Finally! Official Hot Stove League thread!

[Sexymarinersfan]

Looks like the Giants are going to sign Matt Chapman. So much for our upgrade at third base!

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/03/ ... apman.html

At $18M per? I would've rather kept Geno.

[D-train]

Looks like the Giants are going to sign Matt Chapman. So much for our upgrade at third base!

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/03/ ... apman.html

Wow, once again Boras comes out smelling like a Rose. I am the last guy worried about money but that seems like a lot. Giants flushed $43.5M on Haniger last season so there FA decisions have been questionable lately.

[D-train]

Looks like the Giants are going to sign Matt Chapman. So much for our upgrade at third base!

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/03/ ... apman.html

At $18M per? I would've rather kept Geno.

Past three seasons
Chapman .226/.743 108 OPS+
Geno .223 .739 104 OPS+

So the offense is basically the same. Chapman has a history of being great defensively but Geno was great last season.

Geno will make $11.3M this season

Conclusion: I agree. But then we would wouldn't have negative WAR Seby and Vargas who is the best pitcher with a 7+ ERA in the history of the PCL.

[rockycola]

Polo getting lit up this spring. Hope he regains his strength and his health or he'll be on the move again or out of baseball.
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He gave up 3 homers today to Stanton and a fourth to Volpe.
One of Giancarlo's was a grand slam.

Wonder who the ptbnl will be.

[Donn Beach]

Yeah, hasn't pitched in a year, probably be more about velocity and whatever than results. There's a Pittsburgh gazette article about him but I can't open it

[D-train]

Yeah, hasn't pitched in a year, probably be more about velocity and whatever than results. There's a Pittsburgh gazette article about him but I can't open it

Based on those results I am guessing he velo wasn't great. At least the Braves were smart enough to dump him...

[Big_Maple]

Of the headliners that netted us Luis Castillo, Marte is serving an 80 game PED suspension, Levi Stoudt is back with the Mariners, Andrew Moore is ranked 41 among their top 50 prospects and is pitching high A ball, and now Edwin Arroyo - their #3 prospect - just had season ending shoulder surgery. He tore his labrum diving back to base on a pickoff attempt in spring training.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/03/ ... rgery.html

Meanwhile, Castillo has been tagged to be our opening day starter, and since he's been a Mariner has put up a solid 3.64 ERA, been good for 4.4 WAR, and logged 296 strikeouts. And he has stayed healthy and not served PED suspensions. '

Hard to say who won that trade. Parting with Marte and Arroyo was tough, and in the long run they may pay dividends for the Reds. But for the start of the 2024 season, at least, the M's look like they came out ahead.

[Donn Beach]

Canzone

“He’s more physical – I think everybody’s seen it out here – and the at-bats, the quality of the at-bats and pitch selection we’ve seen from him this spring training has been really, really a big difference from what we’ve seen when he first came to the Mariners,” Hollander said. “And that’s something we knew we were going to have to address, and I think he’s done a great job addressing it.”

[Big_Maple]

So, I have been reading some articles by the prognosticators, and I found two articles that might give a little hope to the Mariners fanbase.

In the first, Anthony Castrovince is making "bold" predictions for the 2024 season. Among his predictions is that the M's win the AL West. He says "They have arguably the best rotation in MLB, an improved lineup, a penchant for putting together effective bullpens, and Julio Rodríguez. I actually think it can happen."

https://www.mlb.com/news/bold-predictio ... mlb-season

Best rotation in baseball, you say? Indeed. Castrovince goes on to rank the rotations, and he has us as #1 - ahead of even the Braves:

https://www.mlb.com/news/best-mlb-rotations-2024

Yeah, it's just one guy's opinion. But it is nice, at least, to get some encouraging press now and again.