2016 MLB Offseason Thread

[SKO]

Might be worth picking up the surprisingly non-tendered Tyson Ross and betting on a bounceback from injury.

No risk, potential for high reward. I'd do it in a heartbeat.

The Cubs made attempts over the past couple years to acquire right-hander Tyson Ross from the Padres and could pursue him in free agency, according to Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago. "The Padres were close to trading Ross to the Cubs for Starlin Castro," a major league source who worked for one of the teams told Levine. "San Diego execs were mixed on asking for Castro or Javier Baez. The deal went down to the wire in late July of 2015 but never got to the point of exchanging medicals." Ross was a front-of-the-rotation starter at that point, but he only threw 5 1/3 innings last season and is currently recovering from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery. The Padres non-tendered him Friday.

Yep. Whoever signs him will (my guess, FWIW) sign him to a minor league deal to see if he can come back in 2017 with an eye toward him being productive in 2018. If he can come all the way back (granted, unlikely), you've got a cheap top-of-the-rotation guy.

The problem with that is everyone else will want to sign him to a minor league deal too. I think he'll get guaranteed money and an MLB roster spot. He's supposed to be ready to pitch by April or even spring training so it's not like he's expected to miss half of the year.

Has anybody ever been an effective athlete following thoracic outlet syndrome surgery? I wouldn't want to blow a roster spot on finding out if he can.

Hopefully Jepstink walk away if the bidding gets too rich.

Wikipedia provides the following list, apparently in no particular order.

Tyson Ross (SD)
Matt Harvey (NYM)
Luke Hochevar (KC)
Phil Hughes (MIN)
Mike Foltynewicz (ATL)
Chris Carpenter (STL)
Jaime Garcia (ATL)
Josh Beckett
Shaun Marcum
Matt Harrison (PHI)
Clayton Richard (SD)
Noah Lowry
Chris Young

Those are all people who have had it, not people have come back from it successfully, obviously, since Ross and Harvey head off the list. Garcia and Beckett are about the only two who had it and came back to pitch at anything resembling their former selves. Garcia's always been a junkballer anyway, Beckett had a mediocre 2014 (2.88 ERA but 4.33 FIP) after the surgery before hanging it up.

It sure seems like a death sentence, but Ross and Harvey are arguably the first two who were young and had elite stuff before they got hurt (the surgery ended Carpenter's career, but he was also like 36 and coming off like 20 other arm injuries) so their recovery is worth monitoring.

Young won Comeback Player of the Year after having it. So there's a chance.

But a team that's in the business of winning championships probably wouldn't want to give up a roster spot to find out.

I'm sure Oakland is more likely to try a Sign and Flip like they did with Rich Hill.

[Quality Start Machine]

Might be worth picking up the surprisingly non-tendered Tyson Ross and betting on a bounceback from injury.

No risk, potential for high reward. I'd do it in a heartbeat.

The Cubs made attempts over the past couple years to acquire right-hander Tyson Ross from the Padres and could pursue him in free agency, according to Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago. "The Padres were close to trading Ross to the Cubs for Starlin Castro," a major league source who worked for one of the teams told Levine. "San Diego execs were mixed on asking for Castro or Javier Baez. The deal went down to the wire in late July of 2015 but never got to the point of exchanging medicals." Ross was a front-of-the-rotation starter at that point, but he only threw 5 1/3 innings last season and is currently recovering from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery. The Padres non-tendered him Friday.

Yep. Whoever signs him will (my guess, FWIW) sign him to a minor league deal to see if he can come back in 2017 with an eye toward him being productive in 2018. If he can come all the way back (granted, unlikely), you've got a cheap top-of-the-rotation guy.

The problem with that is everyone else will want to sign him to a minor league deal too. I think he'll get guaranteed money and an MLB roster spot. He's supposed to be ready to pitch by April or even spring training so it's not like he's expected to miss half of the year.

Has anybody ever been an effective athlete following thoracic outlet syndrome surgery? I wouldn't want to blow a roster spot on finding out if he can.

Hopefully Jepstink walk away if the bidding gets too rich.

Wikipedia provides the following list, apparently in no particular order.

