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BigRed75 · 09-23-2016, 12:33 PM

March 5, 2017

2017 Preseason Round-Up

Spring Training games are nearly upon us, and Major League Baseball front offices have been very busy. Nearly every big-name free agent has signed, and there was at least one blockbuster trade. Toss in a number of high-profile retirements and this will be a super-size update. Let's start with the big signings:

Angels Ascending: The Angels signed some big names before Christmas, but they really got busy after the holidays, signing Matt Holliday, Mark Reynolds, Koji Uehara, Juan Uribe, Luis Valbuena and A.J. Pierzynski. On a WAR-adjusted basis, the Halos improved the most in the offseason, adding 18 full wins to their total, based on 2015 performances.

(From L-R: Holliday, Valbuena, Reynolds)

However, many of the players the Angels signed, including previous signings Jose Bautista, Nick Hundley and C.J. Wilson, are all on the wrong side of 30. Indeed, Uehara and Pierzynski are over 40. It's quite unreasonable to expect the same level of performance from these players, but even if they perform half as well, those nine wins would be enough to leapfrog their AL West rivals and make the playoffs for the first time since 2014.

What, a Trade?: The Arizona Diamondbacks and St. Louis Cardinals pulled off a blockbuster on January 30, with the D-Backs sending Paul Goldschmidt, Josh Edgin and minor leaguer Myles Smith to St. Louis in exchange for Carlos Martinez and cash. Not only was it a big-bat-for-big-arm deal not seen in the big leagues for quite a while, it involved to players that had been thought of as untouchable.

(From L-R: C. Martinez, Goldschmidt, Edgin)

Goldschmidt, in particular, was considered to be "Mr. Diamondback" and many had him pegged to be a one-team player for his career. Martinez, on the other hand, was thought to be the Cardinals future staff ace; instead, he now anchors an Arizona rotation that will also contain some combination of Zack Greinke, Shelby Miller, Patrick Corbin, Robbie Ray and trade acquistion Chris Heston.

Changing Sox: The Chicago White Sox didn't make any splashy moves, but they quietly accumulated players until the had added 11.4 WAR over last year's squad. The biggest signings were new catcher Wilson Ramos, designated hitter Adam Lind, and pitchers Derek Holland and Bud Norris. In addition, the White Sox brought back former playe Alejandro De Aza, he'll compete with fellow free agent signing Peter Bourjos for the back-up outfielder position.

(From L-R: Ramos, Lind, V. Martinez)

What About the Boys in Blue?: The Los Angeles Dodgers were fairly quiet this off season, and their biggest transaction may have been to re-sign third baseman Justin Turner. The Long Beach, Calif. native had actually filed for free agency before agreeing to a two-year, $37.8 million deal. Other than Turner, the Dodgers' main off-season acquisitions were Victor Martinez, acquired in a trade with Milwaukee and at this point exclusively a first baseman, and free-agent pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma.

License to Print Money: The Yankees signed two more players to $100 million-plus contracts, inking center fielder Carlos Gomez to a five-year, $127.2 million deal and starting pitcher Mat Latos to a seven-year, $113.4 million contract. Gomez, who started his career in New York with the Mets before making his name with the Brewers, appeared in 104 games for the Astros last season, hitting .280/.337/.455 with 15 home runs in 400 at bats. Latos, who signed a one-year deal with the White Sox last season in an attempt to re-vitalize his career, managed to do so, but not with the Pale Hose. Latos was traded to Tigers and took off, going 7-5 in 19 starts with a 3.07 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. However, his strikeout rate is at a career low, and he's now on the wrong side of 27.

(From L-R: Gomez, Latos)

Other Notable Signings: Reigning Mariano Rivera Award winner Wade Davis signed a one-year deal with Texas for $9.9 million...Carlos Santana will call San Francisco home, inking a three-year, $28.8 million deal...The Cardinals are taking a chance that Andrew Cashner can turn things around, now that they are on the hook for $63.4 million for the next four years...Jake Peavy apparently feels that the $18 million he'll get from the Colorado Rockies will make up for the fact that his pitches will get smacked around Coors Field for the next two seasons...Brett Cecil will get the same terms to be the Cubs' new closer...Mark Teixeira's not done yet - Super Tex heads north of the border after signing a $8.7 million deal with the Blue Jays with a vesting option for 2018

(From L-R: Davis, Santana, Cashner, Teixeira)

Farewell: January 1 brought another speight of player retirements. While many of these players were career minor leaguers who may have had a cup of coffee or two in the majors (such as former Dodgers Onelki Garcia and John Ely), there were a number of high-profile retirements.

