#FanCreativity

[visionproductions2008]

"🎩🐍 Step into the foggy streets of 19th century London with my latest #HazbinHotel fan fiction! Uncover the thrilling life of Sir Pentious before the afterlife. Are you ready to witness his notorious escapades? Dive in now! Art by marikal199 🔗

[plounce]

i did lose a longtime mutual over being a thancred fan (fancred?). it was kinda funny i did catch them shittalking with their friend on twitter that i'd probably end up enjoying thanuri + ryne family. i just silently broke mutuals w them, didn't start a fight (they're younger than me), but they were right. i did. i did end up enjoying thanuri + ryne family.

[artobotsrollout]

The fact that Knockout, the canonical prettiest of the bunch, got the worst toy interpretation is absolutely criminal.

Hasbro what you doin!?!

[ella-and-her-art]

They could’ve been the biggest power couple in Clone Wars if Filoni wasn’t a coward

[muthur9000]

Met the lovely @megan.allison.design and bought one of her Xenomorph patches. I will be interviewing her soon as part of my Fan Creatives series for yutani.blog #alien #xenomorph #fancreatives #meganallisondesign #aliencovenant #weylandyutani

[idontfindyouthatinteresting]

Sorry you're the target this week, friend. I wish the people that send crappy asks like that could realize the joys that are: 1. Fanwork is a voluntary act of love no one is required to do a certain way, 2. You have the power, at any time, to be the fanwork you wish to see. You want more content of a certain kind? Then A: make some yourself! And B: Go in good faith and comment/reblog/praise work of that kind! Fancreatives, (like other humans! Wow!) respond much better to carrots than sticks!

(2)When you try to guilt or shame folks into doing the thing the way you want, the most likely outcome is actually that the person Reduces Their Output All Together. :P *sigh* Anyway, personally, while I came for the Hannigram, I stayed because I dig your style and your takes enough that I am chill with or enjoy most of your non HG content as well. And if I stop? Then I have the ability to filter or leave! Wow! What an adult choice! XD Hang in there friend. Don't let the shitheels get you down!

Omg, yes totally, I feel that the more people go I should be doing things, even if I try, it doesn’t happen.

I have been attempting Hannibal art in the middle of all of this other stuff and I’ve not been happy with anything, that’s probably because I’ve been forcing it, and you can’t do that. 

But yeah, use xkit, blacklist tags, everything is tagged even reblogs for me so it’s easy to get rid of if you don’t want to see it!

Everytime I think that you know, I’m confident in what I’m doing and the direction I’m taking there’s always a knock I suppose.

But yeah, thanks for the support! It means a lot! xx

[ultrakdramamama]

Key is right...it’s IMPOSSIBLE to watch SHINee perform live and leave without becoming their fan

cr: @amberrlocket ~ they are that amazing live 😱

[kooriicolada]

tbh i’m like super afraid to interact with some fandoms... star wars, marvel, lord of the rings (tho i managed to interact there some!) because they’re old, and vast, and there’s a fear of Those Fans who will eat you alive.

tl;dr they’re like staring at some eldritch abyss, maw agape and a million teeth and eyes turning to scrutinize you and your fancred.

[angels-vomit]

