2025 MLB Season

[TallTitan34]

The Cubs need to drop seven players off the current 25-man for returns and trades.

Maybe something like:
DFA: Berti, McGuire, Turner, Pressley
AAA: Brown, Hollowell, Moises

[Uncle Rico]

Cash or PTBNL. As long as that doesn't turn into Michael Conforto this is a trade for Antanasio's couch cushion change.

Yup.  Brewers eating Montgomery contract.  I suppose they can do the lab on him and try and get him on a prove it deal as well if he likes what he sees

[Uncle Rico]

Twins trade everybody...except Joe Ryan who was the top trade target and the one expected to bring a king's ransom.

And that Correa deal is....something.  Paying a third of his remaining salary and getting back a thoroughly unimpressive pitcher still in rookie ball?  My god.

Feel bad for Twins fans.  Ownership limbo is a miserable place

[tower912]

The Tigers went out and got every available journeyman pitcher with a pulse.  Spaghetti method.  See what sticks.

[JWags85]

Brewers getting Shelby Miller plus from Arizona.

Miller is another one of those pitchers who exemplifies the sort of bizarre pitcher life cycle in MLB.  If you start off really good, like Miller did, as long as you're alright and not totally terrible, you'll find a place in the league for a long time.  But also, the flip side, if you peak too early like he did, you'll stick around, but you'll never get a massive pay day.

[18thandWells]

Twins are disbanding tonight.

Durán Correa Bader Castro Stewart Varland France Paddack Coulombe Jax.

[18thandWells]

The Tigers went out and got every available journeyman pitcher with a pulse.  Spaghetti method.  See what sticks.

I know both are having very down years, but I'm surprised nobody bit on Sandy Alcantara nor Zac Gallen.

[Shaka Shart]

Where else do you keep the trash?

Mequon

[Uncle Rico]

I know both are having very down years, but I'm surprised nobody bit on Sandy Alcantara nor Zac Gallen.

What was the asking price for both?  Alcantara isn't a FA until '28, I believe.  Marlins are wise to see if he can fully recover and get a larger package down the road if the offers were underwhelming in their eyes.

[18thandWells]

What was the asking price for both?  Alcantara isn't a FA until '28, I believe.

Yes, but I think '27 is  a club option. I had read in a few places his current contract was one of the reasons teams would be interested. Apparently the asking price was too high.

Gallen's a FA after this season, and the DBacks were willing to part with anyone else.

[tower912]

Detroit picked up 7 new-to-them pitchers over the last week.   Without giving up any prize prospects.   Many have had dominant runs in the past, though none have been dominant this season.   And a whole bunch of expiring contracts.  So, farm system intact.   A whole lot of experience with a change of scenery and a prove-it mentality.

It has the potential to be enough.  There are no guarantees.  However, prior to that two week kidney stone stretch, Detroit had the best record in baseball with a leaky bullpen.  Stay healthy and have 3 out of the new 7 pay off and they should be in a good place.

[MU82]

From Yahoo Sports:

Paul Skenes is off to one of the best starts to a career in MLB history. Before he takes the mound on Saturday, it's worth taking a moment to appreciate what the Pirates ace has accomplished so far.

1.89 ERA

‌MLB's live-ball era, coinciding with a league-wide rise in offensive statistics, began in 1920. Since then, no one has had a better ERA through their first 45 career starts than Skenes' 1.89.

‌4 pitchers

Skenes (1.96 ERA last year, 1.83 ERA this year) is on pace to become just the fourth pitcher in the last 75 years to post a sub-2.00 ERA in consecutive seasons (min. 20 starts in each). The other three? Clayton Kershaw (2013-14), Greg Maddux (1994-95) and Sandy Koufax (1963-64). Ridiculous company. And he's doing this during his rookie and sophomore campaigns...

22 consecutive starts

‌Skenes has yet to allow a run in the first inning this season through 22 starts, tied for the second-longest such streak to begin a season in MLB history. He didn't allow a first-inning run in any of his last five starts last season, either, bringing his overall streak to 27 straight.

17 wins

‌Skenes has just 17 wins through those historic first 45 starts despite allowing 1 or 0 earned runs well over half the time (28 of 45). Unfortunately, that's life as a Pirates starting pitcher. It's also a great reminder that pitcher wins are a useless statistic.

[Pakuni]

The 2027 All-Star Game will take place in a dump.

[wadesworld]

The 2027 All-Star Game will take place in a dump.

A good way to measure how nice a stadium is.

[Shaka Shart]

The 2027 All-Star Game will take place in a dump.

