Finally! Official Hot Stove League Thread

[D-train]

Of course Jerry never flat out says We aren't going to sign any FAs but Brocks headline draws that conclusion from all of Jerry's well crafted justifications for not going in on FAs.

The only reasonable conclusion that can reasonably be drawn from all of those anti FA statements.

[harmony]

So what is your explanation for the sudden narrative reversal in the past week that resulted in them going from being in on the FA SSs to Brocks article???

What reversal?

Provide links, please.

Are you guys trying to be intentionally obtuse or what???

The huge story out of the post season presser is that they were going to be in on the FA SSs now they aren't in on any decent FAs at all.

“Our great preference would be we could land a shortstop that would like to go play second base, but we are not going to close the door to anything in that regard,” he said. “J.P. is our shortstop, he’s an emotional leader for us. We feel he does a very good job in anything we ask him to do. He was banged up at the end of the season as well, dealing with a knee issue of his own. He has a way of elevating the emotion of our team in a way that very few in our clubhouse have the ability to do. He will line up for us opening day at shortstop and our goal is to put someone around him. If we do find someone who plays shortstop, that person could very likely move to second base. That’s a discussion for then and not now. J.P. is our shortstop, we signed him to play shortstop and that’s what we intend to have him do.”

https://theathletic.com/3976508/2022/12 ... ed_article

That quote was from October, not the past week, and made no suggestion that the Mariners were going all-in on the top four free agent shortstops.

[Captain 97]

Since Jerry Is so Worried about the payroll in 2026 How about we think out of the box and make Judge an offer similar to what the Twins did last year with Correa. 3 Years 150 Million with an opt out after each year. Gives him the Highest Annual salary in the history of the game and still gives him another shot to hit free agency. It also Keeps the M's Salary under 200 Million for the next couple of years without making a long term commitment that will tie their hands down the road.

[Seattle or Bust]

I'm trying to figure out where the Padres are getting all this money.

Rumor is they offered Turner 11/342... $42 million over what Philly landed him for.

Rumor is they offered Judge 9/400... $40 million over what New York landed him for.

They have a projected payroll of $201 million. Signing any player over $30 million would put them in the luxury tax threshold. They have the 27th market size, M's are 12th. They were 15th in revenue while the M's were also 12th.

"But Jerry says he has a budget, so we have to respect that."

The fuck we don't.

[Seattle or Bust]

Since Jerry Is so Worried about the payroll in 2026 How about we think out of the box and make Judge an offer similar to what the Twins did last year with Correa. 3 Years 150 Million with an opt out after each year. Gives him the Highest Annual salary in the history of the game and still gives him another shot to hit free agency. It also Keeps the M's Salary under 200 Million for the next couple of years without making a long term commitment that will tie their hands down the road.

Is this in hindsight? He signed w. the Yankees this morning.

[D-train]

What reversal?

Provide links, please.

Are you guys trying to be intentionally obtuse or what???

The huge story out of the post season presser is that they were going to be in on the FA SSs now they aren't in on any decent FAs at all.

“Our great preference would be we could land a shortstop that would like to go play second base, but we are not going to close the door to anything in that regard,” he said. “J.P. is our shortstop, he’s an emotional leader for us. We feel he does a very good job in anything we ask him to do. He was banged up at the end of the season as well, dealing with a knee issue of his own. He has a way of elevating the emotion of our team in a way that very few in our clubhouse have the ability to do. He will line up for us opening day at shortstop and our goal is to put someone around him. If we do find someone who plays shortstop, that person could very likely move to second base. That’s a discussion for then and not now. J.P. is our shortstop, we signed him to play shortstop and that’s what we intend to have him do.”

https://theathletic.com/3976508/2022/12 ... ed_article

That quote was from October, not the past week, and made no suggestion that the Mariners were going all-in on the top four free agent shortstops.

They were in on the SSs in October and in the past week they made it VERY clear they aren't in on any significant FAs even though they have only sign Gott so far. Indisputable FACT.

Why are you even attempting to cloud the obvious????

[Captain 97]

Since Jerry Is so Worried about the payroll in 2026 How about we think out of the box and make Judge an offer similar to what the Twins did last year with Correa. 3 Years 150 Million with an opt out after each year. Gives him the Highest Annual salary in the history of the game and still gives him another shot to hit free agency. It also Keeps the M's Salary under 200 Million for the next couple of years without making a long term commitment that will tie their hands down the road.

Is this in hindsight? He signed w. the Yankees this morning.

I hadn't seen that yet. I came to the message board first and since we aren't allowed to start new threads nobody had posted it yet.

[harmony]

Are you guys trying to be intentionally obtuse or what???

The huge story out of the post season presser is that they were going to be in on the FA SSs now they aren't in on any decent FAs at all.



https://theathletic.com/3976508/2022/12 ... ed_article

That quote was from October, not the past week, and made no suggestion that the Mariners were going all-in on the top four free agent shortstops.

They were in on the SSs in October and in the past week they made it VERY clear they aren't in on any significant FAs even though they have only sign Gott so far. Indisputable FACT.

Why are you even attempting to cloud the obvious????

Don't let wishful thinking cloud sound judgment.

The provided October quote does not provide an "indisputable FACT" that the Mariners "were in" on top free agent shortstops.

[Captain 97]

That quote was from October, not the past week, and made no suggestion that the Mariners were going all-in on the top four free agent shortstops.

They were in on the SSs in October and in the past week they made it VERY clear they aren't in on any significant FAs even though they have only sign Gott so far. Indisputable FACT.

Why are you even attempting to cloud the obvious????

Don't let wishful thinking cloud sound judgment.

The provided October quote does not provide an "indisputable FACT" that the Mariners "were in" on top free agent shortstops.

Really? He said "Ideally we would like to sign a Shortstop who is willing to play second base" When you use the term Ideally that generally means that is what you would prefer to do. Obviously that went out the window when they traded for Wong but I have no idea why they would have been willing to spend money on a decent SS but now are not willing to spend money on an outfielder.

[Mesully11]

And next year we will be exactly where we were this year as Wong and Hernandez leave as free agents and have to be replaced at a higher cost than $10 million each and a weaker farm system.
It gripes me that at least half of MLB owners are willing to let big spending teams more or less get in the playoffs every year when the cheapskates get a bone thrown to them once in a while.
It also gripes me that I set myself to believe this year is different every year.

What a con game.