i miss ur buttery popcorn he doesnt never has never will and i honestly want to go home in the big victorian house with the fireplace and i get to see wags everyfay and thry live thete and thry live across the stteet but theyre wity me and tj is there and my kpop boys bring me gifts and i get to go shopping and work on fosnrt workd with dad and mom and my family and NATE -.- i want to hear this kids idea. ge is really good at rhyming and he is mean judt likr mean he picked up irony but in a matr way and its tye cutest fucking thing in thr worlf and i moss u so much nater ut gratrt than hell rlle it suvks people are pretending yo be you but hes honestly really awkward anyways and u know in ur heart being >>>>> weirf and awkward around girls isnt exactly getting them very far....because a) dad scored an awesome mom dad and these hushanfs of mine scored an awesome chantelle so dont fret my pet bruh u were supposed to be cai loool i get it hes hurt :( awe nate evertone is butthurt tn because i made fun of their rgos but i really smacked down on nate hard. nate do u honestly think that guy did u justice.... i can hear u loud and clear from here big guy ok like goffamn im so glad i still get to see u shine and grow even tho im a slow from over yknow JUST BECAUSE HE HAS A HOBBY THAT IS LIKE YOURS AND BECAUSE HE IS THE SAME HEIGHT AND HAIRCUT LIKE U AND DRESSES LIKE U DORSNT MAKE U NATE OR U THOS GOES FOR ALL OF U. but i really want Nathaniel to keep his name. i know hes consifering vhanging it dont. please do not. it would break my heart if you did honestly if it really gives u soltiyude nate i respect u but it rhymes so great! it honestly rn thymes cushiony in my head anf writing this lettrr to you is giving me peace. and quiet thh loool i love you. but seriously big guy and i LOVED playing pretty pretty princess with you and if you want to wear dresses and wear makeup and dress like how you YOU want yo wear what you want to. nate you are fantastic and i aupport you all the way i do they just ruined my life and you know your big sister chantelle supports you the most i hated you but loved you so much i wantrd to see u shine and aee u in plays and watch u fancr and do acrobats and i love u so much. soccer was cool too but was it you? i love you anywsys if it is. im just following my intuition kid but anyone you choose to be im here for you. we will get ring braclets that we will never take off and im going to swuish ya i dont ever want to stop talking to you either because i want to hear you and see you and i want to know you i think you are the most interesting person in thr world and he has a taken a liking to jimin eye see well secret jimin loves u and we will be 3 there u go no sexual contact but u sket it he can yake u out on datrs if jimin feels its necfessary ! anything fot nate i think its his fate . anyways i love you so so so so so much dont think any of what im being molested in this house means anything it DOES NOT TIT TOT I AM JUSt putting on a favade is she really sarcastic ? she is tgo? she is just cleverrer with it tho its hard when u cant do iy with ur kens ykno but like im kinda broken rn so here is my token to you:

nate fate great he date a mate late i am kate yate sate wate no hate but he date bate bate bate no late but yester date he did bate bate bate over kate loool just kidding bro im just teasing ya uou have to GROW UP SOMETIME GOD im trying to get u in there>>>>>> bye.

[virgogear0-blog]

Free Agent Contract Projections from Jon Heyman and His Expert

Late last week, we kicked off our 2018-2019 offseason preview with a look into Bryce Harper’s exciting trip through free agency from the perspective of the Chicago Cubs. Ultimately, it is still our hope that Harper will be the front office’s primary target of the winter, though multiple, recent developments have indicated otherwise.

But there are a lot of potential free agents out there – 131, give or take – and whether the Cubs decided to spend freely or not, they should be at least involved in many of those discussions. So with that in mind, let’s take a look at the full set of contract predictions made by Jon Heyman and his “expert” to get a sense of the market. We couldn’t possibly share everything here, so be sure to check out the full list at FanCred. We also discussed the financial projections from MLBTR here this weekend.

Bryce Harper is listed first, as he’s expected to land the most lucrative contract of the offseason. Heyman has him at 11 years and $330M total, while his expert has him at 11 years/$374M. That’s a difference of $4M/year (both in actual dollars and AAV), so that’s a pretty sizable gap. Ultimately, I think he’ll land closer to Heyman than his expert, but $350M isn’t out of the question. As for potential landing spots, Heyman lists the Nationals and Phillies as “for sure,” before adding the Giants, Cubs, and Yankees.

Unsurprisingly, Manny Machado is listed next, and he’s expected to get slightly less than Harper. Both Heyman and his expert expect Machado to land a 10-year deal, but the expert is going on the high-end of total dollars ($325M) compared to Heyman ($300M). Of course, Machado’s overall earning potential will almost certainly be decided by Harper’s deal, so their thoughts on Harper probably influenced this position. And that means that, once again, I think Machado could land somewhere in the middle, but probably will not exceed $325M. Heyman believes the Phillies and the Yankees are the most obvious suitors, and I would agree.

