2021 MLB Thread

"Unlucky 13 wrote:

Self explanatory!

How excited are you guys about the next season? Will there be 162 games? Will there be fans at the ballparks?

I live two and a half hours from Truist Park and I'm so excited for this season I might buy a small season ticket package if they let fans come back. I hope we can get Ozuna back in Atlanta, but regardless I think this is going to be a great season. I'm a big fan of bringing in Smyly and Morton to shore up the young guns that are going to anchor our rotation for the next few years. Soroka, Fried, and Anderson are going to be a tough draw for the rest of the league.

I think they should be able to pull off 162 games. They have a blueprint in place for navigating COVID. It's just a matter of when they'll be able to fill up ballparks again. I suppose there might end up being a financial aspect to it that prevents a full season from happening. The owners again wanting to go for a shorter pro-rated pay season knowing they'll lose attendance revenue. We'll see. I'm excited for whatever we end up getting.

I doubt the Marlins can make the playoffs again so feeling meh about this year lol

"AGuyNamedAlex wrote:

I doubt the Marlins can make the playoffs again so feeling meh about this year lol

They are Kryptonite to my Cubs, who are going to start the slide into crap again.

Optimistic about my Mets. First time in about 30 years I had any real faith in ownership. With Cohen and Sandy Alderson there’s clear leadership and a willingness to spend. And Cohens Twitter is worth a follow even if you don’t like Twitter (I hate the format).

Get me Springer and a SP (Bauer preferred) and Hendricks!!! LFGM

As for 162...football got their whole season in. Hockey and basketball got their postseason in with minimal interruption. I know 2 of those had a bubble but football didn’t.

Welcome to NY Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco!!!

Sucks to lose Andres Gimenez. Probably won’t ever be as good as Lindor but he’s a smart player who just gives the vibe of a winner. Not upset to lose Rosario as much. Wolf could be a very good SP. Isaiah Greene has some upside too.

"Boik14 wrote:

Welcome to NY Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco!!!

Sucks to lose Andres Gimenez. Probably won’t ever be as good as Lindor but he’s a smart player who just gives the vibe of a winner. Not upset to lose Rosario as much. Wolf could be a very good SP. Isaiah Greene has some upside too.

That's a big move. Do you think that the Mets will be able to extend him?

Reports are the Mets are/were also looking into Kris Bryant. The question now becomes - was he a fallback option in case the Lindor deal fell apart, or is he still someone they will pursue and look to turn themselves into a contender.

The Mets could be good this year if their pitching stays healthy and in form. Glad to see another team willing to spend. Meanwhile, the Cubs are dumping salary and lying about it. I get that Hoyer has to be crafty because the owner doesn't want to be thrown under the bus, but man that Darvish press conference was tone deaf and sad.

I suspect the Mets will extend Lindor on a similar deal that Betts got last year after the trade to LA.

As for fans, heck yeah. Though I think if MLB is smart, they would push the season start back a month or two to allow for more vaccination. Not to get political, but hopefully the Biden administration can get things back on track.

Smart teams will do a few days dedicated to people who worked during the pandemic - Doctor/Nurse/Hospital staff night, Teachers night, first responder night, etc and make it free to those folks.

"Unlucky 13 wrote:

That's a big move. Do you think that the Mets will be able to extend him?

Cohen is the richest owner in baseball, one of the richest in North American sports, and has stated he wants a WS within 5 years. I’d be stunned if they didn’t.

Hopefully y’all can see this! https://fb.watch/2TtlE682oc/

So some fun stats...

Lindor ranks 1st or 2nd in every major statistical category among shortstops since 2015, including WAR (1st).

Since 2017 he’s 1st in all of baseball in WAR. More then Trout, Betts and everyone else.

As much as I love Gimenez (and Wolf may be a Buehler Lite)....we stole Lindor.

"texanphinatic wrote:

Reports are the Mets are/were also looking into Kris Bryant. The question now becomes - was he a fallback option in case the Lindor deal fell apart, or is he still someone they will pursue and look to turn themselves into a contender.

The Mets could be good this year if their pitching stays healthy and in form. Glad to see another team willing to spend. Meanwhile, the Cubs are dumping salary and lying about it. I get that Hoyer has to be crafty because the owner doesn't want to be thrown under the bus, but man that Darvish press conference was tone deaf and sad.

I suspect the Mets will extend Lindor on a similar deal that Betts got last year after the trade to LA.

I’m not sure I want Bryant. He’s a better defensive player then JD Davis but the bat isn’t better but I’m not sure he hasn’t peaked or is on the decline. And as Lucky and I discussed a few weeks ago in the old thread, Bryant is a FA...and he’s no Lindor imo.

