning for the makeover taking place in Queens.

Edge: Mets. It’s the Big Apple. The lights are brighter and the stage is bigger. The Yankees have owned that town for several years now, and suddenly their brothers from another borough are flexing. The Mets-Yankees dynamic, combined with the first significant move of the Cohen era makes New York’s acquisition of Lindor and Carrasco of higher shock value than the Padres’ big moves out west, though that's not to take away from the significance of San Diego's aggressiveness.

It’s still early January in an offseason unlike any other due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So there’s still a long way to go and many moves to come around baseball. That could certainly change the calculus here, and it’ll be fun to see what comes next.

The Mets are reportedly trying to stay under the luxury tax threshold this year, but haven’t ruled out big spending on free agents --George Springer has been the name that has popped up the most in connection with the Mets, but they’re a wild card in free agency with their new ownership, so anything seems possible.

While the Padres have already packed an entire offseason worth of activity into three days in late December, more maneuvers from San Diego aren't out of the question. Preller has surprised us too many times for us to count him out.

The San Diego Chicken was spotted trying out for the padres bullpen, but all he could muster was egg on his face.

 

 

 

 

 

 

San Diego trades for Yu

 

The San Diego Padres' whirlwind offseason continued Monday night as they reportedly acquired right-hander Yu Darvish from the Chicago Cubs as part of a seven-player deal.

The trade, which was first reported by MLB.com, comes one day after San Diego reportedly landed left-hander Blake Snell from the Tampa Bay Rays. The Padres' starting rotation now is set to include Snell, Darvish, Dinelson Lamet, Chris Paddack and MacKenzie Gore, with injured veteran Mike Clevinger is set to return from Tommy John surgery in 2022.

 

The Padres also acquired catcher Victor Caratini from the Cubs, MLB.com's Mark Feinsand reported. In exchange, the Cubs acquired right-hander Zach Davies and four minor-league prospects: shortstop Reginald Preciado, outfielder Owen Caissie, outfielder Ismael Mena and shortstop Yeison Santana.

Earlier in the day, San Diego signed free-agent infielder Ha-Seong Kim, 25, to a multi-year deal worth around $7 million a season, according to MLB Network. Kim starred in Korea, where he has hit .307, slugged 49 home runs and swiped 56 bases since 2019. He start at second base for the Padres.

The main prize of Monday night's deal is Darvish, 34, a four-time All-Star who finished second in the voting for National League Cy Young Award in 2020. He finished last season with an 8-3 record and a 2.01 ERA in 12 starts, and he struck out 93 batters in 76 innings.

 

In eight big-league seasons, Darvish is 71-56 with a 3.47 ERA in 182 starts. He spent the past three years in Chicago after starting his career with the Texas Rangers and spending part of one season for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"He's just at a point where he's really comfortable in who he is," Cubs manager David Ross said last season. "There's so much to be said for that."

Caratini, 27, gives the Padres depth behind the plate. He hit .241 with one homer and 16 RBIs in 44 games in 2019, following up on an impressive 2019 campaign in which he hit .266 with 11 homers and 34 RBIs in 95 games.

 

The Cubs have not announced a rebuild, but they have taken steps to break up the core of a team that captured the 2016 World Series title. Joe Maddon left as manager, Theo Epstein left as president and the team recently announced that it would not tender a contract to slugger Kyle Schwarber. Other players who could be moved include Kris Bryant and Javier Baez.

Davies, 27, figures to replace Darvish's rotation spot, and he could give the Cubs a trade chip at the 2021 deadline. He went 7-4 with a 2.73 ERA in 12 starts last season, which was his first in San Diego after five seasons in Milwaukee.

Preciado, Caissie, Mena and Santana provide depth to a Cubs farm system that had been depleted in recent years. The first three players are still teenagers, while Santana is the oldest of the group at age 20.

Go home, Snell you Later

 

 

 

 

 

 

There’s nothing going on in the Oakland A’s world this winter, but something big happened in MLB over the weekend that will affect the entire American League in 2021.

The Tampa Bay Rays traded ace pitcher Blake Snell to the San Diego Padres for four young players led by top pitching prospect Luis Patiño.  The deal is still pending medical reviews before it becomes official.

The Rays are the reigning AL champions, and Snell was a big reason why. The 2018 Cy Young winner put together another nice campaign in the short 2020, and then was even better over six postseason starts. However, the lefty’s final memory in a Tampa Bay uniform is of him being pulled far too early in Game 6 of the World Series — he was dominating into the 6th inning and had thrown just 73 pitches, but got a quick hook and watched his bullpen immediately blow the lead and let the Los Angeles Dodgers clinch the championship.

