MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

[countryboy]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

Free Agency Heating Up...deGrom, Hand, Tulowitzki, Bauer, and Archer all sign

Free agency is only 3 days old and the signings are coming quick.

Here are the notable signings thus far:

Chris Archer - Pirates - 4 years $66.80M

Troy Tulowitzki - Blue Jays (re-signed) - 1 year $12.10M

Brad Hand - Dodgers - 5 years $39.50 (Cardinals made offer but were passed over)

Jacob deGrom - Blue Jays - 4 years $88.00M

Trevor Bauer - Angels - 3 years $27.90M

The Cardinals haven't been able to sign anyone, although its only 3 days in. The Cardinals do have an offer out to George Springer. They had one for Mike Trout but were quickly outbid and will most likely walk away.

Cardinals will spend the next few days looking over the landscape and their roster and arbitration available players and renewable players to see where to go.

Also the Cardinals are fielding calls on the following players:

Lance Lynn
Randal Grichuk
Jordan Walden
Magnerius Sierra

The Hot Stove is on fire and its only day 4 of free agency.

[countryboy]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

Cardinals get Springer!!!!

Well....sometimes plans change. The Cardinals came into the offseason thinking they would have all the pieces needed for their outfield just had to decide how to put it together, and even think about pieces to trade. Well....they added a piece.

The Cardinals and George Springer agreed to a 4 year $72M deal. Springer will most certainly be the everyday right fielder and the Cardinals will have even more decisions to make in the outfield, in regards to Piscotty, Pham, Grichuk, Sierra, and Fabregas. The thought is that the Cardinals will part ways with Grichuk and Sierra. Piscotty and Pham may be expendable as well. Fabregas is most likely the only one that is guaranteed to be with the organization come Spring Training.

The Cardinals weren't the only ones that hit it big:

The Indians landed the most prized free agent on the market, getting Mike Trout to agree to an 8 year $246.40M deal.

The Cubs strengthened their rotation by signing Masahiro Tanaka to a 3 year $57M deal. He joins Jon Lester and King Felix, last year's Cy Young award winner.

The Nationals re-signed Max Scherzer to a 1 year $12.20M deal.

The Tigers signed Ken Giles to a 5 year $42M deal


The offseason continues.....

[reyes the roof]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

Cardinals get Springer!!!!

Well....sometimes plans change. The Cardinals came into the offseason thinking they would have all the pieces needed for their outfield just had to decide how to put it together, and even think about pieces to trade. Well....they added a piece.

The Cardinals and George Springer agreed to a 4 year $72M deal. Springer will most certainly be the everyday right fielder and the Cardinals will have even more decisions to make in the outfield, in regards to Piscotty, Pham, Grichuk, Sierra, and Fabregas. The thought is that the Cardinals will part ways with Grichuk and Sierra. Piscotty and Pham may be expendable as well. Fabregas is most likely the only one that is guaranteed to be with the organization come Spring Training.

The Cardinals weren't the only ones that hit it big:

The Indians landed the most prized free agent on the market, getting Mike Trout to agree to an 8 year $246.40M deal.

The Cubs strengthened their rotation by signing Masahiro Tanaka to a 3 year $57M deal. He joins Jon Lester and King Felix, last year's Cy Young award winner.

The Nationals re-signed Max Scherzer to a 1 year $12.20M deal.

The Tigers signed Ken Giles to a 5 year $42M deal


The offseason continues.....

Man you got way more action in your off season than I had in mine. I finished 2018 a few weeks ago and Harper, Machado, and Goldschmidt all re-signed with their teams

[countryboy]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

Man you got way more action in your off season than I had in mine. I finished 2018 a few weeks ago and Harper, Machado, and Goldschmidt all re-signed with their teams

Yeah and its only 5 days old in free agency!

Still some big names out there to be signed. And that doesn't include the free agents that hit when they don't receive arbitration offers.

[countryboy]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

Cardinals outfield becomes more crowded with Springer signing

Free agency has only just begun, but the biggest of names have already signed, which to be honest is extremely surprising. One of those big names was George Springer who opted to sign with the Cardinals this offseason for a 4 year, $72M deal. With that signing, the Cardinals are now forced to do something with their abundance of MLB ready outfielders.

Here are the current Cardinal outfielders who saw time at the big league level in 2020:

*September call-ups excluded from this list*

Randal Grichuk
Magnerius Sierra
Tommy Pham
Harrison Bader
Oscar Mercado
Juan Fabregas
Stephen Piscotty
Charlie Tilson
George Springer (Astros)

That is 8 players for 5 big league positions and this doesn't include guys who are on the cusp: Eddie Casilla, Nick Plummer, and Randy Arozarena.

