With Christmas just around the corner, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world headed into the weekend:
1. What’s next for the teams that missed out on Yamamoto?
Right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto exceeded all expectations by signing a whopping 12-year, $325MM deal with the Dodgers last night that includes two opt-out clauses. Including the posting fee L.A. owes to the Orix Buffaloes as compensation for Yamamoto’s services brings the total financial outlay to more than $375MM. While the megadeal likely takes the likes of the Mets, Blue Jays, and Phillies out of the running at the top of the pitching market, plenty of other suitors for Yamamoto figure to attempt to pivot elsewhere as they attempt to find front-end starting pitching. The Yankees, Giants, and Red Sox all appear likely to continue exploring the top of the pitching market as the offseason continues, with lefties Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery, and Shota Imanaga among the best remaining arms available in free agency. Meanwhile, the trade market offers righties Shane Bieber, Dylan Cease, and potentially Corbin Burnes as front-of-the-rotation options.
2. Will the Dodgers keep going?
Between the additions of Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani, and Tyler Glasnow the Dodgers have now spent over $1 billion this winter, at least before accounting for the deferrals in Ohtani’s contract. That massive outlay leaves the club with a projected payroll of just over $282MM in 2024 for luxury tax purposes according to RosterResource, which puts the club around $15MM under the highest threshold of luxury penalization. What’s next as they look to improve their roster this offseason? Rumors have indicated that the club could look to upgrade at shortstop, where Gavin Lux and Miguel Rojas currently figure to split time. Beyond that, an outfield bat who can push Chris Taylor into a utility role or an additional starting pitcher to round out the club’s rotation alongside Yamamoto, Glasnow, Walker Buehler and Bobby Miller could make some sense for the club.
3. Will any last-minute deals come together before Christmas?
During the offseason, major holidays are occasionally used by teams and players as soft deadlines for deals to get done. Some free agents like to know where they’re going to live next year before a holiday, and GMs at the one-yard line on a trade may have a little extra incentive to get it over the line before they go home to celebrate. For example, Yamamoto’s market was discussed throughout much of the offseason as regarding Christmas as something of a soft deadline; considering his posting window was set to close on January 4, little time would have been left after the new year for the righty to land a contract. Although the day before Thanksgiving was rather quiet this year, could things be different on the Friday before Christmas weekend?
Friar Men > Smell-A Dodgers with or without this Yamamoto fellow.
Wanna know what’s sad, your biggest rival is the Dodgers
The Dodgers biggest rival is the Giants
Let that sink in
And yet the D-backs went to the WS
How do you all think small market teams will feel about how they are able to keep interest in their cities? I do see consolidation as well as ‘shared franchises’ among cities, in the MLB future.
And I sure would like all new stadiums financed through MLB. Owners need a high and tight fast ball, under their chin.
Never happen..in fact mlb will expand to 2 new cities in the near future..nashville and one other..small markets will always be there its been this way in baseball for 100 years and has become more prominent in the past 50 with free agency..it is part of the game at this point
Large market apologists have no idea what two thirds of baseball teams in the majors have to go through now. They just keep shoveling their drivel that anyone can do it while having no clue it’s about as uneven a playing field as you can get.
Thats why the sport dies more each year, especially among the Twitter generation.
Meanwhile; Dogbone, we are fans of a big market team that acts like a smaller market.
Well, Hoyer never really had a chance with Ohtani and Yamamoto- They were bound for the Dodgers- and the Rays probly wanted too much for Glasnow.. But Hoyer has no more excuses. He has major holes to fill and any musings about Wisdom and Madrigal among others, is a joke. He needs at least a couple of major additions and for some prospects to step up to realistically compete.
Fans of small-, medium- and other large-market teams will continue to support their teams, and they’ll pack the house when the Dodgers come to town.
Honestly, I think at some point there is going to be financial compensation for teams losing “qualify offer” free agents or something similar to the foreign leagues posting system.
Something similar to a restrictive free agency where teams will allow players to enter free agency a year early but receive draft pick compensation as well as financial compensation.
I agree with you. The Ohtani deal will be the downfall of MLB. No way small market teams will be able to compete with deferred contracts.
False, they can, but choose not to. They don’t want future debt/risk. Dodgers assuming risk. Other owners don’t WANT to.
Nonsensical drivel. They can compete, but they choose not to. If they did better scouting, drafting, and developing, plenty of teams could make these signings. Every team has a billionaire owner. The Dodgers owners aren’t even in the top 10. They’re just better businessmen and better at marketing and developing talent.
Just like one man cannot win a championship, despite the contrary narrative, he cannot be the downfall of a sport.
Look, no question Ohtani is a desired FA, but people are giving him waaaaay too much credit for the impact he will have on MLB.
Smell-A? Are you 3 years old? Heck even a 3 year old has a better sense of humor and is less petty.
Everyone stop crying about the Dodgers unless they win it all at least twice in a 5 year span. They won in 1981 when the season was 110 games from the player strike, 1988, and the 60 game Covid sprint in 2020. They still need a SS, #4 and #5 Starters (and figure out later if they have enough depth for the 6-man nonsense the Angels hamstrung themselves with for Ohtani’s tenure), a RF, and the amount of strikeouts at 3B and CF could be a problem. LF in Dodger Stadium was as much a revolving door as it was in the Bronx, league-average production aside. This is like complaining that your neighbor has a Lexus and you have a Camry. What? They spent more money? Who cares?
The problem is it’s not a correct comparison. The Dodgers, Mets and Padres have raised the bar far more that Steinbrenner or the Red Sox did in years past and the fans are the ones who ultimately pay the piper be it increased costs in going to a game or simply trying to find the game even if you already have cable, MLB TV, Peacock, Amazon Prime, Apple +, etc. For all the good there is about the sport, MLB has ruined it for many of us
MLB Revenue parity is huge problem the CBT is no problem for a team with cash cows .
Teams receive $110 million in revenue sharing. Half the teams have a payroll under that amount. Every owner is a billionaire. Don’t cry until/unless your team spends their revenue sharing on payroll. JP
I disagree completely, and this is a continuing incorrect theme
Teams are not going to raise costs because they spent money, it’s the other way around.
Teams are spending money BECAUSE the fans already spent money. The Dodgers lead the league in attendance year after year, and have a mega TV deal. Since there’s money, now they spend.
Pirates aren’t gonna sign Yamamoto, and then raise ticket prices, that’s not how it works.
Then again, prices for dodgers tix, merchandise, etc etc before and after ohtani beg to differ
In the 20+ years I’ve lived in SoCal I’ve seen the Dodgers raise prices every chance they get. They charge more depending on who they’re playing, they charge more for games with “give away”, and they force you to subscribe to one tv service and black out games on all others.
No one wants to hear this but the government needs to threaten to remove their antitrust exemption. At this rate there will be a floor and hard cap in the next CBA. If big market clubs can’t compete for players because of geography or taxes, it’s time for a change. I’m no tax expert but if not changed, the deferrals will continue and eventually the wrong team at the wrong time, will face problems similar to homeowners with an adjustable mortgage when a balloon payment comes due. The 2008 market collapse hit big players as well as small. Even last year a few banks failed.
Ahr incentive do the players association have to agree to a salary cap? They’ve been strongly opposed to it from day dot.
@Yanks
John Angelos seems to disagree with you. That should make you proud, bc he’s a clown.
Blackouts in local media markets are the absolute rule. Spectrum paid over $8B for the rights to broadcast the Dodgers for 25 years — and you think they’re going to give them away?
Nobody wants to hear this because it isn’t really correct. The antitrust exemption only covers the control MLB exerts over the number and location of franchises. It’s entirely up to the 30 owners of MLB to decide how to slice up the revenue pie, and they are under no obligation to do it in a way that pleases fans. The PA will never agree to a salary cap. They have always said not only no, but hell no. On deferrals, MLB financing rules require teams to set aside deferred salaries annually, so they aren’t like mortgages at all. I suppose a team could invest that money unwisely and lose it somehow (it has happened) — but this is really nothing more than a doomsday scenario.
Player salaries and ticket prices are loosely correlated at best. Tickets are priced based on supply and demand. Sure, signing premier players will make ticket prices go up, but only because the better team makes going to a game more appealing.
There’s no proof that increased spending leads to an increase of cost of tickets…etc. It’s more often linked to success. For example 2022 Mets tickets in August were more expensive than 2023 in August.
The Mets over the past 2 years raised the bar more than the Yankees of the past when they bought every big free agent for a decade? Thats lunacy. The Mets signed Max and Verlander to stupid deals but they were short deals. The Lindor deal is the most responsible of all the shortstop contracts given out in recent years. SD has been most obnoxious with the 3 Machado, Xander and Tatis deals. Not to mention the Darvish deal was also stupid. The Phillies signed Turner to an insane deal on top of the 13 years given to Harper. The Rangers went big with deGrom Semien and Seager. Then there’s the Dodgers. The Mets haven’t even been close to the level of spending of those teams and when they have it’s mostly been their own free agents who they didn’t extend, Diaz, Nimmo. Verlander and Scherzer deals were stupid but again, short by comparison and much less in overall value compared to what we’re seeing now. The Yankees reset the market on players constantly, A-Rod, Giambi, Elsbury, Sabathia, Jeter and now Cole, Judge, Stanton, Rodon. The only reason they didn’t again is cause the player didn’t pick them.