• Snell, 2020 stats: 3.24 ERA, 50 ip, 63 Ks, 18 BB, 10 HR, 4.35 FIP
• Snell, 2020 post: 3.03 ERA, 29⅔ ip, 37 Ks, 14 BB, 5 HR, team went 3-3

The Rays also lost star righty Charlie Morton from their rotation this winter, after declining his $15 million option; he signed with the Atlanta Braves for the same amount. Snell is due to make $11 million next season and is under contract through the end of 2023.

Without these two heavyweights atop their pitching staff, the Rays will look much different in 2021. They still have a lot of talent in their rotation and pen, and they’re always a threat to identify new stars every summer, but they have two huge sets of shoes to fill immediately if they want to stay among the top AL contenders next season.

To that end, the highlight of their return package could be ready to contribute right away. Patiño is a Top 20 national prospect who made his MLB debut this year at age 20, and his arsenal features three plus-grade pitches including a fastball that averaged 97 mph in his stint in the majors. It would be a tall order to ask him to out-perform Snell right away, but at least the Rays replaced their ace with another premium, MLB-readyish arm.

Tampa Bay got three other players. Catcher Francisco Mejia is a former Top 20 prospect who hasn’t yet panned out in the bigs (in 128 games over four seasons), but he’ll only be 25 next season and still has time. Fellow catcher Blake Hunt hasn’t yet played above Single-A, and righty pitcher Cole Wilcox was a 3rd-round draft pick in 2020.

Baseball people likes the deal for the Rays, Patiño alone would have been nearly enough to match the surplus value of Snell’s three remaining years of control (for which he’ll be paid $41 million), and the whole package comes out around 19% higher than what Tampa Bay gave up.

On the field in 2021, though, this move almost certainly makes the Rays worse. No single subtraction ever fully eliminates a baseball team, but losing a superstar in his prime represents a downgrade even if Patiño has a nice rookie season to partially offset it. That’s relevant to the Oakland A’s, because it weakens one of their primary AL rivals as they try again to chart a path to and through October.

Quoting a Rays fan,

“Overall, this is a devastating loss for a team coming off a World Series appearance, and a possible death knell for a team that also was too poor to keep Charlie Morton despite having his contract option in hand. ... Without drastic, unexpected improvements this is not a World Series rotation, and a sad day to be a fan of the Tampa Bay Rays.”

Meanwhile, how bout them Padres. Their lineup was already ridiculous, and one of their other starters (Dinelson Lamet) finished fourth for NL Cy Young. They made the NLDS this year and clearly have their sights set even higher in 2021.

 Fans always say that, until their team starts winning at an alarming rate, then they hop back on the saddle, and ride their horse again.

Baseball Tidbits

 

 

After being traded from the Padres to the Rays in a multiplayer offseason deal, Hunter Renfroe  didn’t get much of a chance to hit against the AL East in 2020 for a variety of reasons.

He’ll get another chance to do so in 2021

Renfroe signed a one-year deal with the Red Sox on Monday. Alex Speier of the Boston Globe notes that he’s going to get a $3.1 million salary, and there are $600,000 in possible incentives. This is right around what the former first-round pick was projected to earn in Tampa Bay before the Rays decided to non-tender him right before the deadline.

On paper, this is a low-risk, (potentially and relatively) high-reward signing for the Red Sox. Yes, Renfroe was awful in 2020; awful is an understatement after he hit just .156/.253/.393 with a 37/14 K/BB ratio. As bad as those numbers are, it’s important to keep in mind that they came in just 139 plate appearances. The season before with the Padres, the 28-year-old hit 33 homers in 140 games, and he hit 26 roundtrippers in both the 2017 and 2018 campaigns. 

Power has never been an issue for the former Mississippi State star and the 13th pick of the 2013 draft. Hitting for average and getting on-base is another story. Renfroe owns a career .228 average in five seasons, and his .290 on-base percentage shows how little patience he’s shown at the plate going forward. He’s also a solid defender in the outfield, however, and while that won’t help a fantasy roster, it does help him stay in the lineup.

It would probably be a mistake to use a high draft pick on Renfroe because he’s essentially a one-category player, but he’s someone worth keeping an eye on, and when he’s in the lineup against left-handed pitching, he’ll be an intriguing DFS option in 2021. 

 

 

Holland comes back to Royals one one-year deal

The big-name relievers -- yes, there are such things as big-name relievers -- like Liam Hendriks and Kirby Yates remain on the market, but a few options have put pen to paper, and Greg Holland  joined them on Monday by re-signing with the Royals. 

