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MLBTR is seeking people to test out our Android app, Trade Rumors.  This free app has been available in the Play Store for a year now, but our upcoming release adds the ability to read and leave comments on the posts.  We’re looking for people specifically to test the commenting feature.  Also, it might be best if you’ve already been using the app for a while.

If you’d like to help out and test the new commenting feature within the app, please email us at mlbtrandroid@gmail.com.

It’s time to give the free MLBTR email Newsletter a try! We’ll deliver an exclusive article to your inbox every week – no strings attached! I’ll be weighing in on deals, rumors, and all the hot stove-related topics MLBTR has been known for since I launched the site a decade ago. These articles will be exclusive to MLBTR Newsletter subscribers and will not appear on the website. I may also provide occasional updates on what’s next for MLBTR. It’s completely free.

I’ll be honored if you give us your email address and join the thousands of MLBTR readers already enjoying the Newsletter. We will never sell your email address or market anything to the mailing list, and you can unsubscribe easily. My newest post, coming this afternoon, compares and contrasts free agent starters Jeff Samardzija, Wei-Yin Chen, and Mike Leake. Sign up now! Those of you viewing this post in our app can use this link.

Back to the Future Day finally arrives tomorrow, and as big fans of the trilogy here at MLBTR we’ve got a special treat for this week’s podcast.  Host Jeff Todd spoke with Back to the Future screenwriter and longtime Cardinals fan Bob Gale, who discussed why Doc Brown is a baseball fan, the ballplayer inscribed on Griff’s bat, his 1989 prediction of the Cubs topping Miami in the 2015 World Series, and much more.

Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, and please leave a review!  Those using our app can go here to listen.

The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast runs weekly.

The 2015-16 free agent season’s qualifying offer value has been set at $15.8MM, according to a tweet from Eric Fisher of the Sports Business Journal. That represents an increase, of course, but the rise isn’t nearly as great as it has been in the past.

The QO system used a $13.3MM number in its first year, which increased to $14.1MM and then to $15.3MM last fall. The qualifying offer value is determined by averaging the 125 contracts leaguewide that have the highest average annual values.

Here’s a quick refresher on how the qualifying offer system works: Teams can offer their departing free agents a one-year deal, at the established price tag, within five days of the conclusion of the World Series. Over the next seven days, players who receive the offer are allowed to talk with other teams and decide whether to take the single-season pact. If they reject it, then draft implications attach: their former team stands to gain a compensation pick in the following year’s draft, while a new signing team must give up their highest non-protected draft choice.

There are plenty of other elements of the system, of course, and you can check out this old-but-good overview for more. For an understanding of why the qualifying offer matters so much, read this great explanation of why “avoiding the qualifying offer” is so important for a free agent’s value.

Players traded in mid-season are not eligible to receive a qualifying offer. So, for example, the Royals can make a qualifying offer to Alex Gordon but cannot extend one to Johnny Cueto or Ben Zobrist.

And remember: we still have yet to see a player accept a qualifying offer. While several QO-declining players have seemingly experienced market impacts after being saddled with draft compensation, the opportunity to test the open market in search of a multi-year pact has thus far proved compelling.

This week, Jeff runs through the end-of-season news around the game before welcoming MLBTR’s arbitration guru Matt Swartz to the show. Swartz, of course, just released his yearly projections for each arbitration eligible player’s salary. He’ll also be reviving his Arbitration Breakdown series this offseason, in which he examines some of the most unique arb cases and details whether or not those players’ atypical platform seasons will lead to an inaccurate projection from our model.

Among the topics discussed on this episode are the specific arbitration cases of Aroldis Chapman, Trevor Rosenthal, Josh Donaldson and Jake Arrieta. Additionally, Swartz explains why Dontrelle Willis still holds the first-year arbitration record for a starting pitcher ($4.35MM in 2006) and whether or not Dallas Keuchel can set a new first-time record this winter.

Those unfamiliar with MLBTR’s model may first want to check out Swartz’s explanation of the arb process, our model, and, of course, the above-linked projections.

Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, and please leave a review! The podcast is also available via Stitcher at this link.

The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast runs weekly on Thursday afternoons.

