2021 MLB offseason - news and notes
- Thread starter Tokyo Sox
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Teams can only trade the 'competitive balance' compensation picks which slot after the first and second rounds, not regular picks. NY got one from CIN in the Sonny Gray trade a few years ago.
https://franchisesports.co.uk/mlb-compensation-picks-explained/
Also along these lines, if anyone knows if teams are allowed to trade chunks of international money allotments again, please tell us. I could not find it when googling the other day, Cashman did a lot of that before it got put on hold in 2020 with Covid, but I don't know the current status.
I hear you. But aside from Lowe and Arozerna at the top, the lineup is is a lot softer than I expected.
Paredes isn't a SS. He's a bat first 3B/2B with major body concerns that could drive him to 1B as he gets older as he's already quite slow and lacks fast twitch athleticism. He seems redundant with Jonathan Aranda, not to mention the guys who can actually play defense (Brujan, Jones), but the Rays usually have some idea what they're doing. If nothing else, Paredes has crushed high minors pitching even if his MLB performance has been pretty bad...low barrels, low hard hit, just not hitting with any authority even though his plate approach is good. Maybe the Rays think they have a fix.
That said, I would expect Meadows to be worth more than this, particularly in a universal DH world. Under control for three full seasons, plus bat that may not have even peaked yet, can play a reasonable LF as well...if I'm the Rays, I'd much rather dump Ji-Man Choi and make Meadows my primary DH (and open up a full time role for Josh Lowe that way) than I would want to move him for a fairly redundant looking guy and a pick.
I'm surprised the White Sox didn't top this plus now he is in their division for the next three years.
View: https://twitter.com/raysmetrics/status/1511164684728209411?s=21
This is how you stay one step ahead of the zombies
This is how you stay one step ahead of the zombies
Margot agrees to arbitration-avoiding 2y/19M contract. Seems like a lot for him at a glance.
View: https://twitter.com/hgomez27/status/1511393088400465924?s=20&t=LnpojlHS_e9seLIQatpGqg
View: https://twitter.com/hgomez27/status/1511393088400465924?s=20&t=LnpojlHS_e9seLIQatpGqg
I don't think it's a huge overpay, he put up 2.8 WAR last season in his age 26 year, so I would expect him to be able to replicate that the next two. I also think he might not have gotten that much on the open market, because I think the Rays value him a bit differently than other teams around the league, in that he is versatile, and a veteran presence who isn't overly expensive. He's a good fit and they like having him around.
I suppose that would move Machado back to short, and Tatis/Ramirez/Machado rotate in the field and at DH the second half of the season? That would be a scary, scary lineup. Curious what the return might be, Ramirez is an absolute superstar.
Margot got an extension for 2 years beyond this year. He’s due to make 5.5m this year. So they have him at basically 3/25 for his age 27-29 seasons.
Contending team has a lot of interest in a criminally underpaid superstar. News at 11.
If Ramirez gets traded this soon it's only because Paul Dolan's penny pinching extension offers are so insulting as to have done irreparable damage to the relationship.
That said, Jim Bowdon's prediction yesterday that Ramirez will sign a 7 yr/$196M extension with the Guardians is the funniest thing I've read in a long, long time. Cleveland would never offer that and honestly, I don't think I'd want them to.
That seems like a big underpay but I'll never have the opportunity to have someone say "here's 150 million dollars for six years" and then think in response "should I be asking for me" so...good for Jose. Guardians get a great value deal on their side.
Bowden is an idiot but he was somewhat in the ballpark. Blind squirrels and all of course.
He'll be 35 at the end of his contract; per year he is making really good money and I'm not sure if a 10 year, $250 million contract or anything was out there for him. It's great overall for baseball that a player like Ramirez is staying put, especially given how much talent Cleveland has let walk or traded away over the years.
Yeah, I'm really happy to see this deal, even if there is some money on the table. I'm no longer in a union, but I have definitely taken jobs that weren't the highest paying in order to not move, or keep working from home, etc., and I'm glad that Ramirez was able to get an offer that he felt was good enough to accept and stay in a place that he considers his home. Great for the fans, great for the team, presumably great for the individual player.
The length of the contract was fairly obvious, but I don't consider a miss of over $6.5M/year to be anywhere in the ballpark. Cleveland was never going to offer $196M on a deal that would predominantly cover a player's years after the age of 30. This got done because Jose is a rare one who just doesn't care about the money or the details as long as he's happy where he's at and shown some respect. Watching him on a daily basis season after season, he (more than probably any player I remember) has always seemed to only care about being comfortable with his environment and relationships. I suspect he's happy with the fact he can afford whatever he wants and the rest is gravy… in the words of Jose, "You know bro, home run pitch". My only concern was whether the Guardians needed to meet Jose's demands or his agent's… and hoping Dolan wouldn't offend his agent.
