Hot Stove League 2023 Version

White Sox sign Benintendi to a 5 year deal.  This is a solid signing for the White Sox--they needed a left-handed hitter and improved outfield defense, and Benintendi gives them both with one signing.  Five years may be a tad long for his productivity, but given how all contracts seem to have stretched this year it fits with the market.

Solid contact, good eye at the plate, good on-base percentage, not a lot of power, exceptional defense--not a splashy signing, but a good one.


A note about Joey Meneses, who has come up for discussion in the Mets thread: He turns 31 in May, three years older than Dom Smith.


Red Sox finally wake up and realize that they need to lock down Devers or lose him the way they lost Bogaerts.  They inked Devers to an 11 year $331,000,000 extension with no options and no no-trade clause.  It is interesting they went long and high on Devers, in that they low-balled Bogaerts relative to the market and traded away Betts for an unequal return in what was widely viewed as a salary dump.


That contract will probably look good in three years.  


DanDietrich said:

That contract will probably look good in three years.  

So long as he stays healthy.  He is some kind of hitter.


Phillies trade for Kody Clemens and a bottle of clear.

Oh, right, they also got this All-Star pitcher, Gregory Soto.  

The Phillies have a lot of impressive arms in the bullpen now.  Dombrowski has done a great job.  They gave up a top catching prospect (Maton), but he really had nowhere to go with them for the next few years anyway.  Clemens was a low-impact throw-in who will likely bounce between AAA and the majors for a year or two and then disappear from the MLB.


A rare miscue, mfpark: Nick Maton is a young utility backup infielder, which is probably his ceiling. (ETA: Donny Sands is the 26-year-old catching prospect in the trade.)

The more interesting piece is Matt Vierling, the young righty-hitting outfielder who platooned in center with Brandon Marsh. There had been talk that the Phillies wanted to give Marsh a full-time chance, and I guess this settles it.


DaveSchmidt said:

A rare miscue, mfpark: Nick Maton is a young utility backup infielder, which is probably his ceiling. (ETA: Donny Sands is the 26-year-old catching prospect in the trade.)

The more interesting piece is Matt Vierling, the young righty-hitting outfielder who platooned in center with Brandon Marsh. There had been talk that the Phillies wanted to give Marsh a full-time chance, and I guess this settles it.

Yah, well, I am a Red Sox fan in the AL, so tell me about miscues these days.

Vierling was just so-so last year, and as you say, they seem to want to go with Marsh full time anyway, so it was worth it for Soto.

It must really suck being a Tigers fan these days.


Third time is a charm for Correa?

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/carlos-correa-twins-reportedly-agree-to-new-200-million-deal-after-mets-agreement-stalls-over-physical-concerns-172519083.html

Carlos Correa has reportedly agreed to his third free-agent deal of the offseason, this one a six-year, $200 million pact to return to the Minnesota Twins. The star shortstop previously struck tentative agreements with the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets, only to see the deals stall out and disintegrate over concerns that arose during his physical.

ESPN's Jeff Passan reports the deal includes a vesting option that could bring the total to $270 million.


Dodgers release Trevor Bauer.  Already the Yankees, Mets, Twins, Padres, and Guardians have announced they have no plans to talk to him.

I wonder if any teams will sign him to a minor league contract even?  If he were a football player he would have plenty of interest......


mfpark said:

Dodgers release Trevor Bauer.  Already the Yankees, Mets, Twins, Padres, and Guardians have announced they have no plans to talk to him.

I wonder if any teams will sign him to a minor league contract even?  If he were a football player he would have plenty of interest......

the dude is his own worst enemy IMHO. If he expressed any remorse at all, and started counseling, he'd probably have been signed by someone already. OTOH, that stubbornness and combativeness is probably a big part of why he's the athlete he is. 


I'm thinking he'll be on the A's or Astros. 


I didn't know how terrible he really was, but I was very much against the Mets signing Bauer in 2020.


ml1 said:

I didn't know how terrible he really was, but I was very much against the Mets signing Bauer in 2020.

Heh, I had almost forgotten after your two previous reminders. Good call.


DaveSchmidt said:

Heh, I had almost forgotten after your two previous reminders. Good call.

you remember them better than I do.


jfinnegan said:

I'm thinking he'll be on the A's or Astros. 

Or the Raiders.


I'm not sure many teams will be interested in a guy who hasn't pitched in 2 years, and will be a PR nightmare. Teams like the A's or the Reds are probably going to finish last even with Bauer in their rotations, so why take on that headache? He might make a difference for a team like Cleveland or Minnesota, so we'll see if anybody steps up to sign him.


No risk for the A's and they only pay him the league minimum. Then if he has anything left they trade him at the deadline to a team trying to make the playoffs, i.e. Blue Jays, Mariners or Padres after they realize Lugo isn't a fifth starter. 

I would be surprised Cleveland goes after him after already dealing with his antics for a while.


jfinnegan said:

I would be surprised Cleveland goes after him after already dealing with his antics for a while.

Guardians already said he is persona non grata.


Mets sign Tommy Pham to a one year, $6MM contract with incentives.  Because they are over the cap, the contract will cost the Mets at least $11.4MM (and more if he gets the incentives)--a 90% luxury tax add-on.

Pham is a decent if not spectacular addition.  He hits the ball hard, plays a reasonable outfield (corner slots only), and makes it a lot easier for the Mets to dump Ruf with Pham being the right-handed DH to match Vogelturtlebach.


Red Sox lose out on Miguel Rojas to replace the injured Trevor "Tell Me Another" Story and Xander "Don't Bogaerts that Joint", but they did sign Adam Duvall to a one year, $7MM deal plus incentives.  How does an outfield signing help deal with losing a shortstop?  Duvall will play in centerfield, allowing Hernandez to shift to the infield where he is more naturally suited.  Duvall is not as solid a hitter lately as the departed Tommy Pham, who he ostensibly replaces, but he can play center field whereas Pham is a corner guy.

Meanwhile the Red Sox are rumored to be about to annex the entire back end of the Marlin's rotation.  I just do not understand how the Marlins think, and based on attendance records, their fans seem to feel similarly.


mfpark said:

Mets sign Tommy Pham to a one year, $6MM contract with incentives.  Because they are over the cap, the contract will cost the Mets at least $11.4MM (and more if he gets the incentives)--a 90% luxury tax add-on.

Pham is a decent if not spectacular addition.  He hits the ball hard, plays a reasonable outfield (corner slots only), and makes it a lot easier for the Mets to dump Ruf with Pham being the right-handed DH to match Vogelturtlebach.

just don't join his fantasy football league


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