A trio of pitchers follow these two prime-aged bats – Dallas Keuchel, Clayton Kershaw, and Patrick Corbin – but I don’t actually expect the Cubs to be involved with any of them. Note that Kershaw wound up extending with the Dodgers for three years and $93 million, a far better deal than the 4/$100M he was projected to get.

The next free agent listed who could be of interest to the Cubs is Craig Kimbrel. The formerly dominant closer wasn’t quite his usually dominant self this season, but he was still good, and should probably ride his name into a big deal. Heyman and his expert are both predicting four years, which sounds right, but their money, is once again spread widely: $60M for the expert, $72M for Heyman.

One of the questions I asked on Twitter the other day was If you could get Andrew McCutchen *and* Manny Machado for the same price as Bryce Harper, would you do it? And the results were almost completely split down the middle. Of course, some people thought the entire premise was unlikely, based on what McCutchen should get in free agency. But, well, maybe that’s not so true. According to Heyman’s expert, McCutchen is in store for just 4 years and $15M/year ($60M total), while Heyman thinks he’ll get fewer years (3) and less money/per season ($13M/year, $39M overall).

So by Heyman’s standards, McCutchen+Machado would cost you $339M total, while Harper would cost $330M, and his expert sees the duo costing $385M total with Harper at $374M. So, basically, the premise is almost exactly spot on … have you changed your mind? Does it even matter?

MLBTR projected McCutchen to the Cubs on a three-year, $45 million deal. While he might not be the top choice for an offensive upgrade, at that price tag, he might not be a bad addition in concert with other moves.

(Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

One very intriguing – perhaps unexpectedly so – free agent to keep an eye on for the Cubs this winter is Marwin Gonzalez. The versatile Houston Astro could play second base for the Cubs, back up Javy Baez at short, and spend time in the outfield as needed. Because of that versatility, however, he won’t come cheap. The expert has him at 4 years and $56M overall while Heyman is just behind that: 4 years, $52M. Ben Zobrist’s 4/$56M with the Cubs is clearly being used as a comp.

Some outgoing Cubs free agents, just as an FYI: Jesse Chavez is projected at one or two years, and about $6 million per year, Justin Wilson is projected at two or three years and $7 to $8 million per year, and Jorge De La Rosa is projected at one year and $2 to $3 million.

The crop of free agents is enormous, so head over to FanCred Sports and check out all the contract projections to get a rough sense of the market.

Brett Taylor contributed to this post.

Source: https://www.bleachernation.com/2018/11/05/free-agent-contract-projections-from-jon-heymand-and-his-expert/

[changechest3-blog]

Report: 'Industry Speculation' Is Joe Girardi Is Waiting for Cubs Job

Kathy Willens/Associated Press

Former Florida Marlins and New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi remains available for teams with a job opening, though according to Jon Heyman of Fancred, Girardi may be holding out for the Chicago Cubs or Chicago White Sox position to become open a year from now:

Girardi, 54, last managed the Yankees in 2017. In 10 years in New York, he went 910-710, leading the team to six postseasons and a 2009 World Series title. In one season with the Marlins (2006), Girardi went 78-84.

As for the Cubs, the team is bringing back manager Joe Maddon for the 2019 season, but as Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported in early October, the team won't offer him a contract extension this winter. Instead, "he was told he will be evaluated after next season with his five-year, $28 million contract expiring."

The Cubs disappointed this season, especially in October, losing against the Milwaukee Brewers in an NL Central Division title game after the two sides finished the regular season with identical records. They then lost in the NL Wild Card Game against the Colorado Rockies.

That's no guarantee Maddon won't be retained, especially if the Cubs have a strong 2019 campaign, but it does leave open the possibility that the position could be Girardi's if he's indeed interested in managing for the Cubs.

The White Sox, meanwhile, went 62-100 this past season, and manager Rick Renteria's contract is up after the 2019 campaign. Unlike the Cubs, the White Sox are in a rebuilding phase, making it more likely Girardi would be targeting the Cubs out of the two teams given their playoff-ready roster.

As for his 2019 plans, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported Friday that "it appears at the moment that Girardi’s plan is to return to MLB Network next season, though he absolutely wants to manage again. Would be surprising to see him fill any of the current openings."

