Free Friday: Wait, He’s There Now?

Thank you, first of all, to everybody who came out for our event on Thursday night at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. It was truly incredible, so many great friends, so many wonderful stories, Alex Gordon was really funny, Jason Kander was really funny, Bob Kendrick was so Bob Kendrick, it was all just the best.

I’m about to board a plane for Tucson, where I’ll be appearing all weekend at the Tucson Festival of Books. Should be a blast.

And I’ll be in Cleveland next Sunday, March 17!

My friend Marq Evans came into K.C. to do some final filming for the upcoming movie, The Diamond King, a documentary on baseball artist Dick Perez that’s coming out this summer. Dick was the official artist of the Hall of Fame for years, and you might know him best as the artist of the Diamond King Donruss baseball cards of the 1980s and 1990s. I actually wrote the narration of the movie, and I’ve been lucky enough to see the early versions, and, well, I might not know you personally, but I am absolutely sure that you will love it.

Two more things:

1. So many of you have already preordered a signed and personally inscribed copy of WHY WE LOVE FOOTBALL from the good folks at Quail Ridge Books, and I’m so incredibly grateful because that book doesn’t even come out until Sept. 17 (it isn’t even copy edited yet!). For it to already be on your mind is incredible. I’ve decided to wait until the end of March to send out an early bird special bonus to everybody who preorders the book from Quail Ridge; I’ll be sending you my full introduction to the book, which includes all sorts of fun tidbits and Easter eggs. All you have to do is preorder the book, tell me how you want me to inscribe it and then send me the receipt at JP at JoePosnanski, and I’ll send you the intro at the beginning of April.*

*And if you preorder from anywhere, save your receipt, because pretty soon we'll be making the same special offer that we made for WHY WE LOVE BASEBALL, where preorders get you some of the bonus chapters that were cut from the book.

2. If you’re a free subscriber, first of all, thank you. Second of all, you will notice that we’re doing something new with JoeBlogs: When I write a paid post, you will get a little button that allows you to unlock one post for free, so you can read, say, what I wrote about MannyBManny or one of my baseball previews this week. Obviously, the idea is that you’ll like it and subscribe (more than 40% off for a year!), but even if you don’t, I’m hoping you’ll like it.

Thought it would be fun today to look through all 30 teams and say a few words about the new players you’ve heard of who they have acquired. It’s always fun to go through the “Wait, he’s there now?” process as the season approaches. And for fun, I’ll throw in an “excitement meter” on a scale of 1 to 10 as I guess how excited fans are, coming into the new season. I’ll look to you fans to tell me how excited you ACTUALLY are.

Arizona Diamondbacks

The big pickup, I think, is pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez, who, well, if he pitches as effectively as he did at the start of last season for the Tigers, I mean, with Rodriguez and Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly in the rotation, that could be a super-dangerous team come the playoffs. Eugenio Suarez and Joc Pederson should contribute a bunch home runs and strikeouts to the cause.

Excitement level: Gotta be 8 or 9, coming off the Series, right?

Atlanta Braves

If I’m a Braves fan, I’m not sure if I’m more excited about acquiring Chris Sale or Jarred Kelenic. Sale, obviously, if he actually can stay healthy and pitch like his old self, well, he could be the ultimate difference-maker. But what, really, are the odds of that? Kelenic, meanwhile, showed some flashes last year that reminded you he was one of the biggest, if not the biggest, prospect in baseball. And he’s still just 24. Like the Braves need another force in that lineup.

Excitement level: 10.

Baltimore Orioles

It was looking like kind of a bummer offseason for the O’s as they sat out the free-agent party even though they were coming off a surprising 100-win season that seemed to set them up as the team of the future. But then they traded for Corbin Burnes, who, for me, is better than any of the free-agent pitchers available. So that gets the heart pumping. They also picked up Craig Kimbrel, but who even knows what that means anymore.

Excitement level: 8 or 9.

Boston Red Sox

Blech. It’s truly shocking how much the Red Sox have fallen—not necessarily as a team, they’ll probably be meh this year but not terrible—but as an IDEA. A few years ago, they were baseball’s cutting-edge team, pushing the envelope always, trying to win always, representing the baseball hunger that surrounds them in New England. Now? No. Now they’re about spending less. They got Lucas Giolito, which wasn’t all that exciting even before news broke that he might miss the season. I do like Tyler O’Neill some; he looked like a breakout star in 2021. But it’s pretty grim.

Excitement level: 3?

Chicago Cubs

He’s not new, but I guess the big news was them bringing back Cody Bellinger on their own terms. As for the rest, not much to say. The Cubs did pick up pitcher Shota Imanaga, who, well, I don’t know, he’s 30, he’s left-handed, he was pretty good in Japan. The Cubs, seemed to me, had a great opportunity to really go for it this offseason, they’re in a winnable division, they’ve got a pretty exciting outfield, it was kind of depressing to see them sit back. Maybe they will bring in Jordan Montgomery.

