Good morning. I’m here to post links and knit scarves, and I’m all out of yarn.
- Two more free agents came off the board yesterday. First, Chris Carter signed a one-year, $3.5 million deal with the Yankees.
- And similar slugger Mike Napoli has agreed to a one-year deal to return to the Rangers for the third time. He played for Texas from 2011-12 and again in 2015.
- Andrew Simon examines the similarities between Carter and Napoli, focusing on their mutual ability to clobber the baseball a very, very long distance.
- Stacey Gotsulias looks at what kind of a player the Yankees are getting in Carter.
- Andrew Marchand notes that Carter is going from National League home run champion to being a backup for the Yankees in one offseason.
- Bob Klapisch thinks it was a smart, low-risk move by the Yankees.
- Phil Rogers thinks the Royals made a smart move signing Jason Hammel.
- Buster Olney explains why it took Hammel so long to sign in what was a weak market for starting pitching. (ESPN Insider Only) For those without access, I can tell you that 1) teams didn’t believe that there was nothing wrong with Hammel when the Cubs declined his option and 2) too many teams whom Hammel could help would rather lose 96 games and get a better draft pick than lose 91 games by spending millions on Hammel. Olney thinks that last point is a problem.
- Ben Lindbergh has written a really interesting article on some of the issues surrounding the Cardinals hacking scandal. In a time when front office executives jump from team to team, how can a team possibly keep its secrets safe? Sure, Astros GM Jeff Luhnow and the other executives who left from the Cardinals almost certainly did not steal proprietary information as Chris Correa alleges, but the knowledge in their heads is stuff that they learned working for the Cardinals.
- Dave Cameron just thinks that new ideas are worth less and less, meaning that teams will have to get creative to find a competitive edge.
- We’ve already posted a story about MLB’s proposal to eliminate the intentional walk (Complete with Al’s strong objections and my disagreement with Al) but MLB has also proposed altering the strike zone.
- Grant Brisbee thinks MLB is risking chaos by altering the strike zone. Of course, Brisbee thinks that chaos would be a wonderful thing.
- Michael Baumann thinks that the length of MLB games is only a problem is MLB makes it a problem.
- We also already have an article on the PECOTA season projections, but Michael Klopman notes that the Orioles should be used to this system underestimating them by now.
- It’s official: Free agent reliever Sergio Romo signed with the Dodgers.
- Travis Sawchik outlines what the Dodgers should expect out of Romo.
- Grant Brisbee sits alone in his darkened room and sobs silently to himself over this development.
- The Twins have signed outfielder Drew Stubbs to a minor-league deal.
- There was a trade as the Rays have sent reliever Enny Romero to the Nationals for a minor league pitcher.
- Despite that, Ken Rosenthal is puzzled by the lack of moves by the Nationals this offseason. Rosenthal does note that the Nats are talking with the White Sox about a deal that would send David Robertson to DC. I doubt the Romero deal would affect that.
- Chris Bahr has five free agents who are still unsigned. (The article says seven, but two of them are Carter and Napoli.)
- Tom Verducci comes out with his annual list of pitchers who are at risk of declining due to the “Verducci Effect.” Verducci himself calls it the “Year-After Effect,” but everyone else simply calls it the Verducci Effect and it refers to pitchers who experienced a big jump in innings one year tend to decline the next. Smarter people than me have argued that there is nothing to this and that the Verducci Effect doesn’t exist, but it’s worth keeping an eye on nonetheless.
- Ken Rosenthal also thinks that the Rays could be surprise contenders in 2017. Rosenthal also reports that the Rays had made Romo the highest offer, but Romo chose to take slightly less money to stay close to home.
- Tommy Stokke says that while the Cardinals improved, they didn’t do enough to catch the Cubs, nor should they have even tried.
- David Schoenfield lists an MVP for each major league team in 2017.
- Richard Justice has five “difference-makers” who changed teams this winter.
- Scott Lauber asks if American League Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello can repeat his 2016 season in 2017.
- And David Schoenfield wonders if Freddie Freeman can repeat his big 2016 second-half.
- The Athletics will name the field at the Oakland Coliseum after Rickey Henderson.
- Red Sox top prospect Andrew Benintendi spent the winter bulking up. As if he wasn’t scary enough already.
- And finally, speaking of scary enough, the Rays Double-A affiliate Montgomery Biscuits will be wearing special “Stranger Things” jerseys on July 7. It will sure to be a special night, unless your name is Barb. Don’t go to the game if your name is Barb. You’ll go missing and everyone will forget about you because you’re more a MacGuffin than a character.
And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster.