2024-25 MLB Hot Stove thread

[Atocep]

The swing off actually went way better than I expected. It sounded dumb but ended up being a lot of fun to watch and the players were heavily invested.

[Drake]

Thought I'd hate it, and then I didn't.

I don't know if I even recognize myself anymore.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

Well, it made the runner on 2nd base idea seem comparably less stupid anyway.

Okay, fair point

[RainMaker]

Just looking around at stats and Aaron Judge is having yet another insane season. Has to be up there as one of the greatest hitters ever, right? I don't even know what to make of his .425 BABIP. Legit shot at the triple crown if Cal Raleigh slows down a little.

[Danny]

Judge will have all time great per 162 numbers. His issues staying healthy and late start have held back his career totals.

[Mota]

I'm back, and it was a great time.

It's really a fun exhibition game. They play hard though. The Mis was hitting 102mph with his fastball, which was incredible. It was cool to see Skenes against Judge.

The Aaron tribute was probably my favorite part of the night. I'm not from Atlanta, so it's not engrained in my mind. The firework that represented the HR ball was pretty amazing.

Another fave memory was Freddie Freeman turning a negative crowd with his sideline interview, they all cheered for him and it felt like a really good moment for him and the city.

The HR derby was pretty cool, but once you've seen about 100 home runs, they all start turning into a blur. The Oneil Cruz shots were MONSTROUS though, he was hitting them so deep, but just not enough of them.

As for food, unfortunately I didn't get to most of what I had planned. We were going to do the Fox Bros BBQ at the Battery on Monday, but there was 1:45 wait, which would have gotten us seated 30 minutes before the game. I was sitting with my MLB contacts, so we couldn't be late. Every place was packed, we couldn't get into anywhere, we ended up going to the cigar club Burn, and had a few apps on the patio where the smoke wasn't TOO bad. Definitely not what I wanted.

The next day, we decided to go offsite for dinner to avoid the insanity, so we went midtown and went to the Ponce City Market, which was pretty cool. Then we took the beltline which I would love if it we had something like that. And we went to Mary Mac's Tea Room. That was amazing. I gave my co-worker the choice between comfort food and BBQ and he chose comfort food, otherwise we would have gone to the Williamson Bros for BBQ.

The heat was a lot. That was probably just 1 mile, but in that heat, I was pretty sweaty. And sitting in the ballpark for hours in 90 degree heat, everybody was sweating. So this morning when it was time to go to the Waffle House, we decided to take an Uber because I didn't want to be sweaty before getting on the plane. Well surge pricing was in effect, it would have been $90 to go 1 mile, so we just had breakfast in the lobby.

Overall it was a great trip. Southern hospitality is real. Everbody we met was super friendly and willing to talk. The business side of the trip was successful. And I came home with a nice care package for my son, so I was a hero when I returned.

Looking forward to next year in Philly!

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

What is the point of scheduling the Futures game on the Saturday before the All Star Game? I feel like that would be perfect spot to showcase the younger talent and be the show piece for "All Star Monday". Have the softball game, the Derby and then the Futures game in prime time on Monday. The All Star game including the red carpet show whatever that is on Tuesday.

Heard someone make the point MLB should try and take over the 4th of July. Bring the break closer to actual midseason, NBA/NHL playoffs are done, give each team a series vs a rival July 1-3, have the Home Run Derby on the 4th, have the Futures game and the start of the MLB draft on the 5th then the ASG on the 6th or 7th, maybe even give them a division rival coming out of it and hope there's good races. Announce the start of "MLB season" like the NBA uses Christmas. Competing vs fireworks on the 4th might not be ideal but I think people are desperate for sports or Americana that day (see: Coney Island Hot Dog comp), and whatever they're doing now ain't it.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

have the Home Run Derby on the 4th

No network worth a damn would pay MLB-sized money for that, you're sacrificing too big a chunk of audience (especially in the attractive demos)

Maybe Amazon, etc would pay stupid money for it but that'd be sacrificing even more eyeballs (though generally sports don't seem to care anybody if anybody watches as long as they get paid)

[JPhillips]

That Acuna throw is one of the best ever. Damn.

[RainMaker]

Just saw it.....what in the world????

[PilotMan]

Reminds me of the Puig throw.

[RainMaker]

He didnt even have a running start.

[Danny]

Amazing throw but also poor base running

[Ksyrup]

Thats on the 3B coach right? I can't see him in the entire video, but all he's doing is pointing to the bag as the throw comes in. That's a standard "you're safe, stay on the bag" motion. Baserunner can't see the throw and is totally dependent on the coach. And given how far into the corner that was hit, you'd expect a late throw at best.

