This offseason, I will be diving into the notable moves made and their impact to their individual teams and potential fantasy baseball implications.
Again… so close, but yet so far. Charlie Morton has reportedly agreed to a 2 year/$30M deal with the Tampa Bay Rays. I had Charlie Morton going to Philadelphia for 2 years and $36M in my Presidente’s 2018-2019 MLB Offseason Free Agent Predictions. I think he is one of the best deals available this winter in terms of performance and no worries of a long-term contract.
Time for another blind test for two free agent contracts signed by pitchers and their last two seasons before free agency. Eerily similar stats.
Player A (Age 37)
64 GS, 3.27 ERA, 27-20, 416 IP, 339 K/100 BB, 3.67 FIP, 5.3WAR
Player B (Age 35)
55 GS, 3.36 ERA, 29-10, 313.2 IP, 364 K/114 BB, 3.53 FIP, 5.3 WAR
Now let us see who they are and their contracts.
Player A
John Lackey – 2 years/$32M
Player B
Charlie Morton – 2 years/$30M
Overall, I think this is a great deal for the Rays… depending on how they use him. I have to assume he would occupy a normal starting rotation spot and that would be a great #2 behind Cy Young winner Blake Snell. At only 2 years, there is also limited risk for the frugal Rays and he will be off their books by the time they need to trade Snell away.
Grade – A-
More Instant Analysis – Trades/ Transactions
*Photo by Keith Allison
