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One of the big bad names in the baseball lexicon is the off season. There is no longer a season. The World Series leads immediately to critical alignment decisions and contract options, including Clayton Kershaw's. Next are GM meetings, endless trade discussions, post-season awards, Hall of Fame voting, an apocalyptic season for free agencies and winter meetings, which will unfold as it is suitable this year in Las Vegas. The off-season usually ended with the meetings, it extends practically until the opening day: remember that the independent agent slugger, J. D. Martinez, did not officially sign with the Red Sox before February 26th.
Here are 10 scenarios to follow in anticipation of the 2019 season:
10. The openers. The resounding success of the Tampa Bay Rays, followed by the A and Brewers, will likely push other teams to consider launching a relief pitcher, letting him go, and then following him with six or seven other substitutes. The shelves, by necessity, have made it work for a full season. The Brewers made it work during a playoff game. This devaluation of the starting pitcher is a disturbing trend, but of necessity, other teams could follow this trend as the 2019 season approaches, which could have an impact on the free agent / dealer market. trade. There is support for advanced measures in this regard. But it is also possible that, to the extent that each team has the same advanced metric information, or even a similar approach, the best way to get rid of the crowd is to go back to the old method: trust the eyes, to the ears and instincts of our team. best baseball players, as the Red Sox do with manager Alex Cora.
Between his antics and a hard-hit world series, Manny Machado has probably put out some potential contenders, including the Dodgers.
After a season of 108 wins, the Red Sox are the World Series champions. But do they open the offseason at No. 1? Where do the Dodgers and Astros come from?
Free agents willing to cash winnings at celebrity rumors throughout the winter, follow the news.
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9. Season of rewards. These might not be as close as we thought. MVP: likely Mookie Betts and Christian Yelich. Cy Young: probably Blake Snell and Jacob deGrom. Rookie of the year: probably Ronald Acuna Jr. and, in an extremely tight vote, Miguel Andujar. Manager of the year: probably Brian Snitker and a three – way race between Bob Melvin, Kevin Cash and Cora. The rewards will be interesting and maybe change of scenery, because if Snell wins, he will have the fewest possible rounds (180 2/3) by a starting pitcher in a full season since the Cy Young was awarded for the first time in 1956. The rest of his resume is great, including: he gave a hit (45 at bat) to a runner at third base this season. And if deGrom wins, he will have the fewest wins (10) and the second winning percentage (0.526) of all starting pitchers to win the trophy.
8. The Hall of Fame. This is the last year on the ballot for Edgar Martinez, whose average (.312), base percentage (.418) and slugging percentage (.515) have not equaled in history only by seven players. Martinez received 70.4% of the vote last year, so he could get there this year. Mike Mussina (63.5), Roger Clemens (57.3) and Barry Bonds (56.4) should also benefit from a boost this year. Roy Halladay and Todd Helton, who both have credentials for Cooperstown, are among the new registrants. And, of course, the new No. 1 player on the ballot is Mariano Rivera, the closest player of all time, and there is no second to it. There are those who believe that it will be the first unanimous choice for the room. But even in this more enlightened voting period, it's hard to imagine anyone will be unanimous. If Willie Mays and Hank Aaron were not, no one would be.
7. The arms race. No throwing weapons, but the race between the superpowers of the American League, the Red Sox, Astros and Yankees. They have each won 100 games this year. This is the first time that a league has three teams of 100 wins. The Red Sox and Yankees have money to spend, especially the Yankees, because they have reduced their payroll in recent years. To stay in step with each other, everyone will do whatever it takes to succeed, whether through free agencies, transactions, international signatures, and so on. The Red Sox have their own free agents at Craig Kimbrel and Nathan Eovaldi. The Yankees must replace Didi Gregorius, wounded stopover, at least until June, for example. The Astros have free agents Marwin Gonzalez, Dallas Keuchel and Charlie Morton. If one of these teams loses a key player, they will sign or trade against a substitute.
