Hot Stove: 12/8

Record of the Day

Most home runs in a season by a teenager: Mel Ott, 18 (1928 at 19 years old). 

In 1926, Mel Ott debuted at just 17 years old. By 1928, at 19 years old, he was an everyday player, hitting 18 home runs and batting .322 in 124 games. Ott would hit 42 home runs the following year at just 20 years old, and ended up with 510 home runs by his 37th birthday. He finished his career with 511 home runs in 22 seasons.   

Free Agent Signings

Marlins agreed to terms with Mark Buehrle (13-9, 3.59 ERA, .277 BAA, 2012 age: 33) on a four year, $58 million deal ($14.5 million per season). 

Mets signed Jon Rauch (5-4, 4.85 ERA, .269 BAA, 11 saves, 2012 age: 33) to a one year, $3.5 million deal.

Mets also signed Frank Francisco (1-4, 3.55 ERA, .246 BAA, 17 saves, 2012 age: 32) to a two year, $12 million contract ($6 million per season).

Pirates signed Erik Bedard (5-9, 3.62 ERA, .241 BAA, 2012 age: 33) to a one year, $4.5 million deal.

Pirates also signed Nate McLouth (4 HR, 16 RBI, .228 AVG, 4 SB, 2012 age: 31) to a one year $1.75 million deal.

These Marlins are really starting to annoy me. Prepare, because I'm about to rant. This is partially because I wanted Buehrle for the Nationals extremely badly. So badly. But the Marlins got him. You can't just buy a good team, but that is what the Marlins are doing. Owner Jeffrey Loria is just dishing out millions upon millions of dollars to completely remake the team with all stars, taking three of the top four free agents so far, dishing out 191 million dollars to the three. I hope the Marlins crash and burn next season. Now onto Buehrle. The big lefty brings experience to a young rotation. He also brings incredible consistency and durability, as he has made at least 30 starts and pitched at least 201 innings in each of the past eleven seasons since his first full season in 2001 at 25 years old.  His performance based numbers have been consistent, too. His ERA only climbed over 4.28 once, when it was 4.99 in 2006. He has been so consistent that there really is no one season that stands out as his best, but his 2001 and 2005 seasons may have been a cut above the rest. In his first full season in 2001, he was 16-8 with a 3.29 ERA and .230 BAA in 32 starts for the White Sox. He helped to lead the Sox to the World Series Championship in 2005 by going 16-8 with a 3.12 ERA and .262 BAA in 33 starts. He tossed a perfect game in 2009 and also won his first of three consecutive Gold Gloves, making just two errors in that span.  He has only made four errors in the past six years, rendering him one of the best defensive pitchers in the game. Back to pitching.  For his career, he is 161-119 with a 3.83 ERA and .273 BAA over 390 games (365 starts).  

Trades

Rockies traded Huston Street (1-4, 3.86 ERA, .276 BAA, 29 saves, 2012 age: 28) to the Padres for a player to be named later. 

Giants traded Andres Torres (4 HR, 19 RBI, .221 AVG, 19 SB, 2012 age: 34) and Ramon Ramirez (3-3, 2.62 ERA, .216 BAA, 4 saves, 2012 age: 30) to the Mets for Angel Pagan (7 HR, 56 RBI, .262 AVG, 32 SB, 2012 age: 30-31). 

Huston Street is making the jump from the most hitter-friendly park in the major leagues, Coors Field, to perhaps the most pitcher-friendly park in the bigs, PETCO Park. Some might argue that Citi is more of a pitchers' park, but with the dimensional changes, that may not be the case next season.  Anyhow, the Padres quickly replaced Heath Bell, one of the many players lost to the Marlins, with an experienced, competent closer. He has seen inconsistency from injuries in years past, but when healthy, he is a shut down guy. When closer Octavio Dotel went down with a season ending injury in May 2005, rookie Huston Street took over as the A's closer and did a fantastic job, going 5-1 with a 1.72 ERA and meager .194 BAA with 23 saves in 67 games at age 21-22, winning the Rookie of the Year.  He saw a solid season in 2006, where he posted a 3.31 ERA and 37 saves in 69 games. The injury bug bit him in 2007, limiting him to just 48 games, where he posted a 2.88 ERA, a .190 BAA, and 16 saves. His ERA bloated to 3.73 ERA in 2008, but he was moved to Colorado in 2009, and his numbers were restored.  His ERA dropped back down to 3.06 and he saved a career high 35 games, limiting opponents to a .194 BAA. He was bit again by the injury bug in 2010, pitching just 44 games and posting a 3.61 ERA. The injury was an interesting one, as he was hit by an Ian Stewart line drive in batting practice and missed considerable time.  He was healthy again in 2011, but his ERA bloated up to a career worst 3.86 and his BAA to a career worst .276.  Over his seven year career, he was 30-21 with a 3.11 ERA, 178 saves, and a .221 BAA in 417 appearances.  

The Mets brought on Andres Torres, who has not seen much success in his career outside of a strong 2010. That year, he hit 16 home runs and batted .268 with 26 stolen bases, helping the Giants to the World Series. His success was short lived, as he hit just four home runs last season while batting .221. Over his seven-year career, he hit 27 home runs and batted .244 with 60 stolen bases in 415 games. Ramon Ramirez was also brought on as the third bullpen upgrade of the day, and he gives them a consistent reliever to eat up the middle innings. His ERA has not reached up to 3.00 since 2007 while he also has pitched in no less than 66 games in a season in that span. Perhaps his best season was last year, where he was 3-3 with a 2.62 ERA and .216 BAA in 66 appearances. Over his six-year career, he is 20-17 with a 3.16 ERA, .226 BAA, and eight saves for the Rockies, Royals, Red Sox and Giants.    

The Giants received Angel Pagan in return. His acquisition means the Giants will not bring back Carlos Beltran, as he will probably hit near the top of the lineup. After seeing little time as a starter over his first three years, Pagan saw a chance to break in when Carlos Beltran went down with an injury in 2009. In Beltran's absence, he hit six home runs and batted .306 with 14 stolen bases in 88 games. The Mets saw his success and gave him a full time job in 2010, where he posted the best year of his career. The Puerto Rican native hit 11 home runs while swatting .290 placing second in the National League with 37 stolen bases in 151 games. He saw some reduced time in 2011, hitting seven home runs and batting .262 with 32 stolen bases in 123 games. Over his six-year career, he hit 33 home runs and batted .279 with 95 stolen bases. He can bounce back next year and help the Giants to challenge the Diamondbacks.

Other News

The Yankees won the bidding to exclusively negotiate with Japanese shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima.  They have 30 days to sign him.  

The Reds brought on Jim Riggleman to manage their AA affiliate at Pensacola.

-- 
Teams followed in this update: Boston Red Sox, Washington Nationals, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves

If your team is not included, please leave a comment.

HR: home runs. RBI: runs batted in. AVG: batting average. SB: stolen bases. ERA: earned run average. BAA: batting average against. K's: strikeouts. WPCT: winning percentage

Zack Silverman