If you feel like you are getting into “last-minute” territory on securing Christmas gifts, here’s your section on Amazon that covers you. I’m mostly good, I think, because of The Wife (thanks, dear!), but I’m perusing stocking-stuffer-type things for the kids. #ad
In theory, this should be another busy week around baseball. We have already seen some of the work that was done at the Winter Meetings turning into completed deals late last week, and there is likely still quite a bit more that got to the two-yard line and will now get into the end zone. That’s both because of the waterfall effect, and also because of the practical human realities: a lot of players want to have deals in place for next year before Christmas. And a lot of front offices – all else equal! – like to have certain work wrapped up before Christmas. So this week, being the last full week before Christmas AND the week after the Winter Meetings, figures to be transaction-heavy. For the Cubs, that could mean a Cody Bellinger deal gets done, a Jesus Luzardo trade happens, a bullpen signing comes to fruition, and/or some other surprises. As transformative as last week was for the organization, it’s entirely possible that this week could be even more transformative for the 2025 roster. There’s just a lot that Jed Hoyer and Carter Hawkins seem to want to coordinate and pull off, so I’m fascinated to watch it unfold. Bill Madden of the NY Daily News offers a pretty crazy report about the Juan Soto pursuit from the Yankees’ side. Here’s a small and jarring selection:“The Yankees finally realized that as the negotiations reached the nitty-gritty stage last Sunday night when they were already in far beyond their comfort zone at $700 million and were told by Soto’s agent Scott Boras they would have to pony up a $60 million signing bonus if they were to remain competitive with three other clubs in the bidding, the Mets, Red Sox and Blue Jays. Hal Steinbrenner gulped hard, talked it over with Yankee president Randy Levine and GM Brian Cashman and reluctantly agreed, only to be told that other clubs had also agreed to a provision that would allow them to void the opt-out after the fifth year in exchange for adding another $4 million per year salary to Soto for the remainder of the contract. Again, they reluctantly agreed but said they would have to add another year to the contract in order to keep the annual average value for them at $47.5 million.
It was at this point when they were informed that Soto’s mother, Belkis Pacheco, who had become the driving force in the negotiations, insisted the Yankees throw in a suite at Yankee Stadium for the entire 15 years of the contract. That was when Hal Steinbrenner said something to the effect: ‘We’re gonna pay you $760 million and you can’t afford to pay for your own suite? We don’t give away suites (which range from $600,000 to $1 million) at Yankee Stadium,’ while adding that Aaron Judge, Derek Jeter and CC Sabathia all had suites at Yankee Stadium which they paid for themselves, as well as for premier seats in the Legends section behind home plate.”
I think it’s important to note that, in the end, the Mets’ offer was financially much stronger than the Yankees’ (more guaranteed money and over one fewer year), but it would be pretty wild on both sides if a free suite played a significant role in killing the deal. It felt from the jump like Steve Cohen was not going to be outbid for Juan Soto no matter what happened, so I’m not sure how much any of this would’ve mattered in the end. As I mentioned this weekend, I could see a Yoan Moncada flyer making sense for the Cubs now that third base is open – you don’t mind a cheap move to create a little competition at the spot, while also making sure it’s not a guy who would block Matt Shaw if he’s clearly ready. Moncada, who missed most of last season (and a lot before that, too) with injury, was presumably trying to showcase himself this winter in Puerto Rico, but:Yoan Moncada won???t play again in the Puerto Rican winter league after taking a foul ball to his right foot on Sunday. He and his agency want to avoid injuries. Moncada could reach an agreement with an MLB team in the coming days. pic.twitter.com/OViqlHzcaD
— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) December 15, 2024 Just gonna reiterate that a Moncada signing would have to be a cheap flyer. Not any kind of expectation. I really hope the Cubs don’t regret letting this guy go:New #Braves right-hander Enoli Paredes officially ends his winter league season after putting up a 1.17 ERA for Estrellas Orientales of the Dominican Winter League t.co/YLCoO2eQru
— Lindsay Crosby, big baseball guy (@CrosbyBaseball) December 15, 2024 As Brad humorously points out, the Cubs went from having 2 Paredes to 0 Paredes in barely over a month. The Nationals have a lot of young positional talent, but the pitching projects to be a mess (I guess as does everything on offense beside the talented youth):2025 ZiPS Projections: Washington Nationals t.co/0t3xXIf4An
— FanGraphs Baseball (@fangraphs) December 16, 2024 If you were curious, old friend DJ Herz projects relatively poorly, which doesn’t quite align with his early-career success (projects at nearly 10% worse than league average on the results side, despite his peripherals last year being nearly 10% better than league average). The Cubs were willing to part with Herz in the Jeimer Candelario trade in part because they seemed to feel he was a reliever long-term. The Nationals are challenging that presumption, and last year they were rewarded for it. We’ll see about this year. I found this funny:You know, even *I* sometimes feel people lean too hard on the Savant sliders for analysis when there's a lot of other things that go into it, but also sometimes they tell the exact right story, Vlad 2024 baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-playe…[image or embed]
— Mike Petriello (@mikepetriello.bsky.social) December 16, 2024 at 10:45 AMMORE FROM BLEACHER NATION: Check Out BN Fantasy | Subscribe to The BN Newsletter
Trade rumor season arrives in the NBA, and here’s what the Bulls reportedly want for Nikola Vucevic. Thoughts on the youth movement for the Blackhawks. The Bears have already ruled out three players for Monday Night Football. Read More Details
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