It will be inspiring to see the HR derby balls whizzing through the air, cutting a white streak through the impenetrable cloud of bullets

[JWags85]

From Yahoo Sports:

Paul Skenes is off to one of the best starts to a career in MLB history. Before he takes the mound on Saturday, it's worth taking a moment to appreciate what the Pirates ace has accomplished so far.

Made even more impressive by the fact that he only pitched 12 games in the minors and debuted at 21.  The days of guys making it to the majors before 22 is more or less gone, for a variety of reasons, and while college stars usually have a quick road through the minors than 18 year old HS grads, 2-3 months, like Skenes did, is still wild. Cole came up pretty quick, but still spent a full year in the minors.  Posey was fast but didn't get promoted till September and that was due to injury.  Bauer is probably the closest, got promoted in June the year after he was drafted, but he wasn't all that good early on.

And to make it even more crazy, Skenes was only a part time pitcher.  He was catching and raking at the plate at Air Force.  Didn't become a specialized pitcher until his junior year at LSU.  And now another generational talent is stuck in Pittsburgh.  FREE SKENES

The 2027 All-Star Game will take place in a dump.

Perfect time for Ricketts to cash out at highs (he says hopefully)

[18thandWells]

The 2027 All-Star Game will take place in a dump.

If all of '27 is a lockout, will Wrigley host in 2028? Or, will that year's ASG have to be on the West Coast to accommodate the players participating in the Olympics?

[TallTitan34]

The 2027 All-Star Game will take place in a dump.

Might actually be the 2028 All-Star Game if the lockout after next season goes long.

[GB Warrior]

ASG unis will be full tactical gear

[MU82]

Made even more impressive by the fact that he only pitched 12 games in the minors and debuted at 21.  The days of guys making it to the majors before 22 is more or less gone, for a variety of reasons, and while college stars usually have a quick road through the minors than 18 year old HS grads, 2-3 months, like Skenes did, is still wild. Cole came up pretty quick, but still spent a full year in the minors.  Posey was fast but didn't get promoted till September and that was due to injury.  Bauer is probably the closest, got promoted in June the year after he was drafted, but he wasn't all that good early on.

And to make it even more crazy, Skenes was only a part time pitcher.  He was catching and raking at the plate at Air Force.  Didn't become a specialized pitcher until his junior year at LSU.  And now another generational talent is stuck in Pittsburgh.  FREE SKENES

Interviews of him that I've seen have been impressive. He's never even hinted about being dissatisfied with the organization or critical of his teammates.

Seems that just about all guys who throw the way he does end up needing Tommy John surgery, so that will be interesting to follow.

He's sure fun to watch pitch.

[JWags85]

Interviews of him that I've seen have been impressive. He's never even hinted about being dissatisfied with the organization or critical of his teammates.

Seems that just about all guys who throw the way he does end up needing Tommy John surgery, so that will be interesting to follow.

He's sure fun to watch pitch.

Honestly, the "worst" thing about him is that he's pretty dull.  Like every time I see something with him, especially the joint interviews with him and Livvy Dunne, he's just so flat and lacking any charisma.  That being said, that probably keeps him level as a pitcher and short of him ending up with her long term and her wanting him in a bigger market for media reasons, him being one of the "less interesting" personalities in baseball might help him remaining in Pittsburgh.

[MU82]

Honestly, the "worst" thing about him is that he's pretty dull.  Like every time I see something with him, especially the joint interviews with him and Livvy Dunne, he's just so flat and lacking any charisma.  That being said, that probably keeps him level as a pitcher and short of him ending up with her long term and her wanting him in a bigger market for media reasons, him being one of the "less interesting" personalities in baseball might help him remaining in Pittsburgh.

We both know that, ultimately, he'll leave Pittsburgh because of money. Even if he gives the Pirates a hometown discount, their best offer in a few years will pale in comparison to what he could get from any of a dozen other franchises.

That, of course, assumes there will be no salary cap. Because I'm 98.6% sure there won't be.

It also assumes he stays healthy (or gets healthy again if he needs TJ surgery). I'm a little less sure about that, but I'm hopeful.

[CTWarrior]

Another stellar trade deadline for my Red Sox.  Traded a top 20 hitter in Devers early on for a terrible relief pitcher who has already blown a couple games and three piles of trash, then went into the trade deadline with 5 above average left-handed hitting MLB outfielders and no good healthy first or second baseman on the big league roster and came out of the deadline with those 5 same outfielders and still no right side of the infield and picked up a starting pitcher who will make the rotation worse.  Well done.

[Jockey]

Babe Perkins gettin' it done.