I do like that we supposedly are offering 5/150 to Springer (probably a bit high on the AAV) but we haven’t had a good defensive CF since Beltran. He’s 31 so 5 years isnt terrible but with Toronto supposedly at 5/115 I don’t really want to go higher.

And they’re in on Brad Hand and Liam Hendricks as well (rather have Hand).

If healthy, I feel very confidant that Bryant can rebound to become the player he was in 2016/17 again. He was on track for parts of 2019 before suffering another unrelated injury. However, he is pretty clearly injury prone now, and is older than a lot of people perceive him to be, recently turning 29.

Most Cubs fans thought that 2016 was the tip of the iceberg and we'd see a decade of 40+ HRs, a 290 average and a ton of walks and doubles forever from him, but he likely isn't going to be that guy now. Best case, he probably has 30 HR power now, and is able to cut down on the strikeouts by not focusing so much on launch angle. My guess is that whether or not the Cubs trade him this year, he enters free agency in the Winter, takes forever so sign with someone due to Boras, and ends up with a one year deal to try and rebound and hit the market again in 2023.

"Boik14 wrote:

Hopefully y’all can see this! https://fb.watch/2TtlE682oc/

So some fun stats...

Lindor ranks 1st or 2nd in every major statistical category among shortstops since 2015, including WAR (1st).

Since 2017 he’s 1st in all of baseball in WAR. More then Trout, Betts and everyone else.

As much as I love Gimenez (and Wolf may be a Buehler Lite)....we stole Lindor.

He's a beast, and getting Carrasco along with him for that rotation? Honestly puts you into contention. However, the Dodgers and Padres are both really dang good. The NL is loaded.

Will be interesting to see if the Yankees sit back and do diddly of if their crosstown rivals' aggressiveness spurs them to do more than lowball LeMaheiu.

"Unlucky 13 wrote:

If healthy, I feel very confidant that Bryant can rebound to become the player he was in 2016/17 again. He was on track for parts of 2019 before suffering another unrelated injury. However, he is pretty clearly injury prone now, and is older than a lot of people perceive him to be, recently turning 29.

Most Cubs fans thought that 2016 was the tip of the iceberg and we'd see a decade of 40+ HRs, a 290 average and a ton of walks and doubles forever from him, but he likely isn't going to be that guy now. Best case, he probably has 30 HR power now, and is able to cut down on the strikeouts by not focusing so much on launch angle. My guess is that whether or not the Cubs trade him this year, he enters free agency in the Winter, takes forever so sign with someone due to Boras, and ends up with a one year deal to try and rebound and hit the market again in 2023.

I dunno man, I feel like he's regressed pretty much every year since that MVP campaign when it looked like he would be among the top 3-4 players in the NL for a decade. It's bizarre how many Cubs have regressed and underperformed after that Series win.

And with the vibes coming from ownership in the last few offseasons now, who knows anymore.

"texanphinatic wrote:

He's a beast, and getting Carrasco along with him for that rotation? Honestly puts you into contention. However, the Dodgers and Padres are both really dang good. The NL is loaded.

Will be interesting to see if the Yankees sit back and do diddly of if their crosstown rivals' aggressiveness spurs them to do more than lowball LeMaheiu.

Agree on LA and SD. Mets need to get Springer and Hand and resign Conforto Thor and Lindor. Gonna be a fun and interesting year.

"texanphinatic wrote:

I dunno man, I feel like he's regressed pretty much every year since that MVP campaign when it looked like he would be among the top 3-4 players in the NL for a decade. It's bizarre how many Cubs have regressed and underperformed after that Series win.

And with the vibes coming from ownership in the last few offseasons now, who knows anymore.

They put all of their eggs in one basket with their hitters, and it backfired horribly. In 2016, and to a lesser extent 2017, they had veteran guys like Dexter Fowler and Ben Zobrist who could get on base via the base hit, and knock in runs via the single and double. But every single young player that they've developed has either always been, or developed into a high power/high strikeout guy who sucks at putting the ball in play, and its gotten worse each year. You can work with a couple of those, but when the whole lineup is that way, its just too much.

The team has been absolutely terrible at knocking in runners from scoring position with singles and doubles for a decade also. Every year, no matter which players it is, its been the same story. Always maddening. For his career, Bryant bats .285 with a man on first, but only .238 with men on 1st and 2nd, and .236 with men on 2nd and 3rd. With no one out and 2 on, he bats .240 for his career, and with two out and men in scoring position, hits under .200.

