New York & Orlando New York Yankees Receive: OF John ElwayOrlando Devil Rays Receive: 1998 5th-Round Pick Orlando has broadcast to the entire league that they aren’t re-signing John Elway. Some of it is cap pressure; some of it is simply a franchise pivoting away from its older pieces. Elway is 34 now, but he quietly posted more than 3 WAR last season with an .811 OPS. He barely played after arriving from Texas, but...
When the United League Rookie of the Year results dropped, most expected Arizona Diamondbacks ace Scott Karl to walk away with the award. After all, he didn’t just pitch like a top rookie—he pitched like one of the best starters in the entire league. And yet, the voting panel went a different direction, handing the trophy to Washington Senators catcher Jason Kendall. Kendall is a phenomenal young player. This isn’t about discrediting him....
Last offseason, I wrote—fairly bluntly—that the Toronto Blue Jays were playing with matches. Trading Carlos Delgado, one of the most recognizable young power bats in the league, and then immediately flipping the return package for Derek Jeter looked, at best, reckless. At worst, it looked like the kind of impulsive decision that sets a franchise back half a decade. A year later?It’s time to revisit those calls. And the truth is far more...
St. Louis & Detroit St. Louis Receives: C Darrin FletcherDetroit Receives: SP Jason Jacome St. Louis came agonizingly close to a World Series berth last season despite getting almost nothing from its catchers. Mike Matheny somehow stumbled into positive WAR—how, exactly, remains one of the great mysteries of the sport—and Dan Wilson was below water. Fans are understandably calling for an upgrade behind the plate. The...