2025 MLB Thread

[Tigermojo]

Noel designated for assignment right before Christmas...

[Tiger337]

2 hours ago, RatkoVarda said:

Keller, Weaver, Houser all sign for 2/22M

So, Keller is not going to start for the Tigers?

[casimir]

2 hours ago, Tigermojo said:

Noel designated for assignment right before Christmas...

Ho Ho, No!

He has to find regular work.  His nickname is too good to fall out of the sport already.

[chasfh]

On 12/17/2025 at 9:07 AM, gehringer_2 said:

Nice. Pulling things out of datasets that were only in there implicitly was something I did a lot of when I worked as a process engineer.

You could amplify the time calc a little bit by subtracting the minimum 2min per half inning inning break from every game (minimum of 34 min for a home team win) plus a couple of extra minutes twice in each game for brooming the field.(maybe 5 min) which is guaranteed dead time - the order wouldn't change but the %difference and the net time per pitch would be closer - but still not that close given all the umpire time-outs, to the real number.

The other thing that *might* play into this is the amount of foul territory in the ball park. If park has a small foul area, there probably is less time spent after a ball goes out of play, than if the foul ball stays on the field and either a play is made or it has to be retrieved by a ball boy or player. But this factor would follow the park, not the team.

Yes, I love pulling things out of datasets in the way you imply. It's like solving a puzzle. Huge endorphin rush.

I went ahead and subtracted the 34 minutes as you suggested ad there was some minor movement in the table, I didn't bother dicking around with brooming the field or seventh inning stretches or foul territory sizes:

Team	Pit/Min
NYY	2.19
NYM	2.23
TOR	2.24
SDP	2.25
TEX	2.26
HOU	2.26
MIA	2.27
BAL	2.27
ARI	2.28
SEA	2.28
BOS	2.29
LAA	2.29
LAD	2.30
TBR	2.30
PHI	2.30
CHC	2.31
STL	2.32
CHW	2.33
MIN	2.33
WSN	2.34
MIL	2.35
ATH	2.35
PIT	2.35
COL	2.35
KCR	2.36
DET	2.36
CIN	2.36
CLE	2.37
ATL	2.38
SFG	2.38
MLB	2.31

In short, the Dodgers moved up the slowness table by four places, along with the Brewers. Tampa and KC both dropped four places. The Tigers were flat at 26th slowest (i.e., fifth fastest).

Something I just now noticed: eight of the slowest 15 teams are NL or AL East teams, meaning only two of the fastest 15 teams are from the East divisions. I wonder whether there is something to that?

[Tiger337]

Michael King signs with Padres - 3/75 with opt outs.  

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/12/padres-to-re-sign-michael-king.html

[Tigermojo]

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/12/white-sox-to-sign-munetaka-murakami.html

He was projected to get up to $180 million....settled for two years $34 million with the Sux. That's crazy.

[Motor City Sonics]

On 12/17/2025 at 10:30 AM, chasfh said:

 

The White Sox. 

Huh? 

Really? 

I wasn't expecting the Tigers to go for him, but the White Sox?   

Um......okay.   

[chasfh]

40 minutes ago, Tigermojo said:

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/12/white-sox-to-sign-munetaka-murakami.html

He was projected to get up to $180 million....settled for two years $34 million with the Sux. That's crazy.

Something had to have happened with the guy. You don’t go from being projected at 8/158 from a Big Six team to 2/28 from one of the worst franchises in baseball because of swing and miss and defensive liabilities. Those had to have been already baked in to the projection. Something else is up. 

[Tiger337]

48 minutes ago, chasfh said:

Something had to have happened with the guy. You don’t go from being projected at 8/158 from a Big Six team to 2/28 from one of the worst franchises in baseball because of swing and miss and defensive liabilities. Those had to have been already baked in to the projection. Something else is up. 

Maybe the guys who made the projection just overestimated his value.  The article said that he got some longer term offers, but hde settled on a short-term deal so he could prove himself in the Marors and do better after free agency.  

[Tigermojo]

Sucks to be the Swallows who only get a $6.6 million posting fee.