So regardless of whether it's with the Cubs or not, it appears Girardi's next managerial job will come in 2020.

Source: https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2802205-report-industry-speculation-is-joe-girardi-is-waiting-for-cubs-job

[koreanpike3-blog]

Market Chatter: White Sox, Zunino, Kimbrel, Cards, Giants, Phils, Yanks

By Jeff Todd | November 6, 2018 at 1:29pm CDT

What role will the White Sox play in this free agent market? It’s an open question whether the club will come away with any significant players, but it also seems increasingly likely that it will be heavily involved at all levels of the market. MLBTR did not pick the South Siders to land any of the top fifty free agents, but as noted in that post, the club could pursue quite a few of the players listed. MLB.com’s Jon Morosi even names the White Sox as potential pursuers of Manny Machado and Bryce Harper. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic points out the case for the Sox to spend (subscription link), while Jon Heyman of Fancred tweets that the club is expressing an inclination to “take a step forward now.” Meanwhile, on the other side of town, indications remain that the Cubs will not spend a big chunk of change this winter, as Joel Sherman of the New York Post is the latest to report (Twitter link).

Clearly, the White Sox are an interesting team to watch. Even if it’s arguably a bit premature for significant investments, it certainly doesn’t hurt that they play in the sport’s worst overall division. Elsewhere …

The competition in the AL West seems to be driving the Mariners to sell. It’s unclear as yet how deep the cuts will go, but talks are already opening up. The M’s are chatting with the Rays about catcher Mike Zunino, per Rosenthal (via Twitter). With two years of control remaining, the 27-year-old backstop presents an interesting alternative to the free agent market for catchers. He’s an inconsistent but high-powered offensive performer who is generally seen as a quality defender.

The Cardinals and incumbent Red Sox are among the suitors for veteran closer Craig Kimbrel, according to Jon Morosi of MLB.com. Kimbrel is among the players who appear to be candidates to land earlier-than-usual contracts, by Morosi’s reckoning. (He mentions a few possible landing spots for others on his list, though it’s not apparent that the connections are based upon more than his analysis.)

Certainly, it seems the motivation is there for the Cardinals to pursue significant players. As Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes, the St. Louis front office is looking hard at ways to improve. GM Mike Girsch says the team has a competitive roster as things stand, but wants to exit the offseason with “a division-leading roster.” The piece is full of worthwhile reading for Cards fans, particularly those interested in gaining some perspective on the team’s market positioning in relation to Harper and Machado. All told, it seems reasonable not to rule the Cards out as a possible pursuer of any free agent.

Manny and Bryce are popular considerations for most teams, of course, even if they won’t realistically be pursued by all that many organizations. The Giants are perhaps a likelier suitor than may be evident from a passing glance, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. While the San Francisco organization struggled last year, has quite a few big contracts on the books, and doesn’t currently have a GM in place, Shea says that this kind of ownership-driven decision could still be pursued.

Lost in the hype for those popular young free agents is the never-ending search for pitching. While the rotation was and is a strong suit for the Phillies, that doesn’t mean they can’t improve. Indeed, as Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia writes, it could make sense for the organization to use some trade assets to add a starter — in addition, of course, to pursuing a superstar position player on the open market. Salisbury tabs southpaws Robbie Ray of the Diamondbacks and James Paxton of the Mariners as two particular names to watch.

Likewise, as they consider their pitching options, the Yankees will look at the still-developing trade market. Per Heyman, via Twitter, the Yanks have at least some level of interest in the top arms that have newly entered the sphere of trade candidates. New York’s brass will meet with their counterparts with the Indians, who are dangling Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco. The Yankees are also said to have some interest in Paxton. Those three are among the game’s better starters, so it’s hardly surprising to hear the connections.

Arizona Diamondbacks Boston Red Sox Bryce Harper Carlos Carrasco Chicago Cubs Chicago White Sox Cleveland Indians Corey Kluber Craig Kimbrel James Paxton Manny Machado Mike Zunino New York Yankees Philadelphia Phillies Robbie Ray San Francisco Giants Seattle Mariners St. Louis Cardinals Tampa Bay Rays

81 comments

Source: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/11/market-chatter-white-sox-zunino-kimbrel-cards-giants-phils-yanks.html

[effectguitar6-blog]

With meetings with White Sox and Yankees reportedly set for next week, who has best sales pitch for Manny Machado?

