Wintry mix

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ESPN has links and gossip here.

The Phillies signed ex-Yankee Didi Gregorius to play shortstop.

The Giants acquired veteran infielder Zack Cozart and 2019 first-round pick Will Wilson (another infielder) from the Angels for a player to be named later or cash.

The Yankees, as expected, have made an offer to Gerrit Cole which is even richer than the one Stephen Strasburg got from the Nationals earlier this week.

Then there’s this:

Andrew Friedman said the Dodgers have zeroed in on roughly 12 players they’re targeting at the moment. Almost all of them, perhaps with the exception of relievers, are elite. “I’d say it’s a much more narrow group than it has been in some other years in my career,” Friedman said.

67 thoughts on “Wintry mix”

  2. Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you on my favorite site. It is about two months until the first spring training game.

    Lewis

  3. Can someone in California explain why SB Nation sites in California need to restaff? Something about a new law from what I can gather.

    • New legislation ostensibly meant to regulate gig economy, such as Uber, also limits freelance journalism.

      • Right. Free lance journalists are considered
        contractors and are restricted from producing more than 35 written content submissions (i.e. articles) per year. An unintended consequence to a law that’s heart is in the right place, but was poorly thought out.

  4. Will miss him, but would surely desire Clevinger over Ryu (at 4 years) as a better bet. Now to get him. If I know my FO, the Spiders from Erie won’t get Lux/May.

  6. I have other things to do so writing this is pure procrastination.

    If Friedman believed he has a much better chance to re-sign Lindor than he has with Seager then going with that hypothesis I would like to include Seager in a trade for Lindor. It won’t be straight up because there is no need for the Indians to give up their fan favorite.

    Cleveland needs a second baseman and pitching this year. They want Lux and won’t get him and Downs is a year or two away. Maybe Seager, Taylor, Estaves, Gonsolin and Maeda could get both Lindor and Clevinger.

    Now on to Mookie. Pollock and Peters? Verdugo and White? Verdugo and Pollock?

    SS Lindor
    RF Betts
    CF Bellinger
    3B Turner
    1B Muncy
    C Smith
    LF Pederson
    2B Lux

    Buehler, Kershaw, Clevinger, Urias, Stripling, May

    • What a mystery. Guess the Dodgers lost their patience and with no options left..bye bye. Given his low WHIP, might have thought that he could have afforded to walk a couple more people rather than give into them, but if you look at the 15 dingers he gave up most were in a pitcher’s count with a few even counts. Only one was a hitter’s count!

  9. Probably in a minority among Dodger fans, but am not unhappy with them “losing” out on signing big names. I see a 106-game winning club without many holes. Sure, good to beef up the pen, where variability is always an issue, though it was among the best in the last couple months of the season. Another RHH would help, since they don’t have Freese any more, but $35 million a year over seven for Rendon is beyond the pale (Trout doesn’t even make that much). As for trades, Lindor is a switch hitter, but as an upgrade over Seager at SS I don’t see worth Lux and May. Starting pitching, yeah, would like to see Ryu resigned, but with Urias, Gonsolin, and May in the wings, I feel pretty good.

    • Now Mookie would be a serious upgrade and because it’s only one year the cost might be just a slew of second tier prospects. One scenario is guys like Peters, Gray and Downs along with a big leaguer such as Pollock or Chicken Strip. Would do something like that without a second thought.

      • I want Mookie.

        Verdugo and Pollock to Redsox for Betts, Price, and $21M. That brings Price AAV to the Dodgers down to $25M and cuts total AAV by another $12M via Pollock’s contract elimination. That makes the cost of Prices’s 150 innings (at best) to $13M and adds about $28M AAV for Betts for a total of $41M.

        1B Muncy
        RF Betts
        SS Seager
        CF Bellinger
        3B Turner
        LF Pederson 70%, Kike’ 30%
        C Smith and Barnes
        2B Lux

        To get Lindor at the top of that lineup I would offer Muncy, Taylor, Maeda, where Price would replace Maeda’s innings.

        Oh, and Sign Pederson to a 3 year $30M contract while the Dodgers can.

        • I want Mookie because who wouldn’t want a player called “Mookie Betts” on their team? Up there with the best baseball names ever.

        • You seem to underestimate Muncy’s value and what he could fetch on the market. Max produced WAR 5.7 last year compared to Lindor at 4.7 and is not an FA until 2023. I wouldn’t even trade them straight up. Moreover, while Lindor is a switch hitter, he was OPS+ 103 against lefties, whereas Max was 131.

      • I think I would prefer to keep Gray and Downs available for 2022 when we might lose Seager and Kershaw.

  14. Treinen added to the pen. Hefty $10m 1 year. 2019 numbers don’t seem to warrant such an amount, but apparently highly regarded in the market because of raw stuff.

  15. Welp, if RHH 3rb base is their desire, Donaldson FA still out there. As well, some rumors regarding trades for Bryant or Arenado surfaced.

      • My concern is that he’s no longer worth what he is apparently asking for, but if his price comes down I wouldn’t mind. They could put his locker next to Max’s.

        • On reconsideration, I’d accept him as a batting practice pitcher. So would D.J. Peters, who homered twice in one inning off him in San José.

    • Cole certainly worth $36 million AAV, but that’s over 9 years. Assuming he can pitch at that level over the next five years he is really being paid double that. Not Mad about Bum, would rather go Ryu and Rendon. Worried about the later, as the Angles just dumped salary so they may be after him as well.

    • Bumgarner pitched over 200 innings last year and until May, Urias, Gonsolin, Maeda, and Gray are ready to do the same, they could use those innings. And, who knows, maybe his easy, smooth motion will let him pitch three more good years. But, can and will he play ping pong?

  17. Dave Roberts at the Winter Meetings:

    Manager Dave Roberts, in his first public comments since the Dodgers were bounced from the playoffs in October, predicted the roster will undergo more turnover this offseason than any other since he assumed his post in November 2015.

    “I think that you’ve got to shuffle the deck sometimes,” Roberts said. “Although we’ve had a lot of consistency . . . giving guys other opportunities, I think that’s a good thing for them. And I think that for us to keep things fresh is a good thing. I think that you don’t ever want to get stagnant and complacent.”