[GrantDawg]

Definitely was. He must not have seen the ball. I imagine he expected him to throw it to the cutoff man.

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[GrantDawg]

I just saw a replay from a different angle, and it does look like the third base coach was telling him to get down.

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[Ghost Econ]

I don't understand how Rich Hill keeps getting jobs. He hasn't been league average in 5 years, he hasn't pitched 5 innings a game in a decade... but he's kinda treated like this savant. This is his 21st season and doesn't even have 90 career wins. What am I missing?

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by Ghost Econ

I don't understand how Rich Hill keeps getting jobs. He hasn't been league average in 5 years, he hasn't pitched 5 innings a game in a decade... but he's kinda treated like this savant. This is his 21st season and doesn't even have 90 career wins. What am I missing?

How many pitchers are on an average pitching staff? 12? 13?

I see the average staff is 13. 30 MLB teams x 13 pitchers per team = 390 pitchers

Now add in all of the injuries pitchers have these days. For example, the Dodgers have had 35 pitchers throw a pitch for them this year and that does not include two position players who have taken the mound.

Oh and he is a lefty. As long as he can get a few outs every so often in July and August while teams wait for their injured pitchers to come back, Hill is probably going to get a job if he wants one.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Ghost Econ

I don't understand how Rich Hill keeps getting jobs. He hasn't been league average in 5 years, he hasn't pitched 5 innings a game in a decade... but he's kinda treated like this savant. This is his 21st season and doesn't even have 90 career wins. What am I missing?

He'd outperformed all the KC starters still in AAA except one.

Too many teams, too many pitchers, so somebody had to get the call up.

The Royals just signed Dallas Keuchel to a minor league deal if that gives you some idea of how dire the need for pitching is. He's 37, hasn't posted an ERA under 5 since 2020, hasn't spent a full season in MLB since 2021 and has a -4.21 WAR since 2022.

edit to add -- how dire is the state of pitching in (supposedly) major league baseball? Over last season & this season combined, utility infielder Luke Williams has pitched 8 innings for the Braves. He has an ERA of 4.50

That's better than 11 of the 31 other pitchers the Braves have used this season, including Iglesias, Daniel, Elder, Suarez and Chavez, as well as that teenager they called up to get repeatedly shelled.

I don't doubt that a lot of clubs have at least one utility player who could outpitch, regularly, some of the pieces they're shuffling through these days.

[RainMaker]

I turned on the game last night and was like "man that looks like Rich Hill" and couldn't believe it was. Lefties can really hang around forever.

[bhlloy]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

He'd outperformed all the KC starters still in AAA except one.

Too many teams, too many pitchers, so somebody had to get the call up.

The Royals just signed Dallas Keuchel to a minor league deal if that gives you some idea of how dire the need for pitching is. He's 37, hasn't posted an ERA under 5 since 2020, hasn't spent a full season in MLB since 2021 and has a -4.21 WAR since 2022.

edit to add -- how dire is the state of pitching in (supposedly) major league baseball? Over last season & this season combined, utility infielder Luke Williams has pitched 8 innings for the Braves. He has an ERA of 4.50

That's better than 11 of the 31 other pitchers the Braves have used this season, including Iglesias, Daniel, Elder, Suarez and Chavez, as well as that teenager they called up to get repeatedly shelled.

I don't doubt that a lot of clubs have at least one utility player who could outpitch, regularly, some of the pieces they're shuffling through these days.

Something my old boss and I chat about every now and again, but is MLB the first league to really feel the impact of over-expansion? Feels like there's just too many teams, too many games and there's not enough replacement level players to deal with all the injuries - when even the Dodgers are having bullpen issues due to injuries, you can't even blame teams cheaping out.


NHL - seems to have done OK, the fact that the US and the rest of the world are fast catching up with Canada helps here and the player pool is bigger than ever
NBA - small rosters and even smaller numbers of players that actually matter, plus they seem to have done a decent job of reintroducing parity over super teams in the last 5 years
NFL - hard to argue the product on the field is hurt by expansion, there are probably starting QBs who wouldn't sniff a job if there were 4-6 fewer teams but overall the level of QB play compared to what it was 30 years ago is so much higher it's not even funny
MLS - I can't name a third of the teams now, but there's a never ending supply of half decent players from elsewhere in the world willing to play for what is decent money and they are a tiny fish in a giant ocean

[RainMaker]

I feel like every league over expanded. Baseball is starting to also feel the effects of removing so many minor league teams. You just don't have as many young players in the development system to keep up. Sure it saved them a few bucks but it also will come at a cost long term.