With meetings with White Sox and Yankees reportedly set for next week, who has best sales pitch for Manny Machado? originally appeared on nbcsportschicago.com

While Bryce Harper met with teams in his hometown of Las Vegas during last week's Winter Meetings, fellow mega free agent Manny Machado is just embarking on his free-agent tour.

According to Fancred's Jon Heyman, the former Baltimore Oriole and Los Angeles Dodger will meet with both the White Sox and New York Yankees early next week.

Other reports have listed a total of six teams in on Machado: the White Sox, Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies and a trio of "mystery teams."

Heyman brings up an interesting point. Who has the advantage between the White Sox and Yankees in the race for Machado?

Machado has long been linked to the Yankees, especially since their starting shortstop, Didi Gregorius, had Tommy John surgery earlier this offseason. He's expected to miss multiple months of the 2019 campaign while in recovery mode. That opens up a hole on the Yankee infield, and at the position Machado most wants to play. After winning a pair of Gold Gloves as a third baseman with the Orioles, he slid over to shortstop in 2018 and has stated his preference to play there.

The White Sox already have a shortstop in Tim Anderson, one of the few players on the current major league roster who figures to be a long-term piece for the rebuilding South Siders. Anderson's improvement, particularly on defense, was one of the team's biggest positive takeaways from the 2018 season.

Does Anderson's occupancy of the shortstop position prevent the White Sox from signing Machado? Of course not. Machado is a great player, and he's the kind of guy you make room for. But it's a discussion surrounding the White Sox that doesn't necessarily surround other teams, including the Yankees.

The White Sox have greater financial flexibility than the Yankees, greater financial flexibility than pretty much every team out there with almost no long-term financial commitments to speak of. That allows them to offer the kind of gargantuan contract expected to be necessary to land Machado (and Harper, for that matter), though a recent report from ESPN's Buster Olney indicated the White Sox might not be willing to offer a record-breaking type deal. Certainly, though, the aggressive nature of their pursuits of Harper and Machado this winter makes the White Sox look willing to spend and spend big.

When it comes to Machado's now-infamous "Johnny Hustle" comments, in which the superstar professed his distaste for hustling in an interview with The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner told reporters last month at the GM Meetings "that ain't going to sell where we play baseball."

It's been an interesting hypothetical to guess how Machado's comments would play with White Sox manager Rick Renteria, who made a habit of benching players for not hustling throughout the 2018 season. Last week during the Winter Meetings, Renteria answered questions about the topic - without reporters bringing up Machado's name, of course - and said he won't be changing his ways just because a big-money player might play differently than he'd like to see.

"There are going to be situations in which I might have to have conversations with guys that are coming from the outside," Renteria said. "But I will venture to say this, I've said it enough publicly, they know how we want to play the game here. I think anybody who is thinking or contemplating becoming a White Sox, that we go about it a certain way.

"It's a little more difficult at the major league level to change an attitude of an individual if they've been doing that their whole life, if they're not giving you the effort all the time, absolutely. But it requires conversation. That person is that person. My job is to get the most out of that individual to the best of my ability.

"Will I be able to do that 100 percent? Probably not. But I'm going to give it a shot. But I've got to be creative and find ways to communicate with the players."

Story continues

The biggest difference between the two teams is their current major league fortunes. The Yankees won 100 games last season, and the White Sox lost 100 games last season. The Yankees have a star-studded roster featuring young players like Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres, and they can pitch Machado on joining that group and starting a new Bronx dynasty beginning in 2019.

The White Sox have their own batch of young talent to pitch, and they think the lure of playing alongside Eloy Jimenez, Michael Kopech, Dylan Cease, Luis Robert, Yoan Moncada and others is as attractive as anything any other team can offer. But Machado (or Harper) perhaps wouldn't be joining a team on a playoff quest in 2019, likely signing up because of planned future success instead.

