Offseason predictions

Mad_Max

OK so another season finished and only 5 mesely months to go until sleeping patterns get ruined again

Now the attention turns to the upcoming free agent class of 10.

Some noteable members (and my guesses where they'll land):

Matt Holliday (Giants)
John Lackey (Yankees/Mets or long shots, Brewers)
Jason Bay (Boston)
Johnny Damon (White sox)
Hideki Matsui (Yankees)
Andy Pettite (Yankess)
Chone Figgins (Philli)
Bobby Abreu (Angels)
Vlad (Really can't see who'll pay him unless he takes a massive pay cut.)

How you guys reckon it'll play out for these and others?

My longshot guess for a trade is the redsox trading Papelbon!

Gdep

one right....

Angels ink Abreu to two-year deal

Mad_Max

He signed already??? :eek:

Thought he'd have played the market a bit but then again $19 million (according to ESPN) over 2 years is about as good as he could have hoped for imo.

paulelectronica

as a mets fan im hoping they have a much better season next year than this year . injuries really plagued the team.

Mad_Max

Phils have signed Polanco to be their 3rd baseman. Didn't see that at all. Boston have agreed to a deal with scutaro too.

Rumours on ESPN have figgins signing with the Mariners!

ADTR

Figgins to Mariners. Great move!

Gdep

curtis granderson in centre field for the yanks....

can you say...RE-PEAT!!

with some more pitching of course haha

Mad_Max

wow thats out of the blue.

I wonder how this will effect Damon. Will he be kept on and melky or swish traded? Add Nady into the mix too and theres some moves to be made by cashman.

Mad_Max

So the deals finalised.

Yankees get Granderson,
Tigers get Austin Jackson, Max Scherzer, Phil Coke and Daniel Schlereth
and the D-Backs get Ed Jackson and Ian Kennedy.

Obviously an upgrade at CF for the Yanks, even if Granderson looks slightly retarded against lefties

Yanks have also signed Pettite up for another round and dealt Bruney to the nats. Busy last day at the meetings!

zuutroy

Big move for the Jays, Jamie Campbell gets the boot in favour of Buck Martinez in the commentary booth. Buck always struck me as a colour commentator, gonna be interesting to hear him do the play-by-play. He never tends to get very excited.

Mad_Max

Hallady to Philly - SI.COM

The Phillies are in agreement on a three-team trade with the Mariners and Blue Jays to acquire star pitcher Roy Halladay while shipping Cliff Lee to Seattle, SI.com has learned.

Wow. M's are really getting busy!

From Yankee point of view I'd be glad to see the back of Roy.

ADTR

Mariners are indeed having quite the off season.

Lackey to Red Sox.

Mad_Max

Really hoping yanks get another SP in. I wouldn't be overly confident of CC/AJ/Andy/Joba/+1 repeating.

zuutroy

thats all.

ADTR

Carlos Silva for Milton Bradley!

Mad_Max

Yanks get Vazquez back for Melky and Dunn.

Brilliant. At least that fills out the rotation: CC/AJ/Vazquez/Andy/Joba and lets hughes stay in the 8th inning too.

Now do they get Damon back for LF or go for the cheaper option like DeRosa or spend big and get bay/holliday

Gdep

cant believe the melk-man is gone

Mad_Max

Gdep wrote: »

cant believe the melk-man is gone

Average player with an above average knickname

Mad_Max

Bay to the mets for 66 over 4 years with an option for a 5th that could bring the deal to 80.

Source: ESPN

Free-agent outfielder Jason Bay has reached agreement on a four-year, guaranteed $66 million contract with the New York Mets, a baseball source confirmed to ESPN.com Tuesday.

The agreement will become official once Bay passes a physical exam sometime next week, the source said. The deal includes a vesting option year that could increase Bay's overall payout to slightly more than $80 million over five years.

WFAN was the first to report the agreement had been reached.

Bay, a three-time All-Star, hit .267 with 36 home runs and 119 RBIs for the Boston Red Sox in 2009.

Bay and outfielder Matt Holliday were the most hotly pursued position players on the free-agent market this winter.

It's believed that Bay's vesting option provision includes readily attainable targets based on plate appearances. Bay has averaged 154 games a season since 2005 with Pittsburgh and the Red Sox, so he should have a good chance of making the option vest if he stays healthy.

Mets general manager Omar Minaya, chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon and several other principals in the deal are traveling or in the middle of holiday plans, so Bay's physical exam isn't expected to take place until early next week.

Mad_Max

Big day. The big unit retires and Holliday signs with the cards for 7 years and 119 dollars.

Boston signed Beltre too. Numbers should improve getting away from safeco.

WATPOAE

Latest rumours here:

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100106&content_id=7882692&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

ADTR

Mariners aquire Casey Kotchman from Red Sox for Bill Hall and minor leaguer to be named later.

zuutroy

Looks like Damon might be headed to Toronto. I'd like to see it. Always like him as a player and would like SOME positives from this offseason!

MickShamrock

Mariners and Bedard close to agreeing one year deal.

Mad_Max

White sox in for Damon


Really hope the sox get him so at least 1 of my predictions (outside obvious pettite and abreau ones) comes true

rockonollie

reds sign aroldis chapman.....old news...but it isn't in here yet and i've finally gotten to see what he's about.

he's about to turn 22, cuban lefty pitcher who defected to andorra while at the world baseball championship in holland a couple of years ago. Last summer he was granted permission to join MLB free-agency and the reds signed him on a 5 year $30+ million contract in january. He's known for an alleged 102MPH fastball but is supposed to have some control issues.

He's made 3 spring appearances for the reds he has given up 4 hits, 1 earned run, 2 walks and struck out 10. He's flirted with a 99-101MPH fastball although those are the unreliable scouting guns in the stands so we'll need to wait for the real thing to get a real measurment.

He's competing with 3 or 4 other players for the reds 5th rotation spot and so far he's been the most impressive of those. The reds don't want to rush it though and he might still start in the minors even if he is the most impressive pitcher through spring training.