The most accomplished player to annouce his retirement was Ichiro Suzuki. The superstar outfielder for the Mariners, Yankees and Marlins retired with MLB totals of 2,952 hits, 1,355 runs and exactly 500 stolen bases, making him the eighth player in big-league history to reach 2,900 hits and 500 stolen bases. A sure-fire first-ballot Hall of Famer, Ichiro was the 2001 AL MVP and Rookie of the Year, a 10-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove winner. Of course, his most notable accomplishment happened in 2004, when he set the single-season hit record with 262 base hits.

(From L-R: Ichiro, Howard, Valverde)

Another high-profile retiree is former Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard. The 2005 NL Rookie of the Year, Howard had a MVP season the following year, when he hit 58 home runs. He led the league in homers again in 2008 with 48, as the Phillies ultimately won the World Series over Tampa Bay. On the strength of those two seasons, he became the fastest player to reach both the 100 and 200 home run career milestones. Howard spent his entire career with the Phils, finishing with 363 home runs, 1,447 hits and 1,157 RBI. But for all his accomplishments, Howard might best be known for the five-year, $125 million contract that he signed at the start of the 2010 season, one that ultimately proved to be a albatross for the team and rendered Howard essentially untradeable.

Other notable former major leaguers to retire this off-season include pitchers Jose Valverde, Aaron Harang, Jason Marquis, Chad Billingsley and Grant Balfour, catcher David Ross, and infielder Ramon Santiago.

