The Rays are changing it up tonight in an effort to even up the World Series with the Dodgers, per MLB.com’s Juan Toribio (via Twitter). Against the southpaw Julio Urías, the Rays have dropped Brandon Lowe to the 5-spot, while lefty killer Mike Brosseau gets the start at third base batting third. Hunter Renfroe gets the start in right field in place of Austin Meadows. The Rays tend to play match-ups against lefties, but don’t be surprised to see Ji-Man Choi or Meadows come in off the bench late in the game. While we wait for first pitch, let’s see what else is going on around the game…
- Trevor Bauer had more fun playing baseball with the Reds this season than in any of his prior professional campaigns, per the Athletic’s C. Trent Rosencrans. That bodes well for a return to Cincinnati for the free agent hurler, though the financial component will still have to be figured out by new head baseball decision-maker Nick Krall. Projecting free agent contracts has never been a murkier business than this season following widespread revenue loss around baseball. Bauer figures to be a rare free agent not to have his market diminished all that much, not after a Cy Young worthy campaign.
- The Angels will consider ex-Marlins executive Michael Hill to fill their General Manager vacancy, per MLB Network contributor Craig Mish (via Twitter). By all accounts, Hill’s departure from Miami stemmed from a salary disagreement, which would not be out of character for the cost conscious Marlins. Hill had been with the Marlins in one capacity or another since 2002. The Angels would represent a starkly different challenge for Hill, who has spent years managing slow-burn rebuilds in Miami. Whoever takes over baseball ops in Los Angeles will be pressured to get the team back to the playoffs as soon as possible, lest another year of Mike Trout’s prime pass by without postseason play.
Bauer is not going back to Cincinnati. No way will they offer him close to the most money and all indications from Bauer is he will with the team that gives him the most money, rightfully so. There are few teams who will be outbid by the Reds, but it is a nice kiss the butt of another fan base by Bauer. So far I count at least 8 teams he mentioned favorably. He really is good at playing the media.
Bauer is from the LA area and has said that he wants to play for the Dodgers. If they are willing to pay him, I think that is where he will wind up.
He also said he was to to pitch for the Yankees. He just said he loved Cincinnati. In other words, send him the money and he’ll show up.
Yup.
That’s pretty much how I see it, too. Write the check get the player.
I don’t see the Yanks wanting to have him with Cole; too much potential for dysfunction. As good as Bauer is finally becoming he brings a lot of questions and baggage about his character. He’ll have suitors but also some skeptics.
I think Bauer’s quirky personality would play well in SF, and god knows, we need starting pitching next year. But, even if Zaidi offered him a big multi-year deal (and told him he could pitch every four days per Bauer’s desire), the Giants are far from contending. I think Bauer will go to a true contender who writes the biggest check. Not really a hard formula to figure out…
Ya know, I’ve been hearing about this “feud” a lot lately.
I wonder just how much of that is pure media stuff.
Lest we forget, baseball writers elected Selig to the HOF. That was a serious breach of trust lol!
I think the feud is legit. They were college teammates and even then reports said there was friction. Add in Bauer being so vocal about the Astros (first the pine tar accusations and the trash can) and you got the makings for drama. A part of me wants to see it happen just to screw the Yankees.
Fair enough.
You drove me to a few minutes of looking some stuff up on the Google.
I can still see making an argument that’s it’s blown up but not as good as I could have about 5 minutes ago.
So.
Anyway, I’d love to see the Yanks sign Bauer. The Bronx Zoo squad – my personal favorite clubs – wasn’t exactly a cookie party & love fest.
Helluva good team, though.
Haha. Money is the ONLY reason any team will choose not to pursue him.
The Dodgers have no real need for Bauer, especially if they win this World Series. Price will return, and they otherwise have five homegrown starters with Josiah Gray waiting in the wings. If Bauer winds up in SoCal, I think the Angels and Padres are more likely destinations. A problem for the Angels is their payroll.
