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A group baseball blog by fans of the Effectively Wild podcast
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A group baseball blog by fans of the Effectively Wild podcast
Monday, May 19, 2025

Hot Stove

Hot Stove, Rumors and Tidbits

Arizona Diamondbacks Pay Transaction Cost of Tyler Skaggs for Non-Existent Upgrade from Adam Eaton to Mark Trumbo

by Matthew Trueblood | December 13th, 2013

We’re going to have to start calling this an Arizona three-way. Arizona Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers is making too much a habit of it. He keeps wading into complex three-party transactions, and while the motivation… Read more »

Free Agency, Hot Stove, Miscellaneous, Rumors and Tidbits

The Ones Who Stayed: Mike Napoli Re-Signs with Red Sox, Hiroki Kuroda Stays with Yankees

by Matthew Trueblood | December 9th, 2013

Jacoby Ellsbury and Robinson Cano are going to get the headlines. Treachery, real or imagined, wears well on a tabloid cover. The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees brought back some key players last… Read more »

Free Agency, Hot Stove, Rumors and Tidbits

Curtis Granderson Signs With (and Settles For) the New York Mets

by Matthew Trueblood | December 9th, 2013

A well-loved son of the Second City, Curtis Granderson chose something that felt like home over actually coming home. He signed a four-year deal with the New York Mets Friday, one that will pay him… Read more »

Free Agency, Hot Stove, Rumors and Tidbits

Robinson Cano Changes Clothes and Goes to Seattle Mariners

by Matthew Trueblood | December 9th, 2013

The Seattle Mariners agreed to a 10-year, $240-million contract with free-agent second baseman Robinson Cano Friday, opting for an exclamation point, not a period, at the end of baseball’s most frantic week of off-season activity in… Read more »

Free Agency, Hot Stove, Miscellaneous, Rumors and Tidbits

Brian Wilson Signs With Los Angeles Dodgers, Edward Mujica With Boston Red Sox Amid Flurry of Reliever Signings

by Matthew Trueblood | December 6th, 2013

The second half of this week hasn’t lived up to the hype of Super Tuesday, but has still seen a number of moves, including a run of reliever contracts I’ll break down here. They include:… Read more »

Free Agency, Hot Stove, Rumors and Tidbits

Justin Morneau to Colorado Rockies and A.J. Pierzynski to Boston Red Sox Make Perfect Sense

by Matthew Trueblood | December 5th, 2013

Two of the lesser moves of baseball’s Super Tuesday involved left-handed hitters nearing the end of their careers finding new homes, and although neither deal has been terribly well-received by Baseball Twitter, I rather like… Read more »

Hot Stove, Rumors and Tidbits

Ryan Hanigan and Heath Bell Join Tampa Bay Rays, the Franchise They Were Born to Play For

by Matthew Trueblood | December 5th, 2013

The Tampa Bay Rays have won at least 90 games in each of the last four seasons, and in five of six. Despite perhaps the worst financial standing of any team in baseball, they’re a… Read more »

Free Agency, Hot Stove, Rumors and Tidbits, Trade Rumors

Craig Gentry and Three New Pitchers Promise Serious Run Prevention for 2014 Oakland Athletics

by Matthew Trueblood | December 4th, 2013

No team fueled the madness that was Monday and Tuesday in the baseball world quite like the Oakland Athletics. Their general manager, Billy Beane, is arguably the game’s most aggressive, and with a roster in need… Read more »

Hot Stove, Rumors and Tidbits, Trade Rumors

Dexter Fowler Stands in for the Shin-Soo Choo the Houston Astros Could Never Have Had

by Matthew Trueblood | December 4th, 2013

Pesky rumors persisted for far too long, this winter, that the Houston Astros would hook free-agent outfielder and on-base machine Shin-Soo Choo. That was never going to happen. It was always going to be Dexter… Read more »

Free Agency, Hot Stove, Rumors and Tidbits

Jarrod Saltalamacchia Actively Chooses Miami Marlins

by Matthew Trueblood | December 4th, 2013

Jarrod Saltalamacchia probably cost himself $30 million during the month of October. On a national stage, with the opportunity to make a statement about his potential to be an effective, even star-level catcher just as… Read more »

Free Agency, Hot Stove, Rumors and Tidbits

Jacoby Ellsbury and New York Yankees Make a Great Celebrity Couple

by Matthew Trueblood | December 4th, 2013

Seven years never means seven years. Any cursory reading of the Bible will tell you that. Seven is an allusion, a symbol, not a number on the same plane as, for instance, six or eight…. Read more »

Hot Stove, Rumors and Tidbits

David Holmberg is Price Arizona Diamondbacks Pay to Get Out From Under Heath Bell

by Matthew Trueblood | December 3rd, 2013

Whenever the Arizona Diamondbacks turn out to be the third team in a trade, I find myself wondering why they didn’t simply sit it out. The complexity of those transactions means there will nearly always… Read more »

