General MLB Discussion, Winter 2023-24

andyb 2024-03-26 13:21:37 UTC #425

Fangraphs bullpen rankings - We're number one! We're number one! FWIW FG is a huge Jose Alvarado fan projecting him alone for 1.5 WAR.

Starting pitching still to come. We are at least in the top half which is not out yet.

phillychuck 2024-03-26 13:33:51 UTC #426

Wow, I was really overly skeptical about the relievers, apparently (or they are overly optimistic...).

Also, apparently, fangraphs did not follow our game results in Florida...

zambonir 2024-03-26 13:56:59 UTC #427

There's certainly some unanswered questions but I don't think it's at all weird that any major league ballplayer (or extremely wealthy person) would have any clue what's being done with their money, legally or illegally (or some combination of the two).

As for the bullpen it just goes to show you that nobody's 7-8 relievers put up any WAR of note. All of the Phillies WAR comes from 1-6 with Ruiz, Turnbull, Marte, Brogdon and Covey combining for 0.2 (which is still probably better than most teams that project negative with that equivalent group).

Fangraphs is betting on Soto and Kerkering to contribute, and, if correct, is also a tribute to the model of having 5-6 good ones instead being top-heavy.

But, they are still bullpens.

BaseballCat 2024-03-26 14:42:19 UTC #428

I agree that he has little day to day idea what is happening with his money. Still makes me question whether I should draft him in my upcoming fantasy baseball draft. I draft third and he of course is the third best by rankings behind Acuna and Betts. Plus he can only DH which gives me little flexibility, so I will probably pass. Who is your first pick if you are drafting third?

zambonir 2024-03-26 14:46:05 UTC #429

There doesn't seem to be much indication that he's being investigated. Even if he is it would probably be a long process with no suspension in the meantime (unless the law steps in of course).

BaseballCat 2024-03-26 15:01:31 UTC #430

Don’t think he is involved, but always wary of a potential shoe dropping. Want a hit on my number one pick!

allentown 2024-03-26 15:13:07 UTC #431

That's certainly true wrt financial advisors/managers for athletes and celebrities, but this guy was his interpreter, which does make this very strange.,

phillychuck 2024-03-26 15:29:03 UTC #432

I think he was also a close friend, at least that is what it seems. I have no idea how much access a close friend would have to his financial resources, especially a friend he relied on in a foreign country.

One of the best tweets I've seen on the Ohtani story:

tom81 2024-03-26 15:54:21 UTC #433

Docs 2024-03-26 16:07:23 UTC #434

That's what I am thinking too - he should have had a financial advisor that caught this. If I understood correctly, these were large half a million dollar transfers last fall totaling $5m, not $5m that was recently transferred. Plus, what kind of bookie gives a translator a $5m marker?

zambonir 2024-03-26 16:09:39 UTC #435

It seems pretty logical to me. He likely helped open accounts or set up payments or at the very least, was the sole point of contact for that information passing between Ohtani and his people (agent, financial advisors, team HR department). He may have had ongoing involvement or he may have just had one-time access to info he then misused.

Either way, to actually make a wire transfer happen would have required a bit more authorization, but it's not out of the question he had that if he was involved on a more day-to-day basis. If not, that's another count of fraud on top of the theft.

One assumes the language barrier made it easier to get away with any case. Perhaps even Ohtani's advisors aren't US-based.

This is a story that just happened a couple of months ago. The victim is old but not by any means senile. He also didn't especially miss that amount of money.

andyb 2024-03-26 16:18:16 UTC #436

When you are on a path to a billion dollars it is easy to lose track of $5 million.

HopeSpringsEternal 2024-03-27 00:47:57 UTC #437

NL only? I’d go with Freddie Freeman!

Docs 2024-03-27 02:05:44 UTC #438

Jordan Montgomery signing a one year 25m deal with the Diamondbacks

HopeSpringsEternal 2024-03-27 02:22:10 UTC #439

… and Montgomery has a vesting option ($25M in 2025) if he starts 10 games in 2024.

Docs 2024-03-27 02:32:03 UTC #440

ESPN says vesting player option triggers are $20 million if Montgomery makes 10 starts, $22.5 million if Montgomery reaches 18 starts and $25 million at 23 starts

zambonir 2024-03-27 03:02:15 UTC #441

yeah the only way he picks that up is if he makes 10-18 starts and gets hurt. Unless he's really mediocre (i.e. not bad enough to lose his rotation spot but not good enough to get paid again)

I feel okay about the Philies, sure can't guess about the rest of the NL West in terms of the wild card race.

andyb 2024-03-27 14:28:55 UTC #442

Second in starting pitching after being first in the bullpen projections. Heavily dependent on Nola and Wheeler of course, but we knew that. I am hopeful this is the year Ranger gives us a full season of healthy innings though, so there is some reasonable upside too even though Walker is hurt.

andyb 2024-03-27 14:37:10 UTC #443

The Ringer likes us to start the season. 3rd in the power rankings behind the Braves and Dodgers. They note there is a huge gap between these teams and the rest of the NL. I do think some of the younger teams like the Reds and maybe even the Giants will take big steps forward, but it really is a top heavy league where the best teams look much better also than anything the AL has at the moment.

schillingfan 2024-03-28 01:13:20 UTC #444

As Imrecall our spring training games. The “closers were usually no names and our real dudes pitched earlier in the games.