2024-25 MLB Hot Stove thread

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Lathum

dola- Trout got moved today to RF and he took it like a pro. All Devers had to say was he thinks he should be 3B but will do whatever is best and helps the team win. Instead he drew a line in the sand causing a distraction that will last all camp and in to the season.

He didn't create this distraction, Cora and the Boston media did. If the plan is to have Bregman take over 3B from Devers it's pretty weird Cora has spent so much time talking about how good a 2B Bregman could be, but either way they should have been clear about that with Raffy and with the media once he signed. If the plan is to have Devers and Bregman split 3B depending on who is healthy and who is pitching and Devers says "I told them I want to play 3B every day and we'll see what happens" he's not even refusing to DH, he just making his preference clear.

This could spiral into a big issue if Devers demands to play 3B and Cora insists on putting Masa or Cedanne Rafaela in the OF over him at 3B, but we have no idea if that's the plan because Cora wants to play coy and vague and blame Chaim Bloom like he wasn't here when Devers signed the extension. And no Devers is not Ted Williams he's just a homegrown World Series champ in his prime who has gotten MVP votes each of the last 5 real seasons and has 9 years and $270 million left on that extension we agreed to last season, he's not promised 3B but he deserves an honest comversation about it if they're trying to move him off. I really like all of the Sox moves this offseason but for whatever reason Cora and FSG can't stop putting their foot in their mouth.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Worst 3B dWAR in the major last year of any regular with 70 or more games at the position. And twice as bad as any regular who saw 100 games at the position.

If they AREN'T trying to move him off, they're dumber than rocks.

[Lathum]

He literally says no when asked to DH and states repeatedly his position is 3B. I agree Cora hyped up the 2B part, but the reality is Devers should want to do what is best for the team and he is literally saying he won't change positions for the reigning gold glove 3B. Totally selfish and ego driven. He could make this all go away by just saying he will do what the manager thinks is best for the team. It really isn't that hard.

Rafael Devers on being asked to DH:

"No. I play 3rd... I gave them the answer that I just gave, no."#RedSox pic.twitter.com/uEZiCtarhx

— NESN (@NESN) February 17, 2025

[RainMaker]

This is a new one.

L.A. Dodgers Pitcher Dustin May Details Near-Death Salad Experience - Yahoo Sports

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Worst 3B dWAR in the major last year of any regular with 70 or more games at the position. And twice as bad as any regular who saw 100 games at the position.

If they AREN'T trying to move him off, they're dumber than rocks.

I looked at UZR/150 the other day for this, using 1000 innings as a qualifier and 2021-24 as the sample Devers grades out 36th of 45 3B, ahead of Austin Riley and well ahead of Justin Turner & Max Muncy who bring up the rear. Alex Bregman is 24th of 45, slightly above average but not exactly up with Ke'Bryan Hayes, Nolan Arenado & Matt Chapman even if the media did give him a shiny gold glove last year, he's smooth with great footwork and reactions but just doesn't have the cannon to be elite there. But he's not elite and Devers hasn't been atrocious there, he just shows up that way in counting stats because teams don't stick with bad 3rd basemen, "last" sounds so much worse than "14th" among MLB 3B.

End of the day it's obvious Bregman is a better defender at 3B than Devers and both should be in the lineup every day, it's not obvious to me that the best lineup construction will never include Raffy at 3B. Bregman is also a better 2B than Campbell right now, and Campbell is a better LF than Yoshida (let alone Duran if Ceddy takes CF). So naturally people want to question Devers dedication and work ethic because he wants to compete for the job in spring training and play as many games at 3B instead of taking the lazy way out and switching to full time DH? Devers is still 5th in 3B WAR and 24th among position players over the last 4 years, moving to DH during the contract always seemed likely and I hope he DH's more this year with Bregman here, but I'm also not interested in putting him in a full time DH bucket with 9/$270m left on his deal and Bregman possibly not being here more than 1.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Worst 3B dWAR in the major last year of any regular with 70 or more games at the position. And twice as bad as any regular who saw 100 games at the position.

