CarterHud

 

       The Los Angeles Angels have acquired shortstop Jose Iglesias from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for RHP Jean Pinto and RHP Garrett Stallings. 

       With Andrelton Simmons on his way out via free agency, Iglesias seems like a perfect replacement. For years, Iglesias was a great defender but a pretty bad hitter, while Simmons was an average to below average hitter, but the best defender in baseball. In the last two years, their stocks have gone in opposite directions. Iglesias still has positive defensive value, although his -.2 dWAR in 2020 would suggest otherwise, but he had an elite offensive season in 2020, albeit in 39 games. Simmons\’ defensive stock has very slightly dipped, but it is still higher than just about everyone in baseball, although his hitting has tanked. Iglesias is a cheaper option if the Angels want to go out and get starting pitching, and he has shown that he can hit for average. While they will miss Simmons\’ glove, Iglesias is still above average at his position, and if he can hit remotely close to where he did in 2020, they\’ll be fine offensively. Despite failing to hit the ball hard, Iglesias hit .398 against fastballs last year, and even .326 versus breaking pitches, although his 76.2 mph average exit velocity against them was far from decent. The only prospect ranked in their top 30 by MLB Pipeline is Stallings, who is 23 and yet to appear in a minor league game. 

         Iglesias, who will be 31 in January, hit three home runs with a .373 average and a .956 OPS in 150 Plate Appearances in 2020. In his MLB career for the Orioles, Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox, Iglesias has hit 35 home runs with 52 stolen bases, a .278 average and a .700 OPS in 3065 Plate Appearances. 

         The struggling Orioles liked Iglesias enough in 2020 that they decided to exercise their 2021 club option on him and pay him $3.5 million. Now, the Orioles don\’t have to pay him at all, not even a buyout punishment. Plus, they do not expect to be a contender in 2021, so dealing Iglesias entering a contract year, and of the apex of his value, is smart. Stallings was the 21st best prospect in the Angels system, and Pinto is a young Venezuelan with barely any MiLB experience. Combined, these two players have three games played in the minor leagues, and they were all in the Dominican Summer League. 

          Pinto, 19, had a 2.25 ERA with 19 strikeouts and a 1.250 WHIP in 12 innings for the Angels in the Dominican Summer League in 2019. 

          Stallings, 23, was a 5th round draft pick in 2019. In 2019 for the University of Tennessee, Stallings had a 3.33 ERA with 106 strikeouts and a 1.227 WHIP in 102.2 innings. 

 

       The Miami Marlins have acquired RHP Adam Cimber from the Cleveland Indians in exchange for cash considerations. 

       While the Indians are rumored to be making a big trade this offseason, that was supposed to include Francisco Lindor, not Cimber. Acquired in July of 2018 with Brad Hand, who the organization also just said goodbye to recently, Cimber earned the trust of manager Terry Francona as a middle reliever. Cimber was one of the few pitchers that would be affected by the three batter minimum rule, as Francona loved to alternate Cimber and Oliver Perez against left and right handers. In 2019, Cimber faced 182 right handed batters, with a 3.30 ERA, but had an 8.31 ERA against lefties, who he pitched against 62 times. Those splits oddly changed in 2020, as Cimber had a 2.25 ERA against LHB, and a 4.91 number against batters sharing his handedness. This sudden change can be seen as an increase in effectiveness in Cimber\’s fastball, a pitch predominantly used against lefties. Cimber does not look like anything more than a 6th-7th inning reliever, so getting money when the team needs it was the decision the front office went with. 

       The Marlins bullpen was crowded in 2020, and even for a 162 game season, they used an alarming amount of pitchers. 37 guys took the mound for them in 60 games, which is impressively high, considering that four (Brandon Kintzler, James Hoyt, Nick Vincent and Brad Boxberger) pitched in more than 20 of those games. The Marlins could be using Hoyt, Cimber\’s teammate last year in Cleveland, as an example of a buy-low pitcher who could have some success with them. Hoyt had a 1.23 ERA in 2020. To add Cimber to the 40-man roster, former Opening Day starter Jose Urena, who had an ERA over 5.00 in 2019 and 2020, was designated for assignment. 

