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2018 MLB Regular Season Thread! Current thread batting average: .420 (1 Viewer)

This FA market stuff is quite ridiculous.  There is something inherently wrong in the rules/structure if Manny Machado, Harper, and a ton of quality vets still don't have a home less than a month from P/C reporting. 

Baseball guys make a good living, maybe in the grand scheme of things they are overpaid and the market has adjusted.  But the whole JD Martinez thing last year stands out to me because he was obviously the best hitter on the market, and they slow-rolled him into a 5-year-deal.  I found that incredible.

Hosmer, JDM, LoCain, and Darvish are the only players from last year who got 5 years or more on a contract, and I'd say all were good buys sans Hosmer. 

This year we have two guys signed for more than three years (Eovaldi 4 years and Corbin 6) and young upside guys like DJ LeMehieu signing for two years.  Really?  Something is not right, even the Doyers are being cheap.  :tinfoilhat:

 
Craig Kimbrel was looking for 5 years/15 million, with a lot of an incentive clauses. Supposedly, he has received only an informal offer of 2 years/25 million. 

Buster Olney recently quoted an agent who suggested that players make their anger felt by boycotting all the team fan fests, and not reporting to spring training until the mandatory date, and refusing to cooperate with MLB Network--no interviews, no nothing.  

 
I see both sides.  The owners make money hand over fist, but the players want HUGE guaranteed contracts.  The Cubs paid Darvish and Morrow $34M last year for 70 combined innings.  Heyward made $28M as a role player.  These guys are rarely working out for the teams with the money to pay the HUGE guaranteed contracts, so they aren't paying them.  Can't really blame the owners.  They're businessmen.  

It's obviously a broken system and we have a work stoppage coming. 

.

 
Doctor Detroit said:
This FA market stuff is quite ridiculous.  There is something inherently wrong in the rules/structure if Manny Machado, Harper, and a ton of quality vets still don't have a home less than a month from P/C reporting. 

Baseball guys make a good living, maybe in the grand scheme of things they are overpaid and the market has adjusted.  But the whole JD Martinez thing last year stands out to me because he was obviously the best hitter on the market, and they slow-rolled him into a 5-year-deal.  I found that incredible.

Hosmer, JDM, LoCain, and Darvish are the only players from last year who got 5 years or more on a contract, and I'd say all were good buys sans Hosmer. 

This year we have two guys signed for more than three years (Eovaldi 4 years and Corbin 6) and young upside guys like DJ LeMehieu signing for two years.  Really?  Something is not right, even the Doyers are being cheap.  :tinfoilhat:
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DJ Mehieu will be 31 this year, I don't necessarily consider that young.

And I've been seeing a lot of people/players saying something is wrong with the FA rules.  I believe this is just the required adjustment to a salary cap/luxury tax environment and I suppose it was bound to happen eventually, no?   Teams are a bit more reluctant to exceed the luxury tax now due to possible forfeiture of draft picks, and this is probably residual effect from previous years bloated free agent contracts being doled out - but the same thing has happened in the NFL for years and players have complained (i.e. franchise tagging and lack of guaranteed contracts).

The market should dictate the salaries.  If someone can make a case that the owners are colluding to cease handing out multi-year contracts, well that would obviously be wrong.

I'm generally on the side of free markets.   I also tend to believe that the 'news' that is leaked about contracts or lack thereof is from agents who have the best interest of themselves, errr, their players in mind.  Still have a month or so, so a lot could play out still.  

 
I guess my overall take would be I am fine with the MLB free agent system playing out as is, as I don't see anything inherently wrong with letting a free market dictate players worth :shrug:

The issues in other sports are tougher to work out and much more pressing in my eyes.

NBA has teams actively tanking so as to get a high draft pick as there are so few difference makers available.

NFL has similar issues, as well as players not happy with non-guaranteed contracts for employees with shelf lives of less than 3 years on average.  Also, minimal trading between teams, franchising tags, etc...

