ERod to Tigers: 5 years/$77 million, opt out after Y2

BaseballJones

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Oct 1, 2015
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Wow that happened rather quickly. And not crazy crazy money either. (in this day and age, anyway)
 

LesterFan

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Good for him. The fact the Sox didn't match that tells me they weren't serious about bringing him back. Not crazy money.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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Oct 1, 2015
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The Sox will at least get draft compensation for this, so it's not nothing, but yeah the money seems very reasonable and something I'm surprised the Sox didn't match.
 

curly2

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Seems like a fair deal — and certainly would have been reasonable for the Sox to match.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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It’s less AAV than the QO. Surprised they didn’t match.
I know everyone's first instinct is to assume the Sox chose to not match/let him walk, but it's possible that ERod chose to leave even if the Sox were offering similar/better money. I think we should wait for everything to come out before we draw any conclusions.
 

RedOctober3829

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I know everyone's first instinct is to assume the Sox chose to not match/let him walk, but it's possible that ERod chose to leave even if the Sox were offering similar/better money. I think we should wait for everything to come out before we draw any conclusions.
Of course. But it’s obvious by him leaving that the money didn’t work for ERod to stay. Could be a number of reasons for him to leave. Up and coming Tigers team, his old PC Juan Nieves, maybe preferred to get out of Boston market, wanted stability before a lockout, etc.
 

canderson

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Good deal for the Tigers. I expect Boston matched the offer for AAV but not years but he chose to go back to his old coach and get the 5 year deal.
 

LogansDad

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Good deal for the Tigers. I expect Boston matched the offer for AAV but not years but he chose to go back to his old coach and get the 5 year deal.
Good deal for Eduardo, too. We've talked about his numbers before, and how he pretty clearly outpitched his ERA, so if he goes and is lights out for two years, he opts out and is in line for a HUGE pay day. Otherwise, it's only like 3 generations of his family who are set for life.

Detroit's defense on its face doesn't appear to be better than the Sox, but it's also more of a pitcher's park up there, so I could see him being really, really good for that team.
 

Petagine in a Bottle

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Big hole on the rotation, curious what the Sox offer was to him. Seems like a reasonable deal.

Take the pick and go hard after Rodon, Wood, or DeSclafani, I’d guess.
 

shaggydog2000

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Of course. But it’s obvious by him leaving that the money didn’t work for ERod to stay. Could be a number of reasons for him to leave. Up and coming Tigers team, his old PC Juan Nieves, maybe preferred to get out of Boston market, wanted stability before a lockout, etc.
Or maybe the Sox don't want to give out any deals of that size/length until they know what the new CBA looks like?
 

Kliq

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I remember during a miserable 2015 season when Eduardo came up and was the one bright spot for the Red Sox during the second half. Godspeed, Eddie.
 

johnnywayback

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Disappointing, but given that this seems like a reasonable price that they chose not to beat, I have to think their plan is to sign or trade for two starters, one of whom they see as better than ERod, and there are plenty of options available to be that better starter, so we'll see.
 

curly2

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If you had told me the terms of the deal, I would figured it HAD to be with the Sox.

I hope the plan isn't to replace him with a 2022 version of Garrett Richards, someone with a chance to be good but for health reasons is a bigger question mark than the Riddler.
 

shaggydog2000

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Possibly. I wonder if Chaim will bring in buy low guys like Rodon for financial flexibility.
They may be hesitant to pull the trigger when the economic system is in doubt, or they may be pretty certain the changes are going to bring down the cap and create a lot of bargains in the market.
 

Max Power

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The current rotation is Eovaldi, Sale, Pivetta, Houck, and Whitlock. Obviously you can't bank on the last two to handle starting for a full year, but it seems like the Red Sox should be in on a backup option rather than spending big on a starter.
 