      Cimber, 30, had a 3.97 ERA with five strikeouts and a 1.324 WHIP in 11.1 innings for the Indians in 2020. In his MLB career for the Indians and San Diego Padres, Cimber has a 3.89 ERA with 104 strikeouts and a 1.284 WHIP in 136.1 innings. 

        The Colorado Rockies have acquired RHP Robert Stephenson and OF Jameson Hannah from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for RHPs Jeff Hoffman and Case Williams.

        This four player deal can be seen as a change of scenery deal that also includes some prospects. Hoffman and Stephenson are the most known players included, although Hannah and Williams may have a higher ceiling. The 9th overall pick in 2014 by the Blue Jays, Hoffman was acquired the next year by the  Rockies in the Troy Tulowitzki deal. He has gotten chances to start in the MLB, although he hasn\’t really taken advantage of those chances. A rough -1.7 WAR over five career seasons shows that. Leaving Coors Field could help Hoffman, although the bullpen should be where he\’s headed. While Hoffman is an immediate project for the Reds, if Williams ever makes it to the MLB, it will not be soon. He was drafted in the 4th round in this June\’s draft out of High School, and because of the cancellation of the minor league season, he has not played professionally yet, although he did sign with the Rockies. His senior season showed some promise, and he struck out 134 batters in 98 innings over high school. 

         Hoffman, 27, had a 9.28 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 21.1 innings for the Rockies in 2020. In his MLB career, all for Colorado, Hoffman has a 6.40 ERA with 197 strikeouts and a 1.621 WHIP in 230.2 innings.

          Williams, 18, struck out 79 batters with a 1.81 ERA in 2019 for Douglas County High School, in Castle Rock, Colorado, not too far from the team that drafted him. 

          The Rockies win this trade for now, in my opinion, although this is not some major win, and there is a good chance that the Reds could declare victory here. That prediction is based off of the Rockies hoping that Stephenson did not peak in 2019. That was by far his best season, as he was an effective reliever for Cincinnati, striking out 81 in 64.2 innings with a 3.76 ERA. He was the 27th overall selection by the Reds in 2011. Hannah was acquired by the Reds a year ago from Oakland for Tanner Roark. A 2nd rounder in 2018, he has yet to show much in the minor leagues, but he was ranked by MLB Pipeline as Cincinnati\’s 15th best prospect prior to the deal. 

           Stephenson, 27, had a 9.90 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 10 innings for the Reds in 2020. In his MLB career, Stephenson has a 5.15 ERA with 222 strikeouts and a 1.462 WHIP in 208 innings. 

           Hannah, 23, hit two home runs with eights stolen bases, a .274 average and a .708 OPS in 491 Plate Appearances between Stockton and Dayton, two High-A teams, in 2019. In his MiLB career, Hannah has three home runs with 14 stolen bases and a .275 average. 

 

       I don\’t have a Hall of Fame ballot. One day, I would like to change that, but that would be a long, long time from now. For the last few years, I\’ve followed the Baseball Hall of Fame race pretty closely, thanks to Ryan Thibodaux (@NotMrTibbs on Twitter) and his team of trackers. I\’ve always had an opinion on who should be in and who shouldn\’t, but I never wrote about it. So, here I am, finally writing an article on who would be on my ballot, if I had one. 

The No-Doubters

Barry Bonds

Well, by this, I meant no-doubters for me. There is no definite Hall of Famer this year in the eyes of many voters, so I wouldn\’t be all that surprised if there were no inductees this year. But, obviously there is a reason why Bonds isn\’t in already, and it is not because of his play. Bonds had a chance to be an inductee prior to joining the Giants in 1993, but his San Francisco career sky-rocketed his play. His single-season home run record of 73 in 2001 highlights his case, although oddly enough, that was the only time he ever hit 50 or more. Still, Bonds eclipsed 30 big-flies in 14 different seasons, won seven MVPs, with eight Gold Gloves, 12 Silver Sluggers and a pair of batting titles, and he holds the MLB record for home runs, walks, and intentional walks. No steroids make you that good, and if they did, more players would have found a way to become that good by now. Bonds\’ ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY intentional walks in 2004 at age 39 should get him in alone on the basis of fun and absurdity. 

