MLB 2025 Season Official Thread

[TraceOneInfinite]

maybe baseball finally needs a salary cap

 

yeah that's always been the problem.  Why the other major sports have one and baseball doesn't?

It's a miracle the Royals were decent the last couple years.  But how can they sustain it when their competition is going out and getting players and they are sitting on their ass.

[HighEyeCue]

Meanwhile the Royals just landed a free agent for 5 Million dollars.  A back up, platoon player.  It's not fair.  You big city markets got all the money, how can we compete?

I don't know what's worse...Not having the means to compete or having tons of it and not using it .

yeah that's always been the problem.  Why the other major sports have one and baseball doesn't?

It's a miracle the Royals were decent the last couple years.  But how can they sustain it when their competition is going out and getting players and they are sitting on their ass.

there's no way the players union will agree to that...get ready for another lockout after next season

[TraceOneInfinite]

I don't know what's worse...Not having the means to compete or having tons of it and not using it .
 

there's no way the players union will agree to that...get ready for another lockout after next season

The Royals big offseason free agent splash was some bumb 4th outfielder platoon player named Lane Thomas from the Cleveland Indians.  That’s it.  We have not done shit else not have we said we are going to do anything else.

Give me the full L.A. and NY Mets breakdown of moves so far this offseason?

[HighEyeCue]

The Royals big offseason free agent splash was some bumb 4th outfielder platoon player named Lane Thomas from the Cleveland Indians.  That’s it.  We have not done shit else not have we said we are going to do anything else.

Give me the full L.A. and NY Mets breakdown of moves so far this offseason?

so far we traded a far superior Brandon Nimmo for washed Marcus Semien

lost Pete Alonso to the Orioles

lost Edwin Diaz to the Dodgers

we are right now at best maybe a 70 win team

[Duck Duck Doggy]

so far we traded a far superior Brandon Nimmo for washed Marcus Semien

lost Pete Alonso to the Orioles

lost Edwin Diaz to the Dodgers

we are right now at best maybe a 70 win team

Soto looking around him in the rubble like wtf just happened

[TraceOneInfinite]

so far we traded a far superior Brandon Nimmo for washed Marcus Semien

lost Pete Alonso to the Orioles

lost Edwin Diaz to the Dodgers

we are right now at best maybe a 70 win team

Did they say they are finished or still going after some big names

[HighEyeCue]

Did they say they are finished or still going after some big names

they in desperate need of pitching so I assume they are looking to sign somebody

but the problem is for some reason they don't want to give more than a 3 year contract to anyone

[HighEyeCue]

Mets finally made a move...Jorge Polanco 2yrs 40 million

[TraceOneInfinite]

Mets finally made a move...Jorge Polanco 2yrs 40 million

So what do you think?  Is Palanco enough to move the needle and get them back in the playoffs?

...I don't know what's up with Royals fans.  The Royals made moves for some spare parts, like depth, relievers, platoon guys and fans are actually acting like the front office is doing good work.  That's amazing to me that a fan base would be that generous.  We did spend money though because we paid a lot to keep one of our breakout guys from last year, 3rd basemen Mikael Garcia with the team.  The guy is good enough defensively to not only play 3rd but he can play shortstop as well (if Bobby Witt ever needs a day off or rehab, god forbid, but just point out how talented Garcia is defensively).  He's still young so it's possible he can get even better.  And last year he hit around .300 the whole year with some pop and also speed.   The other exciting thing about the Royals is our depth of starting pitching.  We suffered injuries to nearly the entire starting 5 rotation (besides the stud Michael Wacha) and yet the Royals still had solid options to start every game of the season that made every game competitive.  There was rumors we might trade some of our starting pitching like there is interest in Bubic and Cole Ragans, but I don't care either way, cause I know how vital depth of starting pitching is, so it's cool with me to keep extra arms, or cool to me if we trade them and get an offensive boost that we need.

At the end of the day it comes down to our BUST JAC CAGLIONE.  The guy is a freaking bust and he better not ruin our playoff chances this season like he did last season!

[HighEyeCue]

So what do you think?  Is Palanco enough to move the needle and get them back in the playoffs?

...I don't know what's up with Royals fans.  The Royals made moves for some spare parts, like depth, relievers, platoon guys and fans are actually acting like the front office is doing good work.  That's amazing to me that a fan base would be that generous.  We did spend money though because we paid a lot to keep one of our breakout guys from last year, 3rd basemen Mikael Garcia with the team.  The guy is good enough defensively to not only play 3rd but he can play shortstop as well (if Bobby Witt ever needs a day off or rehab, god forbid, but just point out how talented Garcia is defensively).  He's still young so it's possible he can get even better.  And last year he hit around .300 the whole year with some pop and also speed.   The other exciting thing about the Royals is our depth of starting pitching.  We suffered injuries to nearly the entire starting 5 rotation (besides the stud Michael Wacha) and yet the Royals still had solid options to start every game of the season that made every game competitive.  There was rumors we might trade some of our starting pitching like there is interest in Bubic and Cole Ragans, but I don't care either way, cause I know how vital depth of starting pitching is, so it's cool with me to keep extra arms, or cool to me if we trade them and get an offensive boost that we need.

