'14 AL Central Smack Talk Thread

[da55bums]

Nolasco is a good signing by the Twins, but let's be real... he is 31 this month and is a career 4.37 ERA pitcher in the NL (cashing in on a decent 3.70 mark last season). Porcello is 25 this month, and is a career 4.51 ERA pitcher in the AL. Not a whole lot of gap there. If Nolasco is a #1 starter in Minny, Porcello would be a #1A. The Twins are still in trouble if they are counting on Nolasco to carry them.

the twins can only go up...they can't get in much more trouble...their staff is improved by either one of them.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

the twins can only go up...they can't get in much more trouble...their staff is improved by either one of them.

Have to be concerned about such a commitment to Nolasco if you are a Twins fan, but the potential rewards are great too.

 

[da55bums]

Tigers seem to finally be going after RP but replacing Fister, for the regular season, will be interesting but they now have a postseason built team now. They just need a set up man or two and they may become the top team to win it.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

The Rumor mill is getting wacky today is all I can say.

 

[da55bums]

I thought the Fielder trade was great but they just balanced that out with the Fister trade....getting Nathan was definately a plus but they still need MR and even more now that Fister is gone and they may have more relief innings available.

If those Twins get B Anderson, they are going to be annoying to everone this year, looks like they are going to try and set up for the prospects they have coming.

The white sox are really quite?

 

[Howie115]

Tigers seem to finally be going after RP but replacing Fister, for the regular season, will be interesting but they now have a postseason built team now. They just need a set up man or two and they may become the top team to win it.

Well, the Tigers have a closer with the Nathan deal. It would be nice to also re-sign Benoit for setup, because we currently have Bruce Rondon and Ian Krol -- about 29 innings of big-league experience each -- as our RH and LH setup guys. Scary.

 

[CaptO]

The white sox are really quiet?

So's the Tribe. Starting to worry me. Lost 2 starters, gained a right fielder... Sorry - Masterson, McAllister & Salazar cant carry the load. & we still need a closer

The silence from the FO is deafening...

 

[da55bums]

Well, the Tigers have a closer with the Nathan deal. It would be nice to also re-sign Benoit for setup, because we currently have Bruce Rondon and Ian Krol -- about 29 innings of big-league experience each -- as our RH and LH setup guys. Scary.

not sold on Rondon or Krol yet...Benoit would be a great choice but they still need another proven guy to go with him.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

So's the Tribe. Starting to worry me. Lost 2 starters, gained a right fielder... Sorry - Masterson, McAllister & Salazar cant carry the load. & we still need a closer

The silence from the FO is deafening...

They must have allot of confidence (probably too much) in the young arms...

 

[da55bums]

So's the Tribe. Starting to worry me. Lost 2 starters, gained a right fielder... Sorry - Masterson, McAllister & Salazar cant carry the load. & we still need a closer

The silence from the FO is deafening...

Yeah, after starting things off with Murphy...the indians went into the tipees to smoke something and talk.

 

[Howie115]

not sold on Rondon or Krol yet...Benoit would be a great choice but they still
need another proven guy to go with him.

I would have been down with the Tigers dealing Fister for Aaron Crow from the Royals, but I get that Dombrowski didn't want to send Doug to a division opponent.

 

[da55bums]

I would have been down with the Tigers dealing Fister for Aaron Crow from the Royals, but I get that Dombrowski didn't want to send Doug to a division opponent.

He would have been booted for that, especially if the Royals happened to top them for the Central...wouldn't matter what his track record was...someone would have said "get a rope"

But Fister should even have gotten much better than Crow...heck I would have gave up even Holland if Fister would agree to 3 years 24 million before the deal was made.

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

Rumor in the last couple hours is -- Detroit has made it known that Shin Soo Choo is their top FA target. Sounds like it was Ellsbury or Choo, but after the monster deal NY just gave Ellsbury, he is off the table.