09-23-2016, 12:33 PM	#58
BigRed75 Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 2,423	March 5, 2017 2017 Preseason Round-Up Spring Training games are nearly upon us, and Major League Baseball front offices have been very busy. Nearly every big-name free agent has signed, and there was at least one blockbuster trade. Toss in a number of high-profile retirements and this will be a super-size update. Let's start with the big signings: Angels Ascending: The Angels signed some big names before Christmas, but they really got busy after the holidays, signing Matt Holliday, Mark Reynolds, Koji Uehara, Juan Uribe, Luis Valbuena and A.J. Pierzynski. On a WAR-adjusted basis, the Halos improved the most in the offseason, adding 18 full wins to their total, based on 2015 performances. (From L-R: Holliday, Valbuena, Reynolds) However, many of the players the Angels signed, including previous signings Jose Bautista, Nick Hundley and C.J. Wilson, are all on the wrong side of 30. Indeed, Uehara and Pierzynski are over 40. It's quite unreasonable to expect the same level of performance from these players, but even if they perform half as well, those nine wins would be enough to leapfrog their AL West rivals and make the playoffs for the first time since 2014. What, a Trade?: The Arizona Diamondbacks and St. Louis Cardinals pulled off a blockbuster on January 30, with the D-Backs sending Paul Goldschmidt, Josh Edgin and minor leaguer Myles Smith to St. Louis in exchange for Carlos Martinez and cash. Not only was it a big-bat-for-big-arm deal not seen in the big leagues for quite a while, it involved to players that had been thought of as untouchable. (From L-R: C. Martinez, Goldschmidt, Edgin) Goldschmidt, in particular, was considered to be "Mr. Diamondback" and many had him pegged to be a one-team player for his career. Martinez, on the other hand, was thought to be the Cardinals future staff ace; instead, he now anchors an Arizona rotation that will also contain some combination of Zack Greinke, Shelby Miller, Patrick Corbin, Robbie Ray and trade acquistion Chris Heston. Changing Sox: The Chicago White Sox didn't make any splashy moves, but they quietly accumulated players until the had added 11.4 WAR over last year's squad. The biggest signings were new catcher Wilson Ramos, designated hitter Adam Lind, and pitchers Derek Holland and Bud Norris. In addition, the White Sox brought back former playe Alejandro De Aza, he'll compete with fellow free agent signing Peter Bourjos for the back-up outfielder position. (From L-R: Ramos, Lind, V. Martinez) What About the Boys in Blue?: The Los Angeles Dodgers were fairly quiet this off season, and their biggest transaction may have been to re-sign third baseman Justin Turner. The Long Beach, Calif. native had actually filed for free agency before agreeing to a two-year, $37.8 million deal. Other than Turner, the Dodgers' main off-season acquisitions were Victor Martinez, acquired in a trade with Milwaukee and at this point exclusively a first baseman, and free-agent pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma. License to Print Money: The Yankees signed two more players to $100 million-plus contracts, inking center fielder Carlos Gomez to a five-year, $127.2 million deal and starting pitcher Mat Latos to a seven-year, $113.4 million contract. Gomez, who started his career in New York with the Mets before making his name with the Brewers, appeared in 104 games for the Astros last season, hitting .280/.337/.455 with 15 home runs in 400 at bats. Latos, who signed a one-year deal with the White Sox last season in an attempt to re-vitalize his career, managed to do so, but not with the Pale Hose. Latos was traded to Tigers and took off, going 7-5 in 19 starts with a 3.07 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. However, his strikeout rate is at a career low, and he's now on the wrong side of 27. (From L-R: Gomez, Latos) Other Notable Signings: Reigning Mariano Rivera Award winner Wade Davis signed a one-year deal with Texas for $9.9 million...Carlos Santana will call San Francisco home, inking a three-year, $28.8 million deal...The Cardinals are taking a chance that Andrew Cashner can turn things around, now that they are on the hook for $63.4 million for the next four years...Jake Peavy apparently feels that the $18 million he'll get from the Colorado Rockies will make up for the fact that his pitches will get smacked around Coors Field for the next two seasons...Brett Cecil will get the same terms to be the Cubs' new closer...Mark Teixeira's not done yet - Super Tex heads north of the border after signing a $8.7 million deal with the Blue Jays with a vesting option for 2018 (From L-R: Davis, Santana, Cashner, Teixeira) Farewell: January 1 brought another speight of player retirements. While many of these players were career minor leaguers who may have had a cup of coffee or two in the majors (such as former Dodgers Onelki Garcia and John Ely), there were a number of high-profile retirements. The most accomplished player to annouce his retirement was Ichiro Suzuki. The superstar outfielder for the Mariners, Yankees and Marlins retired with MLB totals of 2,952 hits, 1,355 runs and exactly 500 stolen bases, making him the eighth player in big-league history to reach 2,900 hits and 500 stolen bases. A sure-fire first-ballot Hall of Famer, Ichiro was the 2001 AL MVP and Rookie of the Year, a 10-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove winner. Of course, his most notable accomplishment happened in 2004, when he set the single-season hit record with 262 base hits. (From L-R: Ichiro, Howard, Valverde) Another high-profile retiree is former Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard. The 2005 NL Rookie of the Year, Howard had a MVP season the following year, when he hit 58 home runs. He led the league in homers again in 2008 with 48, as the Phillies ultimately won the World Series over Tampa Bay. On the strength of those two seasons, he became the fastest player to reach both the 100 and 200 home run career milestones. Howard spent his entire career with the Phils, finishing with 363 home runs, 1,447 hits and 1,157 RBI. But for all his accomplishments, Howard might best be known for the five-year, $125 million contract that he signed at the start of the 2010 season, one that ultimately proved to be a albatross for the team and rendered Howard essentially untradeable. Other notable former major leaguers to retire this off-season include pitchers Jose Valverde, Aaron Harang, Jason Marquis, Chad Billingsley and Grant Balfour, catcher David Ross, and infielder Ramon Santiago. __________________ Mainline team SPTT team Was not a Snag fan...until I saw the fallout once he was gone and realized what a good job he was actually doing. - Ty Cobb Last edited by BigRed75; 09-23-2016 at 09:43 PM.