Roger Clemens

A lot of what I said about Bonds applies here. Clemens is more than qualified, but PEDs will keep him out. With seven Cy Youngs and the same amount of ERA titles, Clemens is easily a top-5 pitcher of all time. Like with Bonds\’ accolades, no steroid makes you this good. A 3.12 ERA in over 700 starts is very, very impressive, and his FIP is even better than that. Like Bonds, Clemens has some fun tidbits about his career, like his legendary stint in Toronto, lasting two seasons with two Cy Youngs, or his 1.87 ERA at age 42 in 2005. You can\’t vote for Bonds but not Clemens, or vice versa. 

Curt Schilling

Schilling has been qualified for the hall, and his personal controversial political beliefs and transphobic tweets have probably contributed to him not getting inducted yet, especially when Mike Mussina, a good comparable to Schilling on the field, got in a few years ago. Plus, the Hall of Fame does not just consist of angels and trailblazers. Schilling\’s career stats are surprisingly lopsided towards the back-end of his career, but his lines from 1996 to 2004 are incredibly impressive. He also finished second in Cy Young voting three different times, but he never won one thanks to teammate Randy Johnson and an unstoppable 2004 Johan Santana. 

Todd Helton

This will come to a surprise for a lot of people, but I am a huge backer of the Helton for Hall of Fame movement. I even wrote a Twitter thread it last year. Especially now that Larry Walker got in last year, Helton should see a huge jump this year. While you could look at those tweets, I will sum it up here. Helton was a five-time all-star, making the team every year from 2000-2004. Maybe if Albert Pujols wasn\’t in his league, he could have made it more. That 2000-2004 peak is nuts if you look at it. Helton\’s lowest single-season OPS was 1.006. While he did tail off in his last 5-6 seasons, it wasn\’t as dramatic as other candidates. In his seventeen seasons, Helton hit under .300 in just five of them, although his age 23, 101 Plate Appearance 1997 season shouldn\’t count. He does have drastic home and road splits, as Coors Field plays as a factor, but an OPS of .855 on the road isn\’t bad either, and it isn\’t like it is easy to hit .345 at Coors over 1141 games. 

Manny Ramirez 

Ramirez falls on the border between \”no-doubter\” and the next category on the list, but if you vote Bonds and Clemens, I guess Manny should be there too, especially with the weak ballot this year. While his openness about steroid use might scare away voters, you need to adjust for the era, just like you would if you were to vote if Honus Wagner and his career high 10 home runs were on the ballot. I\’m not criticizing Wagner, but just making a point on how era adjustments should come into mind when making a voting decision. Back to the player in question, Ramirez is worthy. A 69.3 career bWAR with 555 homers and a .312 average is better than decent. He won nine silver sluggers, and has a .996 career OPS. Like I\’ve said before, steroids probably don\’t make you that good at hitting. 

The locks, but not the best

Scott Rolen

This tier consists of guys that I really think are Hall-of-Famers, but I wouldn\’t start crying if you didn\’t include them on your ballot (considering Helton\’s percentages, I\’ve been a fair amount of sobbing). Rolen was a great defender who also was a pretty good hitter, unlike Omar Vizquel, who was only one of those things (more on him later). An eight-time Gold Glove winner and seven-time All-Star, Rolen\’s 70.1 career WAR floats him into Hall-of-Fame territory. His .855 OPS isn\’t too shabby either. By the way, that is the same as Helton\’s road OPS, so I better not see you leave him off your ballot. 

Billy Wagner

Wagner is someone who is a Hall-of-Famer on his own, and his case is elevated by other relievers to be inducted in recent years. Wagner stands sixth all-time in saves, with 422. Lee Smith, who is above him in that category but doesn\’t have other stats as good as Wagner\’s, is in. So is Bruce Sutter, who has less saves, but worse overall numbers. Wagner has a 2.31 ERA with an 11.9 K/9 over 16 seasons. He played for a surprisingly high amount of teams, and performed for every single one of them. His 1.43 ERA in 71 games as a 38 year old in 2010 for the Braves is a fun one, especially considering that was Wagner\’s final season. 

The borderline Hall-of-Famers

Andruw Jones

This tier consists of guys that I wouldn\’t be mad about leaving off my ballot. Jones is a guy that a lot of people love, and they have a point. From breaking into the league at age 19 in 1996, to about 2006, Jones was one of baseball\’s stars. He hit at least 30 home runs seven times, and he peaked in 2005, when he was the MVP runner-up to Pujols, but hit 51 home runs with a .922 OPS. With 434 home runs and an .823 OPS in his career, Jones\’ batting stats probably wouldn\’t be enough to put him over the line for me. However, his 10 Gold Gloves definitely will do that. 

