The official Hot Stove League Thread 2025-26 Offseason

[D-train]

All fine and dandy.

My stance is the M's cannot afford for Cole Young to do what Ramirez did in his first 2 years.

If he does what Pedroia did in year 2, I'll fully eat my words. I'm not holding my breath.

I don't think he has the physical tools to be anything more than Adam Frazier. Perhaps slightly more pop but worse bat to ball skills.

Great Comp. Not great for us.

Give me a few of Adam’s good years out of Cole and would be happy, I can remember when many members of this forum were jonesing so bad for him and Reynolds.

Screenshot 2025-12-24 074138.png (18.8 KiB) Viewed 238 times

Screenshot 2025-12-24 074008.png (18.36 KiB) Viewed 237 times

[D-train]

Yeah either of those would be a good outcome for Cole.

[D-train]

Marlins sign Fairbanks. 1 year $13M

[D-train]

[D-train]

He is talking about Jerry Reinsdorf but I wish another Jerry would take notice. Of course he won't.

Hopefully Jerry learns a lesson from this reaction. More at
@WhiteSoxRTB

[Pharmabro]

Marlins sign Fairbanks. 1 year $13M

That’s strange that’s almost exactly what the Rays were on the hook for. They turned down the Option and Fairbanks negotiates a one year deal with almost the exact same dollars.

[Pharmabro]

What are you even talking about?

What the fk are you asking about.

DT brought up trading for the Cards catcher/Dh Herrera who had a OPS+ over 120 and over 130 the last two years. I thought him being Pre-Arb would make the asking price too high. But I see they traded Wilson Contreras for prospects that were out of the Sox top 20 and I hold that although Wilson has been playing 1B/DH in 2025 He did play in over 50 games at C in 2024. Willson had a 138 OPS+ in 2024 and a 123 last year. We could have acquired him to be our back-up C, 1B, and usual DH. I think that would have been a great way to partner with Cal and lengthen the lineup.


Donavan we have been coveting in trades for a few years and discussed in many offseason/ trade deadline plans.


O’Brien is another backend BP part that would improve our BP.


I don’t know how it is difficult for you to appreciate that I am lamenting that another team swept in a potential upgrade for our team.

What you wrote didn't make any sense. It still doesn't. It's like you're just vomiting words onto the screen.

You’re a piece of trash shut the fuck up just block me. I blocked you. Fuck off drink a lot of liquor drive a car off a fucking cliff fucking die you fuck

[Pharmabro]

I didn’t really think of this until after Wilson Contreras was traded. But one of our popular trade candidates is Brendan Donovan. Another poster brought up a bullpen stud in Rielly O’Brien and I think DT introduced catcher DH Yvonne Herrera as a candidate but what if we just rearrange that for Donovan, Contreras and O’Brien plus the cards pan down Willson Contreras‘s pay by say I don’t know $20 million in the Mariners not trading their to 3 but sending like 5 top 100$

You didn't think about trading for Contreras until after he was traded... Ok, fine.

You then proposed a trade for Contreras, Donovan, O'Brien... after Contreras was traded... even went as far as suggesting that Cardinals hypothetically (I don't even know if something can be hypothetical in the past tense) could pay down $20M of Contreras's $$... again, after he was traded. The Cardinal's paid down $8M, for reference.

I have no idea how you came to the conclusion that it would require 5 of the Mariners top 100 prospects to get a deal done that again... can't happen because Contreras was traded. According to MLBTV, Contreras's contract was under water ($-14.1), Donovan ($32.5M) is worth a fringe top 100 prospect and maybe a couple guys 15-30, O'brien ($4.5M) is worth almost nothing. In total, if the Cards were to give the M's $20M that would put Contreras at a surplus of $6.1M, Donovan $32.5M, O'Brien $4.5M... totaling $43.1M. That is basically the equivalent of Michael Arroyo and Johnny Farmelo... yet you went with 5x backend top 100 prospects going back to the Mariners. Huh.

I also have no idea why there is a "$" after top 100.

One of the crazier posts I've ever had to translate. Good work.

I don't get why you get upset when people tell you it's hard to understand your posts a lot of the time. They're so scatter brained and jumbled around.

I figured Rielly would be worth one to two top 100 prospects. He’s a pre-arbitration dude that looked dominant last year.

Donovan gets you another one to two top 100 types.

And then it looks like Wilson was traded for basically filler organization top 25 type prospects just at the end of the top 30 but paying in 20 million down gets you another top prospect


I mean the main point was as we hired some dude with like a 70 OPS plus career that’s in a back up cow 30 3540 times during next year so 40 times a year we’re gonna have a black hole. Wilson would’ve gave us a 120-130 OPS bat to sub in those 30 odd games at catcher and then he could basically be the regular DH and back up first base here and there so to me Wilson Contreras would’ve gave us 50-60 OPS points over production of what our backup catcher is slated to be now. that’s a huge upgrade.


