MLB HOT STOVE ‘25-‘26

[18thandWells]

Andruw Jones picked up 303 votes since 2018 when he received under 8% in his first year of eligibility.

[Jockey]

Andruw Jones picked up 303 votes since 2018 when he received under 8% in his first year of eligibility.

He'll be placed in the Santo/Baines wing of the Hall.

[Mutaman]

Before their 1978 home opener, the Yankees gave every fan entering the park a Reggie Bar. Jackson hit a shot off of Wood in the first inning, and fans reacted by throwing the candy onto the field from every section and from the farthest reaches. The game was delayed for several minutes to clear the field.

I was at that game. They littered the field with hundreds of bars. Reggie had hit 3 in a row against the Dodgers in the series so this was 4 in a row. He really was something else.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=641582425504004

(Best of buddies, Reggie and Billy)

[MU82]

I was at that game. They littered the field with hundreds of bars. Reggie had hit 3 in a row against the Dodgers in the series so this was 4 in a row. He really was something else.

I confess that I threw my Reggie Bar onto the field - all the way from the upper deck. Did you throw yours?

[Pakuni]

https://x.com/JeffPassan/status/2013828391158391173?s=20

[CTWarrior]

Former White Sox knuckleballer Wilbur Wood died over the weekend.

My main memory of him was that I was in Yankee Stadium the day Reggie Jackson homered off of him - the shot that launched tens of thousands of Reggie Bars onto the field.

Jackson, who years earlier had said that if played in New York "they'd name a candy bar after me," indeed had a candy bar named after him following his historic performance in the 1977 World Series.

Before their 1978 home opener, the Yankees gave every fan entering the park a Reggie Bar. Jackson hit a shot off of Wood in the first inning, and fans reacted by throwing the candy onto the field from every section and from the farthest reaches. The game was delayed for several minutes to clear the field.

I happened to be at the doubleheader in 1973 when Wood started both games against the Yankees, since my father would only go to doubleheaders as he wasn't going to pay those ridiculous prices ($1.50) for just one game.  Wood didn't record an out in the first game so they brought him back to start the second game, where he pitched poorly and lost again.  He averaged 45 starts/season for a 5 year stretch for the ChiSox, including back to back seasons with 49 starts.  They don't make them like that anymore.

[CTWarrior]

Per BBWAA's official unwritten rules, noted sign-stealer Carlos Beltran is elected to the Hall of Fame the same year PED-user Manny Ramirez falls off the ballot.

Willie Mays was on the 1951 Giants, who stole signals just as blatantly as the 2017 Astros using non-players with telescopes to relay signs to hitters.  If you're going to not allow players who used illegal methods to steal signs, you pretty much couldn't allow anybody.

I get your point about steroids, which are just basically a more effective method of using greenies, which Willie Mays (and everybody else) also used for a good 50+ years. 

I get letting in the guys who used when MLB tacitly allowed it by knowingly looking the other way, but the guys who got caught after testing started may be another issue. 

But the only guy I think unequivocally should not be allowed in is Joe Jackson, who without denying it took money to lose a World Series on purpose. 

[18thandWells]

If you're going to not allow players who used illegal methods to steal signs, you pretty much couldn't allow anybody.

That's an interesting take I've never read elsewhere.

[WhiteTrash]

https://x.com/JeffPassan/status/2013828391158391173?s=20

Good to see the CWS free up some cash so they can hit free agency hard.     

It could be a great move by the Mets, as Robert has all the tools but a change of scenery maybe in order. The level of losing he has endured has to be draining, even though he is one of the reasons for the team's poor performance.

I don't think the CWS improved the organization other than saving Jerry some cash.

[Jockey]

Making money for Jerry is the ONLY priority.

[18thandWells]

It could be a great move by the Mets, as Robert has all the tools but a change of scenery maybe in order.

Stearns should approach Eloy Jimenez at the car wash where he's working. Get the band back together.

[Pakuni]

Good to see the CWS free up some cash so they can hit free agency hard.     

It could be a great move by the Mets, as Robert has all the tools but a change of scenery maybe in order. The level of losing he has endured has to be draining, even though he is one of the reasons for the team's poor performance.

I don't think the CWS improved the organization other than saving Jerry some cash.

Robert can be a great player when healthy and motivated, something he hasn't been in several years. But even when he's not hitting  - which, again, not in several years - his glove is elite.
That said, he turns 29 this summer, is on an expiring contract and doesn't fit the organization's timeline. Trading him was the right move, regardless of money (and it's not saving that much money, tbh).

Is the organization better off? Depends where Acuna goes from here. He's a former top 100 prospect who showed some upside last season and offers positional versatility to at worst be a utility guy. That'll be a better fit for the club's window of contention - which is still a couple years off - than Robert.

[GB Warrior]

Good to see the CWS free up some cash so they can hit free agency hard.     

It could be a great move by the Mets, as Robert has all the tools but a change of scenery maybe in order. The level of losing he has endured has to be draining, even though he is one of the reasons for the team's poor performance.

I don't think the CWS improved the organization other than saving Jerry some cash.

"I'm sick of losing"

*Goes to Mets*

In all seriousness, a decent swing for both. Mets get a high upside swing, Sox get cash plus a prospect that until last year was highly acclaimed. I like it more for the Sox but that says more about what I think the likely outcomes for Roberts are.

