Fantasy Baseball Today - 🚨Jacob deGrom to the Rangers! Mariners & Brewers Make A Trade - Emergency Podcast (12/2 Fantasy Baseball Podcast)

Episode Date: December 3, 2022

Jacob deGrom is leaving the Mets for... the Texas Rangers! What does this mean for his Fantasy value? What about the contract? Kolten Wong was traded to the Mariners for Jesse Winker and Abraham Toro. Is Winker going to be the DH? Might it affect the Brewers outfielders? Fantasy Baseball Today' is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Castbox and wherever else you listen to podcasts.  Get Fantasy Baseball Today merch here: https://store.cbssports.com/collections/fantasy-baseball-today?utm_source=podcast-apple-com&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=buy-our-merch&utm_content=fantasy-baseball-collection Follow FBT on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fbtpod?_t=8WyMkPdKOJ1&_r=1 Follow our FBT team on Twitter: @FBTPod, @CTowersCBS, @CBSScottWhite, @Roto_Frank Join our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/fantasybaseballtoday Sign up for the FBT Newsletter at https://www.cbssports.com/newsletters/fantasy-baseball-today/ For more fantasy baseball coverage from CBS Sports, visit https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/ To hear more from the CBS Sports Podcast Network, visit https://www.cbssports.com/podcasts/ Subscribe to our YouTube channel: youtube.com/FantasyBaseballToday You can listen to Fantasy Baseball Today on your smart speakers! Simply say "Alexa, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast" or "Hey Google, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast." To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Now here's Frank Scott and Chris. Well, just another Friday night news to May. Welcome into our first emergency podcast of the off season, and it's a big one. Frank Stamphill joined by Scott White here on Friday night, December 2nd. And let's just jump right into it, Scottie. Jacob de Grom, one of the most talented pitchers we have ever seen is signing a five-year $185 million deal that includes a sixth-year option with the Texas Rangers. is leaving the New York Mets.

He's not going to the Atlanta Braves. He will head out to the Texas Rangers. Massive deal here, Scott. We know how talented Jacob de Grom is. Was looking into numbers since the start of 2018. Among qualified starting pitchers, Jacob de Grom, first in ERA, second in whip, third in K-per-9,

first in swinging strike rate by far. Your initial reaction to one of the best pitchers heading to the Rangers. Now it's a big deal in baseball. Baseball, the best pitcher of his generation, I would say, leaving the only organization he's ever known to this upstart that, you know, is trying to spin its way to contention. Of course, the Rangers paid big for Corey Seeger, Marcus Simeon, John Gray last off season. And, you know, they're continuing to spend here with DeGrom. Obviously, a risky move.

He's made a combined 26 starts the past two seasons. But, you know, that's kind of the, that's kind of more of a real world bombshell. For fantasy, you know, I always struggle with this because a lot of times the biggest moves that happen in the real world don't matter that much to a player's fantasy value. I mean, Jacob de Grom, it still just comes down to, is he going to be healthy or not? If he is, he's going to be the best pitcher in fantasy, probably by a big margin. and if he's not, well, he'll be like what he's been the past two seasons, making 15 and 11 starts respectively. So, you know, if we want to do the whole thing where we're breaking down,

okay, different venue, well, Globe Life Field and City Field rate pretty similarly as far as hitters versus pitchers go. Both leagues have the DH now, so him going from the NL to the A.L. It's not really a big deal either. Um, yeah, I just, uh, you know, we just, we just got to see if he's healthy. I mean, I don't know, I don't know what more, what I don't know one more to say about it than that. No, I think you're right, Scott. Look, when it comes to elite players, they're elite for a reason, right?

