2021 MLB offseason - news and notes

DeadlySplitter

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Oct 20, 2015
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I saw when this rumor first came out that people were saying Franco has said he's a 300M man and would not sign. I had a feeling though he would sign. It's just so much money guaranteed right now.
 

axx

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Jul 16, 2005
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I saw when this rumor first came out that people were saying Franco has said he's a 300M man and would not sign. I had a feeling though he would sign. It's just so much money guaranteed right now.
He has to have an NTC or a trade kicker or an opt out, right?
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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He has to have an NTC or a trade kicker or an opt out, right?
Can't imagine the Rays would include a no-trade. Opt-out maybe. My guess is it is a back-loaded deal so the Rays can trade him in year 7 or 8 when the really big money kicks in, a la Longoria.
 

BigSoxFan

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May 31, 2007
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Like the deal for both sides. Rays limit their upside exposure and Wander limits his downside.
 

Daniel_Son

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May 25, 2021
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Am I the only one who thinks this was a little premature? The guy doesn't even have 300 at-bats and they've already committed to him for 12 years. At least let him play a full season or two and see if the hype is real.
 

Manuel Aristides

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Apr 7, 2009
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Am I the only one who thinks this was a little premature? The guy doesn't even have 300 at-bats and they've already committed to him for 12 years. At least let him play a full season or two and see if the hype is real.
It may be, but this is the only way Tampa gets an A-list all-star for the long term. If he waits a year or two, he might be tempted to just gut it out til free agency, or you’ll have to increase the AAV to more like $25m. Tampa's had him in their system for four full seasons, they know what he is better than anyone. Of course there's a lot of risk here but there's never going to be a sure-r thing at a cheaper price, and a higher price just pushes tampa out of the conversation altogether.
 

jon abbey

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Jul 15, 2005
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Am I the only one who thinks this was a little premature? The guy doesn't even have 300 at-bats and they've already committed to him for 12 years. At least let him play a full season or two and see if the hype is real.
That's what the Padres did with Tatis and they paid a lot more than the Rays just paid.
 

uncannymanny

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Jan 12, 2007
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Am I the only one who thinks this was a little premature? The guy doesn't even have 300 at-bats and they've already committed to him for 12 years. At least let him play a full season or two and see if the hype is real.
Nope. I’m very interested to see how this deal plays out. This deal feels a bit different in kind than Acuña’s given the MLB playing time.
 

DJnVa

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Dec 16, 2010
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That's what the Padres did with Tatis and they paid a lot more than the Rays just paid.
Yes, but in exchange they got some additional feedback. I think that's the tradeoff they're talking about.
 

jon abbey

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Yes, but in exchange they got some additional feedback. I think that's the tradeoff they're talking about.
I mean, obviously, but the Rays can't afford to wait for that and the higher price that would accompany it. Franco has been the most sure-thing prospect according to every scout for years now, he backed it up with a half season in the bigs, and now everyone wins (probably).
 

koufax32

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Dec 8, 2006
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Wow. I think we’ll be talking about this deal as the most team friendly steal in memory within three years from now.
I expect the number of Franco jerseys to skyrocket in the area by Spring Training. They’ll pay for one year of AAV in merchandise sales alone.
 

DanoooME

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Mar 16, 2008
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Even though this is a big deal, (and unprecented) you know Scott Boras is throwing shit in his office right now complaining about how he could have gotten Wander so much more and he's ruining other/future players' earnings.
 

axx

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Can't imagine the Rays would include a no-trade. Opt-out maybe. My guess is it is a back-loaded deal so the Rays can trade him in year 7 or 8 when the really big money kicks in, a la Longoria.
The idea anyway is so that if/when he gets traded the new team would extend him and also that he would have some say in where he gets traded. But if he didn't get that...

11 years from now, ~$20M might not be that awful for even a league average FA IF. For this to be a bad deal he's almost going to have to be out of baseball within 4-5 years.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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That's what the Padres did with Tatis and they paid a lot more than the Rays just paid.
It's not even new territory for the Rays. Longoria had barely been up for a week when he signed his first long term deal (six years plus three club options). Then they extended him again while also picking up those options. Then, of course, they traded him before that last extension (and the real money) officially kicked in.
 

Sad Sam Jones

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If Franco stuck with the arbitration system (barring a major overhaul in the next CBA) and goes on a Francisco Lindor type trajectory, he'd be making that much or more in year 4… seems like a hell of a bargain for the Rays.
 

moondog80

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Sep 20, 2005
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This is probably less that he would make than he would if his career took it's most likely path. But he's going to have 100 careers and average them all. He's going to have one. And if for whatever reason his career does not go as projected, neither Scott Boras or the Player's Association will give him the money he missed out on. Wander took care of Wander. Good for him.
 

E5 Yaz

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Allegedly they picked up his option to trade him. I just can't imagine the market at that price is very strong for him, even the Phillies and Angels have their limits.
There's always the Mets ... Never overestimate a franchise whose team name is four letters long and ends in -ets
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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Oct 1, 2015
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This is probably less that he would make than he would if his career took it's most likely path. But he's going to have 100 careers and average them all. He's going to have one. And if for whatever reason his career does not go as projected, neither Scott Boras or the Player's Association will give him the money he missed out on. Wander took care of Wander. Good for him.
I mean, a hundred eighty five million dollars, and he will be a FA at age 32, whereupon he will likely land another mammoth contract. Wander just set up a dozen generations of his family for life and will almost certainly add to that in twelve years.