If they AREN'T trying to move him off, they're dumber than rocks.

I feel like this isn't getting enough play in the media. Devers is an abysmal defender at a position that is more and more important. He should be a 1B/DH and emergency 3B.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

I looked at UZR/150 the other day for this, using 1000 innings as a qualifier and 2021-24 as the sample Devers grades out 36th of 45 3B

But since his 24 y/o season (2021) his RF has steadily declined as has his fielding percentage.

There's more rationale for moving him off than simply being the worst defensive regular 3B in the majors last year, it's that he slowly but surely getting worse for several seasons in a row.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

So naturally people want to question Devers dedication and work ethic because he wants to compete for the job in spring training and play as many games at 3B instead of taking the lazy way out and switching to full time DH? .

This is some next level mental gymnastics.

If he actually said he wants to compete for the job no one would have an issue. But he actually said he is the 3B and said he refuses to switch positions.

those are two very different things.

[Ksyrup]

Nestor Cortes talking about how the Yankees were the better team in the WS and that specifically, they "should have won Game 1" - the game in which Cortes gave up a GW-grand slam! - is certainly something.

I've always said that, even putting aside physical attributes and skill level, I was never cut out to be a professional athlete. I just can't fathom thinking like most of these guys. I have the same reaction when I see the motivational stuff, too. Like, it's so childish to invent strawman arguments to pump yourself up. I guess I think too logically to have ever been able to relate to these types of people.

[Lathum]

You could argue every playoff team in the NL would have beaten the Yankees.

[Ksyrup]

On the subject of Anthony Rendon, I just saw a hilarious stat.

Since Rendon left the Nationals, they have used 19 third basemen.

Since Rendon signed with the Angels, they have used 28 third basemen!

[SirFozzie]

So what you're saying is that Anthony Rendon is irreplaceable right? (Rendon's agent)

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

Rays to play 2025 season at Tampa’s Steinbrenner Field

I don't think it can, but I would love any and all positives from this season to influence and ultimately lead to plans for the new stadium to change from St Pete to downtown Tampa.

Uhhh...

Tampa Bay Rays not moving forward with new stadium plans - ESPN

MLB and the Rays could evaluate attendance and fan interest during the team's season in Tampa at Steinbrenner Field -- which seats 11,000 -- as they consider alternate sites.

"The opportunity to play on the Tampa side could give insights into the Tampa Bay market as a whole that could be useful for the club moving forward," Manfred said during a Wednesday interview with The Associated Press.

[Atocep]

After being released by the White Sox, Joey Gallo has decided he will try to make the switch to pitching.

[miami_fan]

Living with a kid that was close to tears just hitting 80mph on the gun with his strong arm last summer, I tend to agree.

If you’ve ever thrown a baseball in your life, you know that throwing 92MPH with one arm, then throwing 95MPH with the other arm, both for strikes is the most diabolical attribute a baseball player can ever have…

pic.twitter.com/qFLluCxPwL

— KingofJUCO (@KingofJUCO) March 15, 2025

[Ksyrup]

Well, I got my wish, but not in the way I wanted - Kirk Gibson is out as a Tigers broadcaster because his Parkinson's is apparently getting worse. I wanted him out of the booth, but not because of his health.

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by Atocep

After being released by the White Sox, Joey Gallo has decided he will try to make the switch to pitching.

He hits about as often as one, so why not?

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Lathum

This is some next level mental gymnastics.

If he actually said he wants to compete for the job no one would have an issue. But he actually said he is the 3B and said he refuses to switch positions.

those are two very different things.

So the "funny" denouement here is that it looks like Devers will begrudgingly but acceptingly be full time DH'ing, with Bregman at 3B and Kristian Campbell at 2B. Which I love, but considering our manager - whose team didn't have an obvious 2B but did have a 3B - spent the offseason yelling from mountaintops about what a great 2B noted free agent Alex Bregman would make and Campbell was OPS'ing about .576 when he locked the job in leads to the same questions. Seems like Raffy just needed a talk with Big Papi and a week or so to wrap his head around it after being told by his manager in texts this offseason the Bregman/Arenado rumors were not part of the plan to replace him at 3B, but they've successfully managed to throw his reputation under the bus with a sizable portion of Sox and baseball fans because they didn't want to have that talk with him before spring training or get in front of it with the media themselves, sweet.