[papalawrence]

2 hours ago, Tiger337 said:

Maybe the guys who made the projection just overestimated his value.  The article said that he got some longer term offers, but hde settled on a short-term deal so he could prove himself in the Marors and do better after free agency.  

Could be the case. He turns 26 in about 6 weeks. 

[RatkoVarda]

I see the Red Sox continue to acquire proven major league players, even though it may block prospects. if they keep this nonsense up, they might win the brutal AL East.

[chasfh]

22 hours ago, RatkoVarda said:

I see the Red Sox continue to acquire proven major league players, even though it may block prospects. if they keep this nonsense up, they might win the brutal AL East.

Or fall flat on their faces. Because, you know, Red Sox.

[Tiger337]

2 hours ago, chasfh said:

Or fall flat on their faces. Because, you know, Red Sox.

You sound like a Red Sox fan.  Please don't take that as a slur!  They used to be that way, but they have won more championships than any team this century.  

[chasfh]

19 hours ago, Tiger337 said:

You sound like a Red Sox fan.  Please don't take that as a slur!  They used to be that way, but they have won more championships than any team this century.  

That’s fair, but also, the Red Sox seem to go from first place to last place and back again inexplicably.

[CMRivdogs]

 

[Tiger337]

1 hour ago, CMRivdogs said:

 

Hittin Harold.  

[Tiger337]

I don't know what kind of offer, if any, the Tigers made to Fairbanks, but I would have preferred him to Jansen.  He got 1/13 from thre Marlins.    

[4hzglory]

2 hours ago, Tiger337 said:

I don't know what kind of offer, if any, the Tigers made to Fairbanks, but I would have preferred him to Jansen.  He got 1/13 from thre Marlins.    

If healthy I agree.  I just wonder if he is as it still doesn’t make sense that the Rays declined his option over $10 mil when this proves there would have been a trade market.

[chasfh]

23 hours ago, CMRivdogs said:

 

I guess I was kinda wrong here—he worked himself into becoming good enough for Asia: 

 

[chasfh]

20 hours ago, Tiger337 said:

I don't know what kind of offer, if any, the Tigers made to Fairbanks, but I would have preferred him to Jansen.  He got 1/13 from thre Marlins.    

I bet he simply preferred to stay in Florida. 

[Tiger337]

2 hours ago, chasfh said:

I bet he simply preferred to stay in Florida. 

Unless he could get a better offer which he apparently didn't

[Arlington]

On 12/21/2025 at 10:54 AM, Tiger337 said:

Maybe the guys who made the projection just overestimated his value.  The article said that he got some longer term offers, but hde settled on a short-term deal so he could prove himself in the Marors and do better after free agency.  

I'm sure he took the best deal he could get.  When would a team insist on a longer term offer.  

[Tiger337]

7 hours ago, Arlington said:

I'm sure he took the best deal he could get.  When would a team insist on a longer term offer.  

They might have offered longer term for less money annually.  Or maybe, he just didn't like the overall money and wanted a shorter deal, so he could become a free agent sooner.  Anyway, it's harder to project contracts for foreign players because there is not much data and too much uncertainty.  How often does a 26-year old slugging corner infielder who strikes out too much try to come to the US?  He might be the only one who fits that exact profile.     

[chasfh]

16 minutes ago, Tiger337 said:

They might have offered longer term for less money annually.  Or maybe, he just didn't like the overall money and wanted a shorter deal, so he could become a free agent sooner.  Anyway, it's harder to project contracts for foreign players because there is not much data and too much uncertainty.  How often does a 26-year old slugging corner infielder who strikes out too much try to come to the US?  He might be the only one who fits that exact profile.     

“Corner infielder” seems generous. Murakami is probably more like a first baseman by process of elimination until he can’t hack even that anymore, which shouldn’t be long now.

But you might be right in that he’s taking the shorter deal to try to fix his swing and miss issues here, and doing so with a team where there’s almost no pressure to make the playoffs—so he can focus on himself versus on the team—and all while making more money than he ever could at home seems like a winning strategy. If he successfully fixes his issue, he might get way, way into nine figures starting 2028. And if he doesn’t? Well, then, worst case, he can always go back home with money-for-life and rake for another ten years in an only-slightly inferior league that speaks his native language. Seems like a smart plan to me.