Bobby Abreu 

This is one pick that might seem weird to you, because it did to me at first. But, looking more into it, Abreu should be in consideration. This comparison to Hall-of-Famer Tony Gwynn says it all. Click on that link, and a lot of my argument for Abreu will be found. While you may not think of him as a Hall-of-Famer, he was an on-base machine in his career. He was only a two-time All-Star, and won just one Gold Glove and Silver Slugger each, but Abreu could often hit for over .300, with an OPS above .900 and 20-30 home run power. Doing all of those things combined five times, and a bunch of them independently in other seasons should help Abreu\’s case. He also has a 60.2 career WAR, and the border for potential Hall-of-Famers should be around 60. 

Gary Sheffield

Sheffield\’s place among other steroid users on the ballot is interesting. He seems to be much more innocent than the likes of Bonds, Clemens and Ramirez. While his career numbers are worse than those three, I like him as a 10th vote on this year\’s ballot. A five-time Silver Slugger with a 60.5 career WAR, Sheffield enjoyed five seasons with an OPS of at least 1.000, eight seasons with more than 30 home runs, and a career OPS+ of 140. Even with steroids, there is a case for Sheffield, but he never was suspended for it, so him being punished now seems a little bit unfair, but he isn\’t the only guy that applies to. 

Why I didn\’t vote for these guys

Jeff Kent

I\’ve never seen the appeal to Kent. His 55.4 WAR is under my personal 60 target line, and his career just does not stand out to me. He only had two seasons with an OPS over .900, and as I\’ve stated before, Bonds and Helton were much more qualified for the 2000 MVP award, something that Kent voters use as justification. 

Mark Buehrle and Andy Pettitte

These are both players that I thought of for the final spot before I went with Sheffield. Both are lefties who hover around the 60 WAR line in their career. Both have some impressive accolades, as Pettitte won five World Series, if that matters to you, and Buehrle won four Gold Gloves. However, I don\’t think that either have any impressive personal categories that make them Hall-of-Famers. If I had to vote for one, it probably would be Buehrle, as tie goes to the player who didn\’t take PEDs. Tim Hudson also falls into this category, and I am curious to see if he stays on the ballot for next year. 

Sammy Sosa

Once again, I considered putting down Sosa instead of Sheffield. An MVP who hit over 60 home runs in three different seasons, with 609 total in his career, Sheffield beats him in WAR, OPS and OPS+. Maybe I\’d consider Sosa over Sheffield if there were no PED affiliations with him, but there is, so Sosa is a no-go for me. 

Torii Hunter

I\’m only putting him here because Hunter\’s nine Gold Gloves might earn him a couple of votes. His offense was not as good as defensive stars like Jones and Rolen, so he shouldn\’t be on the ballot next year. 

If you vote for them, I will be mad

AJ Burnett, Michael Cuddyer, Dan Haren, LaTroy Hawkins, Aramis Ramirez, Nick Swisher, Shane Victorino and Barry Zito

No.

Omar Vizquel

Sure, Vizquel won 11 Gold Gloves. But, offense is probably more important. Vizquel hit just 80 home runs over 24 seasons, and while he did rack up 2877 hits, playing for that long will help you get to that. Vizquel\’s .272 average and .688 OPS just shows that he wasn\’t a good hitter. Vizquel could easily get more votes than guys like Helton or Rolen this year, but please don\’t vote for him. 

       The NHL\’s \”Reverse Retro\” jersey initiative has been talked about a lot recently, and today we got an actual look at all 31 teams\’ alternates for the the upcoming season. Some are good, some actually follow the theme, and a select few are really bad. So, it\’s time to rank them.

31. Detroit Red Wings 

My only theory for this choice is that the NHL originally planned to do a \”whiteout\” theme. They then changed it to the much better reverse retro, but accidentally sent the wrong memo to the Red Wings. That is where we get this mostly white monstrosity with some weird gray lines. To be fair, the Red Wings don\’t have any great retro jerseys to copy anyway.