After publicly stating the payroll would start going up again this year, Paul Dolan contradicted himself and made Luke Fucking Maile the biggest acquisition of the off-season. Add that to a complete rebranding that hasn't been popular at all and the Guardians really needed to get this extension with Jose done. After having no guaranteed contracts beyond 2022, they can now move forward with Jose Ramirez as the face of the Cleveland Guardians. This is almost like an expansion situation, but with a better MLB pitching staff and farm system.
I'm also hopeful this is a sign that minority owner David Blitzer wants to invest more in the on-field product and escape the perception of the Dolan ownership. The plan is for Blitzer to become the majority owner while Jose is still under contract.
This may explain why the Braves weren't pressing hard for Freeman.
View: https://twitter.com/hgomez27/status/1511919857037713411?s=20&t=J7wMhK_TqnY8A-xBTZbLBQ
View: https://twitter.com/hgomez27/status/1511919857037713411?s=20&t=J7wMhK_TqnY8A-xBTZbLBQ
Acuna denies saying those things:
View: https://twitter.com/ronaldacunajr24/status/1511929397502259202
Imagine getting ready to play ball in San Diego in April and finding out you're actually going to be in the open air in Minnesota.
But he's on video saying it, here is the transcription:
View: https://twitter.com/Alden_Gonzalez/status/1512094507642224643
He's a great talent, but Accuna's got some growing up to do. He was pulled from a game for a lack of hustle in 2019. OK, it happens and you learn from it, right? Less than two months later in a 7-6 NLDS loss to St. Louis he turned a double into a single while admiring what he thought was a HR. His teammates were not happy about it and St. Louis went on to take that series 3 games to 2.
It's somehow always the Latin players that get tagged with the 'hustle' questions. Not only was this 2 1/2 years ago when Acuna was 21, but he had a 1.454 OPS in that series, Freeman just .673. Is it so hard to believe that Freeman was kind of a dick to the young guy who seemed to be replacing him as the best player on the team?
Acuna? BTV has that as 321 to 19, I don't think the entire Angels team has 321 between them in value.
Anyway, the Braves certainly have no interest in trading Acuna, who is controlled through 2028 on a fairly cheap deal (which is a big reason he has so much value on BTV).
I'm not exactly sure what your point here is. My post has zero to do with what Freeman may or may not have said or done in regards to Acuna, but rather the fact that Acuna denied saying something that was so easily proved. I only mention the hustle issue as the benching was meant to be a teaching moment and in a big moment not that long after, the lesson was lost. Like you said, he was just 21. He's now 24 and IMO his denial shows room for growth.
"BREAKING: Ke’Bryan Hayes and the Pittsburgh Pirates are in agreement on a eight-year, $70 million contract extension that includes a club option for a ninth season, according to sources familiar with the situation. "
View: https://twitter.com/ByRobertMurray/status/1512112740109672459?s=20&t=p6hHTyNTvAx9Rhedpx2cYA
View: https://twitter.com/ByRobertMurray/status/1512112740109672459?s=20&t=p6hHTyNTvAx9Rhedpx2cYA
Nice. Seems like a pretty fair deal for both sides, cool to see those younger guys sign long term with the teams that drafted them, I think.
Nats are for sale. :Natstown:
View: https://twitter.com/barrysvrluga/status/1513563255335174150
BREAKING: The Lerner family tells the Post it is exploring the possible sale of the Washington Nationals.
View: https://twitter.com/barrysvrluga/status/1513563255335174150
BREAKING: The Lerner family tells the Post it is exploring the possible sale of the Washington Nationals.
Roman Abramovich is going to be flush with cash again soon...
I wonder if Washington might be a good place for a Minority fronted ownership group. That said I'm sure we'll see alot of familiar names when the sale gets close. I just hope they stay away from Daniel Snyder.
I wonder if Washington might be a good place for a Minority fronted ownership group. That said I'm sure we'll see alot of familiar names when the sale gets close. I just hope they stay away from Daniel Snyder.
The Orioles were rumored to be looking at a sale as well. I wonder if we're finally building to a moment where the two teams' television rights can be severed.
View: https://twitter.com/AndrewMarchand/status/1513963618873888768
With Smoltzy off the air how who will tell me that he's a scratch golfer now?
Smoltz and O"Neill unvaxx'd.... shockah.
With Smoltzy off the air how who will tell me that he's a scratch golfer now?
Smoltz and O"Neill unvaxx'd.... shockah.
Addition by subtraction when it comes to Smoltz. I've heard my fill of boring 90s Braves anecdotes, thanks.