MLB Hot Stove League 2013-2014

[Blue in the Face]

Say, do the yankees still have that Japanese pitcher down in their minors who never made it but still collects an impressive paycheck?
I remember the NYTimes article from a few years back.

No, Igawa's contract ended in 2011 and he went back to Japan. He may have been a colossal failure for the yanks, but at least he never got called a fat toad by the owner, so there was at least some progress for the franchise.

[duke74]

No, Igawa's contract ended in 2011 and he went back to Japan. He may have been a colossal failure for the yanks, but at least he never got called a fat toad by the owner, so there was at least some progress for the franchise.

Wasn't the actual epithet, a "fat pus(sy) toad?" The Boss certainly had a unique (demanding) style.

[Olympic Fan]

Looks like the Braves have wrapped up two cornerstones of the future for the coming years.

Freddie Freeman and Jason Heyward were both in arbitration, but today the Braves signed Heyward to a two-year contract and signed Freeman for an eight-year deal:

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/10...ract-extension

Now if they can lock of Kimbrel ... the last guy in arbitration.

[Duvall]

Looks like the Braves have wrapped up two cornerstones of the future for the coming years.

Freddie Freeman and Jason Heyward were both in arbitration, but today the Braves signed Heyward to a two-year contract and signed Freeman for an eight-year deal:

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/10...ract-extension

Now if they can lock of Kimbrel ... the last guy in arbitration.

Locking up Simmons seems like the better move - his defensive ability is similarly elite, and more likely to age well than a relief pitcher. And the Braves, unlike certain other franchises, have to be prepared to make tough choices.

[Olympic Fan]

Locking up Simmons seems like the better move - his defensive ability is similarly elite, and more likely to age well than a relief pitcher. And the Braves, unlike certain other franchises, have to be prepared to make tough choices.

Simmons is still under Braves' control for four more seasons. The Braves have plenty of time to lock him up long-term.

Of course, you do like to do these things early -- Heyward wasn't going to be a free agent until 2016 and Freeman not until 2017. The Heyward deal doesn't actually extend his time with the club -- it merely avoids two arbitration years. The Freeman deal locks him up until at least 2021.

Kimbrel doesn't become a free agent until 2017, although he starts arbitration this year and is going to get a bundle (approximately $7 million).

The Braves are actually in pretty good shape with their young guns. None of them become a free agent until 2016. The only ugly thing on the Braves payroll is the money committed to BJ Upton (rising from almost $14 million next season to $16.5 million in 2017 -- Atlanta ain't out from under that contract until 2018) and Dan Uggla ($13 million in each of the next two years).