Official 2024 Off-Season Thread!

[Tapate50]

AA usually waits for the guy playing musical chairs without a seat.

[Tapate50]

Also-

The market for Cody Bellinger has been super quiet.

[mfree80]

AA usually waits for the guy playing musical chairs without a seat.

I think this is where we are headed. AA will not be goaded into making a bad deal by headline writers.

[Hudson2]

Also-

The market for Cody Bellinger has been super quiet.

I think alot of people are scared about him reverting back to his old self. That contract won age well at all.

[zbhargrove]

Also-

The market for Cody Bellinger has been super quiet.

Probably because his statcast data and underlying numbers are pretty bad

[50PoundHead]

People are getting too worked up about the Braves not signing another starter, but there's a solid pool of pitchers left in the market, including Yamamoto, Snell, Montgomery, Stroman Giolito, Lugo, Imanaga, Wacha, Flaherty, and more. Not to mention potential trade options.

I expected the dam to have broken by now, but when it finally does I expect a flurry of signings. That's when we may see Anthopoulos have to jump the market a little bit. I know that's out of his comfort zone, but with the Fried and Morton situations, I don't know if he can risk waiting until next off-season to ensure rotation stability.

Like you say, plenty of options remain both in the free agent and trade target categories.

[Slippyjms]

I expected the dam to have broken by now, but when it finally does I expect a flurry of signings. That's when we may see Anthopoulos have to jump the market a little bit. I know that's out of his comfort zone, but with the Fried and Morton situations, I don't know if he can risk waiting until next off-season to ensure rotation stability.

Like you say, plenty of options remain both in the free agent and trade target categories.

Jumping the market isn't out of his comfort zone. AA is very good about targeting and acquiring the specific players he wants

[jpx7]

I think alot of people are scared about him reverting back to his old self. That contract won age well at all.

Probably because his statcast data and underlying numbers are pretty bad

The Yankees traded a decent suite of young pitching to acquire Soto for a mere year instead of giving Bellinger a stupid contract. That’s telling re where his market is. At this point, I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if he ends up back with the Cubs.

[striker42]

Cody Bellinger: .331 xwOBA

Jarred Kelenic: .333 xwOBA

[thewupk]

Imagine if Acuna hadn't signed that extension. He and Soto would hit FA at the same time next year. Would have been a wild bidding war for both of those guys.

[striker42]

Imagine if Acuna hadn't signed that extension. He and Soto would hit FA at the same time next year. Would have been a wild bidding war for both of those guys.

A lot of people used to consider Soto a better player than Acuna. I know Nats fans did. But Acuna absolutely left Soto in the dust this year.

Acuna was first in baseball last year in xwOBA with a .463, Soto was 6th with a .408. So Acuna's xwOBA was 55 points higher than Sotos. That's the same difference between Soto at 6 and Will Smith at 36 with a .353. I can't even imagine what Acuna would bring on the open market.

[Buzzworm]

A lot of people used to consider Soto a better player than Acuna. I know Nats fans did. But Acuna absolutely left Soto in the dust this year.

Acuna was first in baseball last year in xwOBA with a .463, Soto was 6th with a .408. So Acuna's xwOBA was 55 points higher than Sotos. That's the same difference between Soto at 6 and Will Smith at 36 with a .353. I can't even imagine what Acuna would bring on the open market.

If he stays healthy I’d expect him to sign a contract anywhere between 400-500 million to cover the rest of his career.
It just won’t be with the Braves imo
I’d love for us to have another player to play his entire career in Atlanta but I’d assume he will be making up for the money lost from his last deal.
Will be a sad day if/when that happens.

[Carp]

A lot of people used to consider Soto a better player than Acuna. I know Nats fans did. But Acuna absolutely left Soto in the dust this year.

Acuna was first in baseball last year in xwOBA with a .463, Soto was 6th with a .408. So Acuna's xwOBA was 55 points higher than Sotos. That's the same difference between Soto at 6 and Will Smith at 36 with a .353. I can't even imagine what Acuna would bring on the open market.

I don't think anyone thought he was better player, aside from Nats fane. Soto has routinely been a poor defender and provides zero value on the base paths. But most thought he was the better hitter by far.

[50PoundHead]

Jumping the market isn't out of his comfort zone. AA is very good about targeting and acquiring the specific players he wants

If he has identified someone and waiting for the market to settle before actively pursuing (which appears to be his pattern), I can accept that. What I am saying is that he may have to deviate from that this off-season seeing the gaps that exist in the rotation beyond 2024.

[50PoundHead]

A lot of people used to consider Soto a better player than Acuna. I know Nats fans did. But Acuna absolutely left Soto in the dust this year.

Acuna was first in baseball last year in xwOBA with a .463, Soto was 6th with a .408. So Acuna's xwOBA was 55 points higher than Sotos. That's the same difference between Soto at 6 and Will Smith at 36 with a .353. I can't even imagine what Acuna would bring on the open market.

They are markedly different players, but both are very good. Both came up in 2018 and Soto has a couple more bWAR during that time. Of course, Acuna missed a lot of time in 2021 and that certainly could explain the difference. Soto is never going to light up the basepaths like Acuna, but Soto will probably continue to lead the walks every year until he's 65 (seeing that he's 50 now). This kind of reminds me of the Aaron vs. Mays debate when I was growing up.

[50PoundHead]

Senzel to the Nationals. 1 year/$2 million.

Candelario reportedly to the Reds. 3 years/$45 million. Club option at $15 million for 2027 (4th year). Odd signing for a guy who has been fairly inconsistent throughout his career after being a highly-regarded prospect when he came through the Cubs' system.

[zbhargrove]

[zbhargrove]

Seems like we are slowly filling that 40 man back up but glad White is now off the 40 man officially.

[striker42]

Perdomo is interesting. He's an absolute giant and he put up some good numbers in a little bit of a SSS for Pitt last year. Can't have too much pen depth.

[zbhargrove]

Perdomo is interesting. He's an absolute giant and he put up some good numbers in a little bit of a SSS for Pitt last year. Can't have too much pen depth.

Yeah he's probably out all year next year after just going through TJS but I saw somewhere we have 5 years of control on him.