This week’s questions and discussion…
1) It’s a given Juan Soto is the number in free agent this off-season. Among the most prominent items on his list of requirements for signing with a team most likely include…
- A franchise that can pay and will pay whatever target in dollars and years he and his agent Scott Boras have in mind…
- A franchise that on a yearly basis is almost always in the playoffs…
- A franchise that has decent if not very good starting pitching…
- A franchise that has a decent/very good everyday starting lineup (preferably both offensively and defensively) that with the addition of Soto would propel their team to another level such as what happened with the Yankees in the 2024 season…
With these possible check points in mind…
When it’s all over where does Soto sign and for how much in dollars and years? Why?
Joe
Where does Juan Soto sign this off-season?
First, I’m cutting to the chase, and I’m going straight to which teams I believe will be in the final three to win the Juan Soto sweepstakes this off-season… Dodgers, Yankees and Mets.
The Dodgers simply get listed simply because they are the new Evil Empire in MLB and for what will be STOP for the next five to ten years will be that the Dodgers will be in on every top player who hit as free agency every off-season. And just as quick I’m eliminating them from being the team that inks Soto to a contract. The big reason being that I seriously believe that the contract Soto winds inking will surpass in total dollars, average dollars per year and length of contract tha the Dodgers gave Shohei Ohtani last off-season. And I just don’t see any team singing two players to be on their roster making $600 million, including the Dodgers. Still… think of the lineup that the Dodgers could field if they did sign Soto… Ohtani, Betts, Sotoa and Freeman leading off the everyday batting order would be monstrous. Can you say dynasty?
So in the end it comes down to the Mets and the Yankees. Mets owner Steve Cohen’s big bucks versus Hal Steinbrenner’s big bucks. And how Soto feels about fitting in with each team’s players that are presently with each franchise as well as the players that each owner will target to round out their final roster for the 2025 season.
We know that publicly Soto has said his time last season was very enjoyable… that he loved NYC and the fact that there is a strong Dominican presence in the and playing with his Yankees teammates and manager Aaron Boone. It’s that last point that favors the Yanks going into this.
But ultimately it will come down to the owners… Steve Cohen and Hal Steinbrenner… and how far they want to take the negotiations.
In the end I think Cohen is more than willing to go the distance and offer the richest ever contract to Juan Soto to play for the Mets.
As a Yankees fan I hope I’m wrong but…
On the one hand how much should Steinbrenner invest in one player? Regardless of how great and young a player is when the Yanks have some serious other holes to fix on their everyday roster?
So right now I’m saying the Mets sign Soto for 10-plus years and 600 million total dollars… 12 years and about $640 million maybe?
However, if Soto’s agent, Scott Boras, should decide to emulate the deal that Ohtani got last off-season and defer some of the big bucks involved then we could see $700 million total value.
2) If the New York Yankees don’t sign Juan Soto this off-season…
Where should the Yankees turn their attention to improving their team for the 2025 season? Why?
Joe
New York Yankees
If the Yanks lost out on Soto or if the negotiations for Soto’s services drag on deep into the off-season and it begins to become a distraction to the Yankees’ negotiating and offering contacts with other free agents who could be valuable assets to the tam in 2025 then I think the Yanks should pivot to doing this…
First right now the following Yankee players are free agents Gleyber Torres (2b), Alex Verdugo (LF), Clay Holmes (RP), Tommy Kahnle (RP), Tim Hill (RP), Anthony Rizzo (1B) and, of course, Juan Soto (RF).
So right off the bat the Yanks need two outfielders, a first baseman, a second baseman and maybe a pitcher or two. And preferably a couple of those everyday players should have middle of the order bats with power.
All season long the Yanks had a hole at third (due to injuries or the inability to play the position) until they traded for Jazz Chisholm, and he filled in there… however Chisholm prior to the 2024 season and then being on the Yanks had never played at third previously. So it wouldn’t hurt GM Cashman to go out and find an experienced third baseman and move Chisholm over to second to replace Torres.
So the Yankees to-do list as I see it is as follows…
A power bat at first with at least a decent glove reinforce the rotation, figure out second base and figure out who is at third and then after doing that if they have money left take shot at improving their outfield.
For first the top contenders are to pursue are Pete Alonso and Christian Walker. And I’m learning towards Walker as the guy Cashman should seriously go after instead of Alonso. Alonso is New York battle-tested and has a power bat to equal Aarron Judge’s power. But considering the Yanks at times leaky infield defense they need to shore up that area of the team and Walker is arguably the game’s best glove at the position. Walker isn’t going to provide 50-plus HR power but he will give you 30 to 35 HRs and doubles and provide Gold Glove defense at first. Alonso is the younger player… 30 years to 34 years old… but Walker is the better player who will give the team a lot more value for the money spent.
As for their rotation… the Yankees presently have six pitchers for their five-man rotation however team can never have enough pitching and when it comes to having premier starters they are always preferable… so…
They should first find out what the White Sox opening ask is for starter Garret Crochet. Then make a run at acquiring him.
Then with the Chiba Lotte Marines posting wunderkind young pitcher Roki Sasaki to MLB, take a run at getting him. I’m afraid he’s going to the Dodgers though as they seem to have a lock on the Asian pitching market of late and I think they grab Sasaki too. However the Yanks need to kick the tires on acquiring him.