But one of Rick Hahn's biggest points made during his multiple Winter Meetings media sessions was that he's receiving plenty of positive feedback when making that future-focused pitch, that it's one players are listening to and finding value in.

"There's very bright days ahead," Hahn said. "Now again, it might be a year premature in terms of selling this club as a postseason contender, but we've spent a lot of time over the last couple of years to put us in a position where we very reasonably, or objectively we have a bright future ahead of us. And we've heard from a number of different players about their interest in being part of it, which I don't think should be surprising.

"There's been a lot of positive feedback in terms of the long term. It's funny because when you are talking about a shorter-term deal, like a one- or two-year deal, you are getting a response from a lot of the players like, ‘Hey, we want to be part of the fun times, too. I'll just do something a little bit longer.' It can cut both ways.

"Definitely, the general consensus is one of optimism."

And here's one more pot-sweetener: The White Sox just made a trade for Machado's brother-in-law, Yonder Alonso, who's under team control for two more seasons. Hahn said that Alonso's relationship to other players didn't factor in the acquisition. But hey, only one team can offer Machado the opportunity to play alongside his brother-in-law for the next two seasons.

We likely won't get a Machado decision for a while, but we can guess what the teams' pitches will be. The question: Which one will Machado like most?

Click here to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the White Sox easily on your device.

Source: https://sports.yahoo.com/meetings-white-sox-yankees-reportedly-221419729.html?src=rss

[heatbun4-blog]

Lukewarm Stove: Cardinals and Donaldson, Trading for Profar, Yankees’ Targets, Dozier, More

I had a rough morning. I slept through my alarm – haven’t done that in a while – and was promptly greeted by snow when I took my dog outside. I wasn’t even done griping about how early it gets dark and how the Cubs are clearly broke (I kid), but now I already gotta deal with snow? Come on, universe.

According to Ken Rosenthal, the Cardinals are not as interested in Bryce Harper as those on the outside want them to be. Rosenthal concedes that some teams hide their intentions – like the Cubs, right??! … He asked through a stream of tears – but the Cardinals appear to be more interested in adding a corner infielder than outfielder. And thanks to Matt Carpenter’s ability to play first and third, that player could be native to either spot. And to that end, you’ll be happy to hear Manny Machado, like Harper, is not expected to be a free agent target of the Cardinals, either. Instead, Mike Moustakas or Josh Donaldson could be the guy (and the Cardinals were connected to both in trade rumors over the season, so that does make sense). For what it’s worth, I’m starting to think Donaldson would be a pretty great addition for the Cubs on the right deal, too, but if the Cardinals are seriously looking at him, and if there is a perception that the Cubs could be interested, too, that could mean some intentionally misleading rumors are in our future. Be advised.

Aside from those two, the Cardinals might also consider a trade for Diamondbacks Paul Goldschmidt, guesses Rosenthal, whom we already know is available. And since the Cardinals would also be willing to move Paul DeJong from shortstop to third base, that means they could theoretically add to first, third, or short and move everyone else accordingly. That’s a lot of options.

Also from Rosenthal: the acquisition cost of Indians starters, the Marlins futile efforts to extend J.T. Realmuto, and the Reds interest in trading prospects (or even Scooter Gennett) for starting pitching. Check it out.

According to Joel Sherman, the Rangers are interested in trading for starting pitching and have Jurickson Profar to offer. Meanwhile, the Yankees are potentially interested in trading for someone like Profar, and have Sonny Gray to offer. But thanks to a down season and impending free agency, Gray, alone, isn’t enough to foot the bill. But that has me thinking: Wouldn’t Profar be an interesting target for the Cubs? I believe they could reasonably trade from their starting depth to make it happen and the Cubs/Rangers love trading together.

Sure, Profar was an above-average hitter for only the first time last season, after a long path of struggles and injuries, but he’s still just 25-years-old and is capable of playing shortstop. If the Cubs move on from Addison Russell – which, in my opinion, they should – getting someone to back up Javy Baez at short is a priority. And getting someone with Profar’s upside (he’s a former TOP prospect) would be promising and exciting. Just food for thought. Food that most teams are probably also happy to consider chewing.

