The Carlos Correa-Mets deal, like the Giants deal before it, now seems to be in very real peril. Ken Rosenthal reported late last night that talks with the Twins were getting serious, and Jon Heyman now echoes that report.
I wonder if we’re going to see Correa wind up getting a much shorter deal than the 12 years the Mets were offering. If so, my guess is we’re also going to find out that the reason the Mets wouldn’t just accept language about “if he misses X amount of games because of the ankle, years 11-12 become a team option” or whatever, is because they are more concerned about degradation of performance over the years ahead, rather than missed time.
Oh, and *IF* Correa winds up taking a much shorter deal (again) from the Twins, yes, I will be very annoyed that the Cubs didn’t get back involved.
Anyway, other Cubs Bullets …
In a deal that I would say is a pretty clear indication that the new rules are impacting player values, outfielder Brett Phillips is reportedly getting a $1.2 million big league deal from the Angels. This is a guy who hit .144/.217/.249/38 wRC+ last year (with a 41.8% strikeout rate), and is a career .188/.273/.348/71 wRC+. But he plays top tier defense all over the outfield, is one of the fastest guys in the league, and also might see a BABIP boost from the new shift rules.
Phillips is exactly the type of player we wondered about when the new rules were finalized, combined with the 13-pitcher limit (which, by definition, means all teams must have at least five bench or DH types). He can be a late-game defensive OR base-running sub, and maybe start in some platoon-optimized match-ups if necessary. I think he’s going to create a good bit of value for the Angels this year, and that’s why a guy who would have historically definitely been looking at a minor league deal gets a guaranteed big league deal. (Also, Phillips is a really fun player who is a big plus in the clubhouse, so I’m sure there’s some ancillary value there, too.)
Marquee has announced its coverage for the 2023 Cubs Convention, and it’s pretty much “everything will be televised.” So for folks who can’t make it to the Sheraton for the event itself, at least they’ll be able to watch on TV (well, if they have Marquee – my guess is that at least some videos and clips will make their way online, even if not live).
Wednesday, January 11
4:30-5 PM — Cubs 360: Convention Preview (Premiere)
5-5:30 PM — The Reporters: Cubs Beat Writers (Live)
Friday, January 13
5-6 PM — Live from the 2023 Cubs Convention: Red Carpet Special
6-10 PM — Live from the 2023 Cubs Convention
Saturday, January 14
9 AM-5:30 PM — Live from the 2023 Cubs Convention
5:30-6:30 PM — Brick by Brick: The Story of Wrigley Field (Premiere)
6:30-7 PM — Marquee Memorabilia (Premiere)
7-8 PM — Icons of the Ivy: Don Kessinger
9-9:30 PM — Icons of the Ivy: Andre Dawson
LIVE FROM 2023 CUBS CONVENTION:
Live from the 2023 Cubs Convention: Red Carpet Special (Friday, 5-6 PM): Join Cole Wright, Cliff Floyd, Taylor McGregor and Elise Menaker for live interviews from the red carpet outside the Opening Ceremony ballroom as Cubs players, coaches and alumni arrive for the opening night of Cubs Convention.
Live from the 2023 Cubs Convention (Friday, 6-10 PM): The Cubs Convention kicks off with the Opening Ceremony, Off the Mound with Ryan Dempster and exclusive interviews with Cubs players, coaches and alumni.
Live from the 2023 Cubs Convention (Saturday, 9 AM-5:30 PM): Live coverage from Saturday at the Cubs Convention, including all sessions, exclusive interviews and segments from Marquee Sports Network shows including Road to Wrigley, Icons of the Ivy and The Reporters. Visit Cubs.com/Convention for the latest event program.
And for those of you who ARE at the Convention, I hope to see you walking around. I’ll also be at Lizzie McNeill’s after the Opening Ceremonies on Friday. Stop in. Have a beer. Yell about the Cubs needing one more power bat.
Now this is a major announcement as far as I’m concerned:
Mine is a Coke house, through and through. So I am very happy that my home away from home will be returning to its Coca-Cola roots. (Well, assuming they have Coke Zero, which THEY FREAKING BETTER.)
Old friend finds a new home at Triple-A with the Tigers:
The Nashville group continues to add to its ranks in the hopes of landing an expansion team in the years ahead:
It’s reasonable to guess that, once the Oakland and Tampa situations are resolved, MLB will officially announce two expansion franchises, one in Nashville and the other in either Las Vegas (if the A’s don’t move there) or Portland (if the A’s do move to Vegas). There’s nothing REPORTED out there on that, by the way. Just the sense I get, and thinking about the territories.
NEWSLETTER
