Mega Thread MLB season 2024

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

AJ Hinch brought Jackson Jobe into the game today. 22yo rookie, has pitched in two games total.

Didn't work on this occasion but as a manager he's not showing any fear. Bringing guys in and out, backing them in, not cautious about the consequence.

That attitude seems to have rubbed off on the players.

Feels like a free hit season

 

[kaiserchief13]

Braves haven't thrown in the towel but doubt their batters can come through in the clutch in the 9th

 

[kaiserchief13]

Laureano what a shit batter

 

[Dixie Flatline]

Orioles on the precipice of being eliminated as well.

It's crazy how little home field advantage seems to matter in baseball.

At least the MLB had the sense to make it a best of three series. I'm still annoyed that the A's twice had one-game Wild Card games against the Royals and Yankees in the mid-2010s and lost them both, so never had a chance to even the score.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

Laureano what a shit batter

To be fair to him, Suarez was throwing 100mph fastballs and sinkers. You don't have a lot of time to react when the ball is coming in that hot. I'm fairly certain that when Snitker put in d'Arnaud as a pinch-hitter he wasn't planning on a first ball pop-out to the catcher.

 

[kaiserchief13]

To be fair to him, Suarez was throwing 100mph fastballs and sinkers. You don't have a lot of time to react when the ball is coming in that hot. I'm fairly certain that when Snitker put in d'Arnaud as a pinch-hitter he wasn't planning on a first ball pop-out to the catcher.

When the count was 3-1 why didn't he take the ball? Was outside the strike zone would have meant 2 on bases with 1 out. Just shit batting. He went 0-8 from the 2 games, horrible

 

[CURVE]

Oh well! I thought the Braves did well just to make the post season, they never really got out of first gear after a strong opening month, losing Acuna early started the rot but other batters like Harris III, Albie, Riley and Murphy missing chunks of the season meant there was no real continuity to the lineup. It didn't help that when they were on the park, they were just a shadow of the power team they were last year. The only player to improve on last season was Ozuna who probably had a foot out the door at the start of the season, now it will be interesting to see if the Big Bear will remain in Atlanta next season.

Despite the loss of Strider after only two games, it was really the pitching that kept Atlanta in contention this season, Sale was sensational and will hopefully be a Cy Young winner this season, while Lopez, Fried, Morton and Schwellenbach were all generally very good, Lopez was almost impossible to hit at times, hopefully he remains at Truist Park next season.

 

[FreoRicci]

Congratulations to Detroit. Superb effort.

How does a team go a big sell off at the deadline, 8 under .500 in early August, to the ALDS, having swept Houston? Amazing!

One word: Baez.

Good freaking riddance. That guy is horseshit

 

[FreoRicci]

Orioles on the precipice of being eliminated as well.

It's crazy how little home field advantage seems to matter in baseball.

1 run. 1 solidarity run to show for it over two games.
KC only scored 3.

 

[largebus]

 

[RPCB]

You know it was all over when Butto dropped the ball out of his glove. Who did that years ago in a postseason game and gave up a home run?

Found it

 

[Jatz]

Sad way to end the season. Would've been routed by the Phillies in any case.

 

[Jatz]

OMFG

POLAR BEAR PETE

 

[Jatz]

Sad way to end the season. Would've been routed by the Phillies in any case.

**** THE PHILLIES, WE'RE GOING ALL THE WAY BABY.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

The Cincinnati Reds are turning to a veteran to lead the ball club in 2025 and beyond, with reports coming out that they have entered an agreement with Terry Francona to be their manager. After 11 fairly unremarkable seasons as a player, Francona has managed the Phillies, the Red Sox (for two World Series) and the Cleveland Indians/Guardians up until the end of the 2023 season.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

It appears that Padres infielder Ha-Seong Kim is gearing up for a run through free agency, having switched his representation from ISE Baseball to the Scott Boras Corporation. Kim turns 29 later in October and has a mutual option with the Padres for the 2025 season. The Padres would almost certainly exercise their option, but Kim is expected to decline his option (which is worth $8 million) in favour of a $2 million buy-out and a test of the open market. It will be Kim's first time through free agency after signing with the Padres on a $28 million guarantee prior to the 2021 season after being posted by the KBO's Kiwoom Heroes.

Kim has hit .250/.336/.385 since becoming an every-day player for the Padres in 2022, worth a 106 wRC+. He also ranks 17th among all infielders over the last three seasons in Outs Above Average and is the 11th-best infielder when measured by Defensive Runs Saved.

Kim has mostly spent time at shortstop, but he's also played second and third base for the Padres since joining them.

The Scott Boras Corporation will now be responsible for managing RHP Corbin Burnes, LHP Blake Snell and 1B Pete Alonso, along with Kim, in the upcoming free agency period.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

A number of players who spent the 2024 season on ball clubs are now electing minor league free agency. These players are separate from six-year MLB free agents, who reach the open market five days after the end of the World Series. Eligible minor leaguers are entitled to elect free agency at the end of the regular season. All the following players were outrighted off a team's 40-man roster at some stage during the season and have the requisite service time and/or multiple career outrights necessary to reach free agency.

