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This is what I have been holding my breath against: Shohei Ohtani has some serious goings on with his pitching arm. Now, one would have to assume that the standard medical clearance that pro ballplayers go through with any transaction would have informed the Angels of all this so it is probably not any surprise in Anaheim. I might even guess that his health was something that was available to all MLB teams through the Nippon-Ham Fighters. And nobody wanted to walk away from the chance. It’s just something or us outsiders to make a big deal out of. So we shall.............
Worry yourself through some Just-Another-Modern-Pitcher-Report-Offseason-Links:
A Little Bit of Angels News
On the other hand, this is what I was waiting for...Mr.s and Mrs. Trout to pop back up on our radar post-marital bliss..........
Guess what? The LAA farm system that could end up ranked about 15th in all of Baseball. That’s a solid jump from dead last (30th) just months ago (and in 2016, and in 2014).............One reason for the rise is Kevin Maitan............
This is such a joy. Hey, just because I am adamant that Mike Scioscia did the best job of managing up the resources at his disposal in 2017, that doesn’t mean I find him perfect. So I cannot skip over this chance to giggle at his interview in front of the whole world yesterday, the one where (between cliches) he called Albert Pujols “...a stud...as good as any player in our League and we’re going to need him.” Readers of these pages know that in 2017 Pujols, in fact, not only the very worst qualified producer in the American League, he was the very worst in both Leagues. Only a nincompoop would confuse a 2017 version of Pujols with any of the guys at the top of that list. And our adorable nincompoop is going to ride that black hole of productivity right off into the sunset..........
Billy Eppler did pick up the one-time Top 100 prospect Rymer Liriano to a minor league contract as outfield depth.
Everywhere In Baseball
When you miss your chance at a Shohei Ohtani, you quickly turn the page and declare the next guy you might have a shot at to be the next Shohei Ohtani.............
With all the focus on the NFL, it had not occurred to me that there was a real career-ending risk from concussions in baseball. But such is the case of umpires and foul tips. It’s why Dale Scott has announced his retirement..........
Hey this is pretty cool. Follow along as the Eagles spent a week in OC prepping to defeat the Rams last Sunday. Pay particular attention to how the Angels Stadium crew get the pitcher’s mound out of the way: the cut it off with lasers!..........
With the Yankees having rebuilt Barad-dûr, and the Red Sox already pretty loaded, it would be a good time for the rest of the AL East to unload and restock while they can still get quantity for their quality. This is why we are hearing about guys like Machado and Longoria being discussed. What that would mean, though, is if the Blue Jays and Rays and Orioles did all that, they would be handing the Yankees and Red Sox a major advantage in the playoff and home field races for the next half decade. In other words, just like old times...........Such a turn of events might make Buck Showalter rethink his career plans, though..........
I do not think that Jeff Passan needed 2500 words to make the observation that Derek Jeter is a clumsy Baseball exec..........
What has happened to the left-hand hitting power bat outfielders? Those used to be kind of a staple..........The DH is evaporating, too, although Ohtani may have an impact on that..........
Jay Jaffe has noticed the same we have, that Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are tracking towards getting elected to the Hall of Fame..........
MLB is balking at the Tyler Chatwood signing, citing a potential conflict of interest on a Cy Young Award voting clause..........
Shiny new Grant Brisbee puts up a shiny new article in the shiny new SBN format to tell us that playoff bullpen usage is still a crapshoot..........
Hot Stove
Tuesdays are always the worst day of Winter Meetings. Let me sum up the day, much like every Winter Meeting Tuesday: every team is expressing an interest in every player, and every agent is whispering that if every team does not watch out, every team will steal his MVP client for peanuts............Seriously. There is so much single-sentence speculation that I could fill a week’s worth of Links with it all. So I won’t. Somewhere in all that there is about 10% truth, which will sort itself out soon enough..........
But here is your Cesar Hernandez rumor..........
Here’s your Ian Kinsler rumor..........
Here are your Eduardo Nunez, Freddy Galvis, and Evan Longoria rumors..........
Here is a Jake Arrieta rumor..........
And here is a (kinda scary) Zack Greinke rumor............
The Yankees dumped payroll to clear room for Giancarlo Stanton, by sending Chase Headley back to his roots with in San Diego. Man that would suck. One moment you are AL pennant runner-up, almost a World Series player, and a part of an organization that just did the major upgrade of adding the NL MVP to your outfield. And the next minute you are a Padre...........
If I had to put a buck on it, my guess would be that Eric Hosmer is a late January signee. Scott Boras, his agent, is already working hard at silly angles trying to pump up his credentials, and Boras is the kind of agent who would wait out the market and lean in on the desperate buyer. Hosmer is a risk, and MLB Front Offices are smarter about that then we are. Is the real Hosmer the guy from 2013/2015/2017? Or is he the guy from 2012/2014/2016? Or is there some way to co-sign with some other team and share him, coin-toss winner getting Hosmer on the even-yeared seasons?..........
Somebody around here had a Drew Smyly on their board. You lose to the Cubs..........
The Duffle Bag
Baseball players are serious athletes. Bartolo Colon, Denny McClain and Gaylord Perry aside.............The Cards might not have the players, but they know how to pivot to a party to keep the fans distracted..........Jose Canseco is at it again. This is why parents should not let their children use the Internet unsupervised.........Hey Joe Morgan, you know those greenies that were commonly handed out to MLB players in your day? Yeah, Major League baseball classifies them as a PED..........Job Posting: Advanced Scout Trainee for the Braves..........(h/t UniWatch) Pretty cool souvenir bat bank for sale. Which only serves to remind me that I have failed to keep up with my eBay searches for such stuff.........