Transmogrified Tiger

Rosenthal runs down what the SS market looks like for Correa and Story: https://theathletic.com/2988344/2021/11/30/rosenthal-what-does-carlos-correas-market-look-like-after-the-corey-seager-and-javier-baez-deals/ The tenor of the article is to go through the list of suitors, but also spell out reasons why they wouldn't go after one of Correa/Story: Yankees: have indicated they won't spend big, the team hates Correa for cheating Dodgers: have Turner and Lux and bigger holes to fill Red Sox: Bogaerts is still technically signed long term and moving his position before an opt out would antagonize Cardinals: DeJong and Sosa are capable, don't normally play in these waters Mariners: Have Crawford, probably out on Correa but might still pursue Story Blue Jays: Have already spent a ton and have Bichette Angels: Have a need but probably need to spread $ to other/multiple needs Twins: Have a need but don't normally play in these waters Phillies: Have a need(though Gregorius is under contract), unsure if they'll do another megadeal with Harper and Realmuto signed longterm And then he name checks the Cubs and Nats at the end as teams that might make Correa/Story a tentpole of their rebuild. A lot of what-ifs and it only takes 1 team bucking the odds for the options to get slim with only 2 left, but I think the takeaway is that the teams with clear need and motivation have taken their shot, so there's opportunity for someone to be decisive without an absurd bidding war.

https://twitter.com/DannyBrams/status/1465505148441083904

I don't know how many of you have done an auction fantasy draft, but every one I do follows the same pattern. In the early rounds I'm very disciplined, not going over my target even if a player is exactly who I want for a spot. Then about halfway through, I realize that I've overestimated how much the middle/lower class players cost and can have my pick of them and still have money left over. I still end up doing okay but probably not as good as if I were more confident in my convictions at the top of the market and trust my skill/luck at the bottom. Anyway I really hope that Jed would beat me in a fantasy league but I'm wondering if he's making my mistake in real life.

I’d be more okay with Moran as the bargain option if he had shown more of an ability to play 3B, he’s been horrible at 3B and the last 2 years have been 1B only(and bad at that).

I like incentivizing the best record in the league, but wild card round going best of 3 only works if games 2 and 3 are the same day and even then isn't my favorite.

I would normally write it off but Brett amplifying it feels like something he wouldn't do (especially right now) if he didn't have some reason to believe there's smoke. If true, I assume it has to be Baez.

Pretty similar farm too. Tons of depth, but only one guy (Jung) who's a surefire contributor next year. The existing roster is somehow even more bleak though, yikes. Even with dropping half a billion they could still stand to add at least 5 more starting caliber position players + SP.

The A's are definitely trading all 3 SP and Olson now, right? All the more certain if the Mariners land one of those names they're attached to.

sure, why not

I think it's still pretty early to see that as the assumed outcome. Even in Free Agency you still have half of the Top 25 free agents still available, and half of this year's top FA were recently available or acquired at a lower cost than that so you can get 2023+ pieces below that line. There's lots of teams that have done little to nothing so far and plenty of time to reshape a roster that allows for more than one narrow path to getting better.

I would even go so far as to say that I'm not even cataclysmically worried about spending money on FA in general, with rare exceptions it's a bunch of post-prime guys wanting really long commitments. But at the same time, one of the main assets you have for improving the team quickly is money, and you have to get pretty creative to use that money if you're not spending a big chunk of it in FA(whether that's 30M for 1 guy or 10M for 3). I'm all for creativity, but it's a narrow needle to thread when you don't know what the rules/motivations/timelines are going to be coming out of the CBA.

He’s one year from FA and had elbow surgery (specifically flexor tendon) in late September.

Eh, players don’t want to join up with this horsefeathers show As opposed to the Rangers? Yes, the silver lining is that it is largely the messiest and aimless franchises dropping the most money right now. Doesn’t make the pool of players to spend the hopefully abundant available payroll any less narrow, but it is not models of success leading the way right now.

come onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

I can’t believe how aggressive teams have been, would not have guessed this level of high profile activity by a long shot. There’s even multiple Boras guys signing or seemingly about to.

I don’t really see the point of a one year deal for a 35+ SP in the Cubs’ current position. Maybe if they had ace upside but those guys are probably title hunting anyway, no accident that even Kluber is going to a current favorite. Speaking of SP, this got me thinking: The Cubs being really in on Rodon would make some sense, both in the academic sense and consistent with current behavior. He’s younger than most(all?) other FA SP, he has velocity and big upside he’s demonstrated recently, and no QO. His risks come down to health, which likely prevents someone from going super long on a FA deal, and is the type of gamble that they should be willing to take in a rotation that has Hendricks and Miley. Rodon’s market doesn’t seem to be close to a tipping point, so if he’s Plan A and/or they generally are planning on one big FA SP like Rodon, Stroman, or maybe Gray, that would explain the lack of heavy participation with Matz, DeSclafani, etc.

Portugal isn't that good tho, right? They frequently underperform their talent, but they have the players to beat anyone and occasionally do so(Euro winners in 2016, Nations League winners in 2019). There aren’t 13 teams in UEFA with better talent and historical results(recent or otherwise) at least.

A lot of my favorite Plan B options for various spots getting snapped up in the last week. Hope that doesn't end up biting them.

an incredibly good and just sport, definitely worth my emotional investment

So with the reasonable assumption that Benfica beats an already-eliminated Dynamo Kiev at home, Barcelona has to beat Bayern in Munich to stay out of the Europa League, woof

I am open to the tactical idea here, although on the US team that needs a target at times that part would be rough. What tips me against it is Pulisic getting bludgeoned for 90 minutes by CONCACAF center backs in games officiated by CONCACAF refs might take a decade off his career.

Don't mind buying Ramirez even if he gets lost on waivers or doesn't escape Spring Training, but I'm also not sure if there's anything he does better than Hermosillo. Make contact, I guess.