I guess it depends on which team you are. For some, it’s more like a Bugatti to a Geo Metro.
It’s a Chevette if you don’t win it all. Leather seats and a Bluetooth Radio system doesn’t change that
@16 you are right, the Dodgers do have some holes. I suspect they will fill them out though, Kershaw being one starter more likely than not. Their rotation should still be pretty good though, don’t forget about Buehler. Yamamoto, Glasnow, Buehler, Miller, May should be pretty good even without Kershaw. Buehler/Glasnow are injury question marks to some extent but I think both will be fine, and they are likely to add a starter. The Dodgers are closer to a Ferrari than a Lexus.
But look, we all know that the “best” team doesn’t always win the WS. It’s almost as if a team needs completely separate rosters for the regular season and another for the postseason. Guys get hot, breaks go your way (or they don’t), etc. And you have to make good choices with your spending. Just look at what the Mets did this past season!
As a dodgers fan, I am not worried about the rotation anymore. We currently have Buehler, Glasnow, Yamamoto, and Miller penciled in for the top 4. That’s as good of a top 4 as anybody in baseball. Dustin May will be back sometime around midseason, as will Kershaw once he resigns. If something happens with those two we still have solid depth options like Michael Grove and Emmett Sheehan, not to mention numerous top prospects who can step into starting roles.
However I think we still need a left fielder. Teoscar maybe?, and I would like to see us resign Kike.
The Dodgers as 2024 Champs is the easiest bet to make. At this point no need for a season.
16 for 20-
They have Yamamoto, Buehler, Glasnow, and Miller. Rest of the rotation will be a revolving door of Sheehan, Grove, and Stone til reinforcements arrive with either May and/or Kershaw. They can sign or trade for either a SS, 2B, RF or LF and solve their lineup problem. A SS pushes Lux to 2B and Mookie to Rf and Heyward/Margot to LF. A 2B does the same and leaves Lux at SS. Any of those push Chris Taylor to utility, which he’s best suited for.
Only issue is whoever it is they get needs to be right handed. Betts and Smith are only starting rh bats.
I wouldn’t put much hope into Kershaw and May. Kershaw may not even resign with the Dodgers, but if he does, he won’t be able to pitch until mid-season. And that’s a BIG IF with his back and recent surgery. May has just been one injury after another after another. He may not even have an arm left by the time he returns.
What’s next for the Dodgers? I mean, they’re pretty set I think, unless they get another bullpen arm, not much else besides depth moves.
Need a left fielder.
LF bat or Busch as potential LF/2B but they’ll be lefty heavy. I’d argue that they also need one more back of rotation SP. Yamamoto could benefit skipping some starts to adjust to US once every five. Plus Glasnow is an injury risk and better to avoid pitching youngsters like Stone and Grove who were not ready last year. Those guys should be Plan C, not B, when SPs get hurt.
Grove’s FIP was 4.36 and Stone got battered in 31 innings despite a 1.48 ERA in the minors in 2022. They should be fine. Many, many good pitchers (and both of them are good pitchers) have rocky starts. Kershaw, Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz all had real struggles. It’s the underlying pitches and numbers that really matter, and the awareness that the sample size is too small to tell us much of anything.
Dodgers had a 4.58 ERA last year from starting pitching. Youngsters a big part of that. They filled in admirably but clearly some not ready. Sheehan at least delivered late in season. Stone 1.48 ERA in 2022? LOL. More than 80% of those IP at AA and A+. He also had a 5.01 ERA at AAA last year along with his 9.29 ERA with the Dodgers. He looked very hit able last year and big step backwards. Any pitcher that is well above 9 hits per 9 you should take a long pause on. That has been Grove at MLB level and why he is still a depth filler. Should not be battling for a SP slot in 2024 nor bullpen. Again given Yamamoto adjustments and injury concerns/recovery (Glasnow/Buehler) it would be prudent to sign a back end SP rotation reclamation before going to Stone or Grove.
Snell & Hader? Haha.
Nah. Back of rotation. Giolito could be a great match assuming he takes a short/hometown deal? Reclamation project.
