Did I miss this being discussed? NYY offers Cole 7/$245. Gotta think an 8th year from LAA would seal the deal.

Marvin said:

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Did I miss this being discussed? NYY offers Cole 7/$245. Gotta think an 8th year from LAA would seal the deal.

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Yea I don't think 7/$245 is going to be nearly enough. Yankees might have a little room to increase that but I think the Angels will be willing to tack on an 8th or even a 9th year to lock him up.

Yankees management wants to make the "record offer" to let their fans know they tried.

Whoever this guy's source is (likely from the Yankees org) seems to be strongly insinuating that tack on years are coming from one of the LA teams.

Cole getting 300+ million

bullard21k said:

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Cole getting 300+ million

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I highly doubt it

If he gets a 9th year, then yes. If it's only 8, then it'll probably be less than $300.

cc10106 said:

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The Stanton contract is a problem. Poor Yankees.

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All that money for the what 10 games he played?

Ag_07 said:

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cc10106 said:

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The Stanton contract is a problem. Poor Yankees.

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All that money for the what 10 games he played?

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440k an at bat.

Who is Lunow going to add ala Fires (I know he's an ass hole), Morton, Cole, even Miley who were big for us in the rotation?

We could always resign Miley.

Farmer1906 said:

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We could always resign Miley.

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Rustys-Beef-o-Reeno said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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We could always resign Miley.

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You prefer to trade for Fiers?

Farmer1906 said:

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We could always resign Miley.

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I wonder if he'd take a deal without a roster guarantee. If so, I'd sign up for that and see what he shows in spring training. Obviously he'd have to earn his spot in the rotation though.

More offseason fun...

The Wilson Contreras trade idea is getting more intriguing to me. The Cubs already have big money locked up in Heyward, Lester, Darvish, Hendricks and Kimbrel over the next few years. They also have Baez, KB and Rizzo about to come due for big raises. Needless to say, they need to clear some space.

Contreras is set to make $5 million in 2020, with likely raises to ~$9 million in 2021 and ~$13 million in 2022.

The Astros are very tight on 2020 cash too but have some money coming off the books the next few years and could potentially absorb Contreras's contract. I was wondering if maybe Luhnow might try to slip Reddick into a deal like this. As in, the Cubs take the ~$8 million hit in 2020 by picking up Reddick's $13 relative to Contreras's $5, but then the Cubs are off the hook for the ~$22 owed to Contreras the following two years.

Obviously in no world would the Cubs trade Reddick for Contreras straight up. The Astros would need to include some major league caliber players on cheap contracts. Guys like Valdez, James, Toro or Martes might make sense for the Cubs. Maybe Stubbs too since we already signed Garneau. But I think the pieces are there to potentially make it work.

I think alot of this depends on what Chirinos is asking for. If he's looking for a multi-year deal, our front office might be inclined to let him walk. Not sure. If we don't retain Chirinos, I had been assuming that we'd be fine settling for a guy like Maldy or Castro and park him in the 9 hole, but if there's an opportunity pickup a young all star caliber catcher like Contreras and clear Reddick's 2020 salary at the same time (which saves $$ to use on pitching), that might be worth it.

Then our new lineup of death would be: 1) Springer, 2) Altuve, 3) Brantley, 4) Bregman, 5) Alvarez, 6) Yuli, 7) Correa, 8) Contreras, 9) Tucker. Yikes.

I just can't see he Cubs giving up Contreras without getting some major prospects for him.

Farmer1906 said:

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I just can't see he Cubs giving up Contreras without getting some major prospects for him.

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You might be right. I just think the league knows the Cubs financial situation over the next few years and it will be tough for them to get fair value for him. That might just mean that he ultimately won't get traded. Not sure.

I was kinda thinking they would want some cheap guys who are major league ready rather than prospects who may not be ready for a few years. They have alot of $$ committed and are likely in win-now mode. That's why I was thinking they might be intrigued by James specifically. Cheap with many years of control. Playoff experience. Great stuff with some upside still left.

I'm preparing myself for a nothingburger of an offseason... which will lead to a 91 win season, a quick exit in the divisional round, and the last echoes of a great run. Maybe the culmination of the WS loss, #cheatgate, the Ryans leaving, starting pitching, right field, catcher and the bullpen have me fairly despondent. And those vids of Correa gyrating in front of his new bride over the weekend didn't help- I fully expect him to report in February with severe back spasms.

Man, I sound like Eeyore. I read several pages of the Rangers thread so maybe that rubbed off on me. I really need to step back and trust Luhnow to figure it out, haha.

