2013-14 MLB Hot Stove thread

Yankees to sign Jacoby Ellsbury

I didn't see this happening (thought he would end up in Seattle or Chicago) but as a Yankees fan I'm happy. Check out his splits: he hits at MVP-levels in Yankee Stadium. According to Baseball References WAR stat he is an 8 win player. I'll do the math for you....add 8 wins to last years Yankees team and they are 93-69, subtract 8 from the Red Sox and they go 89-73.

 

Re: Yankees to sign Jacoby Ellsbury

Manky has a new boy toy.

 

Re: Yankees to sign Jacoby Ellsbury

From someone who doesn't have an interest in either the Yankees or the Red Sox, I'm not sure this is a huge win for New York as there's a lot that goes into it. Personally, I wouldn't give a seven-year contract to anyone not named Trout or Harper and New York is getting Ellsbury's decline years (ages 30-36).

But even with the decline years taking up most, if not all of the contract, there's evidence that outfielders with most of their value tied to speed decline at a slower rate.

And as far as being an 8 WAR player, I'm not sure he does that again since that's historically good.

 

Re: Yankees to sign Jacoby Ellsbury

I think the signing is good only if they also re-sign Cano. I like Ellsbury, but I think he needs other players around him to be most effective.

 

Re: Yankees to sign Jacoby Ellsbury

Moving from one evil empire to another.

 

Geez, I thought they were a small market team that couldn't compete. Or did they just find out they were in a Top-10 TV market?

 

Of course, one reason they acquired Johnson is to avoid paying Grant Balfour as a free agent. Balfour is seeking a multi-year deal while Johnson is a one-year financial commitment.

 

It's always great when a sportswriter judges a player's "guts":

 

Mets allegedly in on Curtis Granderson:

http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/10077249/new-york-mets-curtis-granderson-talks-3-year-deal

 

if you added all the players' WAR from last years team would it exactly equal the teams win total?

I'm a Yankee fan and am luke-warm on this deal. I'd rather pay him 90 million over 3 than a 7 year deal. Not that he's worth any of it but I'd over pay for a shorter deal. If he wants a longer deal the per annul number must decline. He's not a game changer but he's a player I'd like to have but not at this cost.

 

The Yankees had better score a ton of runs. After Sabathia, Nova, David Robertson and maybe Shawn Kelley, they don't have a proven major-league arm on their 40-man roster.

 

Paul Konerko returning to the White Sox, who now have a 1B/DH logjam with Konerko, Adam Dunn and newly signed Cuban free agent Jose Abreu:

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/04/paul-konerko-is-returning-to-the-white-sox/