They are probably still hunting for a RHB in the outfield. Their dance card for starters is full, even over-full. Grove, Sheehan and Stone will compete for the fifth slot, which leaves the other two headed back to OKC. Then comes the crunch, with May likely returning midseason and quite possibly Kershaw too. Will make for some interesting conversation at the trade deadline. But they definitely don’t need another starter. Not sure where they idea even comes from now that they have Glasnow and Yamamoto.
Need another RH OF bat, or maybe two. Margot is not going to cut it.
Soler?
Maybe Teo Hernandez.
The Diamondbacks musta scared the pocket-book outta the Dodgers!
Sacred is the wrong word
More like angered
Not really. This plan has been in motion for years.
No, this is a very different plan from the nibbling around the edges of the free agent market that’s been the plan until now. One of the most interesting comments Ohtani made at his intro press conference was saying the Friedman and Kasten told him that they considered the postseasons to be failures, and this is what convinced him to sign with the Dodgers. The revealing part of this was the fact that they’ve never really said the same to fans. So yes, I believe the manhandling they got from the D’backs was a kind of wakeup call. They are now building the roster aggressively, and not for no reason.
Pretty evident that the Dodgers were well short on starting pitching due to injuries and Urias suspension heading into playoffs. Gimpy Kershaw, too green Miller and struggling Lynn as your three starters. Kids pitched way too much in 2023. They just addressed their main weakness while also acquiring Ohtani, who will also bolster the rotation in 2025.
Red Sox should be calling on Luzardo and/or Valdez right now. I wouldn’t sign any of those free agent options.
I like Monty at the right price. I wouldn’t want Snell or Imanaga.
I agree. In this leftover environment it seems the better options may in fact be trading.
I hope you have a Merry Christmas, 30Parks! Be well, my friend.
You, too, Clip. We’ve got a snow storm in eastern Canada today setting-up a white Christmas vibe – just in time. Yankees made a great trade for Soto – that’s a solid Xmas gift. All the best, Clip.
Happy holidays 30 Parks and Clipper. All brown and Autum like weather here on the Canadian Prairies no white Xmas here but still hoping for a package of Bellinger and JD Martinez for the Jays, would be okay to get Soler if not JD, and a reunion with Chappy would round out my Xmas list!!! GO JAYS GO!!!!
You too JaysFan! Here’s hoping for some good baseball between our clubs next year!
I’ll send some of this eastern Canadian Christmas snow back out west, Jaysfan – it’ll be there tomorrow by noon. My best to you & the Jays.
Never miss a series at SkyDome between the Yankees and Jays, gonna try to make it to the Bronx this season in all my 50 + years never got to see a game in NYC. Got to watch my Dad try out for the fledgling Angels in the 60’s As far as i know he was only the 2nd Lefty knuckleballer to get to the Majors and never play a game!!!
Wow, that’s so cool that you got to see that and he made it though! Knuckleballers are awesome
Angels offered him a contract and my Mom got pregnant, he chose to come back to old Saskatchewan, hence never playing a MLB game!!! probably his greatest regret, but he was integral in the growth of baseball in Saskatchewan and was inducted into the Sask. baseball hall of fame as both a player and a builder! .Two of his 4 sons had the opportunity to get into the Majors, Myself, i chose to pursue a hockey career (made semi-pro) and my older brother who drank his opportunity away!
Talented family, thanks for that story, Cheers
I don’t know whether to feel awed or disgusted at the Dodgers right now.
This is a Ring or bust year…
And what would happen if the Dodgers fail?
They’ve failed every year except 2020 (assuming we are talking about the WS). What happens? Same thing as when the Mets (last year), Yankees (the past 13 years), Friars (last two years) RSox, or any other team blows hundreds of millions in a losing team – they reset and try again in a couple years.
I don’t see them resetting bc they have a much wider window than the Mets (Max and JV) and the Padres (expiring contracts) while Betts, Freeman, Outman, and Smith continue to play at their peak levels. The Dodgers also have a good farm system and Betts can always move back into the OF if necessary.
Dodgers are trying to redefine “dynasty”. It’s going to be tough to do …unless you sign several very good players to team-friendly extended contracts …or can afford to attack it like the Dodgers have.
I think the randomness of more Wild Card/playoff teams makes winning three or four out of five WS Championships unlikely so I believe, and, as a fan of several other teams first, hope, they will fail.
The Dodgers will be in a big bind when these aging players and players with significant injuries all decline. It might be a great 2-3 year window but might be payroll hell paying all these long term contracts to aging and injured players.