The expectation is that the Cardinals will look to move Randal Grichuk and Magnerius Sierra. Grichuk had a poor season for the Cardinals last year and seems to be starting the backside of his career.

Magnerius Sierra is an interesting case. He was a pivotal part of the Cardinals lineup since he broke into the majors in 2016, when he won the National League Rookie of the Year award, and was slated to be reaching a big contact this offseason. But Sierra got hurt (twice) and the Cardinals filled his vacant spot with Harrison Bader, who simply outplayed Sierra when you match them head to head. Plus Bader is an overall better defender than Sierra. The Cardinals could decide to keep Sierra and either have him come off the bench or they could start him in Memphis and see how things develop over the first month of the season. But Nick Plummer is expected to be promoted to Memphis this offseason to the be the everyday center fielder. Sierra is in an arbitration year so the Cardinals don't have to make him an offer, but you hate to let him go for nothing.

Oscar Mercado will probably be on the move as well (and possibly sooner rather than later) as he has struggled at the MLB level and when he was optioned back to Memphis in late 2020, he struggled there as well. Mercado had huge potential and expectations within the organization, but those expectations have since diminished. He is viewed more as a placeholder now while you wait for younger guys to develop.

Tommy Pham or Stephen Piscotty could be dealt. Neither would be happy being on the bench, but there is only realistically one starting outfield position up for grabs (left field). The Cardinals could carry both into Spring and let them decided there, but again, they would hate to miss out on opportunities in the offseason while waiting for these guys to settle the position. Plus their value would possibly diminish as teams fill out rosters with talent available now, and not waiting until the start of the 2021 season. Piscotty would be the most likely of the two to be dealt as he was hampered by injuries last year and the Cardinals signed George Springer to take his spot. Piscotty could play in left, but the Cardinals view him more as a right fielder. The one thing that Piscotty has is that he can also play first, but with Carpenter returning and Gonzalez slated to platoon against lefties if the Cardinals decide that is the avenue they are going, then Piscotty again is a man without a home.

Tommy Pham was let go the past offseason in favor of Juan Fabregas after Spring Training, only to be brought back. So the Cardinals have a high value for Pham. Plus he fits into multiple spots in the lineup with his ability to hit for power and for average.

It's far too early to determine exactly what the Cardinals will do as we are just in early November and the market is still playing out. But the Cardinals will have to do something.

[Gagnon39]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

In my offseason Harper signed with the NL Champion, Milwaukee Brewers. Machado went to the Phillies.


Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

[countryboy]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

Cardinals trade Grichuk to White Sox for Jose Quintana

The Cardinals made their first move in unclogging the outfield jam they currently have and landed the left handed pitching they have coveted for the past two seasons. The Cardinals sent Randal Grichuk to the White Sox for Jose Quintana. Quintana wasn't in the White Sox rotation all year last year. He pitched 35 games but only 14 of those were starts. The White Sox need outfield help so getting Grichuk is a much needed addition. Both Grichuk and Quintana are on one year deals, so neither team is taking a tremendous risk in making this move.

The Cardinals will still be looking to make additional moves as the winter goes along.

[Gagnon39]

MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

Back at it... opened up 2019 with a sweep over the Miami Marlins. Only 159 left to go...

EDIT: Dang it, forgot to change the headline on the third game. Haha. Won’t be back at my computer until Friday.

[countryboy]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

Trade for Quintana means that Lynn will be moved

When the Cardinals signed Lance Lynn to a 5 year $52M deal last offseason, they did it a bit reluctantly. They went into that offseason thinking they wouldn't be bringing him back as they were in the market for a left handed pitcher. When that didn't pan out the Cardinals elected to bring Lynn back, and agreed to meet his long term deal demand.

But now, with the Cardinals trading Randal Grichuk and relief pitching prospect Alan Foxx to the White Sox for Jose Quintana, the Cardinals will most assuredly be looking to trade Lynn. The Cardinals were already fielding calls and gauging market interest for Lynn, prior to this trade.

When the Cardinals will trade Lynn remains to be seen, but expect the Cardinals to be looking for young relief pitching, a MLB ready/caliber catcher, or young infield depth in return.

The Cardinals starting rotation is projected to be:

Michael Wacha
Carlos Martinez
Jose Quintana
Jack Flaherty
Luke Weaver/Alex Reyes/Kyle Funkhouser

[jvalverde88]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

So after months of indecisiveness I finally decided to start a franchise *Mark DeRosa voice* with the New York Metropolitans. Heading to the All Star Break:



Thor and DeGrom are absolutely tearing the league apart.

