Last month, this website celebrated its 17th birthday. Wow, we’re getting old! Shout out to those who were around for the “white text on a black background” days!
We’ve come a very long way in these 17 years. The quality of our writers’ work is as strong as it has ever been. Our team of writers worked very hard to process all the information coming out of the Winter Meetings and put it in proper context, including Xander Bogaerts signing late at night on Wednesday.
There are no corporate overlords here at MLBTR. It’s still just owned by one guy, me. That means I can continue to steer the direction of the site toward quality instead of sensationalism, traffic, and gambling. We don’t play up rumors or information that we think is incorrect or exaggerated, and we’ve developed a strong sense for that. It also means we can spend a lot of time producing work that I feel is essential but probably isn’t directly profitable, like our top 50 free agent list, our offseason outlook and review posts, and our arbitration projections.
If you love or respect this website and have been coming here for a while, we hope you’ll consider a Trade Rumors Front Office subscription. Despite weathering the revenue loss of a pandemic and lockout in the last few years, we’ve kept the price steady at $2.99 per month or $29.89 per year. We think it’s a great value for the benefits we’re providing: no ads on the site, exclusive articles delivered via email every week from Steve Adams and Anthony Franco, and weekly exclusive live chats with Anthony where you’re likely to get your question answered. I’ve got plans to further expand these benefits in 2023, with no increase in price. If you scroll to the bottom of this link, you can flip through a bunch of endorsements from real Front Office subscribers.
We hope you’ll check out Front Office, but regardless, we’re glad you’re here and we’re excited for our first normal offseason in quite a while!
I can attest that I have hit up Tim personally in the past for some totally unrelated corporate sponsorship idea and he shot it down quickly, and politely
Also I check this site multiple times daily, perhaps like many others out there and the day it gets sold off to someone who will muddy it with gambling ads, etc will be a sad day.
Good work Tim, were thankful for you keeping it up
Well maybe you could become a member.
noth – I completely agree. This place is fantastic, not many days go by when I haven’t checked in for the latest news or rumors. It’s like a family here, I feel appreciated and I appreciate everyone.
Best of all there’s no censorship here, we all are free to give our opinions even when it’s not a particularly popular one. I wish more websites were like MLBTR.
Thank you Tim and congrats on 17 years!!
When I link to this site on Reddit or whatever, people balk at the credibility I think because of the name “Trade Rumors” but I always say it’s a trustworthy site that always lists reputable sources.
What you just said was so refreshing to hear. So the site was already totally credible in my eyes, but to hear that Tim shot down that corporate sponsorship like he did is just icing on the cake. I, too, fear the day I come here and see what we all hope never happens. I used to enjoy all the ProFootballTalk/etc sites, because they followed a similar format, until NBC took that over and made it all a mess.
All the sites under the ‘Rumors’ umbrella not only have devoted communities, but a lot of the writing and features are top-notch. So THANK YOU SO MUCH TIM for running this site the way you do and for sparing us all the pitfalls of intense monetization.
I’ve been reading MLBTR for most of those 17 years and I’m very happy with my FO subscription. I’d say the sober-minded expertise here is a cut above most other baseball news sources…or several cuts above…
One thing that I think could make the membership more appealing is if there was a members only chat room. It could be ongoing, or it could be that every day a new chat thread is started for that day’s games.. and during the offseason, have it be a hot stove chat that starts over daily.. something that it’s more interactive, and easier to go back and forth with someone instead of trying to dig or scroll through a bunch of other comments and multiple posts.
We created member forums, but they didn’t gain traction. Then I tried a members-only Slack group. That was tough because Slack has a lot of limitations unless we pay them a ton.
I still think there’s room for something simple here, basically a simple chat room. I’ll give it more thought.
Tim, A simple much needed minor upgrade would be the ability to see whom each commenter is responding to. Sometimes a comment drops 6 people down and people get confused because they believe its a response to their comment. Causes unnecessary vitriol. You could put the response party’s name next to the Reply Flag Mute section. Just a thought. Thx for this site. Its amazing
You’re the best Tim! I’ve followed this site since I was doing so on my BlackBerry. I miss when you did the closer news. I’m sorry it took me so long to become a paid member to support your work.
But now I will annually. Thanks again for everything!
Members only chat would be epic. With you guys popping in once in a while to give insight. You guys wouldn’t have to be in it non stop, but a few comments a day would be cool. Look at me planning your guys days for you!!! lol. Agree with Astros2017 as well. A tag to the response. It would help track responses to your posts as well. I realize the bell at the top helps track, but always takes a minute to figure out who they’re talking to.