@Mets6986
The Dodgers now have four guys signed past 2025. Forget Yamamoto since he’s nowhere near his decline phase.
Ohtani is at his peak as a DH and as long as he continues as a 5 WAR DH he’s worth typical FA money for those wins—any pitching he chips in is a bonus.
Freeman is playing at his peak at age 32, just had his best full season, and the Dodgers have him for 4 more years for 4/108m. No team that could afford it wouldn’t sign a 5-6 win 1Bman who just put up a 161 OPS+ for that. He’s worth about 167% of Alonso, and the common talk is Alonso will get something close to $200m.
Betts might be a problem, despite playing near his peak. They’ve got him for NINE more years at about $300m.
It’ll be uncomfortable when they have to cut him in 2030 but many big teams would sign a GG-caliber 30 yo 2B/RF/SS who just put up an EIGHT win season for something like 9/300m.
This really isn’t a problem, and the Dodgers are probably smart enough to avoid adding a 5th player to an expensive long-term deal whose aging curve coincides with Betts and Ohtani.
@Yankee Clipper
But the Dodgers have already had a decade-long run that brought them to this point, and now, have made moves that will keep them competitive for years to come. Ohtani used his almost-unlimited power for the forces of (Dodgers’) good, and it’s only begun to pay off.
Put another way:
The Dodgers–having won 100-plus games in five of the last six full seasons, and the last four in a row–try (and succeed) every year.
And will, for years and years to come…..
CommentSection: Yeah, I agree completely. My only point, in response to the question above (assuming he was saying a “failure” is no WS ring), was that teams will do what the always do: go back to the drawing board, try to mitigate any negative financial impact, and then come up with a plan to address weaknesses throughout the next few offseasons (like LAD did last year in preparation for this year).
They are certainly a winning ball club, a winning organization, and they demonstrate no actions which indicate that will change at any point in the future. In fact, I wish the Yankees ownership were as committed to winning.
@YankeeClipper
Admittedly, I really thought Yamamoto was going to be a Yankee. I’m surprised the NYYs didn’t at least go to $325M, to see if all things were actually equal…….
Also: I’ve seen a bunch of comments of yours these last couple days, wishing folks happy holidays and all the rest. You seem a genuinely good human, and those are exceedingly rare finds on this here Internet.
So best to you and yours, and here’s hoping your offseason picks back up, in whatever direction it’s heading next…..
I appreciate that, man. Look, I’m so exhausted by the fighting everywhere, with everyone. It seems the internet compounds that fighting and tumult. I just try to show people respect, and I appreciate respectful people. I’ve made my fair share of stupid comments though, but I try to minimize them.
I hope you and your family have a very Merry Christmas and great New Year! I look forward to seeing you on here.
YC and CSC, thank you both for modeling the kind of dialogue we should all aspire to put forth on this site and, quite honestly, every day in our interactions with people with different perspectives, loyalties, and even values. Well done!
Wouldn’t that be wonderful!?
@ Clofreesz
It’s not a ring or bust year for the Dodgers. They have Yamamoto for 12 years, Ohtani for 10, and the financial ability to replace any talent that leaves via free agency. They haven’t made short term moves. If they win 2 or maybe 3 titles over the next decade, it’ll justify their moves.
The Yankees trading multiple pieces for one year of Soto is a much better example of ring or bust move. Soto will certainly be testing free agency so this is a one year shot for the Yanks.
On paper the dodgers won the last two series my friend. I see a trail of blown out arms and a lot of coming up way short.
The Yankees will get an early run at Soto. They won’t have to “sell” him on being a Yankee, he will have experienced it. Also, the trade package for Soto maybe had a piece, but not multiple pieces of a championship roster. But you are correct that they are trying to win this year, but then again they try to win every year. That’s why Yankee fans like their team.
I’m pretty sure Soto already understands Yankees lore. The experience also goes both ways. If he isn’t everything the fans want they’ll boo him all the way into the arms of another club in free agency.
They used to try for championships every year back when George was running things. Hal is more of a ‘lets look like we’re trying’ kinda guy.
George got the guys he wanted.. I doubt both Ohtani and Yamamoto would be in LA if the Yanks still operated that way. At least one of them would be in pinstripes right now.
I’m sure that we will find out the Yankees were not outbid. Hr chose the Dodgers, that’s fine. Hal knows what George knew…winning is good for business. The Yankee fans know what is at stake with Soto. He is going to receive the warmest of welcomes. Knowing/understanding Yankee lore is not the same as experiencing it. Plus, they will have to boo pretty loudly to push out the sound of cash registers ringing when Hal gets his check book out.