They are the best and they're going to be the best regardless of where they're playing. So I do agree it's, you know, maybe if anything, it's a slight park shift downgrade, but again, it doesn't matter. Jacob de Grom is elite of the elite. They are virtually the same. But even if they weren't, it's extraneous, right? Because, like, Jacob de Grom, he's just going to strike everybody out if he's healthy. So, like, it doesn't even really matter where he's playing. Yeah, I guess the only one thing is perhaps he loses out on win potential,

but the Mets have done a poor job of giving Jacob de Grom run support in years past anyway. For what it's worth, the Mets were fifth and run scored this past season. The Rangers were 12th. Perhaps they, you know, continue to bolster their lineup. You know, maybe a full season of Josh Young can help that lineup as well. Again, I don't really know that there is much. I agree with you, Scott. From a fantasy perspective, I don't know that there is much to take away.

Jacob de Grom is still amazing on a per-ending basis. He is the best pitcher on the planet. Just can he stay healthy? Which is something you referenced. He has not pitched more than 100 innings. He hasn't pitched more than 94 in a regular season since 2019. Over the past three years, Jacob de Grom has missed time due to neck, lat, back, shoulder, forearm, and elbow issues. and we know this past season he missed majority of the time with that aforementioned shoulder injury.

I guess the one thing I'll bring up here, Scott, is the early price tag. Again, there's, I think, been about 50 drafts done over at the NFBC so far to this point. The early ADP for Jacob de Grom is 38.4 as the eighth starting pitcher off the board. Probably sounds a little bit low for Jacob de Grom. Pitching has just been pushed down so far, especially elite starting pitchers. It seems like most people are thinking the same way we are, Scott, is that, you know, you want to lean, into elite hitters early on and then you jump into pitching a little bit later. But eight starting pitcher off the board just behind Spencer Strider and Shane McClanahan.

Does that sound right to you? More or less, I do have him a couple spots higher. So you said he's ahead of who was it again? He is just, he's just behind Spencer Shreder and Shane McClanahan. He's just ahead of Aaronnola. Yeah, okay. So I don't know. I'd prefer to grind.

to Strider. Like, Strider hasn't proven his durability either. Right. And I understand, you know, he was great this past year.

He wasn't DeGrom great. You know, he wasn't, uh, over the last five seasons of 205 ERA, great. 0.87 whip,

12.2K per 9. That's what DeGrom's done the past five years. So, and, and I understand, like, that's not the only thing we're evaluating deGrom on. Like,

we're, he has to be available in order for those numbers to mean anything. And that's been an issue for him two years around. I don't hold 2020 against him so much because he still made 12 starts in the 60 game season. So really we're just talking about 2021, 2021, where that's been an issue for DeGrom. But that's more an issue, I think, of Strider's value

maybe being inflated a bit rather than de Grom. being overly discounted. I think more or less it's the right spot. I think I'd take him over McClanahan too because McClanahan had his own health issues at the end of the season and his stuff didn't seem right in September when he came back. So I feel like there's enough concerns there for McClanahan too

that I'll just take who I think is the better pitcher into Grom. But yeah, roughly the right spot that 6-7 range at starting pitcher. Yeah, I think that makes. sense too. Corbin Burns, Garrett Cole, Sandy Alcansara, Brandon Woodruff. I have no problem with those names going ahead of Jacob de Grom. Dylan Sees is one that's also going ahead of him, but I guess you can save that conversation. Well, yeah, I mean, it's kind of, it's kind of, it is kind of a bigger conversation because Justin Verlander, there are a few relievers ahead of him as well as Shohei Otani, who's, you know, more of a DH. But Justin Verlander is the 17th pitcher off the board on average.

and he's my number one. Yeah. So it's just a little like that it's such a crowded tier. Yeah. That I think there's not going to be a lot of consensus within it. Mm-hmm. Hello is Scherzer. I mean, I know we're kind of getting off track here.

He's going a few spots after Verlander. Yeah, even after Verlander. So clearly these old guys are being discounted. At least on this one platform. Right. Which is all we have to. 61 drafts in. Yeah, which is all we have to judge on so far.

Right. Yeah. I guess, look, this doesn't really matter from a fantasy perspective, Scott. But any quick thoughts on the contract? Because I was really surprised here, Jacob de Grom at 33 years old, maybe 34, turning 34, able to land a five-year deal. I think a lot of people, me included, I expected, you know, three, maybe four years max, very high Aav, maybe around $40 million, up over $40 million.