At the end of the day it comes down to our BUST JAC CAGLIONE.  The guy is a freaking bust and he better not ruin our playoff chances this season like he did last season!

Polanco is a nice add but we're still a long way from a playoff contender...a couple of starters would help our chances however...our lineup with Soto and Lindor is pretty solid but top heavy, another bat and the 2 pitchers would make us a playoff team

as for the Royals I would expect a bounce back from my guy Seth Lugo and with the injured starters coming back the rotation is more than solid...Caglione has to hit though, it cant be just Witt with no protection around him...kind of like we need someone hitting behind Soto

edit-I forgot about Salvador Perez, Id take 30 and 100 from a 35 year old any day of the week...Hall of Famer

[TraceOneInfinite]

Polanco is a nice add but we're still a long way from a playoff contender...a couple of starters would help our chances however...our lineup with Soto and Lindor is pretty solid but top heavy, another bat and the 2 pitchers would make us a playoff team

as for the Royals I would expect a bounce back from my guy Seth Lugo and with the injured starters coming back the rotation is more than solid...Caglione has to hit though, it cant be just Witt with no protection around him...kind of like we need someone hitting behind Soto

edit-I forgot about Salvador Perez, Id take 30 and 100 from a 35 year old any day of the week...Hall of Famer

So you think the Mets still need 2 starters!!  To me, that's like saying they need 3-4 starters with the way starting pitchers go down so often over the duration of a season.

As for Salvador Perez—You might not know this if you are not from KC, but actually there's this young local Kansas City guy Carter Jenson at catcher who came up last year and played really well—so local fans are actually more excited to see ROOKIE CATCHER Carter Jenson this year behind the plate than Salvy.  Fans are hoping to see Salvy more in a DH role with age and weight problems he's a risk if he is a full time catcher.  The problem though is he is so beloved by the management that he often refuses to take nights off from the dish and this goes back to the championship seasons, when Yost would try to give him a night off and he simply refuses.

So remember the name CARTER JENSON--unlike Caglione he actually came up last year and performed.   

[HighEyeCue]

So you think the Mets still need 2 starters!!  To me, that's like saying they need 3-4 starters with the way starting pitchers go down so often over the duration of a season.

As for Salvador Perez—You might not know this if you are not from KC, but actually there's this young local Kansas City guy Carter Jenson at catcher who came up last year and played really well—so local fans are actually more excited to see ROOKIE CATCHER Carter Jenson this year behind the plate than Salvy.  Fans are hoping to see Salvy more in a DH role with age and weight problems he's a risk if he is a full time catcher.  The problem though is he is so beloved by the management that he often refuses to take nights off from the dish and this goes back to the championship seasons, when Yost would try to give him a night off and he simply refuses.

So remember the name CARTER JENSON--unlike Caglione he actually came up last year and performed.   

yeah I would feel better if they had a legit ace, Nolan Mclean can be that, he was great for the 8 starts he had but we have to see more...other young starters didn't impress me but sometimes they take a while to develop

I would give the Royals a better chance at the postseason than the Mets, I even think you guys can win that division...we probably have no shot with our current team but a few more additions and we can maybe sneak in

[TraceOneInfinite]

yeah I would feel better if they had a legit ace, Nolan Mclean can be that, he was great for the 8 starts he had but we have to see more...other young starters didn't impress me but sometimes they take a while to develop

I would give the Royals a better chance at the postseason than the Mets, I even think you guys can win that division...we probably have no shot with our current team but a few more additions and we can maybe sneak in

8 starts is enough of a sample size to feel confident.  You don't usually see starting pitchers ball out for 8 straight starts, and then fall off the map.  I only recall seeing it once, the Royals had some guy called Brian Bannister (his father also played in the majors so you might recall the name) back in their 100 loss era of the 2000-2010 and he was lights out for 8 starts strangely and then got destroyed and ran out of the league.  Because sometimes a pitcher develops a pitch like this guy had some cutter or something like that, he had little armstrength, but he had one pitch that was working for him, and eventually the league caught up to it and he was finished after that

You see all the time, that one guy has some spot start and gives up no runs over 6 or 7 innings, but then gets bombed in his next games, that happens all the time.

So yeah, I would feel confident about Mclean if I was you. 

As for the young starters if they haven't impressed you yet then I would be really concerned.  Because I love these Sabermetrics terms like REPLACEMENT LEVEL PLAYER -- or the stat WINS ABOVE REPLACEMENT.   Because what that tells me when you say they are young starters that haven't impressed you yet, but that they are young so they may have upside.  To me, that is just saying that they are Replacement Level Players.  Meaning that there are all these guys on the margins between MLB and Triple AAA and so sure, you can always kind of bring up a guy playing well in Triple AAA and give him a shot, but that's true for every team.