NHL, well the Rangers are not very good, so it's tough to watch that sport this year.

MLS is a niche sport without very marketable players.

 
Yankees signed Danny Farquhar to a minor league deal. Not sure he can make that bullpen but I hope he pitches well in spring training and catches on with another team! What a story.

 
shadyridr said:
Yanks trade Gray to Red for Shed Long and a draft pick. Gray signed a 3/30 extension. Yanks then flip Long to Mariners for 2018 2nd rounder Josh Stowers. Long sounds like the better prospect but Yanks need OF depth now and Stowers doesn't have to be placed on 40 man roster for a few more years.
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Shed Long is an awesome guy and really good pure hitter who can stick at 2b. The Reds just happen to have a glut of redundant players and they’re already probably going to have to move Senzel to 2b once Scooter leaves or slows down. 

India was a top 10 pick and is a similar 2b/3b guy. Obviously, 3b is completely blocked even for Senzel. 

 
guru_007 said:
I guess my overall take would be I am fine with the MLB free agent system playing out as is, as I don't see anything inherently wrong with letting a free market dictate players worth :shrug:
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MLB only has a free market for players with 6+ years experience. That’s the problem. You get 3 years of team control where you pay a guy relatively nothing, then 3 years of arbitration where salaries are reasonable. The majority of players fall under that umbrella.

And that’s all on top of the 4-5 years you can have a guy in the minors before he has to go on the 40-man to avoid Rule 5. Draft picks are a decade away from ever seeing free agency. A lot of late bloomers never get there.

Small-market teams can put out a competent lineup with just their TC/Arb players and minimal free agent spending. And now the richer teams are holding back too because of the luxury tax.

Players have probably tolerated the team control system too long because the eventual free agent paydays were massive. Now that they’re not, it’s time for that system to be tweaked.

 
Spartans Rule said:
MLB only has a free market for players with 6+ years experience. That’s the problem. You get 3 years of team control where you pay a guy relatively nothing, then 3 years of arbitration where salaries are reasonable. The majority of players fall under that umbrella.

And that’s all on top of the 4-5 years you can have a guy in the minors before he has to go on the 40-man to avoid Rule 5. Draft picks are a decade away from ever seeing free agency. A lot of late bloomers never get there.

Small-market teams can put out a competent lineup with just their TC/Arb players and minimal free agent spending. And now the richer teams are holding back too because of the luxury tax.

Players have probably tolerated the team control system too long because the eventual free agent paydays were massive. Now that they’re not, it’s time for that system to be tweaked.
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Plus now most of the teams have analytics-minded front offices, no?  I think they look at those aging curves and the ultimate value and just can’t see the upside.

 
Giants get Pomeranz for 1 year, $1.5M. Nice Risk reward pickup for that number. Plus it's a good landing spot for Pomeranz to build his value back up. He is a lefty so he will get all the chances. 

 
Doctor Detroit said:
This FA market stuff is quite ridiculous.  There is something inherently wrong in the rules/structure if Manny Machado, Harper, and a ton of quality vets still don't have a home less than a month from P/C reporting. 

Baseball guys make a good living, maybe in the grand scheme of things they are overpaid and the market has adjusted.  But the whole JD Martinez thing last year stands out to me because he was obviously the best hitter on the market, and they slow-rolled him into a 5-year-deal.  I found that incredible.

Hosmer, JDM, LoCain, and Darvish are the only players from last year who got 5 years or more on a contract, and I'd say all were good buys sans Hosmer. 

This year we have two guys signed for more than three years (Eovaldi 4 years and Corbin 6) and young upside guys like DJ LeMehieu signing for two years.  Really?  Something is not right, even the Doyers are being cheap.  :tinfoilhat:
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That Hosmer contract given everything that happened the last two years is amazing.