Marvin said:

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Man, I sound like Eeyore. I read several pages of the Rangers thread so maybe that rubbed off on me. I really need to step back and trust Luhnow to figure it out, haha.

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No way man...you sound exactly like Marvin!

Ag_07 said:

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Marvin said:

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Man, I sound like Eeyore Nuke.

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FIFY

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Haha, fair enough. Attitude adjusted... although this last comment was just a bit below the belt, don't you think?!

Deluxe said:

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JV/Greinke/LMJ will be among the most elite top-of-rotation starters.

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I'm really looking forward to McCullers coming back. You are spot-on there.

Any word on expectations for Whitley? I don't remember seeing anything in terms of where he might fit next year, be it AA, AAA or a legitimate shot at the rotation. In case this wasn't already posted, here is the summary from his fall league stint as the top rated pitcher:

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5. Forrest Whitley, RHP, Peoria (Astros No. 1/MLB No. 16)
No. 2 on this list a year ago, Whitley returned after a regular season in which he logged a 7.99 ERA and missed nearly two months with shoulder inflammation. He topped the AFL in strikeouts (32 in 25 innings) for the second straight year, demonstrating improved command and more consistent mechanics. The stuff is still there, too: a four-seam fastball that ranges from 93-98 mph, a cutter and a changeup that seem allergic to bats, and a curveball and a slider that can be plus pitches when they're on.

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Some comments on his fall performance:

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"I'm accomplishing all the goals that I initially set for myself in the Fall League," said Whitley, ranked No. 16 on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects list. "I'm not putting guys on base via the walk, I'm limiting the amount of pitches per inning. Those were the main two goals."

Whitley also topped the AFL in strikeouts (36 in 26 innings) last offseason, when he was the consensus top pitching prospect in baseball. Expected to contribute to the Astros' pursuit of a second World Series championship in three years, he instead endured a disastrous 2019. He battled his command and missed seven weeks with shoulder inflammation while logging a combined 7.99 ERA with 86 strikeouts and 44 walks in 59 2/3 innings at four different levels of the Minors.

So instead of pitching in the playoffs, the 22-year-old Whitley is back in the Fall League and once again looking like someone who can help Houston in the very near future. Against Salt River, he worked at 93-96 mph with his four-seam fastball and had little difficulty throwing that pitch, his cutter and changeup for strikes. His breaking stuff was a little less reliable, as he was getting on top of his slider a bit too much and he had more success with his curveball, but both offerings sat in the mid-80s.

After Whitley's shoulder started bothering him early in the season, he focused on maintaining a better posture in his upper body. It took a while but he's finally comfortable with his new delivery.

"It was awkward coming back from that into full-season ball, just really inconsistent, walking a lot of guys," said Whitley, the 17th overall pick in the 2016 Draft as a Texas high schooler. "But the stuff was still there, so I kept working at it; working at it, and I'm coming into my own here with the new mechanics and throwing more strikes than I was. Now I don't even have to try to think about it, whereas two months ago I was really fighting bad habits."

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Strasburg stays in Washington...

bearkatag15 said:

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Strasburg stays in Washington...

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Chump change relative to what Cole is about to get

I think this is a big year for Whitley. He'll have an opportunity to compete for a spot in the rotation to start the season but I think the overwhelming odds are he starts at AAA and gets called up mid June at the earliest (get that extra arb year). We'll need to limit his innings early in the year regardless, so makes sense to keep him at AAA for a while.

I'm not putting too much in his AFL performance. He did well last fall but that didn't translate to much success in the minors last year. Sounds like his command still needs some work. If he hasn't solidified his spot on the big league roster by the end of the year, I think there's legit cause for concern. But hopefully he takes a big step.

Deluxe said:

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bearkatag15 said:

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Strasburg stays in Washington...

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Chump change relative to what Cole is about to get

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Interesting that Strasburg gets exactly what the Yankees offered Cole. Not suspicious at all.

Also, regarding Cole, he'll now get more AAV and at least an extra year. He might get $300 before it's over.

Ag_07 said:

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Yeah Cole will get $300MM

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Only if he signed for 9+. Even then, maybe not.

I put it in the other thread but my guess is 7 years 252 or 8 years 280.

I'd put Cole at 300+million around 0.02%

My guess is 8/$290 for Cole.

Im pretty sure we all know the answer but given cranes comments about taking a stab at Cole.... I. Wonder if we even offered anything. We all knew he was gone, but just curious