30. Minnesota Wild

It actually wasn\’t until I started writing this, about two hours after these released when I realized the North Stars connection. Still, the North Stars colors aren\’t good, and they have the most overrated jersey in NHL history. Wow, that felt good to get off of my chest. But still, the yellow looks really bad on the Wild logo. 

29. New York Islanders

Ok, ok, ok. Here\’s the beauty of this jersey. It is the same as their normal home jersey, but with a major twist. The twist is, and I know you aren\’t ready for this, but it\’s great. The blue is slightly darker. Also, the stripes are swapped. This is easily the laziest jersey of the bunch. The fisherman or even the wave jersey from the 1990s would have catapulted the ranking, but no, we get absolutely nothing here. 

28. Edmonton Oilers 

When I see this jersey, I feel like something is missing, and I don\’t that there is. These jerseys are just kind of boring. It is like their away jerseys, but with way, way, way too many stripes. The Todd McFarlane comet would\’ve been nice, maybe with an orange twist. 

27. Toronto Maple Leafs

This section here is the \”pretty boring\” section. The Leafs logo feels a little bit too big, especially for a logo without detail. The Panthers have a massive logo for example, but at least all of it is unique. This is just a symmetrical leaf. Also, from the photos we have seen, it looks more like a sweatshirt than a jersey for me, so hopefully it will look better in use. 

26. Nashville Predators 

One of the colors for the Predators is blue, and I feel that you could be a fan of the team and not know that. In this jersey, they crank up the blue, and it contributes to a nice looking logo, with a sick yellow eye. Besides the logo, there isn\’t much to love. 

25. Pittsburgh Penguins

I don\’t know why they didn\’t choose to go with the black diagonal jerseys, as that is very similar to this, but better. I don\’t think this is close to the best jersey in Penguins history. I would have much rather had the baby blues or the gradient rather than this. 

24. Dallas Stars

The Stars have had some fine jerseys before. This one is alright. The logo is cool enough, but just doesn\’t compare to the other jerseys teams are revealing. It is much better than the neon alternates the Stars previously unveiled. Also, the white behind the \”Dallas Stars\” name is a much different white than the rest of the jersey. I\’m not sure why.

23. Boston Bruins

Everyone seems to have strong feeling about all of these jerseys, but the Bruins seem to be a collective \”meh\”. There is nothing too special about them, and the team hasn\’t had any great jerseys in their history for this initiative. The old B and the bear on the shoulder patch are both nice. I really like all of the jerseys above the Bruins, so this feels like an appropriate average. 

22. Philadelphia Flyers

The Flyers succeeded at what the Predators tried. The black from the sleeve around the shoulders to the other sleeve mixes well with the orange in between. It is kind of boring, but it is a nice, clean look. I wouldn\’t be mad if this was the Flyers\’ normal home sweaters. 

21. Chicago Blackhawks 

This 1940s inspired jersey mixes the red and black colors well, just like the Flyers did with black and orange. While I like the current logo rather than the one on this jersey, the old-timey \”Black Hawks\” spelling is a nice touch. 

20. Vegas Golden Knights

The Golden Knights kind of feel like if it is pet day, and you are the one kid in the class without a pet. Their lack of heritage brings them to the Las Vegas Thunder, a 1990s IHL team. That explains the \”V\” design with the silver and gold mixing against the red. It is a good look, and I like it more than their actual home jerseys. This V for Vegas jersey adds to the list of secret meanings on jerseys, something the team already had with their primary logo. 

19. New York Rangers

The Rangers are the only one of the three New York teams to bring back the right jersey, as the Statue of Liberty returns. The logo is great, but besides that the jersey is kind of bland. It is just a logo on a plain blue background, with two stripes by the bicep. Another weird thing is that from the photos we have been given, the logo looks oddly low on the jersey. 

18. Vancouver Canucks

This is a play on the old red gradient jerseys, changing them to the Canucks\’ blue and green colors. I don\’t know what it is about it, maybe the white in between blue and green, or the gradient itself, but I really like this. However, a green and blue sled would have been better.

17.  Montreal Canadiens

For teams without great retro jerseys, the Canadiens perfected what to do. Making a mostly blue jersey sounds like a weird idea for the team, but they perfected it. It looks nice, although it isn\’t as flashy as other ones. 