They're also patient to a fault. On his career, Bryant has swung at a 3-0 pitch just seven times! He and most of the rest just go up looking for a walk or a mistake every time, and when they don't get it, good things don't happen nearly enough. I'm honestly in favor of a hard reset now. The problem, as you said, is that the Ricketts are changing their tune from doing everything possible to make the team good, to being horribly in debt and needing to cut costs.....and there doesn't seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel. At the moment, the payroll looks to be down about 75m from what it would have been in a full season last year, and it very well could shrink again the following year.

I'm not high on Kris Bryant. As a Braves fan the idea of him going to the Mets doesn't concern me much at all. Mets are making some nice moves and it will only make the East better as a division. Lindor is a great pickup. I don't think it propels them past Atlanta, but it's a big step for them to get their team back into contention and get their fans interested again. Their previous offenses have been pretty bad outside of what Alonso did his rookie year. McNeil is a nice player too, but they didn't have much to scare you outside of that. Good offseason moves so far. This should put them comfortably ahead of Washington and Miami in the division.

LOL watch the Marlins take the NL East.

"muscle979 wrote:

I'm not high on Kris Bryant. As a Braves fan the idea of him going to the Mets doesn't concern me much at all. Mets are making some nice moves and it will only make the East better as a division. Lindor is a great pickup. I don't think it propels them past Atlanta, but it's a big step for them to get their team back into contention and get their fans interested again. Their previous offenses have been pretty bad outside of what Alonso did his rookie year. McNeil is a nice player too, but they didn't have much to scare you outside of that. Good offseason moves so far. This should put them comfortably ahead of Washington and Miami in the division.

Agree with this take. Anderson and Soroka more then offset a return from Syndergaard in June or thereabouts. Getting Carrasco in the deal and getting a full year from Stroman will certainly help stabilize the staff. Having a competent GM and VP who has been around the block a few times gives me some definite confidence we can patch up our holes. Matz can’t possibly be worse and Peterson flashed last year so there’s that as well.

"Boik14 wrote:

Agree with this take. Anderson and Soroka more then offset a return from Syndergaard in June or thereabouts. Getting Carrasco in the deal and getting a full year from Stroman will certainly help stabilize the staff. Having a competent GM and VP who has been around the block a few times gives me some definite confidence we can patch up our holes. Matz can’t possibly be worse and Peterson flashed last year so there’s that as well.

The Mets rotation should be pretty good, certainly the top three will be. Agreed on Matz LOL. Some of these Braves/Mets matchups are going to be must sees. I really hope they let fans back into the ballpark. I saw DeGrom pitch in person in 2019. Wouldn't mind doing it again. I hope we get Soroka back by the second half of the season. I'm excited to see what Bryse Wilson does this year. He really showed something in his NLCS start against LA.

Unrelated to the lineup, I do wonder where Ozuna is going to land. Should be a big price tag so Atlanta may not be the spot despite the mutual interest. He is just not a good outfielder, and that seems to be playing into too with NL teams.

"MediocrityLivesOn wrote:

LOL watch the Marlins take the NL East.

Love what they're doing. They got rid of Urena which is a great step in breaking this annoying habit they have of hitting Ronald Acuna Jr. with pitches..... LOL

"muscle979 wrote:

The Mets rotation should be pretty good, certainly the top three will be. Agreed on Matz LOL. Some of these Braves/Mets matchups are going to be must sees. I really hope they let fans back into the ballpark. I saw DeGrom pitch in person in 2019. Wouldn't mind doing it again. I hope we get Soroka back by the second half of the season. I'm excited to see what Bryse Wilson does this year. He really showed something in his NLCS start against LA.

Unrelated to the lineup, I do wonder where Ozuna is going to land. Should be a big price tag so Atlanta may not be the spot despite the mutual interest. He is just not a good outfielder, and that seems to be playing into too with NL teams.

Read a bit on him that suggested NL teams are waiting to see if the DH is continued or not before putting a value and offer out there. It's weird that the league hasn't hammered this out yet.

Mets bullpen could use a Hand, so we signed Brad for the years. Hopefully he regains his form as an elite closer.

"Boik14 wrote:

Mets bullpen could use a Hand, so we signed Brad for the years. Hopefully he regains his form as an elite closer.

He was excellent with the Padres. I haven't watched him pitch with Cleveland, but his stats look good and I know he was an All Star with them too.

This will already be his 11th season in the bigs even though he's only 30. He actually broke in with the Florida Marlins before they changed to Miami. Its interesting to see how much he improved after moving from the Marlins to the Padres. Coaching and enviornment matter.