I’m a fan, since Stevil told me about you quite a few years ago.
I wish all the politicians, Elon Musk, etc., were as scrupulously honest as you and your writers.
I’m pretty sure Elon Musk has been scrupulously honest. Sofar, he’s done exactly what he said he was going to do.
It’s peoples’ motives that I worry about.
Politicians also usually at least try to do what they said.
I believe Tim Dierkes has no hidden or otherwise nefarious motives.
Elon musk purposely sabotaged California’s high speed light rail by lying about his phony hyperloop that doesnt exist and never will. He belongs in prison for that alone, or at least scared to set foot in CA.
Elon is about as dishonest as they come. ‘Scrupulously honest’ lmao.
MLBTR is my daily go to. Has been for 17 years.
Same.
Happy birthday!
Very happy to be a subscriber and add more kind words to my day. Your insights and insighters (writers) are excellent.
Absolutely love this post and the community you’ve created. But… the writing has improved over the years, while remaining independent and excellent.
Have you considered a membership?
I click on the ads with sincerity
Probably just made Fffbbb’s mute list.
I really do appreciate the site as well. Congratulations
Love this site. One thing that sometimes I don’t love though is when posts get updated and jump back up to the top and you can’t figure out what changed or why its new…
would love a couple links somewhere to “todays articles” and “yesterdays articles” … would be really handy.
Maybe pay for a membership instead of whining.
Legitimate constructive feedback delivered kindly is generally welcomed with open arms by people in Tim’s position.
It is hardly whining to try to help someone improve their product.
Ffffbbbb quit being a narc bro. Let people live their own lives. Hack.
Just mute him and move on
Actually, if you open the article. They are time stamped…. ie. An original post will say 8:45 a.m. The new post will be a new paragraph, and say 10:45 a.m. and so on… You have to read to see whats changed. Usually, thats the purpose of a site like this anyway, read the article. What has changed if time has lapsed, usually starts at the top. Hope this helps you.
A national treasure. Thank you.
The only app I need to keep up to date on baseball. The value I get for $3 a month is second to none. If you are not a front office subscriber, you are absolutely missing out.
Even better, if you go with the annual subscription, it comes to just $2.50 a month.
Congrats to Tim and his crew! This has been the first place I come to for baseball, football, hockey and basketball news.
Thanks for the great site!
Cheers! Well done!
This is indeed something one should be proud of. Not only did MLBTR assemble a staff of good writers (and chat masters), but also a plethora of knowledgeable users (excluding me), whose comments are worth a read as well. So many thanks are coming from baseball wasteland Germany!
Gruß,
BSHH
Thanks! I hardly ever comment but have been a reader since nearly the beginning. I’d much rather come here than the ESPN’s of the world for my baseball news. The articles and analysis is top notch.
Congrats, Tim! I’ve been a reader here since almost the beginning. This is, and may it ever continue to be, the go-to site for baseball fans.
Hope you outlast Twitter!
One more year until MLBTR can move out of the basement! I kid… Congratulations, Tim and the crew! Not easy to keep a text-based content website afloat for so long and continue to pump out quality stuff.
Just to see if you were independent, I went back to the All-Star game being pulled out of Atlanta thread,
You absolutely did your job and made it a straight news story.
In this day and age, that’s hard to do. So yes, you are independent.
Stay that way. 🙂
Halo – Yes! Yes! A thousand times yes!!
I’m a big fan of MLBTR. It’s an annual holiday for me when you release the top 50 free agents and predictions list! I’m looking forward to Thursday and a happy Front Office subscriber!
Thanks for all you do, MLBTR. Appreciate the insight of knowledgeable, respectful commenters, too. Keep up the great work.
Thanks guys, and yes I do buy your subscription, this is one of the top sites for MLB info!
Just signed up, thanks for the reminder, happy to support this site.
The only suggestion is to start banning the sheer amount of trolls that comment on here. I have muted about 40 trolls but they are too persistent. Other than that, it’s normally a pleasant daily experience to be on here and read comments and read articles
Trolls bring clicks so I can understand not perma-banning them. Keep muting them as I do too. The staff does an excellent job removing spam bots.
Nah, all trolls do is make the comment section unpleasant
The bad comes with the good on every social platform unfortunately. Ignore the trolls and don’t take bait and they’ll go troll elsewhere.