 
Kraft... said:
Giants get Pomeranz for 1 year, $1.5M. Nice Risk reward pickup for that number. Plus it's a good landing spot for Pomeranz to build his value back up. He is a lefty so he will get all the chances. 
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huge value, even as lefty bullpen guy (which i wish the Sox had used him as) & even tho he looks like his mommy gave him a pitcher's mound time-out every time he goes out there.

 
Spartans Rule said:
MLB only has a free market for players with 6+ years experience. That’s the problem. You get 3 years of team control where you pay a guy relatively nothing, then 3 years of arbitration where salaries are reasonable. The majority of players fall under that umbrella.

And that’s all on top of the 4-5 years you can have a guy in the minors before he has to go on the 40-man to avoid Rule 5. Draft picks are a decade away from ever seeing free agency. A lot of late bloomers never get there.

Small-market teams can put out a competent lineup with just their TC/Arb players and minimal free agent spending. And now the richer teams are holding back too because of the luxury tax.

Players have probably tolerated the team control system too long because the eventual free agent paydays were massive. Now that they’re not, it’s time for that system to be tweaked.
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Yeah, :lmao: at the idea that MLB is a free market

 
shadyridr said:
Dodgers sign AJ Pollock to a 4yr/50m deal. Why didn't they just keep Puig? I don't get it.
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Puig was disgruntled in LA and wanted to be traded. He’s in the last year of his contract and wasn’t coming back. He has a reputation as a clubhouse cancer. He also doesn’t hit lefties even though he’s a righty, hits way better at the bottom of the order than the top, and just generally underachieves. Plus he plays RF and Pollock is a gold-glove CF. Lots and lots of reasons.

 
Spartans Rule said:
Puig was disgruntled in LA and wanted to be traded. He’s in the last year of his contract and wasn’t coming back. He has a reputation as a clubhouse cancer. He also doesn’t hit lefties even though he’s a righty, hits way better at the bottom of the order than the top, and just generally underachieves. Plus he plays RF and Pollock is a gold-glove CF. Lots and lots of reasons.
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Puig was not disgruntled. Not entirely sure where you are getting that. His teammates and his coaches loved him and he loved being in LA. Pollock is always hurt and Puig is a stud defensive player too.

 
Puig is a headcase.  I'm sure there's more behind the scenes that the Dodgers didn't let on. And he was going to become a free agent after this year.

Pollock is supremely over rated.  But, the Dodgers have long felt that with the OF rotation and not having to rely on Pollock to play every single day, he would be a great fit.  I'm sure he'll be a defensive upgrade for what they had in CF, so long as he is healthy.  I guess we shall see.

 
guru_007 said:
Puig is a headcase.  I'm sure there's more behind the scenes that the Dodgers didn't let on. And he was going to become a free agent after this year.

Pollock is supremely over rated.  But, the Dodgers have long felt that with the OF rotation and not having to rely on Pollock to play every single day, he would be a great fit.  I'm sure he'll be a defensive upgrade for what they had in CF, so long as he is healthy.  I guess we shall see.
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Injury risk yes, but how is he overrated?

 
Long Ball Larry said:
Injury risk yes, but how is he overrated?
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perhaps I was a bit harsh saying he was supremely overrated, but I still feel he is quite overrated as a player. 

Where are you hitting him?  Top of the lineup to utilize his speed?  He has a lifetime obp of .338 and over the last three years it's at .323 - and he's only stole more than 20 bases once in his career so he's not exactly a burner.

Middle of the lineup to utilize his power?  His lifetime OPS+ is at 112 and now he is moving into pitcher friendly stadium so we'll see how is power translates.  Oh, and he's hit over 15 hr's twice in his career - 20 and his career high of 21 last year.

He was mentioned above as a gold glove cf'er, but come on, that was 4 years ago.  He's slight above average defender, but is also 31 years old so a decline to be expected no?

He's a fine player I suppose, but the injury risk factor overshadows most of his pluses in my eyes.  Perhaps he'll turn it around this year.

 
guru_007 said:
perhaps I was a bit harsh saying he was supremely overrated, but I still feel he is quite overrated as a player. 