But, man, to land five years for this amount of money, really surprised. Great job for Jacob Grom. I personally was just kind of surprised by the contract. Yeah, I was expecting something closer to like what Max Scherzer got last year from the Mets, higher average annual value over a shorter period of time. The average annual value of this is 38 about. So that's still really high.

Not as high as Scherzer was, but still about as high as we've ever seen. And to get five years out of it, it guaranteed five years. I think DeGrom did pretty well for himself. And I think that's probably just what the Rangers had to do to get him. I mean, you kind of, if you're in the position of the Rangers, haven't been to the playoffs for a long time, certainly don't have, or at least aren't thought to have the supporting cast, the Mets do, then you kind of have to,

you kind of have to blow DeGrom away to get him. So it's not exactly the sort of deal I saw him signing, but I think it makes sense. Oh, man, Scott. I just realized I am salivating at the idea of Jacob de Grom versus Shohei Otani. That is going to be a lot of fun out there in the AOS. We did have a trade as well. Actually, before we get to the trade, we'll just mention on the Mets front. I know a lot of Mets fans.

They feel it's doom and gloom right now. There are other elite pitchers out there. I know it hurts to see someone like Jacob de Grom leave the organization. He came up with them. That was the only team he played for. Apparently they are very in on Justin Verlander right now. So if you can put together a Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, once you punch, that is still absolutely fantastic.

So we'll see where the match. I just said I like Verlander more in fantasies. And there you go. Let's see. We did have a trade as well, Scott, not nearly as big as a Jacob de Grom signing. But Colton Wong was traded over to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for Jesse Winker and Abraham Toro.

And we'll just quickly talk about Colton Wong. I think he's a very valuable middle infielder, Scott, specifically in those 12-team Roto leagues where you need that middle-infield spot, especially 15-teamers as well, anything deeper than 12 teams. 251 batting average, 15 homers, 17 steals. He's a fine player. This is a negative park shift, though, and pretty drastically, too, going from Milwaukee to Seattle now. Your thoughts on Colton Wong? Yeah, I thought it was interesting, though. Statcast's expected home run number, which we cite off.

and when players are traded. So Colton Wong actually hit 15 home runs this year. It was a career high. And Stackcast said if you had played every game in Seattle, he also would have hit 15 home runs. And I feel like that that stat has gotten better. I've noticed there's not the weird thing with Coors Field anymore, where the Coors Field expected home run number is really low,

just because it's only measuring distance. It seems to be taking into, I mean, I haven't seen anything on this. I'm just going by, you know, my own interpretation of what I'm seeing. It seems like it's taking into account other things more. So I'm not sure the park thing is going to be a big deal. Power's not really Colne Wong's game anyway. Like I said, the 15 home runs was a career high. He gives you a relevant number of steals,

and maybe he's somebody who'll end up running a lot more with the rule changes. I agree his value is mainly as a middle infield option in rotisserie leagues. So, you know, shallower people who play in shallower leagues, there's not much reason to care about Colton Long, except maybe as a hitter to stream off the waiver wire every now and then. And, yeah, I don't see a huge change in value for him. Might be a little more interesting for Jesse Winker. Because he, you know, part of the reason we didn't like him last year is because he was going from Cincinnati to Seattle.

That's a highly unfavorable park shift for a hitter. And now he goes back to a hitter-friendly park in Milwaukee. I think the biggest variable for a Jesse Winker rebound is health even beyond the park thing. The park thing can only help. But I think Winker's biggest, bigger issue. the reason why he was such a disaster in his one year in Seattle is because he was never really healthy. We found out after the year he was dealing with a knee injury, had surgery on the knee after the year, also had surgery on his neck after the year, ended. And, you know, if he's playing through an injury all year, it kind of makes sense that his exit velocity plummeted the way it did.