@Clofreesz
But the Dodgers are “ring or bust,” every year.
Their offseason doesn’t change that.
And not winning the postseason tournament that’s antithetical to the sport itself isn’t a “failure,” any more than winning 80-some-odd games and making the WS is a “success.”
Much like this golden decade(-plus) of Dodgers baseball, LA figures to go all-in during the regular season, then hope for the best come October.
Only now, it’ll be with a few bigger names than in seasons past.
But the thing to never forget:
The deals for Ohtani and Yamamoto will bring tens and tens and tens of millions of dollars LA’s way, hugely offsetting the team’s salary outlay. As profound an addition of talent the deals provide on the field, they’ll prove to be just as important, off the field….
So….”fail”…?
What does that even mean, in the end?
“And what would happen if the Dodgers fail?”
Seriously? If the Dodgers do not win a World Series in 2024, you will be very happy. If they do, you will be unhappy and you will whine, rationalize, and continue to place blame for your misery onto others.
I genuinely have mixed feelings about LAD. I love their aggressiveness and their players. Fanbase is cool but can be a bit annoying. It’s just that I feel alarmed at this 1 billion dollar spending spree and all those small market teams that can’t even spend a penny in the off-season.
I’m not saying I don’t want the Dodgers to win, but they are expected to win. If they don’t… I can’t get myself to think about it.
So far I haven’t been bothered by what the Dodgers have accomplished. However if the extra income they receive from having Ohtani/Yamamoto on the team (thru advertising deals in Japan or Japanese tourism or however the income pours in) and that supplies the Dodgers with an extra 50 to 75mil in revenue every year…well I don’t think that’s quite equitable. That income stream should be shared by all MLB. Throw it in the profit-sharing bowl.
The Mets will be out on Snell and Montgomery, but I could see them making a play for Imanaga.
After last year – at the end of all this – I thought Mets were gonna pay yams 350+. Maybe they tried but I was pretty shocked he’s not a met
They did try. Mets reportedly had the highest offer and he allowed the Dodgers the opportunity to match their offer and his decision was then made.
@Big whiffa You had to think (a) Yamamoto cares about marginal wealth more than he cares about playing for a winner. (b) he was ever going to play for a Steve Cohen production.
Cohen’s reputation is lousy in baseball, he’s a joke they have to pay attention to because he’s so much more rich than other owners, but he’s shown no facility for building a winner. WHY ON EARTH would one of the best baseball players in the world sign with him?
Stearns has no real reputation as a winner, either. His teams did well in a weak division and he had the good fortune / skill (who knows, really) to find a couple of great pitchers. Why would you sign with that guy when you have far better options?
Yeah it’s surprising how clueless Steve Cohen is for supposedly being a “fan” of baseball and business “genius.” Hiring Eppler was not the high IQ play. The way he spent money last year was not rational or strategic. 10 random Mets “fans” would have constructed a better roster with Cohen’s money.
Cease or Burnes for the Yankees or the Soto rental is a bust, adding only ~5 WAR for a team lucky to win 82 games last season.
Monty isn’t worth no. 2 SP money. Cashman traded him for a booted Bader. Imanaga screams for Igawa cope signing comparisons. As for Snell, I ran a full count against him just thinking about such an expensive, disastrous signing.
How could they possibly acquire either of those players ? Yanks have nothing to offer.
Same w Red Sox. What could they possibly offer for some like cease ? Mayer+ would be the cost and sox haven’t entertained trading prospects for a while now
Yamamoto has pitched ALOT already. Contract THAT big and that long is scary from an injury risk standpoint. Best of luck to the kid.
Yamamoto pitched fewer than 1,000 innings in 7 years in Japan, never reaching 200 IP in a season. That’s not A LOT.
Seager > yams
<1000 innings in pro ball, didn't pitch college, so knock 200 innings off that total for purposes of comparison.
His 967 innings isn't nothing, and the load over the last 3 years is significant, but there's nothing deranged or concerning about it. He seems to have been brought along sensibly despite being about two years younger than, say, Corbin Burnes, who by 24 pitched roughly 650 innings before being handed 180 inning loads at 26.
It's not like they had Yama throwing 200 innings at 18, though.
Meanwhile, ShapieRo and His carry on baggage GM ,useless Atkins haven’t done a thing in Toronto….except a minor league signing…These 2 Clowns must be Fired !!!
