MLB Hot Stove League 2013-2014

[Blue in the Face]

Tigers and Rangers agree on a trade of Prince Fielder for Ian Kinsler. Details of any other players being swapped or money going to Texas aren't yet known. Fielder has partial no-trade, but reportedly has Texas on his list of approved teams.

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/writer/...s-on-the-table

[Olympic Fan]

Tigers and Rangers agree on a trade of Prince Fielder for Ian Kinsler. Details of any other players being swapped or money going to Texas aren't yet known. Fielder has partial no-trade, but reportedly has Texas on his list of approved teams.

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/writer/...s-on-the-table

Amazingly, Kinsler and Fielder joked about being traded for each other in a 2010 ESPN commercial:

http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/tex...commercial.ece

[weezie]

Wow, Oly, that is kinda weird.

I'm a tad uneasy waiting to see what other shoes will drop on this deal. It can't be this one-two-three smooth.

[budwom]

GREAT deal for the Tigers...and quite possibly a very good one for Texas, too, given the shorter right field.
Tigers had to cough up $30 million, but they're off the hook for the rest of the (ridiculously) looooong deal. I say that
because Fielder is not in good physical shape, he's at least 40 lbs overweight, and it's unlikely he can continue to excel unless
he gets in better shape. He doesn't exactly fly around the bases...He's a good guy, but a lot of folks in Detroit find his
lackadaisical attitude inappropriate for a guy with such a lucrative deal.

Meanwhile, more money is freed up to help in keeping Scherzer...Cabrera can go to first base, rookie star in waiting Castellanos can
perhaps play third (or LF)...keep in mind, Fielder was primarily signed to plug the hole created when Martinez hurt his knee a few years ago...

Whatever happens, you can count on Dave Dombrowski to keep things lively...he's a very smart dude, and has done well at all of his stops.

[Olympic Fan]

GREAT deal for the Tigers...and quite possibly a very good one for Texas, too, given the shorter right field.
Tigers had to cough up $30 million, but they're off the hook for the rest of the (ridiculously) looooong deal. I say that
because Fielder is not in good physical shape, he's at least 40 lbs overweight, and it's unlikely he can continue to excel unless
he gets in better shape. He doesn't exactly fly around the bases...He's a good guy, but a lot of folks in Detroit find his
lackadaisical attitude inappropriate for a guy with such a lucrative deal.

Meanwhile, more money is freed up to help in keeping Scherzer...Cabrera can go to first base, rookie star in waiting Castellanos can
perhaps play third (or LF)...keep in mind, Fielder was primarily signed to plug the hole created when Martinez hurt his knee a few years ago...

Whatever happens, you can count on Dave Dombrowski to keep things lively...he's a very smart dude, and has done well at all of his stops.

I understand that the thinking is that Cabrera moves to first, Kinsler settles in at second in and Castellanos takes over at third, BUT ...

Robinson Cano is in Detroit today and there's some buzz that he gets second and Kinsler moves to third and the rookie waits his turn.

Or Cano may flit to Texas, which has a hole now at second and a lot of money coming it due to a new TV deal. I know the thinking is that Profar takes Kinsler's spot, but his natural position is shortstop.

Of course, all this may be Jay-Z's way of putting pressure on the Yankees, now that his flirtation with the Mets blew up.

As a Yankee fan, I want to keep Cano ... but I don't want the team to mortgage its future (no 10-year deals!) to keep him.

[budwom]

Excellent, you and I can make a deal instead of Cashman and Dombrowski. You keep Cano and we save our money for Scherzer
and a Cabrera extension in a year or so. Just don't see how the Tigers can afford Cano and Scherzer, as much as we'd like him.

Tigers still need a reliever....they are sniffing around for another big bat, but Cano is going to come at a very high price, albeit not
at the price he's asking...

[Blue in the Face]

McCann gets $17MM per for 5 years, plus a vesting option for a sixth year for $15MM.

https://twitter.com/Ken_Rosenthal/st...85829595791360

[Duvall]

Any time you can kick off your "austerity movement" by offering $100 million to a catcher entering his thirties, you pretty much have to do it.