Yes he maybe could have made more if he held out, but suddenly he never ever ever needs to worry about money again.
 

scottyno

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Dec 7, 2008
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Am I the only one who thinks this was a little premature? The guy doesn't even have 300 at-bats and they've already committed to him for 12 years. At least let him play a full season or two and see if the hype is real.
The reason it's so little, relatively speaking, is that if he wasn't even arb eligble for 2 more years, so he was hardly going to make anything. If you wait and aren't buying out those years then the arb and post arb years become a lot more expensive.
 

Minneapolis Millers

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Jul 15, 2005
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The reason it's so little, relatively speaking, is that if he wasn't even arb eligible for 2 more years, so he was hardly going to make anything. ...
Just a periodic friendly reminder/perspective: The MLB minimum salary of $570k is about 8 times what the median U.S. family makes in a year. Which is to say, the platform from which these guys, in their early to late 20s, view their financial options is light years beyond what 95% of the public can relate to...
 

Marciano490

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Nov 4, 2007
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Just a periodic friendly reminder/perspective: The MLB minimum salary of $570k is about 8 times what the median U.S. family makes in a year. Which is to say, the platform from which these guys, in their early to late 20s, view their financial options is light years beyond what 95% of the public can relate to...
True, but almost everyone in their professional circle are multimillionaires with fancy cars and houses spending tons of cash on dinners and such, so it’s also a keeping up with the Joneses thing.
 

JMDurron

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Jul 15, 2005
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I mean, a hundred eighty five million dollars, and he will be a FA at age 32, whereupon he will likely land another mammoth contract. Wander just set up a dozen generations of his family for life and will almost certainly add to that in twelve years.

Yes he maybe could have made more if he held out, but suddenly he never ever ever needs to worry about money again.
Speaking of worrying about money, is there any hint of up-front money, such as a signing bonus? I'm wondering about a guy who has only had one year of MLB paychecks, heading into a near-certain labor stoppage. There's that near-term money worry that might have influenced his decision-making, if there was any up-front sum payment to mitigate that risk.
 

uncannymanny

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Just a periodic friendly reminder/perspective: The MLB minimum salary of $570k is about 8 times what the median U.S. family makes in a year. Which is to say, the platform from which these guys, in their early to late 20s, view their financial options is light years beyond what 95% of the public can relate to...
They also have around a decade to make the bulk of their money.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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Oct 1, 2015
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They also have around a decade to make the bulk of their money.
That's also true. But most Americans will never come close in their entire lifetimes to earning what a major league baseball player can make in one year with an even "modest" contract. At $50k a year on average working for 45 years, a typical American might earn $2.3 million. Wander signed as a 16-year old international free agent and collected a signing bonus of $3.8 million. He could have stopped playing baseball - or doing any other work for the rest of his life - and lived a happy, middle-of-the-road American lifestyle until he died. Actually a better lifestyle than that.

Obviously he's worth WAY more than that but the point is, just one contract in that short window of opportunity should set them up far better than typical Americans over the course of their entire lifetimes.
 

uncannymanny

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Jan 12, 2007
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No one was talking about modest long term contracts though. The top end is very heavy obviously, but I’d love to see distributions for lifetime earnings of baseball players vs joe public.
 

Yo La Tengo

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Nov 21, 2005
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Right now, Frazier is being listed as a "super utility" player (but he looks like an upgrade at 2B for the Ms) and DiPito said he's made several offers on free agents, including a "notable" offer, whatever that means.

Since DiPito is obsessed with making moves/trades, who should the Sox target?

I think some team could steal Kyle Lewis but I don't think he's a good fit for Boston.
 

Yelling At Clouds

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Jul 19, 2005
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I like this move for Seattle if and only if it isn’t their biggest position-player acquisition of the winter.

Right now, Frazier is being listed as a "super utility" player (but he looks like an upgrade at 2B for the Ms) and DiPito said he's made several offers on free agents, including a "notable" offer, whatever that means.
Mariners people on Twitter think it means Story, fwiw.

I think some team could steal Kyle Lewis but I don't think he's a good fit for Boston.
He’s good when healthy, but he’s on the train to Buxton-ville. He messed his knee up last year and I’ve read that there’s some question whether or not he’ll be ready by opening day next year.
 

Max Power

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Jul 20, 2005
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"Among other teams" leaves that door open. I'm guessing by tomorrow there will be at least 2 more teams "in on" Scherzer.
Every team with dreams of contending should at least kick the tires. He's the best pitcher available and will only require a short deal because of his age.
 

jon abbey

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Jul 15, 2005
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With some huge potential incentives:

“MVP bonuses, believed to be unprecedented, for every year of deal.

1st-$8M
2nd-$7M
3rd-$6M
4th-$5M
5th-$4M
6th-through-10th: $3M

Also: $500K each for 502, 533, 567, 600 and 625 plate appearances.”