MLB Offseason 2013-2014

[Scout101]

^ IIRC, most teams don't count StubHub when figuring total ticket sales.

Isn't that obvious why, though? The team isn't selling tickets through there, other brokers and individual fans are. (there are a few exceptions, i guess, but I don't understand why they'd undercut their own box office, and scalping on the high side is kinda messed up)

If I sell you a ticket, and you sell that ticket to someone else, how can I count 2 ticket sales? Obviously, I can only count the original sale, only one seat changing hands, just multiple times. otherwise, they end up telling people they sold 60k seats to a game for a stadium that has 40k seats.

I sell a lot on stubhub, pretty familiar with the deal there. Mostly, the teams (and MLB) get a cut to advertise stubhub and not fight to shut them down. And MLB helps even more by letting stubhub into their ticketing process to validate barcodes, further legitimizing the stubhub process, they both make more money, etc.

 

[Pondwater]

Huddy has signed a 2- year deal to go out to SF.

 

[Use of Time]

^Yeah, I love Huddy but I think the Braves have 5 starters that will be competitive next year. (Medlan, Minor, Teheran, Beachy, Hale) I'm anxious to see which AL team McCann ends up signing up next year.

 

[Pondwater]

^ I have a strong feeling he may go to the Rangers.

 

[Use of Time]

That is my feeling as well. I think the Yankees are going to most likely pay Cano close to what he expects leaving them on the outside in the McCann race. I think the 5 year $100 million that people are predicting for Mac is a bit much. I could see him getting about $75 million in Texas. I don't know how hot the Sox are on him but I wouldn't count them out.

 

[Pondwater]

Definitely. The Sox have no depth when it comes to Catchers. Regarding Cano, I honestly think that no other team is going to pay him close to what the Yankees have paid him.

 

[Skywalker]

I don't think the Red Sox are going to end up with McCann. He wants a lot of years and big money while the Red Sox are just looking for someone to come in for a year or two to bridge the gap to Blake Swihart and/or Christian Vazquez, a pair of prospects they're hoping will pan out. Last I heard was they were exploring the possibility of trading for Ryan Hanigan.

 

[Tom Hendricks]

I think Paul Lo Duca is still available.

 

[Timby]

That is my feeling as well. I think the Yankees are going to most likely pay Cano close to what he expects

I'm not convinced this will happen. Cano has basically zero leverage in his talks with the Yankees, and of the top ten non-Yankee payrolls from last season:

Dodgers – No longer interested now that they signed a young Cuban to play 2B
Phillies – They already have an aging 2B signed for too much money
Red Sox – Just locked up Pedroia
Tigers – If they were going to spend big money this winter, they’d be extending Scherzer instead of looking to trade him. They seem to be at their limit for long-term mega contracts right now. But ... maybe?
Giants – Scutaro has two more years left, and if they’re going to spend on a bat, it’ll be an outfielder
Angels – Have a 2B signed for the next two years, and even Moreno knows now they need pitching more than anything
Rangers – Already have too many middle infielders
White Sox - It seems like Abreu was their big offensive spending target this winter, but that team is kind of a mess anyway
Blue Jays - Already have a 2B for the next two years. They took on too much bad money last winter, but like Detroit they have ownership that could theoretically open up the checkbook
Cardinals – Carpenter is young and cheap

This is why Jay-Z was trying to make such a show of the Mets supposedly being interested in Cano -- there's no market for him at the price he wants, and I think it's entirely possible that he'll have to eat a contract below $200 million.

 

[Kirby]

...and then sign some washed up pitcher who they claim will transform our rotation.

My bad, the Rockies just signed a washed up reliever to transform our bullpen. LaTroy Hawkins, who couldn't hack it with us 7 years ago. I really need to find a new team.