It’s hard to ignore the constant “Asterisks, trash cans, Altuve buzzer” etc. Jokes about the trash cans got unfunny and stale after the first million times. Happened in 2017 and people can’t accept the Astros are great without cheating.They won fair and square and people just do it now to troll and get reactions from others. Bregman is more accomplished than any troll who keeps harping on the fact that he stole signs through the use of trash can bangs. Every other comment on an Astros post is about them cheating
People can accept the Astros are great, but they are still cheaters. People can accept Bonds and Clemens were great, but they are still cheaters.
There are a number of people who can walk and chew gum at the same time, however that number is dwindling.
What are Bonds and Clemens cheating on now? Their taxes? Poker with friends? They’re out of baseball. They blew it. They’re done.
The Astros are different. MLB spanked them and you know they’re being watched. I’m pretty confident they’re winning fair and square or MLB would punish them. (They’re not the Yankees.)
I can walk and solve complex math problems at the same time. But chewing gum? That’s really hard. So add me to the list.
As I wrote:
People can accept Bonds and Clemens were great, but they are still cheaters.
As I wrote:
“I can walk and solve complex math problems at the same time. But chewing gum? That’s really hard. So add me to the list.”
Halo. You are a grown man and can believe what you want. But theres so many non Astros players on record now saying the majority of the contenders in baseball we’re stealing signs electronically. Its so clear and obvious now what really happened that its really pathetic. The thing that hurts the most is the greatest story in baseball, Jose Altuve, has become the biggest scapegoat of all. He’s never stole one sign, he’s probably the nicest guy in baseball, and he’s scintillatingly great at his craft. If he played in New York he would be bigger than Jeter. He’s also probably 5’4.
They are still cheaters. Everyone knows it.
Give it up dude. A bunch of other teams were doing it too, just not as obviously. Any major league player who is given signs will use the knowledge to his full advantage. Willie Mays was on the 1951 Giants team that was stealing signs with a telescope at the Polo Grounds. Are you going to label him a cheater, too? I doubt it. The Gaylord Perry thread on here recently was full of love for the man, even though he admitted to being a cheater. I love Gaylord Perry too, and have no problem with him or with anyone who played on those Astros teams. I also have no problem with steroid users. Almost everyone was doing it and baseball did little to discourage it.
So what? “It’s OK looting the store, my friends on the block are doing the same thing. “ Where did you pick up your moral code? In a Cracker Jack box.?
You people are why we have so much of this crap going on. Not only do you overlook bad behavior, you condone it. You are part of the problem.
I’m a huge Altuve fan but he def looked like he had a buzzer on and remember how he didn’t want to take his shirt off? It’s not 100% definitive evidence, but it’s awfully suspicious. Having said that, I do believe the Astros weren’t the first or only team that used electronics to steal signs and I’m willing to move past it as a baseball fan.
I found you guys in ’06. Wow time flies. Congrats! Quality doesn’t usually last that long on the internet.
I’m a big fan and if I could afford it currently I would do a paid membership. The writing has usually been good and has even improved overall in the last year or two. This is really the only place I go for baseball news. Plus, many if the commenters are a fun community, especially the ones that tolerate my sarcasms, puns, and non-sequiturs. Congrats.
One of the best baseball sites ever. Hands down. Even when I got a semi-scolding email from Tim about one of my comments. 🙂
Well worth the money.
SL
MLBTR deserves more Rave Reviews than even Pete O’Brien got for his defense.
I’ve been reading this content for more years than I can remember and highly recommend becoming a member. The exclusive chats are great and I look forward to seeing all the new material that comes out. Thanks for always keeping it classy.
Love the site. Always have. A seriously cool feature would be a live chat/direct messaging option for members. Sure we can post stuff for the world to see, but 1 on 1 chat capability etc would be pretty cool.
Sure would. Be cool during games to with someone of the fans on here of opposing teams that are friendly. Tons of cool people that post here.
We could go to a chat when you finally go get your goat too.
Wait, that didn’t come out right…
I have been reading MLB trade rumours since the beginning, and it keeps getting better. I love that they don’t hype things up just to get clicks. I look forward to what’s to come. Great job, Tim. If you can, please join so Tim and the staff can continue to produce high-quality content without all the hype. I just joined and for less than $30 a year you can support this great site.
Tim,
I think if you had a link for goodwill donations, people including myself would contribute. I’m not a member, because I didn’t see a ton of value in the membership vs. not having one, and I also don’t like recurring expenses (I tend to lose track of all of them).
I would however be happy to drop $100 donation or more a year for the content. I use this site more than I’d like to admit. 🙂
Congratulations. Been coming here and reading for about 15 of those years, at least since the old white print on black background days. One of the very few sites I visit almost every day. You do a great job here.