[Blue in the Face]

Like Melky Cabrera before him (and boy is that working out for Toronto), Jhonny Peralta suffers no ill consequences of getting busted for PED's, signing a 4 year, $52MM deal with the NL Champ Cardinals.

https://twitter.com/TMSNXDetroit/sta...56128212369408

[throatybeard]

Like Melky Cabrera before him (and boy is that working out for Toronto), Jhonny Peralta suffers no ill consequences of getting busted for PED's, signing a 4 year, $52MM deal with the NL Champ Cardinals.

https://twitter.com/TMSNXDetroit/sta...56128212369408

I don't like this one bit. Because the mlb.com story says "reportedly close to a deal," I'm maintaining some hope that said deal may fall through. This guy is turning 32 and just served a fifty-game suspension. The situation at short wasn't great, but this would be an overreaction to it.

OTOH, I'll take this over trading the entire farm for Tulowitzki.

[Olympic Fan]

Any time you can kick off your "austerity movement" by offering $100 million to a catcher entering his thirties, you pretty much have to do it.

Fair observation ... however I'm reading that even with this deal, plus the big deal for an outfielder (Beltran is the favorite target) and a big offer for the latest free agent pitcher from Japan -- all in the Yankee plans -- they will STILL reduce payroll next year to under $189 million.

Part of the reason is losing a ton of big salaries -- Rivera and Pettite retiring, Granderson and Kuroda not accepting the Yankee matching offers, Hughes and Chamberlain being cut loose.

The biggest bonanza would be in the arbitrator rules that A-Roid if out for the season -- that would open up a $25 million drop in the payroll.

[weezie]

Loud rumblings..Brian Wilson and his beard are close to signing w/Tigs...

[Olympic Fan]

The Minnesota Twins just picked up free agent Phil Hughes.

The Yankee fan in me wants to say "Good riddance" but look closely at his career -- he's been good every other year. If he follows that pattern the Twins might have gotten a steal.

The New York papers are also saying that the Yankees and Cano are more than $100 million apart in their contract negotiations. Also, the hot gossip in the Big Apple is that the Yankees are very close to landing Beltran.

Take that for what it's worth.

[Dev11]

The New York papers are also saying that the Yankees and Cano are more than $100 million apart in their contract negotiations. Also, the hot gossip in the Big Apple is that the Yankees are very close to landing Beltran.

So the Yankees are offering something like $200M? What is the next closest bid? At some point, Cano has to sign, although I wouldn't be surprised given the money and personnel involved if it drags into spring training.

[Blue in the Face]

So the Yankees are offering something like $200M? What is the next closest bid? At some point, Cano has to sign, although I wouldn't be surprised given the money and personnel involved if it drags into spring training.

The Yanks are reportedly offering about $160MM over 7 years and he's asking for $260MM over 9, with a 10th year vesting option at the same annual rate. As far as I've read, there is no next closest bid.

[JBDuke]

The Nationals and Tigers made a trade today - Steve Lombardozzi (Nats second baseman/utility bench guy), Ian Krol (lefty relief pitcher that split time between majors and minors this year), and Robbie Ray (lefty pitching prospect) to the Tigers for righty starter Doug Fister. Another big, quality arm for the Nats rotation, and they give up relatively little. Lombo is a nice bench bat, and he plays a good second base and can fill in just about anywhere, really. One of those quintessential "baseball guys". Krol and Ray are both just 22 years old, both throw well into the 90s and strike out a lot of batters, so the Nats are giving up a pair of decent young lefties here.

Still, getting a starter of Fister's quality makes this look like a steal for the Nationals. Fister adds yet more depth to a rotation of Strasburg, Gonzalez, Zimmermann, and probably Detweiler (or Roark or Jordan). But now the bench is even weaker with Lombardozzi's departure. The Nats need a couple of good bench guys. And a lefty reliever would be nice.

[Duvall]

The Nationals and Tigers made a trade today - Steve Lombardozzi (Nats second baseman/utility bench guy), Ian Krol (lefty relief pitcher that split time between majors and minors this year), and Robbie Ray (lefty pitching prospect) to the Tigers for righty starter Doug Fister.

Any word on whether the Tigers are interested in giving up Verlander for a half-eaten turkey sandwich?

Looks like the Nationals are going to go back-to-back in Offseason Championships.

[duke74]

Just reported...Ellsbury to Yanks. 7/153M. Wow....

[Blue in the Face]

Just reported...Ellsbury to Yanks. 7/153M. Wow....

Yup, here's a link. Can't say I'm a fan of this.

http://mweb.cbssports.com/mlb/writer...th-the-yankees

[Duvall]

Just reported...Ellsbury to Yanks. 7/153M. Wow....

Austerity now!