Tyson Ross (SD)
Matt Harvey (NYM)
Luke Hochevar (KC)
Phil Hughes (MIN)
Mike Foltynewicz (ATL)
Chris Carpenter (STL)
Jaime Garcia (ATL)
Josh Beckett
Shaun Marcum
Matt Harrison (PHI)
Clayton Richard (SD)
Noah Lowry
Chris Young

Those are all people who have had it, not people have come back from it successfully, obviously, since Ross and Harvey head off the list. Garcia and Beckett are about the only two who had it and came back to pitch at anything resembling their former selves. Garcia's always been a junkballer anyway, Beckett had a mediocre 2014 (2.88 ERA but 4.33 FIP) after the surgery before hanging it up.

It sure seems like a death sentence, but Ross and Harvey are arguably the first two who were young and had elite stuff before they got hurt (the surgery ended Carpenter's career, but he was also like 36 and coming off like 20 other arm injuries) so their recovery is worth monitoring.

Young won Comeback Player of the Year after having it. So there's a chance.

But a team that's in the business of winning championships probably wouldn't want to give up a roster spot to find out.

I'm sure Oakland is more likely to try a Sign and Flip like they did with Rich Hill.

Why wouldn't San Diego have just done a keep & flip if they thought he had anything?

[SKO]

Might be worth picking up the surprisingly non-tendered Tyson Ross and betting on a bounceback from injury.

No risk, potential for high reward. I'd do it in a heartbeat.

The Cubs made attempts over the past couple years to acquire right-hander Tyson Ross from the Padres and could pursue him in free agency, according to Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago. "The Padres were close to trading Ross to the Cubs for Starlin Castro," a major league source who worked for one of the teams told Levine. "San Diego execs were mixed on asking for Castro or Javier Baez. The deal went down to the wire in late July of 2015 but never got to the point of exchanging medicals." Ross was a front-of-the-rotation starter at that point, but he only threw 5 1/3 innings last season and is currently recovering from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery. The Padres non-tendered him Friday.

Yep. Whoever signs him will (my guess, FWIW) sign him to a minor league deal to see if he can come back in 2017 with an eye toward him being productive in 2018. If he can come all the way back (granted, unlikely), you've got a cheap top-of-the-rotation guy.

The problem with that is everyone else will want to sign him to a minor league deal too. I think he'll get guaranteed money and an MLB roster spot. He's supposed to be ready to pitch by April or even spring training so it's not like he's expected to miss half of the year.

Has anybody ever been an effective athlete following thoracic outlet syndrome surgery? I wouldn't want to blow a roster spot on finding out if he can.

Hopefully Jepstink walk away if the bidding gets too rich.

Wikipedia provides the following list, apparently in no particular order.

Tyson Ross (SD)
Matt Harvey (NYM)
Luke Hochevar (KC)
Phil Hughes (MIN)
Mike Foltynewicz (ATL)
Chris Carpenter (STL)
Jaime Garcia (ATL)
Josh Beckett
Shaun Marcum
Matt Harrison (PHI)
Clayton Richard (SD)
Noah Lowry
Chris Young

Those are all people who have had it, not people have come back from it successfully, obviously, since Ross and Harvey head off the list. Garcia and Beckett are about the only two who had it and came back to pitch at anything resembling their former selves. Garcia's always been a junkballer anyway, Beckett had a mediocre 2014 (2.88 ERA but 4.33 FIP) after the surgery before hanging it up.

It sure seems like a death sentence, but Ross and Harvey are arguably the first two who were young and had elite stuff before they got hurt (the surgery ended Carpenter's career, but he was also like 36 and coming off like 20 other arm injuries) so their recovery is worth monitoring.

Young won Comeback Player of the Year after having it. So there's a chance.

But a team that's in the business of winning championships probably wouldn't want to give up a roster spot to find out.

I'm sure Oakland is more likely to try a Sign and Flip like they did with Rich Hill.

Why wouldn't San Diego have just done a keep & flip if they thought he had anything?

San Diego appears to be hemorrhaging salary and preparing for the full-on tank right now, so paying him whatever he was likely to get in arbitration (probably north of 10 mil a year) would have been more than they were willing to commit in the chance that he sucked and they were stuck with him. Right now I don't think they'd have a single player making 8 figures who is actually on the roster (they had to pay some of Melvin Upton and Matt Kemp to make them go away).

[PenFoe]

Might be worth picking up the surprisingly non-tendered Tyson Ross and betting on a bounceback from injury.

No risk, potential for high reward. I'd do it in a heartbeat.

