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Support MLBTR And Go Ad-Free

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Many of you have already shown your support for MLB Trade Rumors by signing up for an ad-free membership.  The benefits of the $29.99 yearly membership continue to grow:

  • Ad-free faster viewing experience
  • New feature: Trades That Should Happen, by Steve Adams
  • Connor Byrne’s weekly MVP/Cy Young/Rookie of the Year Power Rankings
  • Exclusive member-only online chats with our expert MLB writers every week
  • Exclusive Trade Rumors Front Office badge when leaving comments on the site
  • Become a member of Trade Rumors Front Office today!

Support MLBTR With An Ad-Free Subscription

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With MLBTR’s traffic and revenue down significantly, we’ve introduced an ad-free subscription option for those with the means and desire to support the site directly.  To provide 15+ new posts every single day on the latest hot stove news, we’ve got seven employees plus significant hosting and development costs.

If you’re a longtime reader and can comfortably spare $29.99 per year, we’d appreciate your consideration.  Click here to check out all the benefits of subscribing.  We’ll be adding more in the near future!

New App For Youth Baseball Coaches: Baseball Force Out Teacher

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Hi! I’m Tim Dierkes, the owner of MLB Trade Rumors. If you’ll indulge me for a minute, I want to talk about an app I’ve created for youth baseball and softball coaches that has nothing to do with MLB or rumors.

How many times have you observed this scene in a youth baseball or softball game?

An infielder makes an amazing stop on a ground ball. It’s the highlight of the kid’s budding career to date. And then…NOOOOOO!!! Why did you throw it to THAT base? Or…why did you think you could just step on THAT base??! We’ve been over this in practice!

Fundamentals are crucial to understanding and playing baseball or softball. Chief among them: where are the force outs? Our new Baseball Force Out Teacher app for iPhones and iPads is the perfect at-home supplement to any player or watcher’s education.

The eight different baserunner scenarios are randomly presented, and this fun game-like app drills home the correct answers to one crucial question: Where are the force outs? Simply play it over and over until force outs are second nature!  Most kids have a little bit of time on their hands currently.

Plus, if you’re a coach looking to freestyle or elaborate on infield scenarios, the app has a handy whiteboard feature.

Download the free app today!

Support MLBTR And Go Ad-Free

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For the past 15 years, virtually all of the revenue generated by this website came from banner ads.  Though ad rates had been dropping prior to 2020, we’ve also seen an increase in traffic to make up for it.  Free websites supported only by advertising seemed to be a thing of the past, but the model was working well enough for us.

Then COVID-19 hit, reducing MLBTR’s year-over-year traffic by over 40% since mid-March.  On top of that, ad rates decreased similarly.  In April, I wrote a post explaining our situation.  I was heartened by the response in the comments.  Many longtime readers urged me to create a way to support the website directly.

Given the devastation of COVID-19, the status of a baseball website is not high on anyone’s priority list.  We’ll be covering this strange 2020 MLB season with the same devotion we’ve had for hot stove news over the past 15 years.  The free, ad-supported MLBTR remains unchanged.  But for those regular readers who have the means and desire to support MLBTR directly, we’ve created Trade Rumors Front Office.

For $29.99 per year, Trade Rumors Front Office provides the following benefits:

  • Ad-free, faster viewing experience on MLB Trade Rumors, Hoops Rumors, Pro Football Rumors, Pro Hockey Rumors, and in the Trade Rumors iOS/Android app.  Please note that we may need about a week to perfect the removal of ads from the app.  The ad removal will work instantly after sign-up on the four websites.
  • Exclusive member-only online chats with our expert MLB writers every week.  Steve Adams, Jeff Todd, Connor Byrne, and Mark Polishuk will still be doing their regular chats at MLBTR each week, open to all readers.  But each week one of them will do an additional chat exclusive to members of Trade Rumors Front Office.  Fewer participants means an increased chance of getting your question answered.
  • An exclusive Trade Rumors Front Office badge will be displayed when you comment on MLBTR.
  • Most importantly, you’ll be supporting MLBTR directly and helping to ensure our longevity and growth.

The launch of Trade Rumors Front Office is a big moment for MLBTR.  If you love this website, please consider subscribing!

MLB Trade Rumors Commenting Policy

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Thank you for participating in the MLB Trade Rumors commenting community.  If you’re new to the site, register to comment here!  Remember to confirm your email address before attempting to leave a comment.