I'm all for the Tigers signing Choo. I just hope they don't go overboard. 5 years 90 million or 6 years 100 million sounds pretty fair for a guy like Choo. After seeing Ellsbury get 153 million though -- the price for Choo most likely went up.

While Choo isn't as flashy as Ellsbury -- he gets on base more consistently, hits for more power and has a stronger arm. Ellsbury is much faster, though Choo still gets you 15-20 steals and is better defensively.

I would think Choo would be a much safer signing -- as he has attributes that should hold up thru a 5 or 6 year contract, as he doesn't rely on his legs as much as Ellsbury and has shown to be much more durable.

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

Just reading an article on Ellsbury and Choo -- didn't realize Choo was represented by Boras too. I guess we can forget about the 90-100 million dollar deal after the contract Ellsbury received.

I also read this tidbit which pretty much squashed my thoughts on getting Choo for anything less than 20 million a year:

Choo, who turns 32 in July, has a .392 OBP and .851 OPS over the last five years compared to a .352 OBP and .798 OPS for Ellsbury, 30. Choo has also played in 157 more games than Ellsbury in that span.

I sure hope the Tigers don't go overboard on Choo, but I have a feeling they will. He would fill the final hole for position players and with Illitch really wanting a championship, i'm guessing he is opening up the wallet.

 

[Howie115]

But Fister should even have gotten much better than Crow...heck I would have
gave up even Holland if Fister would agree to 3 years 24 million before the deal
was made.

A really good groundball pitcher in the NL... Fister will easily be the #3 in Washington. Perhaps even a #2.

 

[Howie115]

I sure hope the Tigers don't go overboard on Choo, but I have a feeling they will. He would fill the final hole for position players and with Illitch really wanting a championship, i'm guessing he is opening up the wallet.

It almost sounds like the salary gains from the Fielder and Fister deals were done to sign Nathan and Choo. Maybe 5 years and $95 mill for Choo with a 6th year club option at $20 mill. I'll take that .390 OBP at the top of our order. Kinsler #2. Move Torii to the 5-hole and A-jax 6th or 7th.

 

[da55bums]

It almost sounds like the salary gains from the Fielder and Fister deals were done to sign Nathan and Choo. Maybe 5 years and $95 mill for Choo with a 6th year club option at $20 mill. I'll take that .390 OBP at the top of our order. Kinsler #2. Move Torii to the 5-hole and A-jax 6th or 7th.

If the Tigers sign Choo and get Benoit and another quality RP, forgettaboutit, they have a WS built team finally and probably care less about just giving away fister. If they actually pull off getting a ring, nobody will care either, lol.

 

[da55bums]

Not only the White Sox being quite.....what happened to "Epsteiny and the Cubs" (by elton john)? Theo is completely absent at this point.

 

[CaptO]

Not only the White Sox being quite.....what happened to "Epsteiny and the Cubs" (by elton john)? Theo is completely absent at this point.

Very un-Theo like to be so quiet. Maybe they fired him & nobody knows about it yet

 

[Fountain City Blues]

Very un-Theo like to be so quiet. Maybe they fired him & nobody knows about it yet

Cubs Sign Wesley Wright

By Jeff Todd [December 4 at 8:35pm CST]
The Cubs have signed left-handed reliever Wesley Wright to a one-year deal believed to be for $1.425MM, [ame="[MEDIA=twitter]408423468804210688[/MEDIA]"]tweets[/ame] Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Wright, who was recently non-tendered by the Rays, is represented by Reynolds Sports Management.
The 28-year-old came to Tampa for the stretch last year after he was traded via waiver claim from the Astros. He posted a combined 3.69 ERA in 53 2/3 innings for the two clubs. As one might expect, Wright has historically been much more effective against lefties. When facing same-handed hitters, he has posted a career 3.11 K:BB ratio while surrendering only a .655 OPS.
Entering the off-season with 4.105 days of service, Wright was projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $1.4MM in arbitration. Since Wright will fall shy of qualifying for free agency following next year, the Cubs will also have future control over their new left-hander.