Excitement level: 5 or so

Chicago White Sox

The Sox did get a few new players: Martin Maldonado! Paul DeJong! Nicky Lopez! Other guys! The more I think about this team, the more depressed I get, if I’m being honest.

Excitement level: Probably 1

Cincinnati Reds

The Reds, unsurprisingly, chose to rely on their young players rather than spend some money. They did get Jeimer Candelario, who could be a nice addition at third base. Frankie Montas and Emilio Pagan are now Reds, too.

Excitement level: 4 or 5, I’m thinking, but could go up quickly if some of their young guys, like Elly de la Cruz and Matt McLain emerge.

Cleveland Guardians

Does Cleveland have ANY new guys you’ve heard of? How big a baseball fan do you need to be to have heard of Austin Hedges?

Excitement level: 2. Maybe 3 if you take into account their terrible division.

Happy Friday! Our Friday posts are free so everyone can enjoy them. Just a reminder that Joe Blogs is a reader-supported newsletter, and I’d love and appreciate your support.

Colorado Rockies

I was pretty sure I had heard of Cal Quantrill, but then realized I was thinking of his father, Paul Quantrill. That’s not completely fair; Cal was good for Cleveland a couple years ago.

Excitement level: If you can go below 1, go below 1.

Detroit Tigers

They did get some guys you’ve heard of—Mark Canha (Corn) and (Clark) Kenta Maeda and Shelby Miller (time)—but I’m not sure how much excitement any of them elicit. The big acquisition of the offseason, obviously, was announcer Jason Benetti.

Excitement level: 4 because of Benetti.

Houston Astros

They got Josh Hader, which should upgrade both the bullpen and the Astros’ subpar hair game. Now, question for you: Can you name the Astros manager?

Excitement level: It’s always at least an 8 in Houston, right?

Kansas City Royals

One of the big winners in the “Wait, they got that guy?” sweepstakes, the Astros got Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Adam Frazier, one of the many Will Smiths, Chris Stratton, Garrett Hampson, you probably know at least a couple of them.

Excitement level: We’ll see how the vote for a new downtown stadium goes in three or so weeks, that will tell you.

The Astros manager is Joe Espada, by the way.

Los Angeles Angels

I just saw that the Angels got Aaron Hicks, so, you know, that’s something. They also got Matt Moore, who for inexplicable reasons, I always confuse with Mike Moore or Matt Young. I always think Matt Moore played for the 1980s Mariners.

Excitement level: I don’t know that there’s a low-enough integer.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Oh, no big deal, just Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow and Teoscar Hernandez and James Paxton.

Excitement level: This one goes to 11.

Yeah, this is kind of a big deal. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Miami Marlins

They did get one of the PosCast’s favorite players, Tim Anderson, and it would be nice to see him re-emerge in Miami.

Excitement level: I would guess pretty low—maybe 2 or 3—even if they are coming off a nutty playoff season.

Milwaukee Brewers

Look, I totally missed this—when and how did the Brewers get Rhys Hoskins? This is like the perfect example of the “Wait, he’s there now?” player. They did also get Jakob Junis, one of the better JJs in recent baseball history.

Excitement level: Hard for me to judge this. I’d probably guess 5 or below, simply because it had to be a bummer losing Corbin Burnes.

Minnesota Twins

They are the latest team to get Carlos Santana, that makes five teams since he played for Cleveland in 2020. They also got Manuel Margot, which, you know, is a very, very good baseball name.

Excitement level: They’re still probably pretty heavy favorites in the AL Central, so maybe 6?

New York Mets

Meet the Mets! Greet the Mets! Luis Severino! Harrison Bader! Joey (Mister) Wendle!* Sean Manaea.

*A little gift for you fans of the rap group Arrested Development. Every single time I see Joey Wendle’s name, I think of their song “Mr. Wendal.” I loved that group.

Excitement level: I’m guessing quite low, 3 or 4, but I have a weird feeling the Mets might be surprisingly decent this year.

New York Yankees

I’ll be saving my bold predictions for another day, but I will tell you that I think Juan Soto might destroy the world in 2024. They also got Marcus Stroman and Trent Grisham and Alex Verdugo; I don’t think any of them will destroy the world, though who knows with the Yankees. The pinstripes do occasionally turn mere mortals into superheroes.

Excitement level: It’s always 7 in New York.

Oakland Athletics

They got Ross Stripling. He’s a cool guy. They also hired Jenny Cavnar to call games, which is awesome.

Excitement level: Put all your money on 1 red.

Philadelphia Phillies

Whit Merrifield is in Philadelphia now. Let me just say this—in his career, Merrifield has led the league in hits (twice), in doubles, in triples, in stolen bases (three times), in at-bats (three times) and in games (three times). Also caught stealing. Also sacrifice flies. Very, very, very few players in baseball history have that many bold numbers in their career stats. That doesn’t make the Phillies’ offseason any more thrilling, though they locked down Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler, which is thrilling in a whole different way.