When leaving a comment at MLBTR, we ask that you avoid the following:

  • Attacks, insults, or trolling toward other commenters, the MLBTR staff, journalists, team personnel, players, or agents
  • Otherwise harassing other commenters in any way
  • Commentary that is unrelated to the subject matter of the post
  • Inappropriate language, including swearing and related censor bypass attempts, lewdness, insults, and crude terms for body parts, bodily functions, and physical acts
  • Inappropriate avatars or images
  • Spam links or self-promotion
  • Personal contact information in the comments section

If you see comments that violate our policy, please flag them and/or contact us!  Additionally, if you would prefer not to see comments from a particular user, we recommend you mute that person.  Your mute list can be edited in your profile.

Please do not otherwise attempt to police the comments, and do not respond to insults.  We don’t have time to assess who started it or whether you were responding to a different person who violated our commenting policy.

Corrections for errors by the authors of our posts are welcome and appreciated.

Regarding The MLBTR Comment Section

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You may have noticed recently that we’ve closed the comments section on MLBTR posts relating to COVID-19.  I’ve taken this temporary measure because the discussions have too often become toxic.  Moderating arguments in the comments is not a good use of time for our writers.

We plan to take a few days to amend our commenting policy and our system for enforcement, and then we’ll re-open comments on most posts.  In the meantime, the comments are open on this post, and I’d appreciate your feedback and ideas.

Support MLBTR And Go Ad-Free

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Many of you have already shown your support for MLB Trade Rumors by signing up for an ad-free membership.  The benefits of the $29.99 yearly membership continue to grow:

  • Ad-free faster viewing experience
  • New weekly feature: Connor Byrne’s MVP/Cy Young/Rookie of the Year Power Rankings!
  • Exclusive member-only online chats with our expert MLB writers every week
  • Exclusive Trade Rumors Front Office badge when leaving comments on the site
  • More new features are on the way!  Become a member of Trade Rumors Front Office today!

Seeking Writers For Pro Hockey Rumors

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As our sister site Pro Hockey Rumors celebrates its four-year anniversary, we’re looking to add to the writing staff!  In particular, we’re seeking someone with strong daytime availability Monday through Friday.  The position pays hourly.  The criteria:

  • Exceptional knowledge of all 31 NHL teams, no discernible bias.
  • Knowledge of the salary cap, CBA and transaction-related concepts.
  • At least some college education.
  • Extensive writing experience, with professional experience and a background in journalism both strongly preferred.
  • Keen understanding of journalistic principles, ethics and procedures. Completion of basic college-level journalism classes is strongly preferred.
  • Attention to detail — absolutely no spelling errors, especially for player and journalist names.
  • Ability to follow the site’s style and tone.
  • Ability to analyze articles and craft intelligent, well-written posts summing up the news in a few paragraphs. We need someone who can balance creating quick copy with thoughtful analysis. You must be able to add value to breaking news with your own insight, numbers or links to other relevant articles.
  • Ability to use Twitter and Tweetdeck.
  • Multi-tasking is crucial.
  • If you’re interested, email prohockeyrumorshelp@gmail.com and explain how you stand out and qualify in a couple of short paragraphs.  Please attach your resume to the email.  Unfortunately we may not be able to reply to every applicant.

Check Out The Rosters From Our Mock Expansion Draft

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The mock expansion draft at MLBTR was a blast!  Connor Byrne ran the Las Vegas Vipers, pitted against my Portland Lumberjacks.  Click here to see how the picks went down, and here to see the transcript of our live event.  Which roster do you prefer?

Portland Lumberjacks

Jonathan Loaisiga
Bobby Bradley
Michel Baez
Peter Lambert
Joe Palumbo
Edwin Rios
Bryan Abreu
Derek Fisher
Jorge Alcala
Austin Adams
Tyler Mahle
Raudy Read
Kelvin Gutierrez
Rowan Wick
Tyler Alexander
Diego Castillo
Jake Cave
Dennis Santana
Huascar Ynoa
Yonathan Daza
Anthony Alford
Aramis Garcia
Skye Bolt
Josh Rojas
Tres Barrera
Jorge Lopez
Mike Shawaryn
Gregory Soto
Cionel Perez
Corey Oswalt
Javy Guerra
Daniel Gossett
Thairo Estrada
Michael Hermosillo
Matt Magill
Jeff Brigham
Joely Rodriguez
Conner Menez

