It’s very clear that the stove isn’t lit. You know it. I know it. Say Hey, Baseball keeps saying it. If you’ve ever turned on a gas stove and heard the clicking sound, that’s what’s happening. And it won’t stop. Ever, probably. So we’re left to ruminate on what might be (like a Giancarlo Stanton trade) or hold tight to the small sparks of hope (like a Doug Fister signing), and that’s OK, too.
Fists and lists: Sustained by the tiny embers of hot stove season
Tuesday’s Say Hey, Baseball looks at Giancarlo Stanton’s list and Doug Fister’s signing.
Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Fister’s contract with the Rangers gives him at minimum $3.5 million for 2018 with a 2019 club option and the possibility of adding up to $8 million extra. Barely spending a fraction of what they will need in free agency this season, the Rangers got major league experience from a guy who has struggled with a sub-90s fastball but whose most recent work is trending up. Even if that trend includes an ERA upward of 4.00 in the last two months of 2017 and will coincide with Cole Hamels regression, Fister doesn’t have to be the ace. (He won’t have to be the two-starter or probably the three-starter either.)
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Fister takes one for the league-wide team by signing before the market is set and his value is cemented. He probably didn’t lose out on much given his drawbacks. But he could be a steal if he continues his upward trend. The Rangers still need rotation help, and this deal doesn’t hold them back from other options.
One factor that led Fister to be one of the lone acquisitions this late into November is Stanton. Teams are holding their breath and their bank accounts on a bet that they might have a chance to bring on the 28-year-old dinger-god. Giving us something to ponder while we wait is the report that he’s supplied the Marlins with a list of teams to which he’d accept a trade. The top choice being the Dodgers.
The Dodgers make sense for the LA native and for anyone who likes playing for 2017’s best team and not, you know, the Marlins. The Dodgers have room for him in the outfield and on the payroll. It’s a great fit. Get it done so we can stop with the bad stove analogies.
- Where money won’t be a deciding factor, Shohei Ohtani tasked each of the 30 MLB teams with a seven-part questionnaire. McCovey Chronicles did Bobby Evans’ homework for him.
- Over on the other side of the country in Philly, Matt Klentak was given the same task, and the kind souls at The Good Phight took it off his plate for him.
- The Braves hired Andrew Tinnish from the Blue Jays as vice president of amateur and international scouting as the team recovers from the red wedding at SunTrust Park.
- The Braves bloodshed could benefit any one of the 30 MLB teams, not least of the possible beneficiaries are the Tigers.
- One of the lesser highlights of the offseason so far is the Dodgers signing Pat Venditte on a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. Because when you can pitch from both sides, everything you do is interesting.
What was the Yankees most critical mistake in 2017? Submit a FanPost to Pinstripe Alley explaining your answer. Who doesn’t like ruminating on crushing blows?
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