Also there’s free agent starters Corbin Burnes and Max Fried…
Burnes simply has a career 3.19 ERA, 1.063 WHIP and is 4-time All-Star with a Cy Young Award and gives a team close to 200 innings pitched a season. Fried has a career 73-36 (.670) record and a career 3.07 Era. Either of these two starters would be more than worth paying some Steinbrenner dollars for. Failing to get any of the above pictures the Yankees should make runs at one of the following free agent pitchers… Blake Snell, Jack Flaherty or Walker Beuhler.
Then the infield…
For third they should go after either Wally Adames or Alex Bregman… I like Adames slightly over Bregman because he can play at short or third so there is that versatility plus he give a team 30 HR and doubles power a season. With Bregman get a Gold Glove defender who provides 25-30 HRs and doubles with about a .270 BA. Either player would be welcome o the Yankees and then Chisholm move to second. Or if y chance the Yankees wind up resigning Torres at second then Chisolm moves to the outfield and probably left field. Either way it’s a win-win for the tram.
As for the outfield (if Hal’s got any money left to spend)… take your pick between Teoscar Hernandez, Anthony Santander and Cody Bellinger. I like Santander and Bellinger over Hernandez here..
Santander is a right fielder (so Judge would stay in center) who had 44 HRs and over 100 ribbys in 2024 while Bellinger doesn’t equal Santander’s power, his bat ain’t exactly chump change and he is a Gold Glove center fielder who can play first.
Thant’s it .. that’s my off-season plan for GM Cashman.
3) On Monday (11/3) the National Baseball Hall of Fame announced that seven players and one manager who will be candidates for election on the upcoming Classic Baseball Era ballot.
The candidates include… Dick Allen, Ken Boyer, John Donaldson, Steve Garvey, Vic Harris, Tommy John, Dave Parker and Luis Tiant.
From this list, who would you select to be in the National Baseball Hall of Fame? Why?
Joe
Classic Baseball Era ballot
If I had a vote I’d cast it for Dick Allen (7X-All-Star, ROY, MVP, 351 HRS and over 1,000 runs and RBIs); Ken Boyer (11X-All-Star, 5X-Gold Glove, 282 HR and over 1,100 runs and RBI while arguably being the best third baseman in the game during his time in MLB); Tommy John (288-231 lifetime record with a 3.34 ERA, 4-All-Star) and Dave Parker (he should have been elected into the Hall his first go around… whatever… 3X- Gold Glove, 2X-BA title, 7X-All-Star, 3X- Silver Slugger, .290/.339.,471 slash line with 526 doubles, 339 HRs, 1,272 runs and 1,493 RBIs).
4) After an early exit in this year’s MLB playoffs, what should be the most important items on the Atlanta Braves to-do list this off-season to ensure the franchise returns to the playoffs in 2025? Why?
Joe
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves have several important items to address in the off-season, including:
Word has it that starter Max Fried will go elsewhere during his free agency turn and that starter, Charlie Morton is retiring… they will need replacements for those two guys
The Braves also need to improve their on-base percentage (OBP) and reduce their reliance on home runs. They can do this by upgrading shortstop or a corner outfield spot with a player who has a better OBP.
Find a high-leverage reliever.. simply put they could use a high-leverage reliever after Joe Jimenez’s injury.
And above all stay freaking healthy… it’s hard to win when key players like Sean Murphy, Spencer Strider and Ronald Acuna Jr, all spent considerable time on the IL.
Players the Braves should go after are SS Wally Adames, outfielders Cody Bellinger and Anthony Santander, reliever Tanner Scott and possibly two of the following starters… Corbin Burnes, Blake Snell, Jack Flaherty or Walker Beuhler.
5) And staying in the NL…
After losing in the NLDS to the Mets in this year’s MLB playoffs, what should be the most important items on the Philadelphia Phillies to-do list this off-season to ensure the franchise returns to the playoffs in 2025? Why?
Joe
Philadelphia Phillies
After the Phillies have now disappointed in back-to-back Octobers something needs to be done to shake up their roster…
One problem they had was that every fifth day they essentially had to hope a random journeyman starter could keep it together for five innings so they could turn the game over to their bullpen. They need at least one starter this off-season from the usual suspects of Corbin Burnes, Blake Snell, Jack Flaherty, Max Fried or Walker Beuhler.
Then an upgrade in the outfield wouldn’t hurt… Juan Soto is the home run swing here, but he has basically half of major league baseball kicking the tires on him and he is supposedly leaning to being in NY either as a Met or a Yankee.
So pivoting to any one of the following should top their to-do list… Teoscar Hernández, Anthony Santander and Tyler O’Neill through free agency or trying to trade for Luis Robert Jr. or Wilyer Abreu.
Philly is locked in with Bryce Harper at first base and Trea Turner at shortstop. But they could theoretically move Bryson Stott or Alec Bohm as they look to give the lineup a new feel. Bohm is an excellent hitter and had a good 2024, though his second half of the year was worse than his first half but his glove is like stone at third. Stott is a near Gold Glove at second but an inconsistent hitter who can’t hit lefties.
Infielders they should target include third baseman Alex Bregman, shortstop/third baseman Willy Adames who both will cost some big bucks and years. Less costly possibilities include second baseman Gleyber Torres, third baseman Jorge Polanco and possibly trading for Nolan Arenado who is rumored to available from a soon to be rebuilding Cardinals team.
Extra innings…
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