The 2024 MLB Season Thread (pitching, president, pitcher, athletic)

[Mike from back east]

NY Times is reporting this today:

Excerpts:

The annual general managers meetings, which will take place Tuesday through Thursday (7-9 NOV 2023) in Scottsdale, Ariz., serve as a kickoff of sorts for the 2024 season.

During the GM meetings, trade discussions between teams begin in earnest and clubs hold initial negotiations with free agents’ representatives.

There aren’t usually a lot of trades or signings during the GM meetings, but these talks set the stage for future deals that typically are consummated at the Winter Meetings, which this year will be held from Dec. 3 to Dec. 7 in Nashville, Tenn.

The GM meetings are vital to the business and baseball sides of baseball operations. The two main purposes of the meetings are to cover significant issues that impact the former and to bring teams together to facilitate the latter, which is highlighted by teams sharing their biggest offseason needs with each other.

Here's the CBS list of the top 50 Free Agents.

Here's the calendar of MLB events from now through opening day 2024.

The actual schedule of 2024 games was released in July 2023. Regular season play starts 28 March 2024.

[case44]

Thanks so much, Mike! It's never too early, and that season will be here before anyone knows it. Right now, it's anticipation for the Winter Meetings.

[Mike from back east]

Yes, it's on the way and they are busy preparing for next season.

Just today I received an email about Spring Training ticket sales for the stadium in Surprise, AZ where the KC Royals and Texas Rangers play.

FWIW: The Savanna Bananas will play two games in this area during Spring Training, ticket sales will be via a lottery system, that's how popular they are.

[Mike from back east]

Free Agency starts today, headlined by Shohei Ohtani. Some excerpts from today's NY Times:

Among those retained by their teams: OF Max Kepler (Twins, $10 million), 2B Jorge Polanco (Twins, $10.5 million), LHP Andrew Heaney (Rangers, $13 million), RHP Kyle Hendricks (Cubs, $16.5 million), and RHP José Leclerc (Rangers, $6.25 million).

...here are some notable names whose options were declined, making them free agents: SS Tim Anderson (White Sox, $1 million buyout), RHP Liam Hendriks (White Sox, $15 million buyout, payable over 10 years, per CBS Sports), RHP Lance Lynn (Dodgers, $1 million buyout), 1B Joey Votto (Reds, $7 million buyout).

1B Josh Bell (Marlins, $16.5 million) and RHP Ross Stripling (Giants, $12.5 million) will stick around for another go with their teams.

Among those who chose to test the waters in free agency: OF Cody Bellinger ($5 million buyout), RHP Mike Clevinger (White Sox, $4 million buyout), RHP Seth Lugo (Padres), RHP Hector Neris (Astros), LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (Tigers), OF Jorge Soler (Marlins), RHP Marcus Stroman (Cubs), and DH Justin Turner (Red Sox, $6.7 million buyout)

[JSOFFLine]

Craig Counsell to the Cubs , switching to Chicago from his hometown Milwaukee Brewers.

Paying him 8 million a year, 3.5 million more than any manager in MLB.

[Mike from back east]

The sports press is having some fun with the "what ifs" of Free Agent season...

Jim Bowden of the NY Times has a few gems to speculate about, these are not actual trades, just his swag at the issue:

Shohei Ohtani signs with Texas. Almost unfair, right? You ride an unforgettable postseason wave to the franchise’s first World Series and then you get the most talented player to ever live? And you take him from a division rival? Spicy, delicious and dramatic.

The Yankees land Juan Soto. Another zesty splash, and a needed one, considering the amount of anger/apathy in the New York fan base right now. Bowden’s bonus: The Yankees also ink superstar Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a big deal. The juice is back in the Bronx. Imagine how many dingers Soto, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton would hit.

The Nationals hire Theo Epstein. This is dependent on the team getting sold and Epstein joining the new ownership group as CEO and president. The former architect of World Series winners in Chicago and Boston has worked as a league consultant since 2020.

The A’s finalize their Las Vegas move, playing one final season in Oakland and the following three in a souped-up Triple-A park in Vegas while the new fancy stadium is built.

[Statz2k10]

Epstein should go to Cleveland. Imagine getting a ring with the Red Sox, Cubs & then the :Cough: Guardians. Nationals just won a WS in 2019. Seems like it would be more excitement to go to many other teams that haven't won in 30+ years or at all.

[case44]

Originally Posted by JSOFFLine

Craig Counsell to the Cubs , switching to Chicago from his hometown Milwaukee Brewers.

Paying him 8 million a year, 3.5 million more than any manager in MLB.

Just imagine the firestorm that this move will create. Going from Beer Town to a heated rival just a few miles down the road. This is going to be an interesting development in that NL Central race in '24. I still believe St Louis is inevitable, but for now, Brewers-Cubs will certainly be one of the races to watch.

[case44]

I'll go out on a limb to say this: The Yankees' 31-year-in-a-row regular season winning record streak will come to an end in '24. Their insistence on keeping GM Brian Cashman is going to blow up in their faces yet again. I'm not making my season predictions right now, of course, but this will be something to keep in the back pocket. No move they make this offseason will make things better in a division where Baltimore, Toronto, and Tampa Bay are all going to be expected to do big things.

And elsewhere, Joe Espada finally gets his due, as he becomes the new manager for the Astros. No other person could have been better suited for this. He knows the players and understands the system, although he could add some of his own ideas for how the offense and defense will go. Pitching will now be a big matter to address. The Winter Meetings are coming up.


More on Espada: https://www.mlb.com/news/joe-espada-new-astros-manager

[Mike from back east]

Still no decision by Shohei Otani on where he'll play in 2024. Experts say that once he chooses a team that a flurry of trades will probably follow. At the Winter Meetings, Dave Roberts of the Dodgers was quoted saying: “Clearly, Shohei is our top priority...”

One trade announced saw the Red Sox trade OF Alex Verdugo to the NYY for 3 pitching prospects. It’s just the 7th deal between these bitter rivals since 1972.

The MLB Winter Meeting of GMs is being held at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville, I've stayed there. it's a horrendously overpriced clip joint that holds you hostage as there's nothing around it, you spend a fortune there for everything and if you want to retrieve your car from their 'valet' service it's $24 every time you want to drive off the property.