Here are three things we’re monitoring as we cobble some leftovers together…
1. Black Friday deals:
Now that Thanksgiving has passed, it’s time to find deals. That applies both for regular shoppers and for baseball teams, with Chad Thornburg of MLB.com putting together a list of notable transactions that took place on Black Friday in recent years. The Mets were particularly busy in 2021, agreeing to terms with Starling Marte and Mark Canha and Eduardo Escobar. The deals wouldn’t be official until the following week, but news broke on all three deals on Black Friday. It also seems like the Canadians, who celebrate Thanksgiving in October, like to tiptoe in while the Americans are logy. The Blue Jays traded for Josh Donaldson on Black Friday in 2014 and then signed J.A. Happ one year later. Will 2023 see any kind of similar activity?
2. DeJong needs a roster spot:
The White Sox and shortstop Paul DeJong agreed to a major league deal earlier this week, but it’s still pending a physical. The Sox have a full 40-man roster, so they will have to open up a spot for him whenever it’s official. It’s possible that the holiday will delay that physical until next week, giving the club some time to perhaps consider a trade that opens a spot for him.
3. What’s next for Longoria?
As a free agent a year ago, Evan Longoria had a reported preference to sign with either the Rays, Giants or Diamondbacks. For the Rays and Giants, he was familiar with them as those were the only two clubs he had previously played with, while the D’Backs were on the list because he has a home in Arizona. He ended up signing a one-year deal with the Snakes and that club had a magical season, going all the way to the World Series. But the D’Backs just replaced him at the hot corner by acquiring Eugenio Suárez from the Mariners. The Giants have J.D. Davis and have been connected to free agent Matt Chapman. The Rays have Isaac Paredes at third and are seemingly looking to cut costs, considering trades for Tyler Glasnow and Manuel Margot. It was reported last month that Longoria was leaning towards playing again in 2024 but it’s possible he may have to be more open-minded about his landing spot.
Time for Longoria to retire
The typical fan response.
Lord – Scott Proctor’s last-ever MLB pitch!!!
That ball just barely made it over a 3-foot wall that was only 315 feet away.
Think about how that one pitch changed so much … it eliminated the Red Sox, finalized their historic late season collapse, caused Tito to lose his job, brought on the Bobby Valentine Debacle, and created Typhoon Nesat that caused the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to shut down.
All because of Scott Effing Proctor!
Fever, it is a game of inches. Sometimes they work for you, sometimes against!
Lord – Very true! And talk about a ripple effect!
I was there that night and it was glorious! Up in deep right field next to the ray tanks. O’s walked it off vs. Boston as well. Being down 7-1 was not fun, but the Yanks did everything they could to keep the Rays in the game. Grateful for old Scott Proctor! Also let’s not forget Dan Johnsons 2 out 2 strike bottom of the ninth to tie it up. Was a pinch hitter and was hitting like .096. Best MLB game I’ve ever been to Hands down.
Giancarlo Stanton was paid $32M last year to put up a worse wRC+. Gonna make another $130M over the next four years before he retires. Big yikes.
Stanton is making $118 over the next 4 years with thr Marlins picking up $20m. He has a $10m buyout in 2028 which the Marlins are also paying for. So, he is costing the Yankees $98 million over 4 years. How long did we have to endure the “Jeter gave Stanton to the Yankees” nonsense over this guy? Looks like Jeter took advantage of the Yankees not the other way around. The Giants and Cardinals lucked out on this one.
Or, as mentioned in the article, time to consider a longer list of teams.
Great career time to put up the feet and call it over
Love to see Longo get to 2,000 hits and 350 HRs. Those numbers plus almost 60 bWAR = one pretty spectacular career.
For Longoria, he can’t be too picky on the team he wants this time around with the numbers he put up last year. It would be nice to see him get 70 more hits for the 2,000 hit club but he’s going to need to step up this year.
The instigator of auto-defect has dyed. His funnel is tomato.
White Sox have plenty of guys who could be dropped from the 40 man who won’t be missed. Off the top of my head Romy Gonzalez, Adam Haseley and Gavin Sheets shouldn’t be anywhere near the opening day roster at this point.
I mean, DeJong shouldn’t be anywhere near an Opening Day MLB roster either. Trying to make room for all of your negative WAR players is a uniquely White Sox problem.
Marlins have a GM connection now.
Lenyn Sosa, Remilliard.
I mean this ChiSox shouldn’t have any issues whittling down the roster. No one will claim their junk
Meant to say Lenyn Sosa is the only guy who I’d see anyone putting a claim in for.( Doubt he’s much of a ML’er either)They have plenty of options!
