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

Posts Tagged: MLB Free Agency

Free Agency, Rumors and Tidbits

Whither the Freed Men: Stephen Drew, Kendrys Morales and the Midsummer Free-Agent Period

by Matthew Trueblood | May 6th, 2014

I hate the qualifying offer, because it dampens the market for perfectly good players, and forces teams to choose between the near and long term, instead of trying to improve both at the same time…. 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

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, 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 »

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

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 »

Free Agency, Rumors and Tidbits

A New York Yankees Rebuild: Brian McCann and Free-Agent Deals in Baseball Today

by Matthew Trueblood | November 25th, 2013

They used to call a coffin a Chicago overcoat. It might be time to call an off-season spending spree a New York Yankees rebuild. The Yankees kicked off what they hope will be a big offseason… Read more »

Free Agency, Miscellaneous, Rumors and Tidbits

Jason Vargas: How the Kansas City Royals Wasted Four Years of Roster Space

by Matthew Trueblood | November 22nd, 2013

As a thought experiment, consider a world in which ballclubs get a choice. Every November, they receive a three-option menu. They can take $10 million from a central fund, to spend as they please. They… Read more »

Free Agency, Rumors and Tidbits

David Murphy Keeps Indians on Good Side of Platoon Battle

by Matthew Trueblood | November 20th, 2013

Free-agent outfielder David Murphy is dead. Cleveland Indians outfielder David Murphy has taken his place. Murphy signed a two-year, $12-million contract with the Indians Tuesday, adding another solid, left-hitting outfielder to a team that never,… Read more »

Free Agency, Rumors and Tidbits

Joe Sheehan, Josh Johnson and the San Diego Padres

by Matthew Trueblood | November 20th, 2013

On the eve of the 2013 season, Joe Sheehan drew a lot of snark for his prediction that the San Diego Padres would win the National League West. That division was home to the defending champion… Read more »

A Balanced Schedule, Columns/Features

A Balanced Schedule: New York Mets – November 8

by Matthew Trueblood | November 8th, 2013

Sandy Alderson became general manager of the New York Mets in October 2010. The team had just completed a 79-83 season, and the shine was very much off their 2006 team’s apple. Whispers of financial trouble… Read more »

Free Agency, Rumors and Tidbits

MLB Free Agency: Curtis Granderson Might Be a Bargain, Thanks to Recency Bias

by Matthew Trueblood | November 6th, 2013

Curtis Granderson received a qualifying offer (a one-year deal worth $14.1 million) from the New York Yankees Monday, ensuring that New York will receive a draft pick after the first round of the 2014 MLB… Read more »

A Balanced Schedule, Columns/Features

A Balanced Schedule: Colorado Rockies – November 6

by Matthew Trueblood | November 6th, 2013

Every team in baseball is the subject of at least one book that, if one is to call oneself a fan of that team, rates as a must-read. The Oakland Athletics have Moneyball. The St…. Read more »

A Balanced Schedule, Columns/Features

A Balanced Lineup: San Diego Padres – November 5

by Matthew Trueblood | November 5th, 2013

Vin Scully does a straight-shot commercial during Los Angeles Dodgers games, promoting the team’s official partnership with 76, the gas-station chain, It’s a long-standing relationship, but if the people who run that company really want… Read more »

Uncategorized

Qualifying Thoughts: Koji Uehara

by Matthew Trueblood | November 1st, 2013

Updated: See the bottom of the piece. The Boston Red Sox won the World Series on Wednesday, and on Thursday afternoon, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported that they were planning to make qualifying offers… Read more »

Uncategorized

Qualifying Thoughts: Stephen Drew

by Matthew Trueblood | October 31st, 2013

I love watching Stephen Drew play defense. God help me, but I love it. He charges even fairly well-struck grounders aggressively, making his own hops and bounces by timing his attack of the ball, and… Read more »

Miscellaneous

Mike Napoli: A Playoff Hero, but a Huge Free-Agent Risk

by Matthew Trueblood | October 16th, 2013

Mike Napoli is creatying a very positive post-season reputation for himself. His home run in Game 3 of the 2013 ALCS, off Justin Verlander, helped erase what has been a tough series for him otherwise…. Read more »

Miscellaneous

Chicago Cubs Clear Roster Space for Big Week With Dump of Ian Stewart, Others

by Matthew Trueblood | December 1st, 2012

The Chicago Cubs elected not to tender contracts to Ian Stewart, Jaye Chapman or Zach Putnam Friday, making all three free agents and clearing three slots on the team’s 40-man roster headed into next week’s… Read more »

Miscellaneous

John Lannan and the Five Best Pitchers Non-Tendered Friday

by Matthew Trueblood | December 1st, 2012

Pitchers are more malleable than positional talent. Every MLB scouting director, GM and minor-league manager has a dozen names in his head at any given time, guys he wants to get his hands on. Some… Read more »

Miscellaneous

The B.J. Upton Question(s): Outfielder will hit it big in MLB free agency, but what kind of player will his new team get?

by Matthew Trueblood | November 18th, 2012

Of the six or seven major potential prizes in MLB free agency this winter, B.J. Upton probably presents the most uncertainty. That statement is more loaded than it seems, too. Upton plays the outfield. He’s a… Read more »

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