Royals already beat every other offer on Hosmer.

I think the problem would be the offensive production you'd gain wouldn't come from the right position. Gyorko is more than just serviceable and so is Carp. They need another corner outfielder and some pitching help.

I agree that we can use another bat, I just don't want them to panic and lock into someone that long term that is an iffy upgrade.

Hopefully he will just stay with the Royals.

Putting Hosmer in at 1b so you can bench Gyorko and slide Carpenter over to 3b makes the team $160 million or so more expensive and genuinely worse over the next 2-3 years.

You've savagely mauled your 3b defense in that transition for maybe (maybe) a slight offensive upgrade at 1b. The only major improvement you'd get is that you're replacing a RH in Gyorko with a LH in Hosmer in a lineup that could probably use another LH hitter.

If that's your plan, go get Moustakas on the shorter-term, lower AAV deal. He'd be a better fit, IMO.

They need a SS.

They're fine in the OF; Fowler's a genuinely good offensive player and if he's playing LF, he's fine on defense. Sadly we're likely putting his noodle arm in RF where he'll be less fine, but whatever - if he catches the ball and stops pulling up on everything like he did in CF, he'll play over there. Arm strength is the least valuable of the 5 tools and if he plays with good instincts and accuracy, he can make up for the arm deficiency.

They need a superstar and they need him to be a SS.

They need Manny !@#$ing Machado.

what team wouldn't be better with Machado at SS?

Houston? LA? Maybe Cleveland.

But what teams can claim that Machado makes them go from potentially wild-card round roadkill to genuine contenders?

Not so many. There aren't many teams that have the combination of need, prospect depth and financial wherewithal while also being in the right spot in the competition cycle to say 'this is a no-brainer'. Some teams can contend easily without him and once you're at that level, I think it's silly to take big risks because of the crapshoot nature of post-season baseball.

Other teams are simply going from varying degrees of irrelevant.

But I can't think of any other team that can move themselves up a 'competitive tier' while also having the ability to acquire and retain Machado (presuming he hasn't already made up his mind to go to NYY).

I don't think we can resign him for non-monetary reasons.

I like him ahelluva lot. Way more than Harper that's for sure.

Why give up everything of high value in our farm system for a 1 year run? We won 2 Championships in the last 11 years. We are not that desperate.

The feels like the slowest free agency I can recall.

<header class="article-header"> Report: Arrieta has offers from 6 teams including Cubs, Brewers

by Simon Sharkey-Gotlieb 17h ago

Jim Young / USA TODAY Sports

</header> Jake Arrieta's market is apparently heating up.
A source close to Arrieta told Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times that the free-agent right-hander is sitting on offers from six different teams that are said to be "overpay(s)" in terms of annual values.


The Chicago Cubs - the team with which Arrieta became a star over the past four-plus seasons - along with two other NL Central clubs, the St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers, have all reportedly offered deals to the 31-year-old former Cy Young winner, according to Wittenmyer.
Chicago reportedly offered Arrieta a four-year deal worth $110 million earlier this month. It's unknown what offers have been made by either Milwaukee or St. Louis, or the identities of the other three teams.

MLB free agents may not be full-on panicking yet, but there’s probably some slight concern among them given the large number of individuals still on the market.


“They’re getting nervous. Particularly the players,” USA Today’s Bob Nightengale recently told The Bernie Miklasz Show. “The only think keeping them sane right now is that they’re in the similar boat with 135 other guys…These guys have young families, wives, everything else. They want to know what’s going on. Are you packing for Florida? Are you packing for Arizona for spring?


“It’s starting to get late…I guarantee that if someone gets just a decent offer they’re going to grab it.”


One free agent Nightengale thinks could land in Jupiter is former Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas, who’s coming off a 38-homer year to go with an .835 OPS.

“I think the Cardinals are sitting back and hoping that Moustakas falls into their lap,” He said. “I think that’d be a great move. Then, of course, grab a starter.”

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/2...reach-23m-deal

Donaldson off the table

Why would that prevent him from being traded?

It doesn't, but don't they blue jays believe they can still contend? I just likely think they will work out an extension for him, unless they are awful this season.

I would imagine they have a good idea on whether or not they can extend him. Their options were go to arbitration, sign him to a 1 year deal, or let him become a FA early.