Excitement level: I think Phillies fans are pretty jacked; maybe 8 or 9.

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Pittsburgh Pirates

Remember what I said about the Royals being one of the big winners in the “Wait, they got that guy?” sweepstakes? Well, Pittsburgh might have them topped. Rowdy Tellez! Yasmani Grandal! Martin Perez! And, mainly, Aroldis Chapman. I got an email the other day arguing that Aroldis Chapman, as the runaway winner for hardest thrower since the advent of Statcast™, could have a Hall of Fame case. All in all, no, it wasn’t especially convincing, but I appreciated the effort.

Excitement level: Probably about where it has been for the last seven or so seasons, maybe a 3.

San Diego Padres

For a team that spent the last few years raking in huge pots—Juan Soto and Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts and Yu Darvish and so on—I’m not sure this year’s crop of Wandy Peralta, Kyle Higashioka and Michael King is getting the blood pumping. But they did shed almost $100 million in payroll, and they got Korean reliever Woo Suk Go so, you know, it’s not all bad.

Excitement level: Being in the same division with the Dodgers has probably never felt quite so daunting. I’d say 5, maybe? They do still have some big-time talents.

Seattle Mariners

My favorite acquisition was catcher Mitch Garver, because he’s sort of the opposite of a “Wait, he’s there now,” guy. I sort of thought he was already on the Mariners and always had been. They also got Jorge Polanco and Luke Raley and they got Mitch Haniger back, though it’s likely you never knew he left. I didn’t.

Excitement level: I think it’s high. It should be high. Any team with Julio Rodriguez should be excited, and it does sort of feel like it might be their turn in the AL West. How about a 7 or 8?

San Francisco Giants

They finished second for a bunch of guys, like the always seem to do, but they did bring in Matt Chapman and Jorge Soler and Robbie Ray and Jordan Hicks. Beyond that, I am really bullish on the potential of Jung Hoo Lee, who hit .340 in his years in South Korea. Here’s a good one from ESPN’s David Schoenfeld: When was the last time a Giants hitter banged 30 home runs?

Excitement level: I think it’s right at the median—5 or maybe 6.

St. Louis Cardinals

Sonny Gray was the big pickup. Brandon Crawford was the weird pickup (can’t see him in anything other than a Giants uniform). Lance Lynn was the let’s-get-him-back pickup. And Kyle Gibson was the pickup who will be surprised to see how many people come to the game in uniforms with his name on the back.

Excitement level: They’re always excited about baseball in St. Louis, though I don’t get the impression this team has them all that jazzed.

The last Giants hitter to hit 30 homers in a season? You wouldn’t even believe it: It was BARRY BONDS, back in 2004.

Tampa Bay Rays

They got Amed Rosario. They got Phil Maton. That’s about it in the name-recognition department, unless you’re a Francisco Mejia fan. But because they’re the Rays, and they seem to know more about scouting than anybody else, Ryan Pepiot will probably win the Cy Young Award

Excitement level: No idea. The Rays are good every year, and there never seems to be all that much excitement. It’s that brutal ballpark. They did have their highest attendance in a decade last year (1.44 million).

Texas Rangers

I did think the Rangers would be more active this offseason, coming off their World Series victory; it seemed like they were in on a bunch of guys but, honestly, the biggest name they brought in was David Robertson (14 letters!). Followed by Kirby Yates (a mere 10 letters). Could they still be in on Jordan Montgomery or Blake Snell? Each passing day, it looks less likely.

Excitement level: Has to be super-high, right? Eight? Nine? What is the highest baseball excitement level for a Dallas Cowboys city?

Toronto Blue Jays

They got Justin Turner, which is cool because he’s cool, and they got Dan Vogelbach, which is fun, but I did think they would land someone big. They also got Isiah Kiner-Falefa, which, OK. I guess there are rumors connecting them now with Blake Snell.

Excitement level: Would have been a lot higher if the rumors of them signing Shohei had turned out to be true. I’d guess 5?

Washington Nationals

When you’re resting your offseason hopes on Joey Gallo, I mean, it ain’t great. It would be great, however, if they got Joey Votto and Joey Wendle and Joey Lucchesi and maybe talked Joey Cora out of retirement and built a whole team of Joeys. Actually, it would just be great if they signed Joey Votto, since this photo he put on Instagram (with the caption “missing ball”) has me broken up inside.

Excitement level: Sign Joey Votto. That’s all I have to say.

UPDATE! See this is what happens when you’re traveling all day, you miss the big news: Joey Votto signed with the Blue Jays! Hooray!

JoeBlogs Week in Review

Monday: No. 29: Washington Nationals.

Tuesday: No. 28: Oakland/Las Vegas/Nomad Athletics.

Wednesday: No. 27: Chicago White Sox.

Thursday: Fame 44: Being Manny.