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2016 MLB Hot Stove

Might as well start with some Mets news. Terry Collins was signed to a 2 year extension.
 
MacNut said:
Might as well start with some Mets news. Terry Collins was signed to a 2 year extension.
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I think he can bring the Mets back to the World Series and at the very least postseason. He leads the team and takes full responsibility when things go wrong like admitting it was a mistake to keep Harvey in past the 8th inning. It was almost as bad as the decision Coach Pete Carroll made by having Russell go for pass instead of handing it off to the best running back in the game in the incredible dominance of Beast Mode. The reason I say the decision was bad to keep Harvey in was mainly for two reasons. The first is when a pitch count nears or surpasses 100 pitches, then the pitcher is usually not as effective and batters figure him out thus the incredible rarity of no hitters. Also it doesn't help that Harvey spent a lot of time off with Tommy John surgery and one should never assume that a pitcher can go 9 innings in their top, pre-surgery form that often. This is the World Series and the Mets should have handed it off to the best reliever and Cy Young candidate Jeurys Familia who had 43 saves and a ridiculous 1.85 ERA.

Getting back into the World Series is an amazingly hard feat, even if the team wins it in a sweep one year. Keeping a team healthy, consistent, and motivated is close to impossible. The Red Sox couldn't do in 2005, the Yankees couldn't do it in 2010, the Giants couldn't do it in 2011, and the Cardinals couldn't do it in 2012. Some recent teams have done the World Series showings back to back like Texas in 2010 and 2011 and KC in 2014 and this year. If the Mets make it to the World Series in 2016, then the investment in Collins was well worth it.
 
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I think KC has an easier road to a repeat than the Mets do. The Cubs will be strong again. Toronto might slip next year. I don't know what to make of the rest of the AL East. The Yankees and Red Sox are a few years away. I guess Baltimore could become a front runner if they keep Davis and upgrade their pitching.

I don't know who in the AL has a great shot to take down KC.
 
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I would love the Giants to get former KC ace Greinke (now with LAD) and get into World Series against KC in their current lineup. It would be a great one, especially if Harvey and deGrom are healthy and ready to go. I would love to see Bumgarner on it and Cain fully rehabilitated and this would be one for the ages. Sometimes, usually most of the time, the best matchup in baseball at any point in season is often within a league. Boston vs. NYY during many times seemed to be the matchup of the two best as was some years of Giants versus Dodgers, both on west coast and back in east coast days. The NL Central was a real dogfight this year and arguably the best teams in baseball.
 
The team to watch out for the next few years is the Pirates. They are young and gaining experience every season. Add in a young Cubs team and you are setting up a huge rivalry. The Cardinals could become the odd team out in the central.
 
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MacNut said:
The team to watch out for the next few years is the Pirates. They are young and gaining experience every season. Add in a young Cubs team and you are setting up a huge rivalry. The Cardinals could become the odd team out in the central.
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Which is why I hope the Cardinals back a dump truck full of cash up to Jason Heyward's front porch. The NL Central is not going to be as easy as it used to be.
 
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The Pirates are a great team, but I honestly see them being stuck behind the Cardinals and Cubs for some time to come — and that's just within their own division. It's just not fair, is it?

The Giants declined to exercise their option on Marlon Byrd, which was expected. They also declined the option on Nori Aoki, which is a bit of a surprise. Now in addition to a clear #2 starting pitcher, the Giants clearly are in the market for an outfielder, and I am intrigued about which direction they may want to go in. Shoot the moon for Heyward or Gordon? Sign a guy who can play center like Dexter Fowler or Denard Span? Or give Jarrett Parker a clearer shot at a big league job?

For that #2 starter, Jordan Zimmerman seems like the perfect candidate. I don't see them throwing the necessary money at Greinke, as great as that would be. Also not really sold on Price or Cueto.
 
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Silencio said:
The Pirates are a great team, but I honestly see them being stuck behind the Cardinals and Cubs for some time to come — and that's just within their own division. It's just not fair, is it?

The Giants declined to exercise their option on Marlon Byrd, which was expected. They also declined the option on Nori Aoki, which is a bit of a surprise. Now in addition to a clear #2 starting pitcher, the Giants clearly are in the market for an outfielder, and I am intrigued about which direction they may want to go in. Shoot the moon for Heyward or Gordon? Sign a guy who can play center like Dexter Fowler or Denard Span? Or give Jarrett Parker a clearer shot at a big league job?

For that #2 starter, Jordan Zimmerman seems like the perfect candidate. I don't see them throwing the necessary money at Greinke, as great as that would be. Also not really sold on Price or Cueto.
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Between two long term injuries, Aoki had a stretch hitting an astonishing .657 which makes me wonder why we won't keep him. Giants need to get lots of base hits, too and can't just pitch.

I think our entire focus in SF will be getting Zack Greinke or David Price (offering them way more than any team can stand) and hope the hitting holds up to a mediocre level.

We have done well with just OK hitting and great pitching in the past. That means Posey and Pence will have to stay healthy and produce like they are playing for their last time in SF. If and when we get into postseason then our hitting will have to again magically get better while our pitching holds. It's a risky option to put it all in for one current Cy Younger, but it's our best option. If we kept Aoki, who is an insurance policy when either Posey or Pence have a slump, I would say a Greinke or Price would absolutely mean at least a wild card for 2016 postseason.

I can see:

Price or Greinke #1
Bumgarner #2
Heston #3
Cain or Peavy #4

...if we get into postseason

Hudson retired and Lincecum is done as a starter and is free agent.
 