Also amusing to see Roman Anthony fantasy owners and Rookie of the Year ticketholders in disbelief he's not on the opening day roster... I'd like him up sooner rather than later too but if you took him at shorter odds than Kristian Campbell had you really didn't do your research, pretty sure he'll need an Abreu/Duran/Ceddanne Rafaela injury to make it up before June even if he's crushing the ball in AAA like he did this spring.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

So the "funny" denouement here is that it looks like Devers will begrudgingly but acceptingly be full time DH'ing, with Bregman at 3B and Kristian Campbell at 2B. Which I love, but considering our manager - whose team didn't have an obvious 2B but did have a 3B - spent the offseason yelling from mountaintops about what a great 2B noted free agent Alex Bregman would make and Campbell was OPS'ing about .576 when he locked the job in leads to the same questions. Seems like Raffy just needed a talk with Big Papi and a week or so to wrap his head around it after being told by his manager in texts this offseason the Bregman/Arenado rumors were not part of the plan to replace him at 3B, but they've successfully managed to throw his reputation under the bus with a sizable portion of Sox and baseball fans because they didn't want to have that talk with him before spring training or get in front of it with the media themselves, sweet.

This reads like the origin story of a future Devers heel turn.

[miami_fan]

Am I the only one who thinks it was not a good idea for the Rays to announce yesterday that Friday's home opener is sold out? To me, that suggest that they sold the last of the 11,026 tickets was just sold yesterday and if that is the case, they can go ahead and back up the moving vans.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

but they've successfully managed to throw his reputation under the bus with a sizable portion of Sox and baseball fans

No, he did that himself.

He's made around $50m of a $313m contract. (not counting the previous $40m+ he'd been paid)

There was literally nobody who wanted to hear him utter a fucking sound. At that price, if they tell the motherfucker to sell peanuts between innings and help the grounds crew so be it.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

No, he did that himself.

He's made around $50m of a $313m contract. (not counting the previous $40m+ he'd been paid)

There was literally nobody who wanted to hear him utter a fucking sound. At that price, if they tell the motherfucker to sell peanuts between innings and help the grounds crew so be it.

As much as I disagree with how you express it I think our viewpoints are the same here, it's the manager's job to talk to the press about playing time not the players. Rafael Devers is paid a lot of money mostly because he hits the baseball well, Alex Cora is also being paid a whole lot of money and I'm not really sure what part of the job he is doing all that well. The team & the future look really bright but they continue to have these self inflicted PR disaster's that seem pretty avoidable.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

This reads like the origin story of a future Devers heel turn.

Ha, maybe. To me it looks more like Cora is following the Harvey Dent arc.

[miami_fan]

It's early but I don't think umpires are going to tolerate players looking at the dugout and tapping their helmet when they think the ump got a ball/strike call wrong.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Red Sox's Rafael Devers first with 10 K's in opening 3 games - ESPN

[Ksyrup]

MLB's apology for the MLB.TV fuck-up on opening day is to offer $10 off a $25 purchase I wasn't going to make on MLBshop.com. Not just an empty gesture, but one designed to make them more money. Nice!

[JPhillips]

Not enough data yet to know, but these torpedo bats the Yankees are using sure do look impressive after one weekend.

[bhlloy]

Just reading up on the bats and I’m going between wondering how on earth nobody has thought of this idea before and wondering if it’s not a flash in the pan how on earth MLB is going to deal with the record books being absolutely destroyed overnight.

Basically “make the sweet spot bigger and heavier so contact there is more likely and powerful”. Like if that’s legal nobody has already done it? Maybe I’m oversimplifying things, but I was expecting it to be a bit more space age than that.