• Seby Zavala, catcher, Seattle Mariners
• Keston Hiura, infielder, Los Angeles Angels
• Edward Olivares, outfielder, Pittsburgh Pirates
• Dan Altavilla, pitcher, Kansas City Royals
• Matt Andriese, pitcher, Miami Marlins
• Aaron Brooks, pitcher, Oakland Athletics
• Justin Bruihl, pitcher, Pittsburgh Pirates
• Paolo Espino, pitcher, Toronto Blue Jays
• Anthony Gose, pitcher, Cleveland Guardians
• Geoff Hartlieb, pitcher, Colorado Rockies
• Jake Woodford, pitcher, Pittsburgh Pirates

 

[Dixie Flatline]

With the Diamondbacks failing to make it back to the post-season, there are changes being made in the coaching staff in the desert. Out the door are pitching coach Brent Strom, bullpen coach Mike Fetters and assistant pitching coach Dan Carlson. All three have been fired by the Diamondbacks.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

With the Baltimore Orioles having been swept by the Royals in the Wild Card series, the Orioles GM Mike Elias spoke to reporters the following day on various topics relevant to the Orioles. Of note, Elias confirmed that manager Brandon Hyde would return to 2025, but he was not so committed about the rest of the coaching staff. Elias also indicated that he was "confident" that payroll would increase in 2025.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

In contrast, the Houston Astros may be cutting payroll, with their GM, Dana Brown, telling reporters after they were eliminated by the Detroit Tigers from the postseason that the Astros will need to be "creative" about how they allocate payroll in the future. The Astros have $147 million in salary guaranteed for the 2025 season, including dead-money commitments to Jose Abreu and Rafael Montero. The Astros also have ten players heading into arbitration that are not included in that salary amount, including LHP Framber Valdez, and OF Kyle Tucker. Adding their expected arbitrated salaries to the guaranteed salaries would bump up that amount to about $212 million before the Astros even think about adding a free agent.

The Astros will also have to make decisions about impending free agents including 3B Alex Bregman (a free agent for the first time in his career), RHP Justin Verlander (who was left off the post-season roster by the Astros) and LHP Yusei Kikuchi, a midseason acquisition from the Blue Jays. The bullpen may also look very different in 2025 for the Astros, with Caleb Ferguson, Hector Neris and Kendall Graveman are all free agents.

The Astros appear primed to make an offer to Bregman, with the GM talking glowingly about his influence both on and off field, while Jose Altuve also has agitated for the Astros to retain Bregman.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5815995/2024/10/03/alex-bregman-astros-offseason-plans/

 

[largebus]

LOLMet- I mean LOLMilwaukee.

Bullpen is always lights out until the calendar turns to October.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

The odds for the 2025 draft have been finalised following the completion of the regular season. For those fans of the White Sox, they will be bracing for bad news. Despite having the worst record in baseball after the 2024 season, since the White Sox are not a revenue-sharing recipient and had a lottery pick in 2024, they cannot pick higher than tenth in 2025. Similarly, since the Oakland Athletics have had two turns through the lottery in 2023 and 2024, they cannot pick higher than eleventh (due to having a better record than the White Sox). Both the White Sox and Oakland will have balls in the lottery, but if they are pulled out at any time between 1-9 in the draft, that woudl be ignored.

Accordingly, the odds for getting the first pick in the draft are as follows:

No.	Team	2024 record	Odds
1	Colorado Rockies	61-101	22.45%
2	Miami Marlins	62-100	22.45%
3	Los Angeles Angels	63-99	17.96%
4	Washington Nationals	71-91	10.2%
5	Toronto Blue Jays	74-88	7.48%
6	Pittsburgh Pirates	76-86	5.31%
7	Cincinnati Reds	77-85	3.67%
8	Texas Rangers	78-84	2.45%
9	San Francisco Giants	80-82	1.9%
10	Chicago White Sox	41-121	Ineligible
11	Oakland Athletics	69-93	Ineligible
12	Tampa Bay Rays	80-82	1.5%
13	Boston Red Sox	81-81	1.22%
14	Minnesota Twins	82-80	1.09%
15	St Louis Cardinals	83-79	0.82%
16	Chicago Cubs	83-79	0.68%
17	Seattle Mariners	85-77	0.54%
18	Arizona Diamondbacks	89-73	0.27%

 

[Jatz]

 

[FreoRicci]

Brewers are just unlucky during this period.
Having to contend with Dodgers and Phillies to get automatic spot in the DS Is tough.

Be fun to watch Mets though. People legit thought they were done early in the season

 

[kaiserchief13]

Brewers are chokers. Always have been. Probably Padres Mets nlcs.