Hot Stove, Miscellaneous, Rumors and Tidbits

Doug Fister Joins Washington Nationals, Joe Nathan to Detroit Tigers: What This Should Teach You

by Matthew Trueblood | December 3rd, 2013

The Washington Nationals had as miserable an 86-win season as the Wild Card Era has seen in 2013. In the run-up to the season, they drew comparisons to the 1990s Braves, the 1986 Mets and—strangely,… Read more »

Hot Stove, Miscellaneous, Rumors and Tidbits

B.J. Upton and the Atlanta Braves Celebrate First Anniversary on Thanksgiving: How Upton Can Have Four Years Worth Being Thankful For Before the End of His Contract

by Matthew Trueblood | November 27th, 2013

B.J. Upton hit free agency in November of 2012. In the brief time he spent on the market, before signing with the Atlanta Braves one year ago Thursday, I wrote this long, detailed breakdown of… Read more »

Hot Stove, Rumors and Tidbits

Why the New York Yankees Should Add Masahiro Tanaka, but Let Robinson Cano Walk

by Matthew Trueblood | November 27th, 2013

The free-agency compensation system in MLB is hilariously broken. Designed by the owners as a means of capping the top end of the free-agent market, but plugged as a way to keep small-market teams from… Read more »

Hot Stove, Miscellaneous, Rumors and Tidbits

What the Angels Are Doing: Evaluating the Additions of Joe Smith and David Freese

by Matthew Trueblood | November 26th, 2013

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are the most interesting team in baseball. You can argue with me on that point, and you might even win, but at this moment, that sure feels The Angels… Read more »

Hot Stove, Rumors and Tidbits

St. Louis Cardinals Add Peter Bourjos, Jhonny Peralta and a Whole Lot of Flexibility

by Matthew Trueblood | November 25th, 2013

The reigning National League champions are planning an active defense of their crown. Rather than sit on their homegrown dynasty and hope it could sustain itself another year, the St. Louis Cardinals traded David Freese… Read more »

Hot Stove, Rumors and Tidbits

Blurred Lines: Chicago Cubs Coaching Staff Transcends Front Office-Field Staff Distinctions

by Matthew Trueblood | November 22nd, 2013

The Chicago Cubs announced the coaching staff that will surround new manager Rick Renteria in 2014 on Friday, and there are some very interesting names and job titles on the list. Brandon Hyde got the… Read more »

Hot Stove, Rumors and Tidbits

The Prince Fielder for Ian Kinsler Trade: What Matters Most for Detroit Tigers is What This Means

by Matthew Trueblood | November 21st, 2013

There are too many layers to the trade that sent Ian Kinsler to the Detroit Tigers and Prince Fielder to the Texas Rangers to write a single, coherent article in summary. Therefore, I’m breaking it… Read more »

Hot Stove, Rumors and Tidbits

The Prince Fielder for Ian Kinsler Trade: The Next Step for the Texas Rangers is Unclear, But Exciting

by Matthew Trueblood | November 21st, 2013

There are too many layers to the trade that sent Ian Kinsler to the Detroit Tigers and Prince Fielder to the Texas Rangers to write a single, coherent article in summary. Therefore, I’m breaking it… Read more »

Hot Stove, Rumors and Tidbits

The Prince Fielder for Ian Kinsler Trade: What Are the Detroit Tigers Getting in Kinsler?

by Matthew Trueblood | November 21st, 2013

There are too many layers to the trade that sent Ian Kinsler to the Detroit Tigers and Prince Fielder to the Texas Rangers to write a single, coherent article in summary. Therefore, I’m breaking it… Read more »

Hot Stove, Miscellaneous, Rumors and Tidbits

The Prince Fielder for Ian Kinsler Trade: Will Fielder Rediscover Elite Power for Texas Rangers?

by Matthew Trueblood | November 21st, 2013

There are too many layers to the trade that sent Ian Kinsler to the Detroit Tigers and Prince Fielder to the Texas Rangers to write a single, coherent article in summary. Therefore, I’m breaking it… Read more »

Hot Stove, Rumors and Tidbits

Jon Heyman is an Idiot, Or: Why Hitting Prospects and Pitching Prospects Aren’t the Same

by Matthew Trueblood | November 13th, 2013

It’s stupid, but now that MLB’s Hot Stove season is heating up, this is the kind of junk we all have to read about: @JonHeymanCBS: could marlins/cubs execute a rare big-time prospect for big-time prospect… Read more »

Hot Stove, Miscellaneous, Rumors and Tidbits

Joe Mauer Becomes Minnesota Twins’ First Baseman, Could Next Be Boston Red Sox’s Catcher

by Matthew Trueblood | November 11th, 2013

The Minnesota Twins annoounced on Monday that long-time catcher and franchise player Joe Mauer will be their full-time first baseman beginning next season. The move has been proposed and debated for years, now, as a… Read more »

Hot Stove

Jim Leyland Leaves Detroit Tigers, Exacerbates Chaos of Managerial Carousel

by Matthew Trueblood | October 21st, 2013

Imagine if Joe Girardi had elected to leave the New York Yankees for the Chicago Cubs, or even for the broadcast booth. Given everything else that has happened since the end of the season, managerial… Read more »

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