DrDan, what do you think of Bauer possibly landing in San Diego? Clevinger and Lamet coming off injuries, Paddack a question mark, and most of the other SP contenders aside from Davies are really young.
I think the Friars are a distinct possibility, especially with the progress they made this year. They still have quite the gap between them and the Dodgers if they want to win the NLW. Bauer could help that cause.
Right now it is highly unlikely Bauer goes to the Padres. It looks like they are going to have $120 million in payroll committed to next year, and they want to keep their total payroll somewhere in the $130-140 million range, which probably isn’t enough for them to get Bauer.
The only way they could get Bauer would be if another team trades for Wil Myers and takes on his $20 million/year contract. Then the money would work out pretty nicely.
I don’t think he is necessarily going to the highest bidder. He said he wants to play on a contender. I believe that is his first priority.
Rofl get real…
I could see him sign a yearly contract for a few millions less in, let’s say, San Diego than in Denver if that means his stats (he loves to mention) will look better.
I see money as 99.6-100% of his motivation.
He hasn’t said ANYTHING about going to the team that pays him the most.
He’s more interested in 1 year and short term contracts than average annual value.
Does the media think it’ll be a bidding war yes, has Bauer himself said that; NO!
Get your stories straight before you pretend to know it all!
I think his stories are straight. Bauer has talked about money about as much as any player you’ll come across. His desire to play on one year contracts is like the Kirk Cousins playbook. Teams are willing to pay more annually on shorter term pacts because it eliminates so much long term risk. I personally think it’s a really risky way to go about it and I’m not sure he’ll actually go that route but that’s what he’s said in the past. If he could pitch the way he did in 2020 every year there is zero doubt he’d make more money going year to year but with injuries or decline risks I think he’d get plenty per year on a long term pact he shouldn’t risk it trying to make the highest possible amount.
I think teams competing for his services will get into a bidding war.that will instantly lead to multi-year contracts. I be stunned if he signed a one year contract no matter what he’s said in the past. He’s not going to turn down 4/$100 for 1/$33. For that matter I don’t think he turns down 4/$100 for 3/$80.
Good point
No reason for him to do it now. This is when he changes his tune and gets the longest contract he can based on his best season.
It is always obnoxious when you read a comment like “No way” as if you have more insight than any other commenter. lol. We’re all just guessing, But I agree Bauer will end up on another team. If Bauer will go for the 1 year deal, It would up the odds that the Reds sign him, but with their #1 and #2 prospects due to make their debutes in the next 2 years, I’d doubt they tie up that much money going into the future. 1 caviot
Who? Lodolo and Greene? Disco and Miley aren’t necessarily part of a championship rotation so I think there’s room if they both end up sweet lol.
Can’t see Hill with the Halos. It’s one thing to operate in near anonymity in Miami, where expectations are pretty low, so that anything you do makes you look smart. It’s another with the unique challenges in LA ( having Trout and not winning, noticeably).
Jeter probably wanted to pay Denbow more than he was paying Hill, whom he inherited. I kinda figured they was headed for divorce.
Are there really any expectation from Angel fans tho?
The expectation is whatever they need they will get the opposite
Every year. Everyone acting like the Angels are clowns. From 2005-2015 they had the second highest min percentage in baseball.
These years have been the exception, not the rule for most angel fans 40 and younger.
Well Angel fans do say clown things like ” we have been the last team eliminated from the playoffs the last 3 outta 4 years” like thats some kind of accomplishment
NO not an accomplishment.
Someone making that comment just points out that they AREN’T FAR AWAY from being a playoff team…i.e. having a legit ace starter, a closer that doesn’t blow saves every fourth opportunity.
Hmm, so when someone says that under the pretense of wanting to dump all their free agent money into a SS they arent narrowing that gap id assume
Keep on teaching 5 Tool, your fan base needs it!
Who said anything about dumping *ALL* their free agent money into SS?
They have $15m coming off the books from Simmons FA and another 9m from Teheran so *someone* able to play SS/2B needs to be signed…In addition to SP1 and a closer or additional bullpen help.