So break it down for me.  Break down the Mets Projected Starting 5, just give me the names and at least one comment about them, and I'll look into it.  It will give us something to do in these dog days of January and February waiting for the season to start

[HighEyeCue]

8 starts is enough of a sample size to feel confident.  You don't usually see starting pitchers ball out for 8 straight starts, and then fall off the map.  I only recall seeing it once, the Royals had some guy called Brian Bannister (his father also played in the majors so you might recall the name) back in their 100 loss era of the 2000-2010 and he was lights out for 8 starts strangely and then got destroyed and ran out of the league.  Because sometimes a pitcher develops a pitch like this guy had some cutter or something like that, he had little armstrength, but he had one pitch that was working for him, and eventually the league caught up to it and he was finished after that

You see all the time, that one guy has some spot start and gives up no runs over 6 or 7 innings, but then gets bombed in his next games, that happens all the time.

So yeah, I would feel confident about Mclean if I was you. 

As for the young starters if they haven't impressed you yet then I would be really concerned.  Because I love these Sabermetrics terms like REPLACEMENT LEVEL PLAYER -- or the stat WINS ABOVE REPLACEMENT.   Because what that tells me when you say they are young starters that haven't impressed you yet, but that they are young so they may have upside.  To me, that is just saying that they are Replacement Level Players.  Meaning that there are all these guys on the margins between MLB and Triple AAA and so sure, you can always kind of bring up a guy playing well in Triple AAA and give him a shot, but that's true for every team.

So break it down for me.  Break down the Mets Projected Starting 5, just give me the names and at least one comment about them, and I'll look into it.  It will give us something to do in these dog days of January and February waiting for the season to start

Nolan Mclean - future ace...in 8starts he was 5-1 with a 2.06 ERA 48IP 57K...the only drawback I saw was the 18 walks but he tends to get out of the jams he does create

now for the rest

Kodai Senga - great rookie season in '23 coming over from Japan but since then he has been injured and when healthy inconsitent...he was also sent to the minors in September of last year when we were in the race becuase he couldnt get anybody out, never a good sign

Clay Holmes-came over from the Yankees and the Mets made him a starter...I like him but the doesnt go deep into games

Sean Manaea - signed a big contract after the '24 season and was injured and inconsistent last year when he came back

David Petersen - I like him, he had a very good 1st half and made the all star team but went downhill after the break

now the other 2 rookies

Brandon Sproat - I like his stuff but he only pitched in like 20 innings and had a 4.79 ERA...I need to see more though

Jonah Tong - he was maybe the biggest disappointment, he dominated in the minors last year but in 18 innings he gave up 16 runs and had a 7.71 ERA...no bueno

so basically I'm only confident in Mclean and Holmes and even then not 100%...I do have hope however that at least one of the other young 2 pitchers will develop

[TraceOneInfinite]

Nolan Mclean - future ace...in 8starts he was 5-1 with a 2.06 ERA 48IP 57K...the only drawback I saw was the 18 walks but he tends to get out of the jams he does create

now for the rest

Kodai Senga - great rookie season in '23 coming over from Japan but since then he has been injured and when healthy inconsitent...he was also sent to the minors in September of last year when we were in the race becuase he couldnt get anybody out, never a good sign

Clay Holmes-came over from the Yankees and the Mets made him a starter...I like him but the doesnt go deep into games

Sean Manaea - signed a big contract after the '24 season and was injured and inconsistent last year when he came back

David Petersen - I like him, he had a very good 1st half and made the all star team but went downhill after the break

now the other 2 rookies

Brandon Sproat - I like his stuff but he only pitched in like 20 innings and had a 4.79 ERA...I need to see more though

Jonah Tong - he was maybe the biggest disappointment, he dominated in the minors last year but in 18 innings he gave up 16 runs and had a 7.71 ERA...no bueno

so basically I'm only confident in Mclean and Holmes and even then not 100%...I do have hope however that at least one of the other young 2 pitchers will develop

Yeah that looks hella suspect.  And even the two guys you are counting on still have a little question mark.  They are going to have to make a move.  There is no way you can expect to be a playoff team, and you are starting a season with only two starters you are confident in and then 3 other guys that you are giving an oppurtunity to. 

I watched this video and they had to list a couple guys that they want to go out and get from other teams just to fill in the rotation.



I thought the Mets were a playoff caliber team but if they don't add one or two legit starters before opening day then they are in some serious trouble--I don't care how good the offense is.  There is a saying in baseball they say good pitching beats good hitting.  So they can have all the hitting in the world but if the starter on the other team is having a good day then good pitching beats good hitting.