Thor: 136 IP, W/L 10-5, ERA 1.92, 153 Ks, 1.04 WHIP

DeGrom: 139.2 IP, W/L 13-1, ERA 2.13, 145 Ks, 1.06 WHIP

[Rocket32]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

Trade for Quintana means that Lynn will be moved

When the Cardinals signed Lance Lynn to a 5 year $52M deal last offseason, they did it a bit reluctantly. They went into that offseason thinking they wouldn't be bringing him back as they were in the market for a left handed pitcher. When that didn't pan out the Cardinals elected to bring Lynn back, and agreed to meet his long term deal demand.

But now, with the Cardinals trading Randal Grichuk and relief pitching prospect Alan Foxx to the White Sox for Jose Quintana, the Cardinals will most assuredly be looking to trade Lynn. The Cardinals were already fielding calls and gauging market interest for Lynn, prior to this trade.

When the Cardinals will trade Lynn remains to be seen, but expect the Cardinals to be looking for young relief pitching, a MLB ready/caliber catcher, or young infield depth in return.

The Cardinals starting rotation is projected to be:

Michael Wacha
Carlos Martinez
Jose Quintana
Jack Flaherty
Luke Weaver/Alex Reyes/Kyle Funkhouser

The upcoming season will be your third franchise season played on MLB The Show 18? If so that’s insane, I don’t how you do it. Been trying to play every game in year 2 of my Yankees franchise but I’m probably gonna go back to simming a little as well like I did in year 1.

[countryboy]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

The upcoming season will be your third franchise season played on MLB The Show 18? If so that’s insane, I don’t how you do it. Been trying to play every game in year 2 of my Yankees franchise but I’m probably gonna go back to simming a little as well like I did in year 1.

Yes sir.

I usually get 3 or 4 seasons in each year. I really don't play anything else and I play all year round.

[Gagnon39]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

Yes sir.

I usually get 3 or 4 seasons in each year. I really don't play anything else and I play all year round.

I've gotten a little further each year it seems and I always aim to do this. A friend of mine played through 5-6 seasons one year. The most I've ever done is 1 1/2 years. My problem has always been that something comes along that puts an end to my season(s). This time it could very well be Red Dead Redemption 2.

I love The Show, it's my favorite annual sports game for sure, but my all-time favorite game series is The Elder Scrolls. I don't know that I even really played The Show from 2011-2012 because of Skyrim. I'll be the same way with Starfield (Bethesda's next game) whenever that comes out as well as Cyberpunk 2077 by CD Projekt Red. I might as well go ahead and quit my job and get divorced when The Elder Scrolls VI finally comes out.

[Gagnon39]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

[countryboy]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

Blockbuster deal stirring in St.Louis?

Are the Cardinals on the brink of a blockbuster trade this offseason?

Reports are coming out that the Phillies have made an offer to the Cardinals, that St.Louis will have to at least consider. The proposal?

Bryce Harper

FOR

SP Alex Reyes
RF George Springer
CF Magnerius Sierra

The Cardinals just signed Springer a few weeks ago. Sierra has been in discussion as being traded. Alex Reyes hasn't developed as quickly as the Cardinals had hoped, but he's still 26 and in discussion as being the team's 5th starter when the season starts.

Bryce Harper was brought into Philadelphia 2 years ago as the Phillies hoped to attract more big time free agents to join him and quickly build a contending team, but that hasn't happened. Going on the 3rd year of Harper's mega deal, the Phillies are bascially in rebuilding state. While Springer wouldn't be a rebuilding piece, he is notably cheaper on the books than Harper and could be traded again. With Sierra and Reyes, the Phillies would have 2 key pieces in rebuilding their club. Also, Reyes is out of option years, so if the Cardinals don't keep him on the big league club after Spring Training, they run the risk of losing him for nothing.

BUT.......do the Cardinals want to make that type of financial commitment to Harper? Harper is still owed $146.3M over the next 5 years. While with his age and production that isn't an outrageous contract, the Cardinals have to remember they have some of their own notable free agents coming up in that time span (Wacha, Wong, Bader) just to name a few. Having said that, Springer, Reyes, and Sierra's contract would cover Harper's money owed for this season and next. Plus the Cardinals still are looking to unload Lynn's $9+M per year this offseason.

I am not sure what the Cardinals do here. As always the offseason is extremely unpredictable as you never know what is going to happen and plans seem to change, or at least have to be reviewed, week to week as the market changes.

Do the Cardinals stick with Springer and their plan when they signed him, or do they trade for arguably one of the Top 5 player's in the game today, knowing he's locked up for the next 5 years?

Decisions, decisions.