You know, it wasn't one of those issues where, oh, new ball, he's not able to hit for power anymore. The exit velocity itself plummeted for Jesse Winkered. So it didn't seem like he was right. but he still walked a ton as he's always done. He was still close to a 950 OPS guy in 2021. I think there's rebound potential here for Jesse Winker. And like I said, going to Milwaukee, presuming they don't flip him again,

because I saw that speculated out there, that they were going to just flip Winker. But presuming they don't do that, I think he's kind of a sleeper. You know, in three outfielder leagues, there's still a chance he doesn't get drafted, but I'm a little more enthusiastic about drafting Winker than I was before this deal. And we need all the outfield help we can get, Scott, and fantasy.

So we will take a bounce back from Jesse Waker if you can get back on track. I was also going to say there's a lot of like tangential stuff here that's interesting. You know, this wasn't a very big real-life baseball story, but there's a lot more to talk about it more than with DeGrom, I feel like. for instance, Abraham Toro goes back to the Brewers in this deal along with Winker. And I presume he's going to be the favorite

to start at second base for them. Of course, they also have Kestinjura there, who they kind of moved to first base even before he began his struggles. But he played a little second base last year. I don't know why they couldn't give him starts there again.

What's going on with the Brewers' outfield? because they had just traded away Hunter Renfro. They have a lot of up-and-comers. Garrett Mitchell we saw last year. Sal Freelick is close. Joey Weamer is close. They got a lot of interesting pieces there. There will be a lot to monitor in spring training because of that.

Obviously, Winker clogs it up a little more. It sounds like the Brewers have a lot of maneuvering still to do. So, you know, I don't even know. that we can have a good grasp of the situation yet. But certainly an interesting move. And we'll see where they go next. My first thought, Scott, was that Jesse Winker will DH for the Brewers because he is a dreadful outfielder.

But they also have Rowdy Tellez, who's not great at first base either. So I'm sure they want to get him some days at DH. I don't know at this point if Jesse Winker is a full-time player just because of all the injuries he's dealt with. you know, look, if he's hitting well, they're going to get him in the lineup. He's really bad against lefties too. But I do agree. I think there's some upside there, very sneaky in five outfielder leagues.

Jesse Wings. He's never really been a full-time player because he's so bad against left-handers. Not that he sits against every left-hander. Ultimately, I think performance is going to answer it, right? Yeah. How much he plays. But, yeah, I would expect going into the year he's going to be more like a platoon bat for the brewers. Yeah.

And maybe it's just wishful thinking, Scott. I just want him to be the DH so that we can still get guys. like Garrett Mitchell and South Freelick everyday opportunities to play in the outfield for the Milwaukee Brewers, as well as Joey Weimer. Weimer? Weir? Who you mentioned earlier also.

You know, I think it might be Weimer. Yeah. W-I-E-M-E-R. Yeah, and he's a very interesting prospect too. Lots of power, lots of speed. Strikes out quite a bit. Last point I wanted to make here, Scott. I think Abraham Toro,

likely to start at second base, maybe to start the season for the Brewers, but a name to remember, they have a prospect in their organization. Bryce Terang, and this past season, the minors. He hit 286, 13 homers, 34 steals. He's played some time at in the outfield, at shortstop, at second base as well. So if they want to give him an opportunity, he played all

of his games at AAA last season. I think he's going to be in the mix. So just a name to pay attention to and watch during spring training. Wouldn't surprise me one bit if he is the opening day second basement for the Milwaukee Brewers. Yep. And there's Estuary Estuary Ruiz too, who has played. He's more of an outfielder now, but he's played some infield too. can run fast. Put up huge numbers in the miners. I don't know if the power is really there for him, but he's another name to keep an eye on in the spring.

All right. First emergency podcast of the offseason is in the books. Again, Jacob de Grom to the Texas Rangers on a five-year deal. And then we had a lesser trade with Colton Wong going to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for Jesse Winker and Abraham Toro. We're going to wrap there for Scott. I am Frank. Thank you all for listening and watching Fantasy Baseball today.

be back again on Tuesday, hopefully. Bye-bye.