You’ve had a few days to digest our entire 2023-24 Top 50 MLB Free Agent list, all 20,000 words of it. Along with Anthony Franco, Darragh McDonald, and Steve Adams, we worked on this list from late September up until the moment we published on November 6th. As the owner of the website, I have the final say our contract predictions. Today for several hours, I answered MLBTR reader questions in a live chat. Click here to read the transcript.
I also think Seattle is a low-key threat to sigh Ohtani.
It’s the local obsession right now for sure. After reading between the lines while listening to his recent interviews; I think Jerry and the FO are determined to make a run at him, but I’m not holding my breath to actually sign him.
@SODO- I have the same feeling. I think we’ll be in the mix, and perhaps the ability to have that opportunity is why Stanton has been cheap over the last 15 months; however, I think he’ll have to take less to sign here. I don’t think the highest offer is his ultimate factor, so that gives me a glimmer of hope.
Yup, I have legit hope too but it’s that “Seattle fan” kind of hopeful, lol. Expect disappointment, acknowledge that it’s a possibility, enjoy the surprise if it actually happens.
I hear you on that! I’m not even thinking about potential auxiliary moves/roster construction/lineups because it’ll get me too excited for something that is still unlikely to happen haha
Giants fans relate.
I’ve heard Ohtani owns a house up near Seattle somewhere, so it seems possible. Way more possible than him going to the Mets
I knew he spent some time up here and liked the area, but had no idea about the house rumor.
I heard he did a New Balance commercial once, so clearly that means Boston a likely landing spot.
(The question in the chat about this made me LOL probably harder than it should have….)
Be cool to see him go to a non big market team.
Why? What’s with fan’s obsession with small market teams getting one player who would instantly become an albatross contract for a small market Team ultimately leading to their lengthy rebuild?
It’s terrible for the sport as a whole, all the owners want him on a big market team, all the players and mlbpa want him on the a big market team, and most of the fans want him on a big market team.
Fans like you need to realize and that it’s suppose to be challenging and somewhat unfair for the smallest markets in baseball. The ratings were bad enough this year. Routinely having random small market teams in the World Series every year would be terrible for the sport.
When did Phoenix and DFW become small markets?
Why? Because they almost never get to see the biggest stars in baseball play for their teams. I think that’s obvious.
Randy Johnson
Curt Schilling
Luis Gozalez
Zack Greinke
Justin Upton
Brandon Webb
Corey Seager
Marcus Semien
Nolan Ryan
Adrian Beltre
A-Rod
Scherzer
Will Clark
Eovaldi
I’m sure I’m missing plenty more
Firstly, many of those players played on large market teams, secondly I said “almost never”. You had to reach into the 1990s to make this short list of star players who played for small to mid sized market teams.
You asked why it would be cool for a lot of people to see the biggest star in baseball go to a small market team and that’s why: small market teams rarely spend big on stars and it would be cool for their fans if they got him.
I didn’t ask anything of what you just wrote.
DFW is the 5th largest media market in the US.
Phoenix is the 12th.
I asked: when did these markets become small markets?
That is all.
Maybe you are confusing me with another poster?
Iverbure’s bias and therefore assumption from this bias is the failure in his argument.
I was merely trying to point out the simplest and most fact-based flaw.
Are you trying to defend his argument, Catuli Carl?
I think part of the issue is many fans believe an organization can only be one of two things: a big market team or a small market team. In reality, it’s not that black and white. There are also many internal and external factors that cause teams to spend or not spend.
In a baseball sense, the Diamondbacks are a mid market team who reasonably operates toward the middle or back of the middle. I think a contributing factor for that is the PHX area has so many transplants with other favorite teams. That last part is just conjecture, though, and obviously would have little to no effect on the other PHX sports teams.
Well said, myaccount2.
And one could make the argument that DFW will always be a “football town” and therefore that makes ownership less likely to spend apropos to its size.
A think most people use small and large when they are really thinking more in terms of “traditional”.
I agree with you there, too, Rangerfan. I think the Rangers are a great current example of how payroll ranking can fluctuate from decade to decade or year to year. I think the way they’re operating right now is more reflective of being the 5th largest market, but we know it doesn’t always work this way.
Congratulations on the WS title, btw.
Thanks. It still seems odd and unreal.
It’s nice ownership decided to spend the money they had been taking out the back in suitcases for years.
My argument didn’t fail anything I’m right. Arizona is a small baseball market compared to the other mlb markets. That’s zero debate as always with anything I ever say.