16. New Jersey Devils

People really seem to love this one. The green Devils jerseys never stood out to me, because the green was a weird addition. Flipping it to mostly green is a nice twist, like what the league was going for. It will be a great jersey come Christmas time, although unfortunately we won\’t see that this year. 

15. Tampa Bay Lightning

I don\’t know why, but I find the next two to be really similar. The \”Tampa Bay\” font looks really nice. I do like the original, black design of this jersey more, but I guess you can\’t win them all. 

14. San Jose Sharks

The black shark is intimidating, and the broken stick in its mouth is a classic design the team still adopts. While the old teal jerseys were nice, these are good too, especially the sleeves, mixing black and teal. 

13. Ottawa Senators

This jersey is getting a fair amount of hate, which I find unfair. This logo is way, way better than the old logo that the Senators just ditched. The red looks nice, and unlike the Oilers, the abundance of stripes doesn\’t ruin the jersey. 

12. Florida Panthers

The golden stripe and the blue body are the things that I look at and like. The return of the old logo is what I look at and love. I do like the current home uniforms, but this is much better. 

11. Winnipeg Jets

Another public opinion that I don\’t understand is the Avalanche getting love while this one is disrespected. Both are essentially the same concept. The Jets are taking the timeless logo of the original Jets, and applying it here. While it isn\’t better than the blue and red jerseys they\’ve recently used, it is nice, and you can\’t tell me that the navy and light blue don\’t make an amazing logo.

10. Carolina Hurricanes

The Hurricanes used to be the Whalers. We know this. The Hurricanes have used the Whalers jerseys a lot recently, so using a Carolina design would be nice. I would have also taken a Whalers logo with red and black, like what the Avalanche and Jets did. It is in the top-10 solely because of the Whalers logo being great, although there is a lack of creativity here. 

9. Anaheim Ducks

The Wild Wing jerseys might not have been what fans wanted, especially when the jersey that they did want is worn by Wild Wing on this jersey. I guess him wearing this jersey would be weird. It is still a cool jersey, with the best lettering in the game. Wild Wing\’s legs do look very marshmallowy, though. 

8. Columbus Blue Jackets

This is an amazing logo. To be fair, the rest of the jersey doesn\’t match it, but the stars are everywhere, and the CBJ in the logo brings the point home. I feel confident saying this is a top-2 jersey in Blue Jackets history. 

7. St. Louis Blues 

While the trumpet alternates that Mike Keenan refused to let the Blues wear would be fun, I like this one too. The red, gold and blue colors bounce off of each other well, and I\’ve always loved that Blues logo. 

6. Buffalo Sabres

Personally, I would have switched the shoulder and chest logos, so the \”goat head\” logo would be the main one. The swords are still a nice look, and the golden and blue stripes look great. The one bad thing about this is the \”Buffalo\” wording on the bottom. 

5. Los Angeles Kings

We wanted Burger King! We wanted Burger King! Oh wait, I guess only I did. Well, this was the obvious choice. The classic purple and yellow jerseys will sell, and the team knows this. It looks pretty good too. There\’s really nothing to complain about here. 

4. Calgary Flames

Having the guts to bring back Blasty, especially when teams like the Islanders were afraid to bring back their ugly logos, makes this a win for the Flames. While the black, yellow and red look like an old Canucks jersey, the Flames deserve those colors more. I was expecting a C with more red, so I\’m glad they did this. 

3. Colorado Avalanche

Bring back the classic Nordiques logo: check. Add a reverse theme to it: check. Make something that still says \”Colorado\”: check. The Avalanche hit it out of the park with this one. 

2. Washington Capitals

The Capitals have had a bunch of great jerseys in their history. The current ones are really good. They also had the screaming eagle and Capitol Building on jerseys. They go with the eagle here, and update it to the red color of the franchise. The logo, bottom stripe and \”C\” all slant to the bottom left, which is a nice touch.

1. Arizona Coyotes

The Kachina jerseys are my favorite jersey of all-time. Since they are the Coyotes\’ alternates, they would have to impress me. They did exactly that, bringing back these alternates from the early 2000s. While they weren\’t great then, with a weird green color, changing that to purple completely fixes it. The logo and desert on the bottom is a little bit looney, but I like it. This is an all-time jersey right here.