Sounds like Price won't go anywhere this year. It does make me wonder about the Shields trade a little more. Considering how well Odorizzi has played of late, the trade looks even more lopsided than it did at the time. However, if having Shields is the difference between TB making the playoffs and not, the trade becomes a bit more of a lose-lose situation.

Pretty happy the Jays aren't in on Lester because it sounds like he's going to cost way too much.

...and Lester for Cespedes.

$22 mil/yr for a pitcher of Lester's caliber isn't terrible. That's about what Buehrle makes. I think the Rays now believe they can contend because of their winning streak. The AL wildcard seems wide open. Lester for Kemp makes no sense, though. I don't know why the Dodgers would ever contemplate that deal. Dodgers already got two top starters. Whoever gets Lester will be huge in the playoffs, though. Jays should think about it.

Good grief. The rich get richer.

Putin, I was talking more in terms of what it would cost players wise to get Lester. He's only around for two months so money isn't the thing.

Cespedes seems like a huge overpay, imho.

Samardzija, Kazmir, Lester...

A's already have run production. Now they have a rotation that will destroy everybody in the playoffs.

I never thought I'd see the day when Oakland was trading for a marquee starter.

Cespedes weird ass defector contract is confusing to me. He'll be a free agent in a year, but still under Boston's control?

Yeah, that's what it looks like. When I first checked bbref it said 2018 so I was shocked at the deal. Makes more sense now.

DH in the NL would be a travesty. Way more strategy involved not having one.

The problem is none of the pitchers bat in the lower levels since they use the DH, there is an extended inter-league play now (which should never have happened), and the DH is costing the NL big name players.

DH in the NL would be the death knell of baseball. The DH should be abolished.

It's definitely just a matter of preference.

I personally prefer seeing professional batters try hit against professional pitchers than to have pitcher hit every 9th time. I also appreciate strategy but I don't need more pitching changes, more sacrifice bunts, and more intentional walks. Those aren't necessarily things that I find entertaining.

Fuck the DH.

Cespedes is a free agent after next year. There's precedent with other IFAs signing shorter contracts than the length of standard team control and being awarded free agency afterwards.

I agree with Yonni. I would much rather watch Ortiz hit against Kershaw than watch Buchholz hit against Kershaw. I am a bit biased because I am a fan of an American League team.

Ortiz is a fuck. The DH is here to stay though. It keeps pitchers healthy, gives you a spot to play your old guys, and fans like run scoring.

I'm gonna be kind of pissed if the Mariners don't do something today.

Seattle fans don't like David Ortiz? Who woulda thought...

Lester is a great pitcher. He's got star written all over him. An ERA under 3 in the AL is fabulous. Besides, he's proven that he can win in the postseason and take command in the World Series, and that's what the A's want him for. I'm rooting for them (sorry ghug) because they've made all the right moves and they deserve it at this point. Boston gets back Cespedes who is absolutely freaking amazing and I can't believe they pulled that off, and then Allen Craig for Lackey, so now once Papi decides to hang em up we have a new middle-of-the-order DH.

The DH isn't likely in the NL. They already build pitcher-friendly parks, why would they change that now? Besides, Madison Bumgarner and Mike Leake are better hitters than a bunch of professional hitters already.

I hate Ortiz primarily because he's an asshole and a cheater. The trading him thing and the Edgar thing are secondary. We've had this argument before though, so let's not get into it.

Absolutely freaking amazing is probably too strong. It's a good trade for the Sox, but Cespedes is a bit overrated. I'm really liking all of these trades because they hurt the A's long term.

Fun fact: Clayton Kershaw has a higher OBP than OBP against.

Okay, yeah, absolutely freaking amazing probably is too strong, considering I was saying the same thing about Trent Richardson when the Colts got him last season.

All of these trades hurt the As long term but they hardly have a long term anyway with their payroll. Cespedes wasn't going to stay there, those prospects were going to hit arbitration before their primes rolled around, and Jonny Gomes is a relatively cheap but productive player. Considering they already have a hell of an offense right now and Brandon Moss has shown he can supply plenty of power on his own, this trade just makes their pitching that much more deadly. They're emulating the Giants from a few years back - they'll have a few great years, maybe win once or twice like the Giants did, and eventually they'll fall off again.

Ortiz is an asshole, I'll give you that much. Still, in the words of Babe Ruth, it's not bragging if you can really do it...

Except he can only kind of really do it, he's not that great of a player.

This whole A's thing seems like it might be Beane's last hurrah. It's all very out of character for him. Usually he trades expensive guys for cheap new ones, not flashy rentals.

Also, if there's anyone that's going to throw out the idiots that try to turn a shot off the monster into a double out at second, it's Cespedes.

Either that or the game's changing and he's just keeping up. Pitching wins. Doesn't take a baseball genius like him to figure that out.

Oh God, the Monster is gonna kill his defensive value.

And there's a difference between getting good pitching and paying a premium for two of the top three pitchers on the market.

My guess is he won't even play left. Allen Craig is going to have to go there.

I would pay a lot to have Lester, Samardzija, Gray, Hammel, and Kazmir. That's a five-man rotation of #1 starters. They might have paid a lot but if it works, I can't criticize it.

I'm surprised David Price isn't going to go anywhere, or so it appears.

Detroit Tigers baby!

Why surprised? Rays are the best team in baseball right now.

The Rays are not the best team in baseball.

But, at any rate, that seems like a pretty small haul for Price.