Farmer1906 said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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AggiEE said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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AggiEE said:

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kegstand said:

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Giving a journeyman reliever a 3 year contract coming off a career year is…interesting

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Yeah…I worry that Montero just had an outlier year….

I am not sure his stuff is that good, just managed to get a bit lucky…. He got into some big jams in the postseason

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Walks is his only major flaw. He's got great velo, extension, fastball spin, and a rare true 4 pitch mix.

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Good point. I just wonder why he was hot garbage before he got to Houston…still mostly about walks?

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Good question. I've never looked it up I might do that sometime

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Why is Montero so good all of a sudden?

Here are a few of my observations.

#1 Velo shot way up. This isn't uncommon for a starter moving to the bullpen. It's probably the expected outcome more often than not. In 2014 he was a 92-93 guy with the sinker & 4 seam. Now he's more like 96-97.

#2 Walks were cut down. It's still an issue for him with an 8.5 BB% (40th percentile), but from '14-'16 it was 10.9%, 17.2%, & 12.2%.

#3 He's not throwing too many strikes. This goes against #2, but when Montero switched from starter to BP, he fixed his walk problem. He got BB% down to 4.4%. But his soft contract disappeared. He got lit up like a Christmas tree. xwOBA on Contract north of .4 in '19 & '20.

#4 He started attacking lefties and righties differently. Vs RHH he's sinker heavy with a mix of 4 seam and sliders. Almost never throws the change-up. vs LHH it's 4 seam 2/3 of the time and change up 1/3 then pretty much nothing else. Down the stretch fo 2022, it was almost 50/50 4 seam to the changeup.

My guess is the biggest impact is #4. #4 started happening in 2021. The thing is, he had some terrible luck. His ERA was north of 6 when his xERA was mid 3s. The only problem in 2021 was he wasn't getting the swing and miss & strikeouts until he got to Houston. I haven't quite put my finger on what changed from LAA to HOU, but K% shot from 18% to 24%.

This should be a big feather in the cap of Click (?) or someone in the Houston brain trust who identified him and then took him to the next level.

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irish pete ag06 said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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I'll wear it as a badge of honor. Jeter was ridiculously overrated. His gold gloves are hollow. If he played in Minnesota he might not have even been a first ballot HOFer. Carlos was 100% correct when discussing Jeter.

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Agreed farmer.

He would have definitely been a hall of famer based on counting stats.

Honestly, he's Craig Biggio playing short stop.

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Harry Dunne said:

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irish pete ag06 said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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I'll wear it as a badge of honor. Jeter was ridiculously overrated. His gold gloves are hollow. If he played in Minnesota he might not have even been a first ballot HOFer. Carlos was 100% correct when discussing Jeter.

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Agreed farmer.

He would have definitely been a hall of famer based on counting stats.

Honestly, he's Craig Biggio playing short stop.

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it's crazy how similar their career numbers are, Biggio and Jeter. The main difference (aside from where they played) is how they played in the postseason.

The main difference between those two guys and Carlos is that they showed up and played nearly every day for 20 years straight. That, and they didn't need to diminish anyone else's achievements to make themselves feel better.

Carlos isn't wrong about Jeter being overrated defensively, but it was petty and unnecessary to say it on the record. Very ARod-like, as others have mentioned.

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Clubs promoting top prospects to Opening Day rosters will be eligible to receive Draft picks if the player finishes in the Top 3 in the Rookie of the Year voting or Top 5 in MVP/Cy Young voting.

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Quote:

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Pre-arbitration bonus pool

$50 million (to be distributed to the top 100 players based on awards and statistical performance).

MLB and the MLBPA will jointly develop a statistical method to allocate the funds.

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What I’m hearing…https://t.co/08bKxj5gv2

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 15, 2022

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Verlander, who personally negotiated his free-agent deal with Astros owner Jim Crane while vacationing in Italy last offseason, seemed a good bet to re-sign quickly with the Astros. But it has not happened, perhaps because Verlander sees the potential for lucrative opportunities with the Mets, Yankees and Dodgers, among others.

The likely AL Cy Young winner, who turns 40 on Feb. 20, could be a short-term, high-dollar fit for any of those clubs. The Mets face the losses in free agency not just of deGrom, but also Chris Bassitt and Taijuan Walker. The Yankees declined to pursue Verlander at the 2017 trade deadline and missed on him in free agency last offseason. The Dodgers might pursue Verlander if Tyler Anderson rejects their $19.65 million qualifying offer and heck, even if he accepts, too.

The Mets, Yankees and Dodgers all exceeded the luxury-tax threshold last season, so the signing of Verlander would cost any of those teams its second- and fifth-highest picks, as well as $1 million from its international bonus pool. Those teams would receive a pick after the fourth round for every free agent who rejects their own qualifying offer and signs with another club.

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The Astros have identified Anthony Rizzo as their No. 1 free-agent target at first base. They also are considering Yuli Gurriel and Jos Abreu, but signing Rizzo would serve the dual purpose of bolstering their own roster while weakening the Yankees'.

Rizzo, 33, faces an interesting decision on whether to return to the Yankees. If he accepts the team's qualifying offer, he would earn a higher one-year salary than he might receive in a multi-year deal. He then could spend another season hitting at Yankee Stadium, while also benefitting from the new shift restrictions, and re-enter the market without a qualifying offer. A player cannot receive one twice.

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Ag_07 said:

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I took the JV talk as he expected him to sign during the exclusive negotiating period but now that he hasn't he's betting his options.

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spadilly said:

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I have no worries about JV. I think he gets some offers from other teams, walks into Crane's office, shows those numbers, and Crane matches or exceeds them and it's signed right then and there.

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spadilly said:

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I have no worries about JV. I think he gets some offers from other teams, walks into Crane's office, shows those numbers, and Crane matches or exceeds them and it's signed right then and there.

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CFTXAG10 said:

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The Astros have identified Anthony Rizzo as their No. 1 free-agent target at first base, per @Ken_Rosenthal pic.twitter.com/uMkUlsQsYU

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) November 15, 2022

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