Broken Bat - Baseball Forum: 2014-15 Hot Stove

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Post ID	Date & Time	Game Date	Function

#12180	11/25/2014 11:28:31 pm
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	For my American League Champion Kansas City Royals... I have no idea if the Royals should have let Billy Butler go, but I wish they would have signed him. I think he is worth the risk the A's paid. The possibilities are dwindling and I wouldn't be too surprised if the Royals sign Torii Hunter. There's talk he may go back to the Twins; I'm hoping the greater chance of the post-season with the Royals might lure him further south. There's also talk they're making a play for Andrew Miller. The bullpen was phenomenal last season. They did something no team had ever done in MLB--they had 3 guys with at least 60 innings pitched and a sub-1.50 ERA. Adding Miller to the mix would be awesome. Updated Wednesday, November 26 2014 @ 6:12:25 am PST

#12207	11/27/2014 11:11:49 am
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5227 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Russell Martin to the Jays is pretty significant. Seems to have a reputation as a good clubhouse guy (which Jays need) and good with young pitchers (Jays could have Stroman, Hutchison & Sanchez is the starting rotation next year). Almost necessitates more moves. Can't really keep Navarro around with Martin (especially if they can convince Reyes to play some DH). Probably need to move a starter to make room for the kids (likely Happ, since neither Dickie or Beurle is all that moveable). Should be an exciting off-season for Jays fans.

#12208	11/27/2014 11:23:28 am
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5227 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	but I've always favored a short stop that fields better and doesn't necessarily have the biggest bat This is something that drives me nuts about most Jays fans I hear on the radio or read comments from. Seems to be this mindset that everyone in the batting order has to hit .280 and bash 20 HRs, otherwise they are useless. Its just not necessary, especially when you have guys like Bautista and Encarnacion in the middle of the line-up. I think Ryan Goins (probably unknown to non-Jays fans - young middle infielder in the system) is super smooth and would help a lot (at either 2B or SS) despite not having the best bat. But I suspect many Jays fans consider his roster spot one that needs to be improved.

#12221	11/27/2014 9:41:51 pm
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Seca, I agree with you in principle. Solid defense up the middle can easily make up for lackluster bats. You used the word 'smooth,' well my KC Royals had Smooth back in the 70s and 80s at second, Frank White. He was awesome! Loved that guy. But here's the thing...while he was incredible with the glove (the majority of his errors were throwing), he was only below average offensively. That makes for a valuable player. Goins is pretty sweet in the field. However, he's miserable offensively. His OPS was .479 in 2014. That's seriously bad. Now if he could perform at his .609 OPS from the prior year, that would be another thing entirely. Sub-550 and it's tough to play the guy.

#12240	11/28/2014 6:48:15 am
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I loved Russell Martin when he played in the Bronx, and I hated seeing him go (because of the pointless attempt to get the Yankees below the luxury tax threshold, which one year later resulted in a hefty contract for Brian McCann), especially as it meant keeping Chris Stewart, who was still blocking the path of the homegrown catchers in AAA, just without Martin's upside. Good catcher in terms of glove and tactics, and in the AL East ballparks, he could well provide the 20 home runs. Doesn't exactly hit for high averages, though.

#12930	12/24/2014 6:13:39 am
Jynxed Joined: 08/26/2013 Posts: 284 Inactive	Because of my split family I'm a Cubs and Braves fan which has led to some really mixed emotions this off season. I love what the Cubs have done even though the contract to Lester is semi risky due to age it feels like they did their due diligence and he's a massive pickup along with Maddon. Picking up La Stella and some other under the radar moves I've liked a lot too. As for the Braves, I know everything that has been done is to help rebuild the club and the minors around the new ballpark opening in 2017 so I get the moves but at the same time it's hard seeing our good players go. Hopefully the team will rebuild around less strike outs because we have had way too many of those lately. Overall I think they have done well and I have to assume Gattis may still go but man I wish we could have just thrown BJ in with Justin for free lol. I'm going to miss Heyward though, I really wish we could have kept him.

#12939	12/24/2014 8:52:38 am
slugfest2015 Joined: 12/21/2014 Posts: 168 Inactive	All I know is I am still mourning the release of Nelson Cruz, and long time Right Field Starter Nick Markakis,especially since I haven't seen the Orioles sign any big names.

#12948	12/24/2014 2:40:47 pm
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals VI.9	D-Backs traded Miguel Montero to the Cubs... Interesting move because they may need some veteran leadership since they're a young team.

#12964	12/25/2014 3:44:56 pm
admin Joined: 01/27/2010 Posts: 5023 Administrator	People are really excited here in San Diego about the new GM and acquiring Upton and Matt Kemp. I'm a little surprised the Dodgers would deal Kemp to a division rival like the Padres, but clearly they're re-tooling their team a bit. Steve

#13288	01/07/2015 5:44:47 pm
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5227 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Indeed. Don't see much exchange between AL East teams. Hearsay was Jays were trying to get Price as things fell apart last season, but couldn't afford the intra-divisional tax on the deal. Padres are generating some chatter even up here on Canadian sports sources. Donaldson - Lawrie trade was pretty big for the Jays. I'm uncomfortable about it. I know Beane likes to move assets at their peak. Still ... I'm expecting to find out Donaldson is damaged goods somewhere along the line. Goins is pretty sweet in the field. However, he's miserable offensively. His OPS was .479 in 2014. That's seriously bad. Now if he could perform at his .609 OPS from the prior year, that would be another thing entirely. Sub-550 and it's tough to play the guy Semi-necro responding so slowly. I wouldn't put much into either season's results. Inexperienced player, small sample size. Goins had a pretty terrible start to the season. After his recall, his numbers were closer (but still inferior) to his 2013. It doesn't have to be Goins. I've often felt defense was a complete after-thought by whatever the Jays upper echelon was at the time. Seems to be a little different this off-season.