Holland, 34, signed a one-year, $2.75 million contract to stay in Kansas City, with Alec Lewis of The Athletic adding that he can make $1.5 million in performance bonuses. After several years of struggling with injuries and not pitching well when he was able to pitch, Holland reminded of how good he was not all that long ago. He was able to save six games in the truncated campaign, and he registered a 1.91 ERA and 31/7 K/BB ratio over 28 1/3 innings. 

It’s a small sample, but Holland looked the part in 2020, and he should remain the stopper to begin the year for the Royals in 2021.

 

 

LeMahieu, Yankees long ways apart on potential new deal

In terms of just pure offensive ability, there might not be a better bat on the market than DJ LeMahieu . After being underpaid -- relatively, before anyone screams -- for two years with the Yankees while putting up elite numbers, LeMahieu is looking to take advantage, and while a reunion with New York is the most likely landing spot, it might not be happening anytime soon.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that the Yankees and LeMahieu are more than $25 million apart currently. The specifics of what both parties want are unknown, but this is obviously not an insignificant number. The 32-year-old led baseball in average last year with a .364 clip -- the second time he finished in the top spot in his career -- and in his two seasons in the Bronx, the former Colorado infielder slashed .336/.386/.536 with 36 homers, 129 RBI and eight steals over 195 games.

While LeMahieu re-signing with the Yankees has been the most likely outcome, it’s not due to a shortage of suitors. The Blue Jays and Mets have both been mentioned as potential landing spot, with the former being slightly more likely than the latter based on 

Base Hits: Craig Mish of Sports Grid reports Adam Conley has signed a contract with the Rakuten Golden Eagles in Japan … Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times hears the Rays have talked about a reunion with free agent right-hander Chris Archer … Alex Speier of the Boston Globe hears the Red Sox are interested in free agent left-hander Rich Hill and free agent right-hander Jake Odorizzi Both were with the Twins in 2020 … Royals re-signed OF Bubba Starling to a minor league contract … Buster Olney of ESPN reports that Corey Kluber  (shoulder) is expected to throw bullpen sessions for interested teams later this month … Ken Rosenthal reports that Kurt Suzuki "is a free agent of interest" to the Angels. The Angels were reportedly the runner-up for James McCann … Jon Morosi of MLB.com reports that Robert Suarez has re-signed with Japan's Hanshin Tigers on a one-year contract with a player option for 2022 … Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports that the Phillies "drew numerous trade inquiries" on Vince Velasquez prior to their decision to tender him a contract … Red Sox president Chaim Bloom said Monday that Alex Verdugo  would likely be the starting center fielder if the season started today.

 More tomorrow, unless I get snowed in.☃

Cleveland Indians to change their name

 

 

 

 

 

Personally I never equated this logo with racism, but I was naive.

Cleveland will change its team name from "Indians" to another mascot as early as 2022, according to the New York Times, The franchise is expected to announce the change this week.

 A new nickname and logo has not been selected. Cleveland will reportedly keep its current mascot and the uniforms in 2021 before making a change ahead of the 2022 season. 

Cleveland announced in July it would consider changing the team's mascot. Its announcement came hours after the Washington Football Team announced it would undergo a thorough review of the team's name.

We are committed to making a positive impact in our community and embrace our responsibility to advocate social justice and equality," Cleveland's statement read in July. "Our organization fully recognizes our team name is among the most visible ways in which we connect with the community.”

Cleveland was one of the American League's first franchises after being founded in 1901. The team has used the "Indians" moniker since 1915. In 2019, Cleveland  announced it would discontinue the use of the Chief Wahoo logo on its uniform.

"Major League Baseball is committed to building a culture of diversity and inclusion throughout the game,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “Over the past year, we encouraged dialogue with the Indians organization about the club’s use of the Chief Wahoo logo. During our constructive conversations, [owner] Paul Dolan made clear that there are fans who have a longstanding attachment to the logo and its place in the history of the team."

Cleveland has been one of the American League's best teams in recent seasons. 2020 marked the franchise's fourth playoff appearance in the last five years, though Cleveland has not won the World Series since 1948.

 

Say no more.

Richard Anthony Allen should be in the Hall of Fame

They booed him mercilessly in Philadelphia, they booed him in Chicago, but in the end, the fans respected his talent.
 

 In the long history of Major League Baseball, there’s not another player who was like Dick Allen, who passed away on Monday at the age of 78. 

The slugger -- who played for the Phillies, Cardinals, Dodgers, White Sox, and A’s -- had a swing like no one else. His bat was like nobody's either. He carried a 40-and-change-ounce bat, one of the heaviest to ever be used (Babe Ruth swung a 42-ouncer early in his career). 