[Danny]

Keep in mind, the biggest yankees hr guy so far Judge is not using the torpedo bat. Could just be a real hot start. We will see.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Red Sox's Rafael Devers first with 10 K's in opening 3 games - ESPN

Now 0 for 19 with 15 Ks.


Genuinely can't remember a string that bad ever for a player.

[JPhillips]

I wonder how many home runs I would’ve hit with a torpedo bat ��

— Bartolo Colon (@BColon40) March 31, 2025

[JonInMiddleGA]

Profar gets 80 game suspension for flunking a PED test.

Braves acquired Stuart Fairchild from the Reds for cash this afternoon. I assume he'll take that roster spot until Verdugo looks ready down in the minors.

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Now 0 for 19 with 15 Ks.


Genuinely can't remember a string that bad ever for a player.

How can you forget Chris Davis?

He ended 2018 on an 0-for-21 slump, and entered Thursday at 0-for-29 in 2019. The 0-for-50 for Davis is the longest hitless streak by a non-pitcher in major league history.

[Ghost Econ]

Braves thinking long term by not making their bullpen pitch in the 9th so far.

[PilotMan]

This has been a very special start for the Dodgers.

[Lathum]

Imagine being the Padres and starting 7-0 and being second in the division.

[Ghost Econ]

The braves finally pitched in the 9th and lost.

Coincidence?

[JPhillips]

Over the last three games the Reds have an ERA of 1.00.

They are 0-3 in those games.

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Over the last three games the Reds have an ERA of 1.00.

They are 0-3 in those games.

The fans are dying of boredom, but the pitching is as good as advertised. They have some good talent there.

[Danny]

Looks like Devers is out of his slump

[Atocep]

Interesting take from someone I saw testing the torpedo bats, he said this may be more of a sign that players should have been moving to shorter bats with the increase in velocity and spin rates we've seen over the past 5+ years than anything else.

[Ksyrup]

I loved this lead-in from Craig Calcaterra in this morning's Cup of Coffee newsletter:

Pop quiz hot shot: your team has an inner-circle Hall of Famer whose athletic heroics, personal trailblazing, and heroic death has served as an inspiration to people the world over for over half a century. However, a shitty canned cocktail company has offered you what can only be negligible dollars to take down a sign honoring your hero and to replace it with an ad for a shitty iced tea and vodka canned cocktail that no doubt makes Zima taste like a glass of 1982 Mouton Rothschild. What do you do. WHAT DO YOU DO?

[JPhillips]

The Reds are the same house of pain they normally are, but Hunter Greene is a legit Cy Young candidate at this point. He's one of the best pitchers the Reds have ever had.

[RainMaker]

At least De La Cruz is fun to watch and you get to play in a shitty division with a bunch of teams who's owners won't spend either.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I loved this lead-in from Craig Calcaterra in this morning's Cup of Coffee newsletter:

Except that the "21" in question has only been there since 2022, and was never meant to be permanent. It was corporate logos, such as FedEx, prior to that. Clemente was a helluva ballplayer and by all accounts a good guy but it's a ballpark not a shrine.

Honestly, the family came off like a pretty entitled bunch afaic.

[Ksyrup]

Least surprising take ever.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Except that the "21" in question has only been there since 2022, and was never meant to be permanent. It was corporate logos, such as FedEx, prior to that. Clemente was a helluva ballplayer and by all accounts a good guy but it's a ballpark not a shrine.

Honestly, the family came off like a pretty entitled bunch afaic.

Honestly, when I first heard about it, I immediately thought that there was a less than zero chance that the Pirates might have begun editing their history.

EDIT: Only like .5% but still it was not zero.

[Lathum]

Octavio Dotel killed in a roof collapse at a night club in the DR.

[JPhillips]

And Tony Blanco.

[Atocep]

1st and 3rd, 1 out, down 1 in the 6th. You intentionally walk Soto to load the bases for Pete Alonso.

WHY DO YOU THEN PLAY THE INFIELD IN? You loaded the bases to set up a double play and then play for a force at home?