The Go to site for all things MLB.
Love it.
Thank you for doing what you do.
Glad to support a site that delivers the content that I find on MLBTR. I have no problem paying 8 cents a day for all the info available here.
I’ve been checking in here almost every day for most of those 17 years.
MLBTR has become what everyone else wishes they were.
MLBTrade Rumors rocks and I’m glad to support such a quality site. Thanks for all the awesome and interesting writing and information you provide sports fans!
“I can continue to steer the direction of the site toward quality instead of sensationalism, traffic, and gambling.”
AMEN.
Thanks, Tim!!
Outstanding work, Tim, a great service for your readers.
Love this site.
Congrats. I hate to think where the word “whopping” would be without this site.
Yeah baby! Wonderful reporters at there best, top notch.
I’m so grateful we have mlbtraderumors. It’s really been my constant go to for years and the insight you provide analytically and through diverse opinions with the constant influx of immediate reporting has been phenomenal. It’s probably the first or second website i check everyday. Thanks again for allowing all of us to have this platform where we can offer insight and opinions on top of analysis. Forever grateful.
Hi Tim
Congratulations on your sites 17th birthday.
I follow the Mlb from down here in Australia.
I really appreciate your website for feeding me information to keep me up to date.
I love the banter between people on here. There are some very sharp witted people on here with a good sense of fun.
I love the mute feature, I can lose the trolls quickly.
Regards
Aussie_dodger
I used to scoff at mlbtraderumors. Why were people mentioning that site? Now, it’s the only place I go to for baseball news
I’ve been a reader for ~15 years and MLBTR is easily one of the best places for baseball related news and transactions anywhere. I gladly pay for my subscription bc it’s a great value and it supports small biz. Next to The Athletic, it’s probably my favorite sports subscription and most utilized. I hope people will choose to support MLBTR because it really is a great value.
Happy Birthday!
17 years wow. I can’t believe it’s been that long. You’re the first website I check out every morning. I don’t even get out of bed first lol.
Thank you Tim and everyone on the team.
Thanks Tim!
Would you consider offering a Thanksgiving weekend/Cyber Monday deal on your annual suscription?
I’m a bargain hunter myself, so I get where you’re coming from. But I think it’s already fairly bargain-priced at $2.50 a month.
And after all, if there was a recurring annual holiday sale for like $19.99 – I’d just renew every year when that happens – and so would most of us probably. 🙂
Ok Mr. Dierkes, here’s what you do. Raise the annual sub to 40 bucks, but every year put it on sale the day after Thanksgiving for 30 bucks. You’re welcome!
I’m pretty much a day one reader and absolutely love my subscription.
I love this site and I’m so glad it is the way it is. God bless all of you who contribute to it. It’s the only place I have ever found that has incredible writing and steers clear of politics and agendas on both sides. It’s truly a baseball site and I love it. Thank you for all you do.
I read this site every day. I was a fan, now I’m a subscriber. Thanks for spelling this all out so clearly and making the case.
I am not sure if this site opened my eyes to the depth of baseball and fantasy baseball or vice versa. It took me back 15 years and the purity of collecting baseball cards and the stats on the back.
Going back to the black screen with white letters, you roped me in from the beginning.
Thank you for all your hard work and building/maintaining an outstanding team. The passion you all bring to delivering this information is unmatched. Always timely and accurate or corrected.
Just subscribed. Been coming here for years. About time I get behind you. Thanks for everything
Thanks Tim for helping us enjoy the season after the season <3
I love this site but I miss Jeff Todd. The YouTube vids were cool while they lasted.
We all miss Jeff Todd!!!
Love you Tim. Been following the site since 2008. You got me through my community college years; later in college I ended up dating a girl for 10 months after discussing your post on when Carl Crawford signed with the Red Sox. I’m grateful there is a straightforward way to support this site annually over the long term.
Happy Anniversary, congratulations and many thanks for the 17 years!
Wow, I thought this site was owned and operated by MLB. Happy to hear it is NOT! We are blessed.
Is Timmy D looking for a Buyout?
A merger with Twitter?
Anyway, yeah it’s been fun and I certainly met a lot of interesting people, though not in person
It’s fun to talk baseball/sports for the most part =)
So Happy 17 years of Independence!!!
Stay independent! And no gambling ads.
Been reading MLBTR since 2011 after a friend recommended it to me. Now I recommend it to every baseball fan who hasn’t already found your site. Thank you.