Congratulations are in order for the Cubs, who rode yet another dominant Jake Arrieta performance to a 4-0 win over the Pirates to advance to the NLDS, where they’ll face another division-rival — the Cardinals. As Cubs fans celebrate and Bucs fans mourn, here’s a look at some notes on each of the two teams…

• Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review took a look at how the Pirates constructed their latest winner, noting the huge amounts of surplus value they got for relatively low-cost acquisitions such as Francisco Cervelli, A.J. Burnett, Francisco Liriano, Jung Ho Kang, J.A. Happ, Joakim Soria and Joe Blanton. Perhaps most interesting is Sawchik’s description of how Liriano came to re-sign with Pittsburgh. Awakened by a 3:30am phone call from agent Greg Genske, Liriano learned that the Pirates had upped their offer to $39MM over three years. Genske advised his client to wait, as the Royals and Astros had both made three-year offers as well, and both the Cubs and Red Sox were showing interest, too. Liriano, however, declined. “I said, ’No. Go ahead and take it,'” Liriano recalled. “I told my agent talk to the Pirates as much as you can, because I wanted to be back.”
• In an effort to explain Arrieta’s emergence as one of the National League’s premier arms, Fangraphs’ Eno Sarris examines a notable change in his pitch profile from 2014 to 2015. As Sarris points out, Arrieta has flipped the usage of his two-seamer and four-seamer and now greatly favors the former over the latter. Beyond that, Arrieta’s shown a willingness to throw his two-seamer/sinker in the zone to lefties and righties alike, and he’ll use the pitch to challenge hitters as well as front-door/back-door them for called strikes and weak contact. The result has been one of the game’s most effective pitches and Arrieta’s emergence into the national limelight and NL Cy Young race.
• David Ross hit just .176/.267/.252 for the Cubs this season, but ESPN’s Wayne Drehs spoke to Ross, his teammates and the coaching staff about the value that Ross brings in the clubhouse and the difference he’s made in dealing with rookies, young stars like Anthony Rizzo and veterans like Jon Lester. Every teammate of Ross spoke glowingly about his emphasis on accountability and his relentless quest to make sure that there’s not a day when anyone on the team is giving any less than 100 percent on the field. Manager Joe Maddon called Ross the best clubhouse presence he’s ever seen, and Rizzo tried to characterize the impact of Ross’ leadership. “It’s one of those things … [Ross] doesn’t demand respect — he earns it,” Rizzo explained. “He lets you know in a nice way, and he’ll get on you in a rough way if he needs to. I tell him all the time I just want to go out and prove to him I can bring it everyday.”

Recently, MLB Trade Rumors launched a brand new official Instagram account:@TradeRumorsMLB.  Each day, we’re sharing conversation-inspiring images about the hottest topics in baseball.  From there, we invite you to give us a like, weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section, and even share the link with a friend.

Recently, we cast Matt Harvey as Batman and asked readers if “The Dark Knight” will rise for the postseason.  Then, late last week, we featured some of the possible candidates for the Phillies’ GM job and asked you to pick who you think would be best for the gig.

So, what are you waiting for?  If you don’t have an Instagram account, this is the perfect excuse to sign up and get one.  Follow us on Instagram today!

MLBTR’s Jeff Todd and Steve Adams discuss a disappointing season for the Nationals, then look ahead to the offseason and their 2016 roster. Following that (31:48), they break down Yoenis Cespedes’ recent contractual amendment and his rapidly rising status on the free agent market.

Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, and please leave a review! The podcast is also available via Stitcher at this link.

The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast runs weekly on Thursdays.

Host Jeff Todd chats with Josh Chetwynd of Elite Sports Group about his experiences in European baseball as both a player and a player representative. Chetwynd, who has been elected into the British baseball hall of fame and negotiated a European-record $1.3MM bonus for Italian shortstop Marten Gasparini, discusses the key differences between that emerging market and other international arenas.

For listeners with interest in all things international, be sure also to check out prior episodes featuring MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (with a focus on Cuba) and former big league and KBO hurler Ryan Sadowski (talking Korean ball).

Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, and please leave a review! The podcast is also available via Stitcher at this link.

The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast runs weekly on Thursday afternoons.

DraftKings is going big to kick off the NFL season with a $10MM fantasy contest. The winner is going to take home an unbelievable $2MM prize! It’s $20 to enter, and the top 125,700 scores are guaranteed to win money.

This contest goes live on Sunday, September 13th at 1:00pm EST. Make sure you head to DraftKings to enter and pick your lineup using $50K in salary cap space to choose eight players and one defense. Here’s my preliminary lineup:

Join the action at DraftKings right now!

This is a sponsored post from DraftKings.