Marty’s musings: the stove is red-hot

Welcome to ‘Marty’s Musings’, my weekly column of numbers summarizing the happenings in the baseball world. I am your guide for taking an analytic look at the news and notes throughout the game, and highlighting key pitching matchups.

Welcome to ‘Marty’s Musings’, my weekly column of numbers summarizing the happenings in the baseball world. I am your guide for taking an analytic look at the news and notes throughout the game, and highlighting key pitching matchups.

The stove is hot-as-hell this week as teams attempt to fill out their rosters and get a leg-up on their competition before the CBA expires on December 1st. Several key free agents have already inked deals, while some of the bigger fish are reportedly close to signing with new (and often unexpected) teams.

News & Notes

12/1 - The day the CBA expires. This is an anchor day, one where we may be in for a lockout. That means today and tomorrow teams will be scrambling to sign players and get physicals through their own system. Monday may be critical as it takes time for paperwork and physicals to process.

5/$110m - Deal the Blue Jays and pitcher Kevin Gausman agreed to over the weekend. Gausman reset his value after the shortened 2020 season, taking a qualifying offer from the Giants. After a 4.8 win season, he’ll be part of a Blue Jays team that looks like they’ll be competitive for a while.

7 - Year deal the Twins agreed to with outfielder and homegrown star Byron Buxton. The deal reportedly is for $100 million over seven years, and includes a no trade clause.

2 - Big names the 60-win Texas Rangers signed over the last week. One is starting pitcher John Gray, who will get $56 million over four years. That signing came as a surprise, but not as much as the Rangers going all-in on infielder Marcus Semien, on a $175 million seven year deal.

$40m - Supposedly the AAV the Mets offered Max Scherzer on a long-term deal. The details are fuzzy, and rumors abound, but owner Steve Cohen seems to be going hard after Scherzer. The Dodgers still remain the favorite to ink the perennial All Star.

1 - Year deal for Corey Kluber, who signed with the Rays for $8 million. It’s a typical Rays move, as Kluber’s tenure with the Yankees was injury-riddled and hardly inspiring. He’ll be Tampa’s latest rehabilitation project.

122 - Days until Opening Day. Supposedly.

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<p><i>Steven Martano is an Editor at Beyond the Box Score, a Contributing Prospect Writer for the Colorado Rockies at </i><a href=”http://www.purplerow.com” target=”_blank”>Purple Row</a><i>, and a contributing writer for </i><a href=”http://www.thehardballtimes.com” target=”_blank”>The Hardball Times</a><i>. </i><i>You can follow him on Twitter at <a target=”_blank” href=”https://twitter.com/SMartano”>@SMartano</a></i></p>