Apparently “in” on everyone…however second place doesn’t cut the mustard. It was famously said.”if you’re not first, you’re last”.
Agreed….the team is trending downward, but they did sell a million hot dogs last year!
The dodgers don’t make the playoffs this year.
The Giants may as well sign Trevor Bauer..
If you just look at him from a baseball perspective he is alot like snell..only 2 great years and many way worse..save yourself the aggrevstion and just sign snell if that sort of pitcher is what you are after
Would much rather see Snell over Montgomery for the Yanks. I saw enough Monty in 6 years going 22-20 with close to a 4 ERA. I know he eats innings but just rather see BS since he has winning AL east experience. And there will be ZERO easy games in the east this year.
Snell, although a great pitcher, seems to me to be a very good candidate for a huge contract with terrible performance. Reminds me of when the Yankees were trying to acquire Patrick Corbin.
It won’t be surprising if MLB viewership continues to tank
Were the Giants really ever competitive in their pursuits of Ohtani and Yamamoto? Or was it just a passive “yeah, we’ll agree to match the offer of the highest bidder”. That’s just plain lazy and disingenuous. Coming into the off-season, there was all this talk about how Giants could (and indeed needed) to land one or even both guys. Not only did they fail to do so, but they let both guys walk right into the arms of their biggest rival.
I’m crushed. I don’t want another decade of mediocre, faceless platoons. At this point, even adding Snell AND Montgomery would probably just prop the team up above the Rockies for a flaccid 4th place finish in the NL West.
Well, if your were a Yankees fan you would’ve been pleased with our taut 4th place finish last season!
I follow the Yankees a little, too. You guys will be a lot better this year. There are good pieces in place. The Giants are practically constructed to hover around .500.
I hope so, Scott, but my confidence is not very high. I do understand your frustration because the Yankees have had plenty of opportunities to acquire FAs that would’ve set them up to win. Instead, they were satisfied with “being competitive” and saving money. Now, they’ve gone from the elite org of MLB, to thinking their cheap tricks (like giving a jersey to Yamamoto) would be the difference-maker.
At least you guys won it all three out of five years recently….
At least now that both Ohtani and Yamamoto are off the board the dominoes should start to fall for the rest of the free agent market
I’m old school.
What’s happened to Major League Baseball’s parity rules?
While I’m proud for the Dodgers Fans to have Owners who desire and strive to win perinatal World Series Championships!!!
(And frankly a little jealous because the Cardinals Owners goal is just to build a .500 ball team). Ha!
It’s ridiculous that the MLB allows a single team to spend or even dedicate $1 Billon Dollars to just 2 players on their team!!!
It’s fantastic to have Owners so dedicated to their team to the point they have the ability to buy perennial World Series Championships.
So how does that affect professional baseball teams and their cities in general??? Pittsburg, Kansas City, etc. you know low market teams and now even mid Market teams.
What’s the point of trying to put a competitive team together without being able to afford a Star player., A headliner, a drawing card player.
Those days are now gone.
World Series teams —— as of 2024—- will be bought and paid for by the super rich MLB franchises. YOU CAN’T BLAME THE STAR PLAYERS FOR TAKING THE PREMIUM
SALARIES.
You can blame the Commissioner and all of his associates for allowing this to happen to what was once America’s Favorite Sport.
Star players don’t win games – star players make fans feel better, which is why so many are complaining about parity when this has nothing to do with parity.
Parity is about teams, not star players. Certain teams are consistently bad because they have bad ownership. But, NFL/NBA/NHL have less parity than MLB when measured in wins, not FA signings.
The question is: Do you want parity in offseason acquisitions or parity in the playing field. One is only loosely connected to the other (See Diamondbacks, Mets).
Parity rules? They’ve never had any parity rules. If you’re old school then you must know about the Yankees’ domination of the sport from the 1920’s till halfway through the sixties. Things were way more unbalanced back then. A team like the Senators or the Browns had no chance at all in those times. Then there was the situation with the Kansas City A’s being basically a Yankees farm team during the 1950’s.
And even into the 1970’s you had the Oakland A’s winning 3 straight titles. There’s almost no chance that happens today because there is MORE parity now.
I’m old school also . When large market teams haven’t had a losing record for 20 years I would say MLB is broken . Owners and players don’t want no cap or floor . Tv revenue is a problem . MLB is a mess . It’s not fair playing field period from top to bottom . MLB is losing fans here in America like me I can’t afford baseball on tv it’s blacked out anyways unless I pay big money for other stuff I don’t want . Baseball is not Americas sport no more a billion dollars on two players wow . I’m going to minor league ball this is ridiculous 10 bucks for a seat and thirsty thursdays .