As a Yankees fan, there are tons other websites, blogs, podcasts, twitter feeds and everything else in between to choose from but this is the site I frequent the most for honest news on the Yanks. I still remember visiting Denver and going to a Rockies game on father’s day weekend when they played Tigers and schooling a Tigers fan seating next to me about Austin Jackson and his abilities or lack there of. He had no clue that Jackson was a Yankees prospect that got traded there. I thank you for this absolute gem of a creation.
Agreed with everyone here, love how independent this site is and continues to be.
Call if habit. Call me a nerd. There’s only a handful of websites I check every single day. This is one of them.
I feel terrible it’s taken me so long to subscribe. Happy to contribute to this well-oiled machine.
I totally enjoy the fact that the site and newsletters are INDEPENDENT. A small subscription is one of the best deals to be had.
Congratulations on 17 years of independence and wishing you many more years to come.
Congratulations Guys! Been with you for more than a decade of your excellent work, and almost immediately MLBTR became my go-to source for anything and everything baseball news. Truly appreciate you!
I’m not too old, but it still baffles me that I’ve read this site every day since I was **7**
No small feat, congratulations on am impressive achievement!
steer the direction of the site toward quality instead of sensationalism, traffic, and gambling
thanks, i believe it when you say it, and appreciate it
Happy Birthday MLBTR!! Thanks for all you’ve done for the community of Baseball fanatics!!
It makes sense this site is a Sagittarian…cause people love Sag’s! Thanks.
Tim, Congratulations on 17 years! I remember the early days with white on black. My understanding of baseball grew tremendously though this site. I remember when you took the leap of faith and guit your day job. Thanks for all your hard work!
A big Thank you…with hugs and kisses !!
Tim and his colleagues do great work and I have gotten very good value out of my Front Office subscription the past few years. I would recommend it!
“Normal season” has become a relative term. MLBTR is still the best.
SL
I know I’m a wise guy on the site, but I truly look forward to your articles and insight. Thank you for putting together such a great website.
I saw MLB Network reference one of your website’s predictions for a free agency contract the other day. That is hitting the big time!
Good job and love the site!
Only mistake on the year was?!?!
Drum roll please…………..
The writers getting rid of the stat: “WHIP”
It’s a great, fast, and easy stat at times, without having to get nerdy on every player, and dive to hard into every number.
We didn’t get rid of it – we never used it in the first place! Thanks for reading.
Lol, the heck you didn’t use it. Then why was there an article written on here last off-season, on how the writers are moving away from it. Thus using walk%, K%, hit%, ect….
It’s all good thou, most people still like it, and use it. It will always be a great fast stat on a players performance, without having to take a deep dive into a bunch of numbers.
Nothing about moving away from it. Article about why I don’t use it:
mlbtraderumors.com/2021/01/why-i-dont-use-whip.htm…
I remember the days when you were still an accountant.
I was never an accountant!!!
And still flush with “woke” ads, so you’ll stay ad-blocked.
You couldn’t even define “woke.”
lol way to take stand against woke ads… whatever tf that means
Been with Tim for years. MLBTR is far and away the best place for smart, in depth baseball news. Paying for a subscription is a no brainer. If you haven’t plunked down your paltry $28.89 a year for this kind of coverage, what are you waiting for?
Congratulations! I’m proud to support the site and hope everyone who is able would consider a subscription. I value the analytical breadth and depth. The writing is first rate, especially for a site that traffics mostly in breaking news, and your grammar never makes me cringe,
I love you guys so much. Thank you
Congrats Tim!
Subscribed. Thanks for doing what you do!
Best site to read=up and keep up on MLB news. Depth of articles is impressive as is the readability of the articles by the various writers.
Best baseball news site in history. Consistent, on top
Of breaking news, great community etc. I’ve been Redding since it was a black background with white writing and felt like a smaller indie site and now it feels bigger in very good ways.
Thank you MLBTR.
New to the subscription side of things and happy I finally did it, only wish I had done it sooner. That chats and articles are great.
I would encourage anyone that logs in more than once per week and most certainly those that frequent and partake in the comments to subscribe and support.. If it is within ones means of course.
I remember the Gary Matthews Jr to the Giants rumors in the wee early days of this site…
Any chance we can get an option to turn it back to black background/white text for the Dark Mode fans? Maybe a membership perk?
MLBTR, they only place to get your baseball fix. They will be the first to notify me when the M’s get their new corner outfielder and we begin our pennant chase
I don’t know when this site started but I do know my first interaction here was when there was talk of the Braves trading for Jake Peavy. So it’s been a long time.