NBA, MLS, and NHL to an extent get to benefit from the sport being global with better systems in place to develop young talent.

[JonInMiddleGA]

On the heels of yet another failed save opportunity, I ran across an interesting stat.

Only the White Sox have a lower save pct than the Braves this season, and even the lowly Rockies -- on pace to be the worst team in modern history -- have FIVE more saves than the Braves have managed.

It's gotta be kinda tough to fail harder.

[SirFozzie]

Rob Manfred: How do you feel about a salary cap?

Bryce Harper: Get the F--- out of our clubhouse

Rob Manfred: I'll put you down as a maybe.

Sources - Phillies' Bryce Harper cussed out Rob Manfred in meeting - ESPN

[B & B]

BREAKING: Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase has been placed on non-disciplinary paid leave as part of MLB's sports-betting investigation, sources tell ESPN.

Clase is the second Guardians pitcher on leave tied to the investigation, joining right-hander Luis Ortiz.

[JPhillips]

The owners won't be able to agree on a cap. Right now the total MLB pay averages out to about 170 mil per team. There's no way enough owners would agree to a cap at the current salary level. Why would the A's vote to increase their payroll by 100 mil or why would the Mets agree to half their payroll?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

The owners won't be able to agree on a cap. Right now the total MLB pay averages out to about 170 mil per team. There's no way enough owners would agree to a cap at the current salary level. Why would the A's vote to increase their payroll by 100 mil or why would the Mets agree to half their payroll?

Given the four owners/execs cited as having referenced support for a cap publicly -- (Baltimore's David Rubenstein) or indirectly (Boston's John Henry, Pittsburgh's Bob Nutting and the New York Yankees' Hal Steinbrenner) -- I would figure the target number to be somewhere around $14.72

[Ghost Econ]

Originally Posted by B & B

BREAKING: Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase has been placed on non-disciplinary paid leave as part of MLB's sports-betting investigation, sources tell ESPN.

Clase is the second Guardians pitcher on leave tied to the investigation, joining right-hander Luis Ortiz.

This video/Twitter thread doesn't look great for him

https://x.com/FoolishBB/status/1949880513814286605

[miami_fan]

Much like the NFL and QBs, I think MLB has only over expanded if you are talking about pitching and only if the goal is for every pitching staff in the league to have every pitcher on the staff throw 99mph on every pitch for as long as they can before they leave the game. If teams are still looking for guys who throw strikes and hit their spots without hitting triple digits on the radar gun and teams are willing to help them develop, they are still out there.

[JPhillips]

The Reds have to have one of the worst front offices in baseball. I know Ke'Brayan Hayes is a great defender, but they gave up a MLB reliever, a legit prospect, and cash for a guy with a 59 OPS+ and 37 mil left on his contract.

[Atocep]

Feels like it's been a while since a top 5-ish prospect in baseball was traded. The Padres sent Leodalis De Vries to Oakland/Sacramento/Las Vegas for Mason Miller and JP Sears.

The A's seem to finally have their act together a bit and are building toward something.

[sovereignstar v2]

The Pohlads can fucking do one

[frnk55]

Someone please buy the Twins so we no longer have to hear that P word

[cuervo72]

I mean, I get that this game is a special setup, but…c’mon.

[JPhillips]

What a fucking disaster that was.

[PilotMan]

Why in the world, would anyone want to watch a baseball game at a racetrack and think that it was fun in any fashion?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Nice debut for Pirates rookie Bubba Chandler, who ended up with a 4-inning save and looked pretty darn good doing it.

Notable to me simply 'cause he pitched his HS ball about 10-15 mins from my house and opted to go straight to the pros after being drafted in the 3rd round, turning down an offer to play both baseball and football (all-region QB) at Clemson.

Looks like he made the right choice for himself.

[JPhillips]

Too bad he ended up with the Pirates.

[Atocep]

Nolan McClean might have the best stuff of any young Mets pitcher I can remember. In his 2nd start he threw a sinker with 22 inches of horizontal movement and that's not even his best pitch. His curve has the highest spin rate of any curve in the statcast era. Kershaw's highest tracked stuff+ on his curve is an absurd 136 in 2020. McClean's, after 3 starts, is 189. Not sustainable, but shows how insane the spin rate, location, etc of his curve is.