You make many dumb assumptions. Do you think actual coyotes (animals) take kids across borders too?
Hah!
Bold to try to flex as if you’ve superceded general math. Ill break it down for you because you seem distracted by me as an author and I’d like to see you find happiness even if your parents didn’t show you the affection that they maybe could have.
In a system where odds of winning in the playoffs are closer to random then they are to NBA, getting into the playoffs by definition is the most statistically defining factor of winning a world series. Now, if a team is the closest to a the playoffs over a series of years (and has underplayed their Pythagorean # * most of those years) than it can be inferred that while they could stand to improve, that luck also had a factor in the slight difference of outcome.
Also, pitcher wins and RBIs arent as great an indicator of talent as you might think Rain’y
Editors Note:
* = Pythagorean # is the expected win/loss total associated with your runs scored subtracted by your runs allowed.
Pitcher wins are very misleading. It could mean your team just scored a bunch of runs while you were the pitcher of record. It is why Tom Glavine went to Cooperstown. He won 300 games because the Braves won so many games for so many years. If you look at his stats, they are not worthy of the Hall of Fame. Not even close. A player’s rbi total is very misleading because you could have 20 rbi in four games and people think you had a very good year. Add blown saves as a misleading stat. How do you get a blown save in the seventh inning?
You were literally the 9 th best team outta 15/// My God the only place to go is up from there!!!
Even the rally monkey wants to distance itself from this org
All your points are very emotional. Did an Angels fan hurt you?
Are you a Giants fan?
Im sorry for your loss.
————–full disclosure…….I’m an Angel Fan———-
Finding something to be positive about these days is a “clown thing to say”? I mean I wouldnt flaunt it, or print any “last team out banners!!”, but it is a true statement and something that hopefully the new front office can build on. Kind of seems like youre begging here for people to pile on the Angels because one 12 year old fan couldnt think of another defense other than “Well we were last team mathmatically eliminated!” But really, as Angel fans we have 1st world problems, like: an owner that spends every year and never Tanks or rebuilds. Every year the team is competetive at worst. Mike Trout’s’ day off when you brought the kids to see him.. that one cloud covering the sun on our perfect 70 degrees with a breeze. Anyone who get their panties in a wad over Arte meddling, or free Angents not panning out or crap like that relax, its not your money and its not hindering the team from signing anyone they deem worth paying. Pujols contract isnt keeping the team from signing whoever they want. Thats the great thing about baseball, no Cap so spending mistakes for teams like the Angels dont really matter. Its not like theyre the Rockies or something and a bad signing sets them back 10 years.
Delay – I have been on here for years. I have never read any comment in which an Angels fan commented ”we have been the last team eliminated from the playoffs the last 3 outta 4 years” as a positive accomplishment..
Not until Moreno stops being the real GM.
Another reason for him not going to LA, is that I don’t see him going from president of a team to just a “GM” under Artie Moreno…
What are his other options? Being employed is a nice thing to be.
Only Bauer could say 2020 was his most fun season year ever. Perhaps a plague and a 20-game season would have him rolling on the floor laughing.
Are you mad because he found a silver lining in the first season his team won?
I’m a Reds fan, what did the team win exactly? It was below .500 most of the season, only made the playoffs because they were expanded and then they got spanked in the playoffs.
As an Angel fan I’m jealous of additional anxiety and heartbreak you were gifted
Yes, poor Angels fans, only going to have to live with your 7 playoff appearances and 1 World Series win this century. The Reds haven’t won a playoff series since 1995.
God forbid someone has fun during a pandemic
Sit in your cage and don’t come out and be miserable like a good lab rat.
But but but people are dying how could he be having fun?!?!?!?
MJ, I agree. Bad as the pandemic has been, I have had a fun year as well despite being unemployed. Worst year ever? I prefer to hope that 2020 becomes a positive turning point for all of us. Drop the hate, acknowledge our nation’s many inefficiencies, and strive to be better. Maybe then we’ll finally become the great nation we aspire to be. Things will get better, even though the pandemic will probably be with us for a while longer.