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AustinIllini said:
I don't know whether or not the Cubs get Price, but I do think they won't be his highest bidder.
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Here's hoping the Giants get him. While he is overall more dangerous than Zack Greinke, taking Zack away from the superior (last three years) LA Dodgers is an extra bonus if SF gets Zack.

But either man would help a Lincecum-less rotation. Lincecum got too worn out too soon but that happens a lot with pitchers. We did it in early dynasty with Lincecum and Cain with Wilson as closer, then Cain and Zito with Romo as closer, then Bumgarner all by himself but with great bullpen. But with bullpen hero Affeldt out, we are in a hole. Next year we need somebody in a starting position to go with Bumgarner to make us reliable and Price or Greinke would be it.
 
As huge as Affeldt has been in the postseason for the Giants, I'm not too concerned about his retirement. Josh Osich will be an excellent replacement as the left-handed reliever who can also get righties out.

Yeah, I wouldn't mind Price at all. He hasn't had the post-season track record, but perhaps being around experienced winners will rub off on him.

There was an article somewhere a few months ago trying to make the case for clubhouse chemistry being an important factor on a winning team. The article focused heavily on the Giants, and the money quotes from opposing players observing the positive effects of the Giants clubhouse chemistry were from — you guessed it — Zack Greinke and David Price. They get it.

Don't think for a minute that the Giants will stand pat in the OF. Not exercising Aoki's option makes me think they have something else up their sleeve, and he can always be signed again later in the offseason if the other targets don't pan out (and some other team doesn't sign him first).
 
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Silencio said:
As huge as Affeldt has been in the postseason for the Giants, I'm not too concerned about his retirement. Josh Osich will be an excellent replacement as the left-handed reliever who can also get righties out.

Yeah, I wouldn't mind Price at all. He hasn't had the post-season track record, but perhaps being around experienced winners will rub off on him.

There was an article somewhere a few months ago trying to make the case for clubhouse chemistry being an important factor on a winning team. The article focused heavily on the Giants, and the money quotes from opposing players observing the positive effects of the Giants clubhouse chemistry were from — you guessed it — Zack Greinke and David Price. They get it.

Don't think for a minute that the Giants will stand pat in the OF. Not exercising Aoki's option makes me think they have something else up their sleeve, and he can always be signed again later in the offseason if the other targets don't pan out (and some other team doesn't sign him first).
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If we have Aoki and Price, or Aoki and Greinke at the start in 2016, we will get into the playoffs. Six teams of 30 got in like usual in 2015, but we were team number seven. It's just a slight adjustment as well as staying healthier and we are in, even if being the number six team.

We don't have to possess the most dominant team going into postseason and manager Bruce Boche has a way of maximizing what we do have and getting the job done. The Giants transformed into a different team in the three postseasons that we were in under Boche.

Aoki is somebody we need to keep. He posted and excellent career in Japan, and with what little time he has had here, he was on an AL winning pennant team as well as being the key batter for the World Series defending Giants this year. He won't come cheap but I think we can get a deal with him since the only thing left he hasn't achieved is a World Series win. We could shore up our pitchers with just one more ace, and our batting will be in great condition with Posey, Pence, and Aoki keeping it near or around .300 throughout the season.
 
Besides the obvious of Price and Greinke, we have our eye on NYM pitcher Steven Matz (2.27 ERA).

He's only 24 and that's a great thing with Lincecum (31), Affeldt (36), and Hudson (40) having left in 2015. The downside is that he has already had Tommy John surgery. I don't know how much of a price tag he will bring, or if he will be effective for 2016.

Between our main targets Price and Greinke, Price is the younger of the two by two years at age 30. But competition will be tough to get either. There will be incentive for somebody in the NL Central to get one of those premier pitchers to pull ahead of the pack in that powerful division.
 
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With murphy declining the Mets offer for next season, Mets now have room to re-built the team. Dilson Herrera would be a superb replacement, good young player. Mets also have a bigger budget for 2016.
 
Centaurr said:
With murphy declining the Mets offer for next season, Mets now have room to re-built the team. Dilson Herrera would be a superb replacement, good young player. Mets also have a bigger budget for 2016.
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Is he too much or did somebody give him a better offer?
 
63dot said:
Is he too much or did somebody give him a better offer?
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The Mets were never interested in bringing him back, even before his torrid postseason this year. He's going to be this year's Pablo Sandoval IMHO. I haven't read about concrete offers, but thought I saw that the Dodgers might be interested in him.

In other news, Andrelton Simmons got dealt to the Angels. I went from thinking Brandon Crawford would never win a Gold Glove, to thinking he has a clear run of multiple Gold Gloves for the next few years.
 
63dot said:
Is he too much or did somebody give him a better offer?
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Murphy wants a long term contract in which the Mets are not gonna give him. But since he is hot rite now, he is taking advantage of that and see if another team will offer him a long term. That is why he declined the Mets offer
 
Centaurr said:
Murphy wants a long term contract in which the Mets are not gonna give him. But since he is hot rite now, he is taking advantage of that and see if another team will offer him a long term. That is why he declined the Mets offer
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We lost Sandoval and that may have bit us. It's been suggested that Murphy could help us with infielders who can hit. We have Pagan, Pence, and hopefully (reinstate) Aoki in outfield to be our production hitters, and we should have a baseman who can hit steadily. Our pitching needs an ace to replace Lincecum pre-2013.
 
Speaking of Crawdaddy, he signed a fairly team-friendly 6 year contract extension. He could have made more on the open free agent market in a couple of years, but he grew up a Giants fan in San Jose and is living the dream.

Here he is at age 5, rocking his 1989 pennant winner's shirt and glumly contemplating the sacreligious thought of the Tampa Bay Giants:

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