Fans think it would be cool to have one good player who instantly becomes an albatross on their team weighing them down preventing them from winning even if he’s still productive. That’s why nobody should ever listen to fans. They have zero idea on how to build a sustainable winner. Fans of the laundry as long as the laundry is winning it shouldn’t matter who’s wearing it.
They got lucky and didn’t deserve it. Shouldn’t have even been in the playoffs with the god awful playoff format they currently have in mlb. Bigger * than dodgers 2020 win.
By your logic and reasoning, you are not a fan. Why are you even here in the first place? Your blant bias of superiority of all things baseball has blinded you to the why baseball is here in the first place, and therefore no better than most of the owners in my book. It’s the fans. You attacking fans because you’re angry (because no one listens to you) who are doing nothing more than hoping (maybe the biggest part of baseball) for their team is the product of your bias. My prayers are going out to you my friend and all those suffering around you.
Everyone listens to me for the education, stopped reading after you said that because it’s so ridiculous you must not have anything else intelligent to say. Are you mad online because your opinion is irrelevant?
You make me sad.
To know everything, I can imagine, must be such a burden for you.
How can any other person understand you?
How alone you must be in this world.
So many teams need players, who’s the 1st free agent to go ?
On Bellinger it’s not so much the 12 years it’s the $264 million. To me that sounds crazy for a guy that struggled so much for so long. Sure, he had a great 2023 and conceivable that he won’t come close to struggling again in the future. But you’d think he’s a high candidate for some mean reversion in 2024 and you could be upside down really quickly on such a deal.
Is going extra years to lower the AAV on these mega deals actually keeping any of these teams under the luxury tax? Or will the extra years be keeping them in the tax for longer?
There is some benefit short term for the teams, but in general just about all the mega deals end of awful on the back end. Up until this year players who ranked top 10 in salary the last 10 year’s annual I think combined for exactly one World Series. I saw the graphic on mlb network and I’m probably off the timeline but that was the framework. Basically you don’t ever want the highest paid player for several reasons.
Completely agree the back end of the mega deals are total losses, unless it’s the steroid era. My question was do the extra years actually help them avoid the luxury tax or will it only extend their luxury tax into those extra years
Great chat!
As usual some of the questions didn’t deserve to be answered though, like the first question asking what pitchers Tim predicted to sign with the Cardinals. The chat is about the Top 50 Free Agents article, if you read the article you’d already know the answer. And if you didn’t read the article you shouldn’t be in a chat about it!
I agree, I would like to see more thoughtful questions answered. Most of the questions are intetesting, but I’m all for them skipping ones that make it obvious the article was not read and I’d also like to see questions skipped like the ones hoards of Phillies fans asked (no offense to that fan base as a whole) about why MLBTR thought Middleton and DD would sit out free agency when Tim, Anthony, and Darragh all had them signing a high-level FA.
You honestly think Cohen is going to pass on free agents? He has said he wants younger players that extend into 2025 and beyond. Maeda and Giolito (mr. Home run allows) do not fit that narrative. Taking that, Yamamoto, Snell, Nola, Grey, Montgomery and a couple others will be on Cohen’s radar. I could see him grabbing two of them. But missing out completely? Nah.
Just so I understand your take here.
Steve Cohen says in August that he wants to get younger and more sustainable, in explaining why he traded Scherzer and Verlander for prospects.
Set aside Yamamoto, who I said repeatedly makes sense for the Mets.
You feel that Cohen was actually referring to getting younger and more sustainable through free agency, and that his targets are long-term deals for Snell (31), Nola (30), Gray (34), and Montgomery (31), and that he may sign two such players.
Alright dude, I mean we all agree anything is possible with Cohen, but I don’t agree at all with your read on what Cohen has said.
Not hard to get younger than Verlander and Max. Lol
I hope the A’s surprise everyone. They’ve been saving up for some time now…..
Baez and $116M to the A’s for some balls. Although…..the A’s might not be the best place for Chris and Harris to get some balls……
But that would be the best thing that has happened in Detroit in 10 YEARS!
Hire the Superfife, already!
How do you literally say in one post nobody could get bellinger and Yamamoto then two posts later say the dodgers could get both ohtani and Yamamoto. Lol
Well, I think the second person was asking what the Dodgers should do, not what I think will happen.
Anyone who believes the Giants will seriously chase Ohtani are on crack. Limited DH in 2024. Guess what? Giants have like more than half their lineup that will be slotted for DH. Haniger. Florez, Davis, Yaz, Conforto, None of these have trade value. No contracts will be eaten to make room for Ohtani. The more the Giants mention Ohtani the more we know it’s marketing speak to give the gullible hope for 2026.