Your self-loathing might be the greatest inefficiency in acknowledging that the U.S. truly is a great nation, far better than your limited awareness that prevents you from seeing the sacrifices made on your behalf. Earn your indulgences.
It wasn’t that, he was just happy there weren’t any fans in the stands to boo his usual petulance.
Ha!
Dodgers won’t be highest bidders, its not Friedman’s MO. The massive contract to Betts coupled with the fact that Bellinger, Buehler, and Seager haven’t got paid yet says the Dodgers probably don’t dig deep for Bauer. They will likely be in on him but don’t expect them to sign him
And they have ample talent from within.
As a Dodger fan, I agree. Friedman is big on developing homegrown talent, This made it possible to take on Price’s contract in the Betts trade. Moving forward, the Dodgers; future payroll is in outstanding shape.
Bauer will sign with the Dodgers because contenders and will be a world series contenders. Would love to have Bellinger., Betts, and Seager behind you.
I don’t see it. Why pay a guy megabucks for having his career year for someone else? The Dodgers are loaded with young, cost-efficient starters. Let someone else overpay for Bauer.
I’m with those who see the LAD passing on Bauer. They don’t need him and he’s likely to cost more than he’s worth even with the Covid year factor, which could suppress FA salaries. He had a great year but he’s likely to regress and may never resurface for another great year. That’s not saying the LAD definitely won’t kick the tires. They may, if only because Bauer expressed an interest in them and, hey, why not? I just don’t see it going beyond that.
MoRivera, Friedman will do something this winter, though probably nothing that seems major on the surface. That’s just how he operates.
Cey Hey: agreed. They are so solid but their are a number of players going FA. It will be interesting to see who they resign, who they replace (and with whom).
He’ll find a 3B if Turner leaves, though i would give Rios the chance and probably add a left handed hitting Outfielder to replace Joc if he leaves maybe a reliever or two but it won’t be anything splashy
I know this might sound crazy but I don’t see dodgers signing both seager and bellinger long term. I think Buehler is an easy call and to me seager gets the extension over bellinger. I think he gets delt closer to his walk year. Both have cancerous boras as their representation, I’m willing to bet bellinger will go to free agency to get the biggest deal possible. I don’t think he projects to age well (too similar to josh hamilton minus the drug addiction, huge swing, lots of strike outs which becomes a bigger deal as you age.)
Friedman won’t handcuff dodgers future with 3/4 colossal long term contracts. The first long term deal he did was betts who is consistently better than the streaky bellinger. Friedman will roll with a core of Betts, seager and buehler and recycling other pieces in and out for youth/vets that fit his mold. I expect the continual development of players in the farm to supplement strong long term production.
Now to me the question is what could you get for bellinger?
Imo, Bellinger is good enough you ride out most of his control and you can still get a decent package with a year left
If a starter is traded this offseason, I think pollock is most likely. Cash in on his great year. Not that they will look to do it, just it’s more likely to me that pollock is gone before Cody next year. We shall see. Will be interesting to see how they deal with Seager/Buehler/Cody
If there is mutual interest, I think a deal could be struck. Maybe like a four-year deal with a high AAV that gives Bauer an opt-out after two. That would guarantee Bauer a nice penny, give him flexibility to attack the market at age 32, and keep the Dodgers from a six or seven year commitment. If winning is important to Bauer, truthfully there isn’t a better bet than the Dodgers as to which team will win for the next seven years.
But they will not be the highest bidder and It’s just hard to see Bauer, for all his comments, turning down $200+ million from a team even if they don’t win much.
Dodgers won’t be signing bauer. Price is coming back and already have several quality starters unless one is getting delt don’t see it.
Regarding bellinger I don’t think a trade is imminent but I think he gets delt between now and free agency. Dodgers would get a huge haul and be able to extend window. If dodgers win it all don’t be surprised to see them extend seager immediately
I think 3 teams for Bauer , Angels , white sox or padres
Frankly I hope he goes to the Angels and I hope they get a bit of a discount because of the impact Covid had on 2020 revenues. Then maybe they can be in on Didi and/or some bullpen help. Good luck!
