In the wake of yesterday’s deadlines, here are three things to keep an eye on throughout the baseball world today:
1. Cy Young Award Results Announced Tonight
Awards season continues tonight with the AL and NL Cy Young awards being announced this evening. In the AL, Justin Verlander, Dylan Cease, and Alek Manoah are the finalists. Verlander led all of baseball with an ERA of just 1.75 this year and stands as the likely favorite over Cease and Manoah, despite their own impressive seasons. One thing Cease and Manoah have going for them is volume: Both made more than 30 starts in 2022, while Verlander made just 28. Over in the NL, Sandy Alcantara, Max Fried, and Julio Urias are the three finalists. Alcantara is the clear favorite here after pitching a whopping 228 2/3 innings in 2022, pacing all of baseball by more than 20 innings. Alcantara’s season wasn’t just about volume, however; he was also dominant, posting a 2.28 ERA and 2.99 FIP on the year. Urias posted a lower ERA than Alcantara, leading the NL with a 2.16 mark (though his 3.71 FIP tells a somewhat different story), while Fried beats out Alcantara in terms of FIP with a 2.70. Neither one managed to beat Alcantara in both categories, though, and both trail him by more than 40 innings pitched in 2022.
2. MLBTR’s Free Agent Prediction Contest Submissions Close Tonight
Today is the last day you can sign up for the MLB Trade Rumors Free Agent Prediction Contest. For this contest, you’ll predict where our Top 50 Free Agents will go, with cash prizes awarded to the top three finishers and a one year membership to Trade Rumors Front Office available to everyone who finishes in the Top 15. Much of the MLBTR staff also participates, so you can see how your predictions stack up compared to those of our writers!
3. Anderson, Martinez Deals Signal Movement On The Starting Pitching Market
Yesterday’s qualifying offer deadline spurred movement on the starting pitching market, as Martin Perez accepted the QO from the Rangers, re-upping with them on the one year, $19.65MM deal. Tyler Anderson, meanwhile, agreed to a three-year, $39MM deal with the Angels in lieu of accepting the QO from the Dodgers. This move came as something of a surprise; Anderson was predicted to accept the QO by the MLBTR team along with Perez and Joc Pederson, both of whom did so. That Anderson earned a $39MM guarantee may indicate that the strong market relievers have found this offseason could extend to starters, though early deals have a tendency to be strong, and that momentum doesn’t always carry throughout the winter. Nick Martinez, meanwhile, secured a three-year deal with the Padres that’ll guarantee him a reported $26MM — comfortably outpacing the three years and $18MM from which he opted out. As for other implications across the market, the Dodgers are perhaps likelier to be in search of another arm to replace Anderson in the rotation. The Padres could yet be open to adding some rotation depth, though Martinez gives them a solid one through four on which to rely (assuming he’s indeed ticketed for the rotation). The Rangers aren’t expected to stop after retaining Perez at a premium rate; they’ll remain active players in the rotation market.
How do I edit my free agent predictions once I submitted them and closed the tab? TA to the Angels is quite the surprise.
You should have gotten an email where you can edit it from.
I never got an email so I’ve been wondering also.
Search “google forms” in your email. Maybe that helps?
You should have gotten an email with your submitted answers that also contains a link that allows for editing.
check your junk mail
I am doing better this year than last year… I got Pederson, Perez, Martinez and Kershaw correct so far.
Cy Young should be easy barring any surprises. Both guys are clear favorites, so there is not much suspense. Still, I wonder – has it ever been explained publicly what metrics the voters use to decide? If so, I don’t recall reading about it. Are they into analytics, or do they use ERA, WHIP and other older measures? God forbid they use wins and losses! But without published measurements, it’s hard to lnow if there is any consistency among voters.
Nope. I consistency, just whoever the voters feel like when the vote. I remember that 20-30 years ago a guy won the gold glove at first base and he only played 16 games at first (rest at DH).
They can use pretty much any criteria they want. There might be a couple older reporters who do look at the W-L record, but it honestly doesn’t matter too much, especially in the AL. I’d say Verlander has at least a 95% chance of winning. No disrespect to Manoah and Cease, but he was just better.
In the NL, it’s a little tighter, as you could make a case for Fried and Urias, but if I had a vote, Alcantara would get it. 40+ more innings and just as dominant says a lot.
I never got an email after submitting my picks so I can’t edit my picks I guess
I’m in the same boat as you are Rick.
I try to edit my picks after they sign too. It won’t let me.
check junk mail
Through the conformation E-mail
Verlander led the league in wins, winning percentage, era, ERA+, and fewest hits/9… Cease led the league in most walks and Manoah led the league in most HBP… If wins and winning percentage mean nothing??? era is an archaic measurement of effectiveness… and fewest hits really doesn’t mean anything… this thing is up for grabs!!!
LOL
Only things Verlander lags either one in is K-Rate (9.5/9 vs Cease’s 11.1/9) and IP (175 to Manoah’s 196.2). I can’t really envision a scenario in which Verlander doesn’t win this, but I can see good arguments for both Cease and Manoah to be #2.