[WhiteTrash]

Robert can be a great player when healthy and motivated, something he hasn't been in several years. But even when he's not hitting  - which, again, not in several years - his glove is elite.
That said, he turns 29 this summer, is on an expiring contract and doesn't fit the organization's timeline. Trading him was the right move, regardless of money (and it's not saving that much money, tbh).

Is the organization better off? Depends where Acuna goes from here. He's a former top 100 prospect who showed some upside last season and offers positional versatility to at worst be a utility guy. That'll be a better fit for the club's window of contention - which is still a couple years off - than Robert.

It is not that much money for MLB. It is for Jerry. As it stands, the Sox will have the lowest payroll in MLB at under $70M.

I agree there could be some upside for the Sox, but if I had to bet on it, I think most people will forget this trade in a year or two because it didn't do much, if anything, for both clubs.

[Jockey]

The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reports that, in the wake of the Dodgers signing Kyle Tucker, MLB "owners will push for a salary cap."


     Believe it or NOT, they had never even considered it before.

[Pakuni]

It is not that much money for MLB. It is for Jerry. As it stands, the Sox will have the lowest payroll in MLB at under $70M.

I agree there could be some upside for the Sox, but if I had to bet on it, I think most people will forget this trade in a year or two because it didn't do much, if anything, for both clubs.

Jerry's an 89-year-old man worth more than $2 billion, and in line for another billion or so once the sale to Ishbia goes through. He's not siphoning off money from the Luis Robert deal to pay his rent.
Historically speaking, the White Sox haven't been as cheap as some like to believe. I mean, since 2000 they've had a top 10 payroll more often than a bottom 10 payroll. The problem hasn't been the lack of spending, it's been the way they money has been spent, largely the result of backwards-ass operations from a front office in which fealty and brown-nosing were rewarded more than production and success.

[Jockey]

Jerry's an 89-year-old man worth more than $2 billion, and in line for another billion or so once the sale to Ishbia goes through. He's not siphoning off money from the Luis Robert deal to pay his rent.
Historically speaking, the White Sox haven't been as cheap as some like to believe. I mean, since 2000 they've had a top 10 payroll more often than a bottom 10 payroll. The problem hasn't been the lack of spending, it's been the way they money has been spent, largely the result of backwards-ass operations from a front office in which fealty and brown-nosing were rewarded more than production and success.

They have never signed a player to a big money contract.

[WhiteTrash]

Jerry's an 89-year-old man worth more than $2 billion, and in line for another billion or so once the sale to Ishbia goes through. He's not siphoning off money from the Luis Robert deal to pay his rent.
Historically speaking, the White Sox haven't been as cheap as some like to believe. I mean, since 2000 they've had a top 10 payroll more often than a bottom 10 payroll. The problem hasn't been the lack of spending, it's been the way they money has been spent, largely the result of backwards-ass operations from a front office in which fealty and brown-nosing were rewarded more than production and success.

Those are fair points, but Jerry has had 15 years to invest in the front office and technology at a fraction of the cost of players salaries and refused to do so. Maybe his frugal ways are a recent issue due to age, but he has run the organization in some areas like an AAA club, and some former players have chimed in on the Sox being a below average club with how things are run.

I guess we'll never know, but the end is near.

[18thandWells]

They have never signed a player to a big money contract.

It was a very long time, but I'm pretty sure Albert Belle signed a record contract for the time.

[Jockey]

It was a very long time, but I'm pretty sure Albert Belle signed a record contract for the time.

True, but it included an optout if he wasn't in the 3 highest paid players which he used after 2 years when the WS refused to do so.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Cody Bellinger officially back to the Yankees on a 5 year deal.

[CreightonWarrior]

Cody Bellinger officially back to the Yankees on a 5 year deal.

Finally a win for one of the little guys

[Pakuni]

True, but it included an optout if he wasn't in the 3 highest paid players which he used after 2 years when the WS refused to do so.

He posted 3.4 and 0.6 WAR seasons the next two years then retired from baseball. So, perhaps declining to make him one of the three highest-paid players in baseball wasn't a bad idea?

[WhiteTrash]

Finally a win for one of the little guys

Finally, some team is spending the revenue sharing.

[JWags85]

He'll be placed in the Santo/Baines wing of the Hall.

That's not entirely fair to Jones.  There are only 14 other players in history that won 10+ GG, and the only 2 that aren't in the HOF are Vizquel and Keith Hernandez.  Vizquel couldn't hit hence why he has a career WAR under 40 despite being a top 3 defensive SS of all time and Hernandez probably gets dinged for playing on TONS of terrible teams, despite winning 2 WS titles.  Pretty crazy to only make the playoffs 3 times in a 17 year career...yet win a ring in 66% of those appearances.

Jones is at worst the 3rd best defensive CF of all time behind Mays and Griffey.  And at his peak he was an absolute weapon at the plate.  That 2005 season was preposterous and he was an absolute superstar for a good 6-7 years.  If he didn't get fat and lazy after leaving Atlanta and had even decent years in his early 30s, he would have sleepwalked to a 70+ WAR and been a no brainer.  Even still, WAR wise he's basically comped to guys like Andrew Dawson and Dave Winfield, not a bum like Baines.