Las Vegas Vipers

Randy Arozarena
Genesis Cabrera
Zack Collins
Luke Jackson
Josh Taylor
J.B. Wendelken
Alex Young
Colin Moran
Wilmer Flores
Tanner Scott
Jaime Barria
Vìctor Arano
Orlando Arcia
Robert Dugger
Drew Smith
Mike Tauchman
Lane Thomas
Jonathan Hernandez
Adam Plutko
Danny Mendick
Ty France
Cole Irvin
Robel Garcia
Yimi Garcia
Noe Ramirez
Michael Feliz
Tyrone Taylor
Cody Reed
Nick Margevicius
Paul Fry
Jose Martinez
Edmundo Sosa
Christian Arroyo
Dylan Floro
Ryon Healy
Yennsy Diaz
Seby Zavala
Rogelio Armenteros

(Poll link for app users)

Get Ready For The MLB Trade Rumors Mock Expansion Draft!

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As we wait to see whether MLB and the players will come together to play a shortened 2020 season, why is this the right time to hold a mock expansion draft here at MLBTR?  Well, lots of reasons!

A mock expansion draft serves an interesting thought exercise.  If each MLB team were allowed to protect only 15 players, who would be left exposed?  Thousands of MLBTR readers have participated in polls over the last few weeks in an attempt to answer that question for each of the 30 teams.  Click here to see who’s available in the draft – and be sure to check out both the “By Team” and “By Player” tabs in this Google Sheet.  Who would be your top picks?  Let us know in the comments.

The current MLB transaction freeze presents a unique opportunity, as team rosters have remained stable to allow us to spend weeks creating protected lists.  The unprecedented transaction freeze and lack of games and also means we have less to write about here at MLBTR, and the mock expansion draft helps fill the void.

Also, consider the possibility that MLB might actually be driven to expansion within the next several years as a result of revenue lost to the coronavirus.  Mike Axisa of CBS Sports wrote about this recently, noting that the Rockies and Marlins were born in part as a way for the existing 28 teams to raise cash, speculating that MLB could charge expansion teams a billion dollar entry fee or more per each new team.

MLB’s last expansion draft took place in 1997, with the Diamondbacks and Devil Rays.  Those were simpler times, both in terms of player evaluation and fan interest in the hot stove.  Consider this nugget from Pedro Gomez of The Arizona Republic back in ’97.  “The biggest cheer in the [Diamondbacks draft war] room came after Tampa Bay selected outfielder Bobby Abreu with its third selection. There were slaps on the back and high-fives passed out. ’Our first break,’ one of them said.”  The Diamondbacks’ front office actually high-fived because the Devil Rays took Abreu, allowing catcher Jorge Fabregas to get to them.  Not so fast with accolades for Tampa Bay, though – they had an agreement in place to immediately trade Abreu to the Phillies for Kevin Stocker.

If an expansion draft were to happen in 2020, it’s easy to imagine a big live event put on by MLB.  MLB Network would broadcast the picks and sites like MLBTR and many others would be obsessively covering the lead-up, rumors, and actual event.  Back in ’97?  “The Rays’ brain trust began the day with a 7 a.m. breakfast with the 70 or so Tampa Bay fans who traveled to the draft,” wrote Marc Topkin and John Romano of the Tampa Bay Times.  More people will follow along live with MLBTR’s mock expansion draft this week than followed along with the last real one!  Noted the Tampa Bay Times writers, “Unlike the NFL draft, which sparks wild cheers and boos from the fans’ gallery, there was little reaction to the lesser-known picks by the 75 supporters from both teams.” 

So get ready: my Portland Lumberjacks will compete with Connor Byrne’s Las Vegas Vipers to put together the best 38-man roster.  The live event will take place here at MLBTR on Thursday, June 4th, at 1pm central time.  We’re not messing around here.  In 1997, Topkin and Romano noted, “The Rays were so serious about keeping their plans under wraps they hired 24-hour security to guard the team’s War Room the past week and had the area searched for electronic bugs each morning.”  Rest assured, I’m taking our expansion draft just as seriously, and I have indeed bugged Connor’s home.  In the coming days, Connor and I will be poring over the list of 438 available players and crafting our strategies.  We invite you to do the same!

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

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