2019-2020 MLB Non-Phillies News/Notes Discussion

[Dirk41]

We couldn't have gotten in on Maeda??

[zambonir]

Can't afford his salary.

(That was meant to be tongue-in-cheek but A) it's still true under the current parameters and B) Graterol is 32 on the BP 100, that's higher than Howard. We aren't trading Howard for a 31 year-old pitcher.)

[Squire]

The price was Spencer Howard....you in or out? I think I'm out....though the Phils record on homegrown pitchers is awful...you have to regress to the mean some time

[Dirk41]

Agreed. A little surprising that the Twins would pay that price, too.

[zambonir]

Well they probably have a deeper farm system than we do. And they won 101 games last year in a division that's only getting weaker (but a league that is still tough). We're a fourth-place team.

[phillychuck]

I don't remotely comprehend the Pederson/Renfigo LA/LA trade for the Dodgers. Renfigo is not productive (even in the minors), Pederson is a borderline all-star??? We should have been in on Pederson at that price; he's a good fit here.

[Lawman]

Yeah, I don't get that one either. I mean, slide Pederson over to LF or RF, right?

[Jazzhead]

Wow. Just traded for Joc Pederson and drafted Alex Verdugo in my APBA league. And now they're both ex-Dodgers, with, it appears, clear running room for regular playing time. While one year of Mookie will be awesome for LA, I somehow doubt it will equal the futures of Pederson and Verdugo.

[Jazzhead]

I don't remotely comprehend the Pederson/Renfigo LA/LA trade for the Dodgers. Renfigo is not productive (even in the minors), Pederson is a borderline all-star??? We should have been in on Pederson at that price; he's a good fit here.

I think so, too. Pederson has even played some center in recent years. Even in limited playing time because of his issues against lefties, he still out-homered every Phillie.

[Dirk41]

Mookie Betts is older than Bryce Harper (albeit a week), but still somehow thought he was super young.

If the Sox are selling, wonder if Sale would come cheap (we would have to pay him, which has been our sticking point)

[andyb]

I am a little surprised that the analytical consensus on various sites is that they thought the Red Sox did pretty well in this deal. That analysis of course looks at the dollar value of the contracts they shedded and don't consider the fact that the Red Sox are wealthy enough as an organization where they really don't have to get under the luxury tax threshold.

They really got nothing for Price other than saving money. Nothing to really replace his team value as a midrotation starter. Verdugo is nice, but seems more good than great and one wonders whether he settles into slightly lower production in a different organization as the Dodgers clearly figure out how to maximize their value. The pitcher they got throws hard, so maybe they get a closer out of it. It just feels a year of Betts should be worth more.

For the Dodgers they got a full year of one of the best players in baseball for a complementary player and Price for Maeda could be close to a wash in the rotation. They gave up nothing from their prospect base. The rich get richer (the Dodgers) or enhance their profit (the Red Sox). Red Sox nation is up in arms and probably have a right to be.

[Jazzhead]

I see it as a deal that works for both sides. As Andyb, says, the Dodgers get a Mookieyear but give up a player who may not even have a position. But for the Red Sox, Verdugo is a great addition and they can slot him right into their outfield. I was, however, surprised that the Dodgers got rid of Pederson too. I think he'll rake for the Angels.

[mdougherty12]

I don't remotely comprehend the Pederson/Renfigo LA/LA trade for the Dodgers. Renfigo is not productive (even in the minors), Pederson is a borderline all-star??? We should have been in on Pederson at that price; he's a good fit here.

The Pederson trade looks like a pure salary dump to try to stay under the tax for 2020.

[HopeSpringsEternal]

Nightengale now reporting that Ross Stripling is also going to the Angels in this deal. Apparently there are two other prospects going to the Dodgers from the Angels ...

Ross Stripling - Los Angeles Dodgers - MLB

[zambonir]

In a year where the Red Sox and the Dodgers and the Nationals and the Cubs don't want to pay the tax, we should probably be paying the tax.

[zambonir]

Oh boy

MLB plotting playoff expansion — with reality TV twist

[andyb]

Well that is a lousy idea. They also love small divisions too, so when we go to 8 4-team divisions you will have some mediocre division winners and teams with the best record in the league coming from weak divisions.

When they have 32 teams the ideal system is 12 playoff teams. 4 division winners get byes. 8 wild card teams playoff in 3-game series (make them all at the home of the higher seeded team to eliminate travel). Then you have 5-7-7 as we do today in the last 3 rounds.

This gives them the extra games they need with fewer gimmicks and little added length to the postseason (which also could be helped by going to 154 or 156 games in the regular season). They can eliminate play-in games too. Every other sport has tiebreakers.

[julio]

When they have 32 teams the ideal system is 12 playoff teams.

I guess I'm old-fashioned, but I just cannot agree. I just have trouble with the idea that more than ¹/₄ of the teams in a league (as long as there's interleague play, there's really only one "league") should qualify for "playoffs" - what we used to call the post-season, when it was short, but which is now, more and more, the real season, after a long, less and less meaningful pre-season.

[zambonir]

We're all old-fashioned compared to the networks and the league's entertainment-minded execs. At best, this is a crazy trial balloon that will have everyone (fans, writers, the union) breathing a sigh of relief when they come up with a system more like Andy's, but without the gimmicks. At worst, it actually happens.

Probably time to get rid of the leagues too, once expansion and DH happens. At minimum have crossover wild cards.

[andyb]

The leagues don't play each other enough to really want to have wild cards across leagues. I am actually OK with the interleague play though I would make it fair like the NFL. Play one division a year on rotation. No traditional rivalries because that makes the schedule unfair.

We DO want teams within your own league to play each other to make the wild card more meaningful. My 4 divisions with 8 teams works out perfectly for a 156-game schedule. 7x12, 8x6, 8x3. We need to cut a week off the season anyway (or a half week and add some more off days).

I am old fashioned too, but I do get the need for TV dollars and postseason games. Let's just make them meaningful. Give byes to the best teams and make the schedule as fair as possible.