Jon Heyman dumps notes on every team at FanCred and Cubs sources have apparently told him they are not required to stay under the luxury tax threshold this year. But I’m not so sure that report makes any sense. The Cubs are already WELL past the initial luxury tax threshold and are right up against the second tier. So … whether they like it or not, they’re probably going over. The real question is whether that top tier will be a motivating factor and that remains unclear/unanswered by this report.

The LA Times appeals to Andrew Friedman and the city of Los Angeles for the apparent lack of interest in Bryce Harper. According to Dylan Hernandez, the city needs a star baseball player, like Harper, and they have the money to do it. Of course, that doesn’t change the multiple reports that the Dodgers (and Cubs) are likely to sit this one out. We shall see.

And everything gets weirder when you consider how plainly “out” on Bryce Harper the Yankees appear to be, too, and how even their interest in Manny Machado might be cooling. If the Cubs, Yankees, and Dodgers are all actually out on Harper and Machado, the Phillies might be the offseason’s biggest winners before it starts. (I half kid, because you KNOW there will still be a ton of teams in on those guys.)

In any case, Joel Sherman discusses the Yankees many desires and plans this offseason – primarily,  grabbing a starter, like free agent Patrick Corbin or trade targets like Corey Kluber or Carlos Carrasco, about whom the Yankees already met with the Indians.

But the Indians aren’t the only team with starters the Yankees covet:

I think the Mariners are going to play a big role in this offseason, depending on how far they take their roster tear-down, and the Yankees’ moves will be interesting to follow, too, particularly how much they spend in free agency. (Note last night’s rumor about the Cubs and Dee Gordon, by the way.)

How about Brian Dozier as the back-up (Harper), back-up (Machado), back-up (Marwin Gonzalez), back-up (Jed Lowrie), back-up (McCutchen/Donaldson), back-up plan:

Some additional info, and I agree with everything Brett says here:

Do I think Dozier could have some magic left? Sure, absolutely. Am I willing to gamble on that when there are so many other interesting options out there? I mean, not yet, unless the Cubs are convinced he’s actually a better option than a number of the guys who – from the outside – seem a better investment.

Jon Heyman confirms that versatility is in. Specifically, that means the Nationals, Yankees, and Reds are all interested in Josh Harrison, and literally all “but one team” is interested in Marwin Gonzalez. I was also interested in Gonzalez for the Cubs, but honestly, I don’t think they need to go out of their way to get him, though it sounds like that would be necessary.

One of this offseason’s biggest mysteries is how the New York Mets will operate in free agency and trade, with a new (former player-agent) GM. On the one hand, I can see them spending wildly based on a perceived competitive window (with Jacob deGrom there for two more years), as well as the reputation of their new GM Brodie Van Wagenen. But on the other hand … #Mets. Here’s the latest:

Also keep in mind on the Mets: they could be facing a division with three *very* good teams at the top next year.

Willson Contreras had some issues last season and the Cubs still need a quality, veteran back-up, but I am happy with him as the Cubs starter, and even happier that they’ve got a young guy with upside to stick behind the plate. It’s not easy to find a good catcher, but I think Willson Contreras is great – ups and downs and all. More on the catcher front:

Interestingly, the Braves have Kurt Suzuki as their outgoing 1B catcher, another guy who could be a Cubs target.

If you’d like to be reminded why Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer are impressive, just take a look at various GMs discussing the importance of playoff performance on free agency. While most GMs tout the importance of playoff experience and how huge those appearances can pump up a FA’s case, Epstein and Hoyer respond with phrases like “case-by-case basis,” and mention sample size, recency bias, and focusing on what real adjustments were made instead of the results. Yeah, they’re good ones.

Scott Boras discusses the future for Xander Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez, each of whom could be premier free agents (again, in Martinez’s case) after the 2019 season.

Source: https://www.bleachernation.com/2018/11/09/lukewarm-stove-cardinals-and-donaldson-trading-for-profar-yankees-targets-dozier-more/

[muthur9000]

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