Where are you hitting him?  Top of the lineup to utilize his speed?  He has a lifetime obp of .338 and over the last three years it's at .323 - and he's only stole more than 20 bases once in his career so he's not exactly a burner.

Middle of the lineup to utilize his power?  His lifetime OPS+ is at 112 and now he is moving into pitcher friendly stadium so we'll see how is power translates.  Oh, and he's hit over 15 hr's twice in his career - 20 and his career high of 21 last year.

He was mentioned above as a gold glove cf'er, but come on, that was 4 years ago.  He's slight above average defender, but is also 31 years old so a decline to be expected no?

He's a fine player I suppose, but the injury risk factor overshadows most of his pluses in my eyes.  Perhaps he'll turn it around this year.
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Bat him leadoff and tell him not to use the approach that he utilized last year.  Go with the version that should net a 15% K rate and 7% walk rate with less bombs but an avg that is somewhere in the range created in 2014, 2015, and 2017.  

 
From all the scuttlebutt, it seems that Harper does not really want to play for Philadelphia, but they have the best offer on the table, and Machado does not really want to play for the White Sox but they have the best offer on the table. 

 
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Long Ball Larry said:
Love the pollock deal for the doyers.
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disagree.  he’s had 1 year of health, his age 27 year.  Ks rose sharply last year too, OBP was not good.  lots of teams keep thinking these guys will revert to the 1 year out of 7 on their baseball cards.  i would bet more on any year for him other than that 2015 outlier.  now he’s in his 30s.  

 
Seems a little late in the off-season to be suggesting a 3-batter minimum and universal DH, no? Teams have already made decisions and attempted to assemble their rosters based on last year's rules.

 
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The absolute last thing MLB needs is a 26th player. We already have teams carrying a pitcher that gets lefties out who can’t hit slow breaking pitches at night and 3rd catchers in case the backup catcher gets hit by an asteroid in the 8th. 

 
cheese said:
The absolute last thing MLB needs is a 26th player. We already have teams carrying a pitcher that gets lefties out who can’t hit slow breaking pitches at night and 3rd catchers in case the backup catcher gets hit by an asteroid in the 8th. 
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But if they add 3 batter minimum and 12 pitcher maximum that dramatically offsets your concerns.

 
shadyridr said:
They would probably be phased in but all the changes sound positive to me

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/25935056/mlb-players-discussing-rule-changes-alter-game
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Im not arguing whether they're good or bad, just saying it seems crazy to implement something like this a couple months before the season starts. 

3-batter minimum severly decreases the value of a LOOGY. Not only how much you pay them, but how many you want to carry, etc. I would also think that it would increase the value of guys that can get out both lefties and righties.

DH rule would greatly effect all NL teams (and not AL teams at all) which, again, seems unfair. I assume teams like the Phils would've considered keeping Santana (or even Bour) had they known they would have a DH this season. I assume every NL team would've done things differently had they known a DH was an option.

 
I'm pretty old school, 9 guys play the field, 9 guys bat..........Hell, I still wear "I support day baseball" tee

But, I'm starting to come around to the DH(Schwarber)

 
E-Z Glider said:
Im not arguing whether they're good or bad, just saying it seems crazy to implement something like this a couple months before the season starts. 

3-batter minimum severly decreases the value of a LOOGY. Not only how much you pay them, but how many you want to carry, etc. I would also think that it would increase the value of guys that can get out both lefties and righties.

DH rule would greatly effect all NL teams (and not AL teams at all) which, again, seems unfair. I assume teams like the Phils would've considered keeping Santana (or even Bour) had they known they would have a DH this season. I assume every NL team would've done things differently had they known a DH was an option.
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Isn't that already the most coveted pitcher in baseball?   I mean if he can get out BOTH lefties and righties there is no stopping him. 

 
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