I see the Padres stretched a bit thin for another 9-figure deal but I agree that the ChiSox are probably in the mix.
I think Arte Moreno needs to redeem himself by signing Bauer since he missed on Cole. DiDi I think goes back to philly. Get a couple bullpen arms, another starter with Bauer, and I think the angels can be playoff bound, see what simmons would want
Redeem himself? You do realize cole never wanted to play there and merely used them to acquire an even larger deal. Artes biggest problem is dropping dollars on aging vets (bauer or cole fit the same mold) Your probably the same fan that will talk smack about moreno if bauer goes to the angels and regresses to his cleveland/ Arizona days. “Why did Moreno sign him to 9 years? “Moreno is a horrible owner”
If you think that angels are a bauer away from competiting you don’t watch them play regularly. Foundation needs a complete rework from the ground up. Bullpen needs massive overhaul, rotation needs 2/3 quality arms, catcher and short stop depth. The biggest fault of moreno is his inability to develop proper farm with assessments of players both in draft and internationally. If angels want to compete they need to dramatically improve in these areas and focus more on the numbers and analytics.
Tatsu,
Once again your wrong about the Angels. Signing Bauer is a step in the right direction. The bullpen needs work but not drastic overhaul. Hopefully Simmons comes back. If not I’m sure it will be either Didi or Marcus. The Angeks are committed to fixing the team internally.
My dads been a fan since 1975 I watch most games. They are a poorly run franchise, plain and simple. Think one player makes them a contender is laughable. While canning and heaney have potential both are horrible inconsistent one game give up 5 runs through 5 the next 8/9 innings with 10+ strikeouts. Using era as a hallmark for success doesn’t add context. By all means add bauer I’m sure in a years time there will be excuses and blame thrown towards angels management. Problem is there inability to sign and develop players consistently also very cheap in international market despite being a top 10 franchise in terms of revenue and earnings. Until they figure this out and go back to the stonemen era of drafting and development angels with be stuck in purgatory.
Bauer to Boston 2 yrs 60 million
Bauer will go to a contender who is willing to pay him. That means there is about 10 teams that will try and get him, he has his issues, but he only wants a short term contract. He should win the Cy Young this year, so the demand will be there.
I hope teams are smart enough to know he wouldn’t have won if it was a full season tho
Why not!
All of y’all are wrong. Baltimore signs him. Lol
He’ll be a Met
Zero percent chance, said he wants to play for a contender
Miami!
Bauer to the padres or angels seems increasingly inevitable. Arte will want to make a huge impact financially to sign an “ace” also padres really needed additional arms in playoffs so that landing spot makes a ton of sense on paper remains to be seen if pads with shell out top dollar
If Bauer goes to padres theyd have a pretty solid top 3 between cleavinger, Bauer and lamet
Cubs got room I would guess
Cubs have to choose between a very expensive option on Lester or an expensive buyout. Chatwood and Quintana are heading for free agency so the Cubs could be looking at at least two spots open. Plus Kimbrel seems to be a sunken cost and contracts for Baez, Bryant, Rizzo, Contreras, Schwarber, and Hendricks coming up. Lots of Turnover coming to the north side in the very near future
Bauer won’t be a yankee.. cole absolutely hates him
I think a bigger factor is that Steinbrenner wants to duck below the luxury tax. Meanwhlle they are losing 3 SP’s and DJL.
He’ll end up on the Angels
Good. Maybe one step closer to getting Trout in the WS.
The Angels have sunk $30 million dollars in Matt Harvey, Trevor Cahill, and Julio Teheran while missing out on Gerrit Cole, Patrick Corbin, and even Dallas Keuchel over the last two offseasons. I wouldn’t put money on Bauer being an Angel on opening day
Rsox you act like they didn’t try none of the players you mentioned wanted to be angels. Money was there but their desire was not.