PedroKsBambino

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Or maybe the Sox don't want to give out any deals of that size/length until they know what the new CBA looks like?
My guess is they won’t offer 5, or likely even 4, years to a starter except maybe a true elite one (and possibly not even then). Flexibility and avoiding longer deals for secondary players (even good ones) feels like the Tampa and also the analytic best practice especially for pitchers.

good deal for ERod to lock in that much money. Sensible for Detroit to gamble on the upside and buy some quality innings at a non-insane price. They are in a different spot in development curve than Sox. Though whether this is a good choice for them hard to say without seeing market play out and CBA
 

mikeford

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The current rotation is Eovaldi, Sale, Pivetta, Houck, and Whitlock. Obviously you can't bank on the last two to handle starting for a full year, but it seems like the Red Sox should be in on a backup option rather than spending big on a starter.
That is uh... not what I would call inspiring confidence. They should be in on an actual #2 starter. Sale is a complete ??? right now, in addition to Houck and Whitlock.
 

jose melendez

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Is there a chance Chaim is going to draw lines on player opt outs?

I've always thought it's a terrible mistake, I'd rather pay more and not have the risk.
 

Time to Mo Vaughn

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I was expecting the upcoming CBA fallout to temper/delay the FA market, but perhaps what ERod wanted to do was lock up guaranteed cash (and certainly $77M is a whole lot of it!), but an opt out after two years allows him to re-up at 30, under the terms of a new CBA unless he stinks for two years.

I think we'll see a lot more opt outs than normal with players that sign this FA before the CBA gets worked out.
 

jtn46

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Bummer. I could understand if the Sox have concerns about him as he's had some injuries and it takes him awhile to get his velocity up, but I could see this spot being filled by Perez/Richards-level flotsam at a similar AAV. Should be a good park for him as long as the Tigers have athletic outfielders.
 

RorschachsMask

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Cora and E Rod are really close, this had to be tough for both of them.

I would have gladly given him that deal, but I trust in Bloom.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Are Houck and Whitlock definitely slated to be in the rotation next year, or is that speculation?
At this stage, probably more speculation, but I don't think there's much question they want Houck to be a starter. Whitlock I've heard less about, but he was a starter in the minors right up until he arrived in Boston, and was put in the pen mostly because he was a rule 5 guy they were trying to hang on to for the full season. Then he turned into a weapon.

The best course of action regardless of what acquisitions they might make this winter is to approach next year with both of them targeted for the rotation. It's pretty simple to move them to the pen (or Worcester) if they don't make the rotation out of spring training. Bit trickier to do the reverse if a sudden need arises. Best case scenario, IMO, is the two of them competing for the fifth spot (behind Sale, Eovaldi, Pivetta, and an acquisition) with the odd man out contributing from the bullpen.
 

mjs

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Mar 30, 2020
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Good for Eddie to get this nice, but not insane, contract. I think the Tigers will get good value from this deal. Eddie seems built to be successful thru his early 30's (contract takes him thru age 33). He's already made the switch from relying solely on velocity to being a control guy with great stuff, and he has an easy delivery. Sad he won't be on the Sox. I liked rooting for him.

I think Chaim is doing a great job so far and I loved this year's team, but I for one don't want to just root for a revolving cast of value guys.
 

YTF

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There's no way to read the tea leaves on these sorts of things this early on, but might Rodriguez be a case of the right time and place for the Sox? I think that over all the Sox know what Eduardo brings to the table. Is that enough moving forward as we wait to see how Sale bounces back? If they resign him they're likely still looking to upgrade the rotation in some way with less money to allocate to that upgrade. Are they better off adding to what cash it may have taken to keep Rodiquez to improve his slot in the rotation rather than keep him and try to add a 4-5 type? I'd love to see one of Whitlock (FA '27) or Houck (FA '28) nail down that bottom spot at low money.
 

gryoung

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I won’t be missing him much. 80 pitches over 4 inning outings, what seemed like infinite 3-2 counts, way too much time between pitches, inconsistent results.

I have faith Bloom will replace him and, quite likely, improve over the cost/results equation.