Banix: That’s kind of a short list. There’s Lenyn Sosa, Deivi Garcia, Urena and about fifty dfa’s the Sox picked up this year.
I look forward to the day we retire Longo number, I know he’s not a hall of fame but still one of the greatest Rays of all time. He put us on the map.
He was awesome when he was with the Rays.
I was 10 in 2008 and fell in love with the Rays that year. I was 100% the biggest Rays fan outside of Florida and I loved Evan Longoria more than I probably should have. My parents got me a Longoria jersey with the World Series patch on it and I wore it to school all the time.
I’m a Guardians fan normally, but the nostalgia of that team will always stick with me. Some great memories.
Longo would be perfect on the Yankees
I think Longo could serve in the same veteran mentor capacity in Miami as he did in Arizona. He’s no longer a fit with the Diamondbacks with Suarez unless they bring him back purely to DH and there are no fits with the Giants or Rays (unless he’s will to play for league minimum to retire in TB). Maybe it’s time to hang ’em up and go out on the high of being on one last pennant winner
Longo has had a heck of a career. Not the star career we thought when he debuted. But a great one none the less.
Lots of perplexing moves this winter already. Reynaldo Lopez looks like a major overpay for someone whose likely at best going to be a 7th inning guy in Atlanta.
But this Paul DeJong signing makes zero sense to me after the year he had. At least in terms of being a guaranteed ML deal and him being the opening day SS for Chicago. Thought they were gonna tear it down and rebuild. Even so, DeJong isn’t someone I think a contending team should be trying to sign to flip at the deadline. He’s likely not going to get back to form where at best he may bring back 1-2 lottery tickets at the deadline in July.
The Suarez move is a bit of a head scratcher too. Arizona is looking for more pop with the loss of Gurriel, Longo, & Pham. But Suarez strikes out a ton and has issues with LOB. Doesn’t fit the MO that Arizona has for their lineup. And also it feels more like a salary dump by the M’s. A backup catcher and a depth bullpen arm seems light for someone like Suarez. Even in the last year of his deal.
Nearly 2k hits and 350 HR, a ROY, 3-time All-Star, and MVP votes six times. I’d call that a star, but YMMV.
You’re right. I probably should’ve said superstar. He’s had a long career and he’s been able to assemble those stats over time. But when the Rays made that run to the 2008 World Series. He was the rookie face of it. And there was talk about it being their time to take over the East from the recently dominating Red Sox and the Late 2000s Yankees. (Very similar to the DBacks of this year)
And they never reached those heights. It’s not Longo’s fault. But I would put him more in the camp of someone like Todd Helton. Guy was under appreciated in his era and did a lot. But never got the mainstream recognition he could’ve had if he played in/for a bigger market.
Longoria should run for some political office, in San Fran. They live woke liberals there.
Thanks for bringing politics into this discussion for no reason whatsoever other than to use the phrase “woke liberals” as if it’s an insult.
I agree with your first comment. Kinda unnecessary.
But on a side note, there aren’t many things that’d insult me more than if somebody called we a woke liberal, to be honest.
For most of the world, that feels like a self-own: “if someone says I care about civil rights and functioning democracy, I would take that as the ultimate insult.”
Okay. You do you.
Yes book, cancel culture, election fraud, and attacking political opponents while being hand in hand with the DOJ is the perfect representation of “functioning democracy”. Turn your history book back to the 1800’s for a quick understanding of your “civil rights” claim.
There’s far more cancel culture—and outright banning—coming from the right than the left (books, the teaching of history, Koepernick, Nike, Bud Light, etc. etc.). There hasn’t been election fraud from the left-Trump lost fair and square. (The right continues its relentless campaigns of gerrymandering and voter suppression, however, to gain unfair advantages in close races). The DOJ has been far too slow to prosecute the criminality, fraud, and insurrection of Trump and his cronies because they were so fearful of being perceived as political. It has kept them from doing their jobs in a timely manner..
I have no idea what your 1800’s statement means, to be honest.
Nobody really calls it “San Fran.”
Pale – Exactly, it’s called Frisco.
lol well if you’ve lived in Texas then you certainly don’t call SF “Frisco”
Pretty sure frisco isn’t well liked by SF locals either. When I lived in Austin, we had quite a few transplants and I never heard one of them refer to it by anything other than the full name.
The Mets don’t understand Black Friday shopping.
Longoria is currently at 1,930 hits and 342 home runs, so he’s within reach of a couple of milestones in 2024.
Agreed. Hard player to not like regardless of your team. Arguably the best player in Rays history. He’s earned the right to pursue another opportunity to get those numbers. 70 hits and 8 HRs. I hope he gets there too.
He feels like a Royal to me.