MLB 2021-2022 Offseason Hot Stove

[MRP]

Some news and notes from around the league...

Red Sox looking at another bargain basement signing to get some rotation depth, are said to be close to signing Michael Wacha to a 1 year deal.

Mets sign infielder Eduardo Escobar to a 2 year $20 million deal.

Pirates are resigning 1B/RF Yoshi Tsutsugo bringing him back on a 1 year $4 million deal.

Players union has agreed to let MLB move up the deadline for tendering offers on certain players (those with less than 6 years of MLB service, including arbitration eligible players) so they will know their status in the event of a work stoppage when the CBA expires. The deadline had been Dec 2 after the CBA expires. It was moved up to Nov. 30, so there could be a fresh batch of free agents a few days earlier than initially anticipated.

-M

[achilles]

THe Met's have signed Starling Marte for four years and $78 million.

[MRP]

Reports indicate the Seattle Mariners are acquiring second baseman/outfielder Adam Frazier in a trade with the San Diego Padres. San Diego will be getting left-handed reliever Raymond Kerr and outfielder Corey Rosier.

Frazier was n All-Star for the Pirates last year but was dealt to the Padres at the deadline last year. He's a free agent after this season.

Looks like some teams are starting to scramble to get things done before the CBA expires on Dec. 1.

-M

[MRP]

Lots of moves today with the Dec 1 expiration of the CBA looming.

Avisail Garcia signs a 4 year $53 million deal with the Marlins.

Marcus Semian signed a 7 year $175 million contract with the Texas Rangers.

Byron Buxton agrees to a 7 year $100 million extension with the Twins

Corey Kluber signs a 1 year $8 million (up to $13 with incentives) deal with the Rays.

RHP Hector Neris signed a 2 year $17 million deal with the Astros.

I expect there will be a lot more signings over the next 2 days as well.

-M

[achilles]

Here's a big one, the Mets are offering Max Scherzer $42 million PER YEAR for two years.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Here's a big one, the Mets are offering Max Scherzer $42 million PER YEAR for two years.

Okay, beyond the money, why would Scherzer want to leave a World Series contender in the Dodgers for the dumpster fire that’s the Mets?

[Hiromi]

because who else but the Mets would offer a 42 million a year three year deal to a 37 year old who just had to miss a start in the NLCS because short rest killed his arm, dude's accomplished everything a player could want at this point, might as well pad the bank account as high as it will go while he can

[MRP]

because who else but the Mets would offer a 42 million a year three year deal to a 37 year old who just had to miss a start in the NLCS because short rest killed his arm, dude's accomplished everything a player could want at this point, might as well pad the bank account as high as it will go while he can

$43.3 million a year for 3 years total $130 million over the 3 years, highest annual salary paid in MLB.

When your 37 I guess you take the money as it is likely your last contract, and well you could still get delat to a contender in a deadline deal when the Mets are hopelessly out of it at the trade deadline in any of the next 3 seasons.

-M

[MRP]

Looks like this year's Cy Young winner Robby Ray is cashing in and close to finalizing a 5 year $115 million deal with the Mariners.

Kevin Gausman signed a similar 5 year $110 million deal with the BLue Jays after resurrecting his career with the Giants the past 2 seasons.

-M

[Hiromi]

So MLB officially punished Marcell Ozuna with a 20 game suspension, retroactive last year

[WestPhillyPunisher]

$43.3 million a year for 3 years total $130 million over the 3 years, highest annual salary paid in MLB.

When your 37 I guess you take the money as it is likely your last contract, and well you could still get delat to a contender in a deadline deal when the Mets are hopelessly out of it at the trade deadline in any of the next 3 seasons.

-M

If that’s the case, then why didn’t he just stay with the Dodgers who already ARE a contender?

Oh, yeah, the money. Silly me.

[achilles]

Corey Seager to the Rangers for $325 million ten year deal. Let me point out that Kershaw is from Texas and is also available. So far.

[MRP]

The Pittsburgh Pirates have traded gold glove catcher Jacob Stallings to the Marlins in exchange for pitcher Zach Thompson and prospects Kyle Nicolas and Connor Scott.

-M

[MRP]

Some details of the proposals on the table for the new CBA have surfaced...

Major League Baseball's expanded playoff proposal, as part of a new collective bargaining agreement between owners and players, includes the ability for division winners to pick their wild-card opponent, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.

The format would call for 14 teams -- seven from each league -- to make the playoffs, four more than currently play in the postseason. The three division winners in each league would be joined by four wild-card teams to make up the playoff field. Here's how it would work:

• The team with the best record in each league would get a bye into the best-of-five division series.

• The remaining two division winners would get to pick their wild-card opponent from the bottom three wild-card teams. The division winner with the second-best record would pick first, then the No. 3 seed in the league would pick its opponent from the final two wild-card teams. The wild-card team with the best record would play the wild-card team that wasn't picked by a division winner.

• Once matchups are set, the higher-seeded teams would host all three games in a best-of-three wild-card round.

• Winners in the wild-card round would advance to the division series and the playoffs would continue as they have in the past.

One concern with the proposed format is the time off for the top seeds while the wild-card round proceeds, hence teams hosting all three wild-card games in consecutive days.

The draft is another area they are addressing...

A more recent addition to the negotiations is an NBA-style lottery system for the draft. The league believes it will at least partly address players' tanking concerns. Right now, the team with the worst record in baseball gets the No. 1 pick in the amateur draft the following summer. It's created a "race to the bottom," as agent Scott Boras put it earlier this month.

The league is offering a system where all non-playoff teams would have a chance at the No. 1 pick -- not just the team with the worst record. The worst team would still have better odds than the second-worst team, and so on and so forth, but in theory, any non-playoff team could end up with a top-three pick.

The lottery would only be for picks No. 1 through No. 3, then the draft would continue as it has in the past, based on regular-season record. The playoff teams would pick according to how they finished in the postseason. The World Series winner would pick last.

Reports are though that there is no consensus on these issues, even the owners are divided among themselves on these matters and the players union hasn't found common ground on them for them to take a position one way or the other on these.

-M

[Hiromi]

I hate the pick your opponent idea so much it isn't even funny