| November 4th: The winners of the gold glove are announced |
| November 5th: Finalists for the announced BBWAA Awards |
| November 5th: The MLB management of the year announced |
| 6-9 November: CEO Meetings in Carlsbad, California |
| November 7th: Announced defensive players of the year |
| November 8th: Silver Sluggers announced |
| November 12th: Rookies of the Year announced |
| November 13th: Announced Managers of the Year |
| November 14th: Cy Young Awards announced |
| November 15th: MVP Awards announced |
| November 19th: The players of the year to come announced |
| November 20th: DH of the year announced |
| November 30th: Deadline for non-submission for players eligible for arbitration |
| December 9-13: Las Vegas Winter Meetings |
| January 11th: Arbitration period |
| February 13th: Report on pitchers and sensors |
6. Labor relations. There has been no work stoppage in baseball since 1994-95. In the early 2000s, influential actors such as Tom Glavine helped pave the way for social peace, which was crucial. But things have changed. The two sides no longer work closely together for the sake of the game. More than anything else, the free agent market, which was moving slowly, was emblematic of this change, provoking strong anger from the Gamers' Association. major baseball and a new way of doing business. It seems that this winter will be essential for both parties to start talking, negotiating and repairing their relationships, otherwise there could be big problems when the collective agreement expires after the 2021 season.
5. Clayton Kershaw. He is two years old and $ 65 million is left. He can withdraw, if he wishes, although I think the Dodgers will extend his contract, even if he does not do it. He is still a very good pitcher, but he is not the Kershaw of three years ago. He does not throw him out any more and, because of injuries, he has averaged just under 25 starts in the last three seasons. He is 30 years old and his best years are clearly behind him. But it is not driven by money. He loves to pitch for the Dodgers and, since he did not give them exactly what they needed this year, it seems unlikely that he is looking for more money elsewhere. This comes with a warning: it comes from Texas, the Rangers need a starting pitcher and they will have a new baseball stadium in 2020. Kershaw coming home is the only scenario that makes sense. for the Dodgers.
4. The market for launchers at the origin of free agents. At this time, when they are no longer valued as before, the market could be disappointing for some novice pitchers. But not for Eovaldi, 28, who launches 98 mph with a 94 mph knife at the place where you place it in a game. His work in the playoffs for the Red Sox will bring him a lot of extra money in free mode. Patrick Corbin, 29, is an excellent athlete with an excellent slider. He will also benefit from a huge contract. It seems to be exactly what the Yankees need. And there are others that have value, including Keuchel, Morton and J.A. Happ. But with our young, brilliant, unscrupulous and unscrupulous, who value all players in the game, they are not likely to pay too much, in years or dollars.
3. The succession market. Last year, when the free agent market may have changed forever, the first players to be paid and relatively well paid were substitutes. It's a corrector game today, and the more you can make appearances and the more roles you play, the more value you have. Closures like Kimbrel will be paid, as will Andrew Miller, Zach Britton, David Robertson, Adam Ottavino, Kelvin Herrera and others.
2 Manny Machado. It's a spectacular talent, a brilliant brilliant defensive third-baseman who has proven this year that he was a short stance defensive well above average. He is 26 years old; he plays a premium defensive position; and it has an excellent track record in production and sustainability. But he also proved, more than once, in the 2018 playoffs, that he could become an irritable child who often does not exhaust himself in front of ground balls and celebrates his match even if one of his deep fly balls does not leave the park. His conduct will prompt teams to ask himself if he is worth $ 30 million per season. Yet the Yankees, Phillies and Dodgers could use such talent.
1. Bryce Harper. Five years ago, we had assumed that by the fall of 2018, Harper would be a generation player with an unprecedented track record consisting of multiple MVPs, a World Series ring and a 500 circuit guarantee, that's $ 400 million. $ 500 million contract. This day has not arrived yet. Harper, soon to be 26 years old, is an extraordinary talent with an impressive resume and will receive a huge amount of money from the Phillies, Dodgers, Cubs or another team, but it's probably not nearly 400 million of dollars. In the era of interchangeable parts and moving parts, fights and analysis, some teams may prefer two players at $ 15 million a year, or even three players at $ 10 million a year rather than paying $ 30 million per season.
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