 

[Use of Time]

That is my feeling as well. I think the Yankees are going to most likely pay Cano close to what he expects

I'm not convinced this will happen. Cano has basically zero leverage in his talks with the Yankees, and of the top ten non-Yankee payrolls from last season:

Dodgers – No longer interested now that they signed a young Cuban to play 2B
Phillies – They already have an aging 2B signed for too much money
Red Sox – Just locked up Pedroia
Tigers – If they were going to spend big money this winter, they’d be extending Scherzer instead of looking to trade him. They seem to be at their limit for long-term mega contracts right now. But ... maybe?
Giants – Scutaro has two more years left, and if they’re going to spend on a bat, it’ll be an outfielder
Angels – Have a 2B signed for the next two years, and even Moreno knows now they need pitching more than anything
Rangers – Already have too many middle infielders
White Sox - It seems like Abreu was their big offensive spending target this winter, but that team is kind of a mess anyway
Blue Jays - Already have a 2B for the next two years. They took on too much bad money last winter, but like Detroit they have ownership that could theoretically open up the checkbook
Cardinals – Carpenter is young and cheap

This is why Jay-Z was trying to make such a show of the Mets supposedly being interested in Cano -- there's no market for him at the price he wants, and I think it's entirely possible that he'll have to eat a contract below $200 million.

I agree with every single thing you posted here. But they are still the Yankees, I don't put anything past them.

 

[Skywalker]

The Steinbrenner sons aren't their father. They seem to be more interested in getting the team's payroll back down to a more manageable level. Every year they're so far above the luxury tax threshold means more money out of their pockets. Cano isn't going to get anything close to $300 million.

 

[Scout101]

eh, he'll probably still end up close to/around 200m by the time he's done. 8/200 isn't unreasonable.

Personally, I'd be thrilled if the Yankees passed and someone else gave him the money. he's really just about the only thing left on the Yankees that's still trending upward and you have to respect. Rest is just dead money on declining players. Cano bolts, what's really left there? I'd laugh my ass off if he managed to walk across town and play for the Mets. Unfortunately, they're horribly managed and can't really afford it, having spent all their money on, uh, who do they have again?

 

[Use of Time]

I don't know what the Yankees are going to do with him but they are also close to that stage of needing another "face of the franchise" and he would be an easy frontrunner considering his tenure.

 

[R. Star]

Eh... for some reason Hawkins gets way more of a bad rap than he deserves. I'm not saying he's an All Star or anything, but he's a solid middle reliever, even if he's getting up there in age. Not a bad option for any time if his asking price isn't too high in the clouds.

 

[Use of Time]

Kinsler swapped for Prince Fielder. I guess Profar can go to second base now.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/1...rade-prince-fielder-texas-rangers-ian-kinsler

 

[Scout101]

Fielder should hit about 90 HRs a year in Arlington...

 

[Use of Time]

The Tigers should be dancing in the streets. Unloading all of that money lets them extend Miggy and resign Scherzer. They can also move Miggy to first base to make room for their 3B prospect Castellanos.

 

[Timby]

The Tigers should be dancing in the streets. Unloading all of that money lets them extend Miggy and resign Scherzer. They can also move Miggy to first base to make room for their 3B prospect Castellanos.

It definitely leaves them with a big hole offensively, though. Kinsler's pretty much the definition of an average bat, and he's rather injury-prone, as well. And on defense, well, Castellanos isn't their third baseman of the future. At third, he was a guy with terrible range due to horribad instincts, despite good athleticism, who also fielded a stellar .921 in the minors, and he hasn't played the position at all in a year and a half and got dumped to the outfield because the Tigers determined he was completely hopeless at third. I don't know how that could possibly be spun as a positive for the team.

On top of that, the Tigers aren't really saving any money over the next few years, given that they're paying $30 million of Fielder's contract and Kinsler is owed something like $62 million.

So, really, this doesn't make a lick of sense from the Tigers' perspective.

 

[R. Star]

Kinsler swapped for Prince Fielder. I guess Profar can go to second base now.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/1...rade-prince-fielder-texas-rangers-ian-kinsler

Eh, that one came out of nowhere... seems like a good deal for Texas though. The Tigers would seem to have gotten took at the surface level for a straight up trade for Kinsler and paying to move Fielder.