So you define parity by whether or not one large market has had a losing season?
So, the Steelers with 17 or 18 in a row demonstrates parity? Or the Patriots dynastic run? Or the Chiefs 10 straight winning seasons? Those demonstrate parity because there’s a cap on salaries?
Sorry, but the argument just doesn’t make sense. It’s a double standard when talking about MLB parity. The real argument is: my team sucks and I don’t like it so everyone should be forced to be bad.
Parity in the NFL to me is seeing all these mediocre 7-7 teams. Half the league is around .500 and you have maybe only half a dozen decent teams. (Miami, KC, San Fran, Baltimore, Dallas, Phillie).
And those are the same teams that have been to the playoffs year after year. The Diamondbacks were in the WS. The Cardinals won’t be in the Super Bowl any time soon!
@oldguyG What about mid-market teams that have one losing record (78-84 in the disastrous 2007 season) for 23 years?
Do they count?
It seems like you are saying that “because my team sucks, yours should too, or it isn’t fair”. Teams receive $110 million in revenue sharing, and half of MLB clubs have a payroll lower than that. Some owners choose to pocket their portion of revenue sharing rather than spend it on payroll. Other teams shouldn’t be restricted because your team has a “small market billionaire owner”. Spend your revenue sharing on payroll before crying about payroll discrepancies.
@17dizzy MLB’s randomizing 3 and 4 round postseason is their answer to the NFL’s “parity.”
Btw, have you forgotten that for decades the Yankees treated the Kansas City Athletics as their personal farm team? There were teams that barely got out of the cellar over 20- and 30-year periods. I think the A’s didn’t even make the postseason for almost 40 years.
The commissioner used to be there for the good of the game. Now he’s there as a puppet for the owners and what is good for them.
The commissioner has always been paid by the owners and served at their discretion.
“The best interests of baseball” has always been defined ultimately as what is good collectively for ownership. Any commissioner who doesn’t use his “best interest” powers that way will get himself fired. Manfred has his job and keeps it because he’s doing it.
What do the Mets do now, now that the gloss of a possible Yamamoto signing is off their offseason blush?
Continue to back and fill with the likes of Houser and Taylor, emulating the Wilpons and their legendary annual “Pretend to Contend” mode?
The admiring blather about a ‘no-leak FO’ is misguided when that FO doesn’t even bother to honestly tell the fanbase where they’re serious headed in 2024 and 2025, and misleads in order to prop up advanced ticket sales. You can do it, but it costs you among people paying attention to what you do.
It’s like Cohen quitting on the team in late June 2023—it doesn’t seem to have occurred to him that it would put the Mets right back where they were when the Wilpons sold Cohen the team in 2020. Going into his 4th year of owning the team the Mets are not a premier destination for FA, the last minute overpays for FAs have ultimately accomplished nothing, and we’re reminded Cohen’s word is increasingly worthless. Why bother to build a bridge to fans when every problem is a quarterly problem of extracting the most money possible from any and every situation?
I think NYY should roll the dice and go for Shota. Their track record with Japanese players is just as good or better than the Dodgers (Ohtani and Yamamoto not withstanding). I’d much rather have him than Snell who I consider a fake ace who doesn’t seem to have the proper makeup for the job, let alone in NY. Been to Montgomery already, also, it’s boring. Shota or a trade.
Also the Mets shot themselves in the foot by selling big at the deadline. Sent bad vibes out, keeping the Wilpon stigma alive when it should have been wiped clean with new ownership. Cohen has proven himself just as foolhardy.
imagine if both ohtani and yama blow out their elbows and get tommy john surgery….
oh wait….ohtani just had his 2nd tommy john surgery…
i hope they never win a championship and curse the dodgers for 20 years.
oh wait, wrong article.
ehhh might as well just leave this here.
@CKnyc
So you root for players to get injured because they don’t want to play for the team you support?
Cool.
yes.
are you the one crying now coz of my comment?
cool.
I’m not crying, but I hope you step on a Lego in bare feet!!
haha imagine both get injured thats a billion for 10 years haha haha but yeah you go with that lego comment haha haha
I’m not a Dodger fan, They both aren’t injured with career ending elbow problems, and its not my billion dollars. I don’t care. I just thought you sounded like a tool belt for laughing at injuries that haven’t happened, and while I wish you no real ill will, I hope you step on a Lego!
I love how “baseball is dying”, but yet teams are willing to pay crazy contracts.