When Allen swung that massive lumber, he'd smash legendary home runs -- ones that might still be orbiting the planet as we speak.His most famous came on May 29, 1965, when he launched a home run an estimated 525 feet, over the Coke sign at Connie Mack Stadium:

Pirates slugger Willie Stargell -- who knows a few things about prodigious blasts --said, “Now I know why they boo Richie all the time. When he hits a home run, there's no souvenir.”

He was once caught mid-meal when White Sox manager Chuck Tanner needed a pinch-hitter on July 4, 1972.

 

 

"I was eating a chili dog when I heard Chuck wanted me to hit,"Allen said. "I had chili all over my shirt so I put on a new one and a pair of pants with no underclothes."

What did he do after that?

"Sparky Lyle threw me a slider and it wound up in the seats."

The stories are endless and Allen's numbers were solid -- he hit .292/.378/.534 and he bashed 351 home runs. He was one of the most feared sluggers to ever step to the plate.

But Allen was so much more than the stats on the back of a baseball card. He was also one of the coolest to ever play the game.

His look is iconic -- the large glasses, the mustache and sideburns, the nonchalance -- all combined to make him a symbol of ‘70s cool.

Well, there goes the Hall of Fame

 

In an announcement with significant implications on both Robinson Canó’s career and the Mets’ near-term future, Major League Baseball revealed Wednesday that Canó has received a 162-game suspension without pay for testing positive for Stanozolol, a performance-enhancing substance. Canó will miss the entire 2021 season.

“We were extremely disappointed to be informed about Robinson’s suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program,” Mets president Sandy Alderson said in a statement. “The violation is very unfortunate for him, the organization, our fans and the sport. The Mets fully support MLB’s efforts toward eliminating performance enhancing substances from the game.”

Canó previously served an 80-game suspension in 2018 after violating MLB’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program for the first time. Playing for the Mariners at that time, Canó tested positive for furosemide, a diuretic better known as Lasix, which is often used to help mask banned substances in urine tests.

“I understand that everything that goes into my body,” Canó said in a prepared statement following that suspension announcement. “I’m responsible for that.”

 

 

According to a source, Canó did not plan to release a statement following his latest positive test.

Brodie Van Wagenen had been the Mets' general manager for about five weeks when he acquired Canó, his former client, in a December 2018 trade that also brought Edwin Díaz to New York for top prospects Jarred Kelenic and Justin Dunn, among others. Canó struggled throughout '19, but he rebounded in '20 to hit .318/.352/.544 over 49 games as a 37-year-old. Canó credited his success to an offseason workout program that allowed him to keep his legs in peak shape.

“If I had any concern about what Robby’s physical state or performance ability going forward is, I would not have made the deal,” Van Wagenen said shortly after the trade. “This guy has huge ambition to be able to be great in the coming years. All of us have great confidence that a bat as consistently good as Robinson Canó has been over the years, he’s not going to lose that skill set. And if he continues to work as hard on his body and his defensive mobility, there’s no reason he can’t be a productive defensive player for us as we go forward, too.”

Canó will forfeit the entirety of his $24 million salary in 2021, but he is still due $48 million from '22-23. The Mets are responsible for approximately $40 million of that total, with Seattle picking up the rest.

A career .303 hitter with 2,624 hits and 334 home runs over 16 seasons with the Yankees, Mariners and Mets, Canó would be a borderline Hall of Famer by numbers alone. But voters have historically taken a strict line with players even suspected of PED use, let alone those with documented positive tests.

While Canó’s latest suspension will have a seismic impact on the Mets’ roster and payroll, the team is well-covered at second base in his absence. The simplest option would be to slide Jeff McNeil from left field back to his natural position at second base. That would allow the Mets to shift Brandon Nimmo to left field and sign a free agent -- George Springer and Jackie Bradley Jr. being the most prominent options -- to man center. It would also theoretically improve the Mets’ defense at multiple positions.

 

 

The Mets could also use Andrés Giménez full-time at second base, keeping their current outfield alignment of McNeil, Nimmo and Michael Conforto intact. They could acquire a free agent such as DJ LeMahieu to fill their hole at second base. Or they could move McNeil to second and sign a corner outfielder such as Marcell Ozuna to fill that hole. Without Canó’s money on the books, the Mets can spend up to $20 million more this winter without worrying about the luxury tax threshold.

Those decisions will occur in time, likely after the Mets hire a president of baseball operations to serve under Alderson.

No matter what the Mets choose, Canó’s long-term future is unclear. He remains under contract through 2023 at significant money. It is unknown if the Mets will welcome Canó back following multiple violations of MLB’s drug policy, or if they will move on despite their long-term financial commitment to him.

Welcome to the new management, time to clean up this mess.