And that could very well hold true for Bauer. There is something going on in that organization that seems to scare pitchers away
Yes, the Angels need him the most!
Can the Rays manager really be that big of an idiot? When has having a fourth outfielder actually worked?? They got burned again because of his analytics!!
It’s 2-2 now so apparently he’s not that big of an idiot.
That was the most insane walk-off ever! Congrats to the Rays.
Dave Roberts and Kenley Jansen should be given some credit for the Rays coming back to win Game 4. Roberts for pulling Urias too early. He missed some of his spots but did you think your bullpen was going to do much better with the remainder 4 1/3 innings? You’re asking too much from the bullpen. Not enough reliable arms to get that many outs without suffering some damage. Baez gives up the home run to Lowe. You brought him in there because the numbers say he has good reverse splits against lefties because of his change up. 2-2 pitch and he throws a fastball away belt high. No change up. No elevated fastball. Everything was away on pitch sequence. That was bad enough but then Roberts sends Baez out again for the 7th to give up another HR?
Jansen, what a poorly executed two-strike pitch to a sub 0.200 average, pinch runner. If you consistently can’t locate your pitches you shouldn’t be out there. Lots of second guessing but deservedly so tonight. Tired of defending Roberts. and Jansen.
Chris Taylor booting the ball didn’t help and neither did Will Smith losing the relay to the plate. Overall the loss was a team effort
Yeah it was a bad loss for the Dodgers but I don’t really think you can pin the blame on Roberts for this one. First off, he pulled Urias when he was one or two batters away from facing Arozarena for the third time. Arozarena was doing playing well against Urias, and I don’t think it was a bad decision for Roberts to roll the dice on the bullpen.
As for Jansen, he wasn’t perfect, but is it really his fault that Taylor and Smith happened to have errors on the same play? I guarantee you that if Taylor or Smith had played properly and the Dodgers ended up winning then you would be very happy with Dave Roberts and Kenley Jansen right now.
Nope, you get criticism even if you win. Cash for example burned his bench way too early. They were gifted the win thanks to the Dodgers but he should get criticism too. Jansen should be criticized for allowing a banjo hitter who’s only task is to pinch run and play defense to get a critical hit on a two-strike pitch that was as poorly executed as it could have been. If you keep putting your cutter over the plate you will get hit. If you cannot get that pitch where you want it I suggest you find a new pitch. It’s one thing if this hasn’t happened before. It happens frequently, and this one is on Roberts and Jansen.
No doubt lots of blame to go around.. Taylor/Smith was a little league play. Inexcusable. That said, Roberts was not manager of the year last night. He kept saying Jansen will be evaluated and he keeps trotting him out there. He relies too much on his bullpen.
He was second batter out. So? There were no runners on base and two outs. Diaz was up and he struck out twice against Urias in his first tow at bats if you want to use your thought process. Why are you worried about a batter on deck with two outs bases empty. I’d rather have Urias pitching to Arozarena bases empty than have a Dodger reliever come in. Urias is a starter for a reason. He’s better than any of our relievers. He had plenty of gas left in the tank after 80 pitches. At least 1+ innings more. Roberts needs to minimize bullpen use. He also uses the same guys over and over on high leverage situations. The more they see them the easier it is to hit them. The Dodgers are completely screwed if they lose tonight. If Kershaw throws like he did they should win game 5 and same for game 7 with Buehler. Game 6 they’re screwed. If they didn’t give that game away last night, Kershaw likely closes series out 4-1. Now, the Rays have a very good chance at upsetting the Dodgers. Interesting how things work. If that happens Roberts should take a lot of the blame. He has completely mismanaged Gonsolin/May and pitched his core bullpen guys way too much.
And yet, there they are in the World Series.
Sign Bauer if you’re the Yankees.. not even a question. Then you have 3 top flight starters along with a bullpen and a lineup from hell!
The Angels play in Anaheim, not LA.
Bauer either stays in Cincy or goes 2 CWS, they look like a 2021 contender needing another piece
Sell the team Arte!