And just because somebody was already signed or traded for I think we hash out if we would’ve done or not done that sign or trade or pick all the time . Well, we take those dollars and say I would’ve done that. Why didn’t the mariner sign him? Why didn’t the Mariners trade for him? That’s a pretty regular thing here.

Happy Hanukkah, merry Christmas

[Pharmabro]

Only 98 PA sample for Pedroia. Jose Ramirez age 21 season wasn't much better with similar PAs as Cole:

Screenshot 2025-12-23 143146.png

All fine and dandy.

My stance is the M's cannot afford for Cole Young to do what Ramirez did in his first 2 years.

If he does what Pedroia did in year 2, I'll fully eat my words. I'm not holding my breath.

I don't think he has the physical tools to be anything more than Adam Frazier. Perhaps slightly more pop but worse bat to ball skills.

Adam Frazier four years ago is a Brendan Donovan comp ... lefthand-hitting second baseman who can play outfield, around 29 years old, coming off his only All Star appearance.

No

[Seattle or Bust]

I didn’t really think of this until after Wilson Contreras was traded. But one of our popular trade candidates is Brendan Donovan. Another poster brought up a bullpen stud in Rielly O’Brien and I think DT introduced catcher DH Yvonne Herrera as a candidate but what if we just rearrange that for Donovan, Contreras and O’Brien plus the cards pan down Willson Contreras‘s pay by say I don’t know $20 million in the Mariners not trading their to 3 but sending like 5 top 100$

You didn't think about trading for Contreras until after he was traded... Ok, fine.

You then proposed a trade for Contreras, Donovan, O'Brien... after Contreras was traded... even went as far as suggesting that Cardinals hypothetically (I don't even know if something can be hypothetical in the past tense) could pay down $20M of Contreras's $$... again, after he was traded. The Cardinal's paid down $8M, for reference.

I have no idea how you came to the conclusion that it would require 5 of the Mariners top 100 prospects to get a deal done that again... can't happen because Contreras was traded. According to MLBTV, Contreras's contract was under water ($-14.1), Donovan ($32.5M) is worth a fringe top 100 prospect and maybe a couple guys 15-30, O'brien ($4.5M) is worth almost nothing. In total, if the Cards were to give the M's $20M that would put Contreras at a surplus of $6.1M, Donovan $32.5M, O'Brien $4.5M... totaling $43.1M. That is basically the equivalent of Michael Arroyo and Johnny Farmelo... yet you went with 5x backend top 100 prospects going back to the Mariners. Huh.

I also have no idea why there is a "$" after top 100.

One of the crazier posts I've ever had to translate. Good work.

I don't get why you get upset when people tell you it's hard to understand your posts a lot of the time. They're so scatter brained and jumbled around.

I figured Rielly would be worth one to two top 100 prospects. He’s a pre-arbitration dude that looked dominant last year.

Donovan gets you another one to two top 100 types.

And then it looks like Wilson was traded for basically filler organization top 25 type prospects just at the end of the top 30 but paying in 20 million down gets you another top prospect


I mean the main point was as we hired some dude with like a 70 OPS plus career that’s in a back up cow 30 3540 times during next year so 40 times a year we’re gonna have a black hole. Wilson would’ve gave us a 120-130 OPS bat to sub in those 30 odd games at catcher and then he could basically be the regular DH and back up first base here and there so to me Wilson Contreras would’ve gave us 50-60 OPS points over production of what our backup catcher is slated to be now. that’s a huge upgrade.


And just because somebody was already signed or traded for I think we hash out if we would’ve done or not done that sign or trade or pick all the time . Well, we take those dollars and say I would’ve done that. Why didn’t the mariner sign him? Why didn’t the Mariners trade for him? That’s a pretty regular thing here.

Happy Hanukkah, merry Christmas

The idea of visiting what the Mariners could have done to trade for Contreras wasn't the issue. It's that you didn't really declare your intent to do so in your post so it just seemed like you were throwing a trade out there for Contreras after the fact. That's why the post didn't make much sense... along with some sort of scattered, broken thoughts in the attempt to do so.

Riley O'Brien is also 30 and has pitched in 196 games in the minors.

He also previously played for the Rainiers in 2024 where they apparently thought so little of his 2.29 ERA over 55 innings that they traded him to the Cardinals for cash considerations before he reached free agency. If he were 25 and put up those numbers, the value would have been there. If he does it again that value will surely climb... the market is predicting '25 as a fluke and some volatility to follow.

Probably a shame considering he throws 99 mph and the M's could have used another BP arm.