The Cubs made attempts over the past couple years to acquire right-hander Tyson Ross from the Padres and could pursue him in free agency, according to Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago. "The Padres were close to trading Ross to the Cubs for Starlin Castro," a major league source who worked for one of the teams told Levine. "San Diego execs were mixed on asking for Castro or Javier Baez. The deal went down to the wire in late July of 2015 but never got to the point of exchanging medicals." Ross was a front-of-the-rotation starter at that point, but he only threw 5 1/3 innings last season and is currently recovering from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery. The Padres non-tendered him Friday.

Yep. Whoever signs him will (my guess, FWIW) sign him to a minor league deal to see if he can come back in 2017 with an eye toward him being productive in 2018. If he can come all the way back (granted, unlikely), you've got a cheap top-of-the-rotation guy.

The problem with that is everyone else will want to sign him to a minor league deal too. I think he'll get guaranteed money and an MLB roster spot. He's supposed to be ready to pitch by April or even spring training so it's not like he's expected to miss half of the year.

Has anybody ever been an effective athlete following thoracic outlet syndrome surgery? I wouldn't want to blow a roster spot on finding out if he can.

Hopefully Jepstink walk away if the bidding gets too rich.

Wikipedia provides the following list, apparently in no particular order.

Tyson Ross (SD)
Matt Harvey (NYM)
Luke Hochevar (KC)
Phil Hughes (MIN)
Mike Foltynewicz (ATL)
Chris Carpenter (STL)
Jaime Garcia (ATL)
Josh Beckett
Shaun Marcum
Matt Harrison (PHI)
Clayton Richard (SD)
Noah Lowry
Chris Young

Those are all people who have had it, not people have come back from it successfully, obviously, since Ross and Harvey head off the list. Garcia and Beckett are about the only two who had it and came back to pitch at anything resembling their former selves. Garcia's always been a junkballer anyway, Beckett had a mediocre 2014 (2.88 ERA but 4.33 FIP) after the surgery before hanging it up.

It sure seems like a death sentence, but Ross and Harvey are arguably the first two who were young and had elite stuff before they got hurt (the surgery ended Carpenter's career, but he was also like 36 and coming off like 20 other arm injuries) so their recovery is worth monitoring.

Young won Comeback Player of the Year after having it. So there's a chance.

But a team that's in the business of winning championships probably wouldn't want to give up a roster spot to find out.

I'm sure Oakland is more likely to try a Sign and Flip like they did with Rich Hill.

Why wouldn't San Diego have just done a keep & flip if they thought he had anything?

San Diego appears to be hemorrhaging salary and preparing for the full-on tank right now, so paying him whatever he was likely to get in arbitration (probably north of 10 mil a year) would have been more than they were willing to commit in the chance that he sucked and they were stuck with him. Right now I don't think they'd have a single player making 8 figures who is actually on the roster (they had to pay some of Melvin Upton and Matt Kemp to make them go away).

Not much left.

[Saul Goodman]

Rosenthal reporting the White Sox are getting Yoan Moncada and three other prospects from Boston for Sale.

[SKO]

Rosenthal reporting the White Sox are getting Yoan Moncada and three other prospects from Boston for Sale.

The other big one is Michael Kopech, a starting pitcher who can supposedly hit triple digits. The other two are low minor leaguers.

[PenFoe]

Rosenthal reporting the White Sox are getting Yoan Moncada and three other prospects from Boston for Sale.

The other big one is Michael Kopech, a starting pitcher who can supposedly hit triple digits. The other two are low minor leaguers.

All that noise can stay in the AL, thank you.

[Saul Goodman]

Jeff Passan: Cubs close to acquiring KC's Wade Davis. No return mentioned yet.

I still want Kenley, too.

[SKO]

Jeff Passan: Cubs close to acquiring KC's Wade Davis. No return mentioned yet.

I still want Kenley, too.

Soler for Davis has been discussed a lot. Cubs Twitter is mad because I guess Jorge's second consecutive  sub-1 WAR season makes him too valuable to deal for one of the game's best closers

[Saul Goodman]

Jeff Passan: Cubs close to acquiring KC's Wade Davis. No return mentioned yet.

I still want Kenley, too.

Soler for Davis has been discussed a lot. Cubs Twitter is mad because I guess Jorge's second consecutive  sub-1 WAR season makes him too valuable to deal for one of the game's best closers

Please, God/Theo. Give me Wade and Kenley. I will be so happy.

[Quality Start Machine]

Jeff Passan: Cubs close to acquiring KC's Wade Davis. No return mentioned yet.

I still want Kenley, too.

Soler for Davis has been discussed a lot. Cubs Twitter is mad because I guess Jorge's second consecutive  sub-1 WAR season makes him too valuable to deal for one of the game's best closers

Just wait until Davis is lights-out for the Cubs and Soler finally has a healthy season in 2019 where he hits 30 HRs.

[SKO]

Jeff Passan: Cubs close to acquiring KC's Wade Davis. No return mentioned yet.

I still want Kenley, too.

Soler for Davis has been discussed a lot. Cubs Twitter is mad because I guess Jorge's second consecutive  sub-1 WAR season makes him too valuable to deal for one of the game's best closers

Just wait until Davis is lights-out for the Cubs and Soler finally has a healthy season in 2019 where he hits 30 HRs.

Yeah, I understand people clinging to Soler's upside and not wanting to trade him to an extent, I was in that boat last offseason, but he was handed the job on a silver platter with Schwarber going down and he again spent a month swinging at every breaking ball in the dirt, then got hurt again, then came back and hit well before getting hurt again. It is the same old song and dance every time. In order for him to ever potentially unlock that upside he'd need to stay healthy and get tons of PAs which the Cubs aren't interested in giving to him with Zobrist and Javy needing playing time.

The odds that they kept Jorge and he sucked/got hurt during his 1 start a week this year, thus cratering his trade value for good are probably higher than the odds they traded him right before he was about to break out.

I also find it odd that the same people who are saying "I don't want to trade Soler for Davis because Davis' forearm issue scares me" also completely dismiss any worries over Rondon and Strop's health after their injuries.

[Saul Goodman]

Jeff Passan: Cubs close to acquiring KC's Wade Davis. No return mentioned yet.

I still want Kenley, too.

Soler for Davis has been discussed a lot. Cubs Twitter is mad because I guess Jorge's second consecutive  sub-1 WAR season makes him too valuable to deal for one of the game's best closers

Just wait until Davis is lights-out for the Cubs and Soler finally has a healthy season in 2019 where he hits 30 HRs.

Yeah, I understand people clinging to Soler's upside and not wanting to trade him to an extent, I was in that boat last offseason, but he was handed the job on a silver platter with Schwarber going down and he again spent a month swinging at every breaking ball in the dirt, then got hurt again, then came back and hit well before getting hurt again. It is the same old song and dance every time. In order for him to ever potentially unlock that upside he'd need to stay healthy and get tons of PAs which the Cubs aren't interested in giving to him with Zobrist and Javy needing playing time.

The odds that they kept Jorge and he sucked/got hurt during his 1 start a week this year, thus cratering his trade value for good are probably higher than the odds they traded him right before he was about to break out.

I also find it odd that the same people who are saying "I don't want to trade Soler for Davis because Davis' forearm issue scares me" also completely dismiss any worries over Rondon and Strop's health after their injuries.

This trade would also come with the added bonus that Jorge the Cardinals Killer can continue to troll the shit out of the BFIB every time the Royals and Cardinals meet.

[Eli]

Jeff Passan: Cubs close to acquiring KC's Wade Davis. No return mentioned yet.

I still want Kenley, too.

Soler for Davis has been discussed a lot. Cubs Twitter is mad because I guess Jorge's second consecutive  sub-1 WAR season makes him too valuable to deal for one of the game's best closers

Please, God/Theo. Give me Wade and Kenley. I will be so happy.

Is this a thing, or is this like the time Chuck thought the Cubs should get both Theo and Andrew Friedman?

[Saul Goodman]

Jeff Passan: Cubs close to acquiring KC's Wade Davis. No return mentioned yet.

I still want Kenley, too.

Soler for Davis has been discussed a lot. Cubs Twitter is mad because I guess Jorge's second consecutive  sub-1 WAR season makes him too valuable to deal for one of the game's best closers

Please, God/Theo. Give me Wade and Kenley. I will be so happy.

Is this a thing, or is this like the time Chuck thought the Cubs should get both Theo and Andrew Friedman?

I'm just a fan of Kenley and would like to see a Bullpen of Death at the ends of games.