2018 MLB Regular Season Thread! Current thread batting average: .420 (3 Viewers)

[cosjobs]

Storen's nice. But he's going to have a fairly big arbitration number this year, he only has one year left, and Toronto's bullpen is not bad to begin with. The Torontoans have a lot more faith in Pompey and Saunders than I do.

Revere gets on base, and doesn't cost much. He's not Rickey Henderson, but he's a more solider option than Pompey imo.

Revere gets on base with limited at bats, pretty much cherry-picking the matchups. I think a full-time role would hit his OBP by 30-40 points. Storen, on the other hand is an established closer who only lost his job because management brought in a petulant, self-centered star. What you are saying about contracts is valid, but to me, the talent disparity overcomes it.:

He had 634 PA last year, 626 the year before. Who are you thinking of?

ESTABLISHED CLOSER!!!1

Read his stat line and saw it as his last two seasons, not his last two teams.

one of those guys I never thought much of, so I confirmed my thoughts with slipshod research.

 

[cosjobs]

Pirates sign Neftali Feliz, 1 year, $3.9 million + incentives.

I... do not know what they are doing.

Trust in Ray?

Their rotation isn't great (Cole, Liriano, Niese, Locke... I don't know, Vogelsong? Taillon? Glasnow?) and they don't have a lot of cash.

In the 'pen, they already have Melancon, Watson, Caminero, Hughes, and they signed Juan Nicasio for a couple mil. Are they doing a mini-Royals? Setting up for a Melancon trade?

Their limited money seems like it would be better spent on a starter.

Might be a good move. Do like the Astros did with Veras- sign him cheap, then trade him away for a bunch of draft picks/ minor leaguers if he pans out.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Melancon is going to get a grip of dough in arbitration, you'd think that they would be shopping him around to some of the more well-monied teams.

 

[TobiasFunke]

Storen's nice. But he's going to have a fairly big arbitration number this year, he only has one year left, and Toronto's bullpen is not bad to begin with. The Torontoans have a lot more faith in Pompey and Saunders than I do.

Revere gets on base, and doesn't cost much. He's not Rickey Henderson, but he's a more solider option than Pompey imo.

Revere gets on base with limited at bats, pretty much cherry-picking the matchups. I think a full-time role would hit his OBP by 30-40 points. Storen, on the other hand is an established closer who only lost his job because management brought in a petulant, self-centered star. What you are saying about contracts is valid, but to me, the talent disparity overcomes it.

Revere is a slap-hitter who rarely takes a walk and has absolutely no power at all. On defense, he takes horrible routes and has one of the weakest arms in baseball. No idea what the Nats are thinking here. Is Storen hurt?

ETA - sounds like the Nats are keeping Paps. If this is why they had to dump Storen, it just makes the deal that much worse.

Storen is a decent but unspectacular reliever with one year left on his deal who, fair or not, had worn out his welcome in DC due to a number of meltdowns in big spots. For all of Revere's faults, he's still a 2 WAR player with two years of team control left who fills a need (lefty speed and contact guy who can play CF and gets on base). This is a no-brainer for the Nats. The only reason not to do it is it presumably closes off the possibility of a bigger OF move for a Blackmon/Fowler type.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

Storen's nice. But he's going to have a fairly big arbitration number this year, he only has one year left, and Toronto's bullpen is not bad to begin with. The Torontoans have a lot more faith in Pompey and Saunders than I do.

Revere gets on base, and doesn't cost much. He's not Rickey Henderson, but he's a more solider option than Pompey imo.

Revere gets on base with limited at bats, pretty much cherry-picking the matchups. I think a full-time role would hit his OBP by 30-40 points. Storen, on the other hand is an established closer who only lost his job because management brought in a petulant, self-centered star. What you are saying about contracts is valid, but to me, the talent disparity overcomes it.:

He had 634 PA last year, 626 the year before. Who are you thinking of?

ESTABLISHED CLOSER!!!1

Read his stat line and saw it as his last two seasons, not his last two teams.

one of those guys I never thought much of, so I confirmed my thoughts with slipshod research.

In all fairness, confirmation bias is probably the most satisfying of all the biases.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Chen to the Fish for 5 years, 80 mil. Parra to the Rockies for 3 years, 26 mil. Action!

 

[AnonymousBob]

Wonder who Colorado moves for Parra?

 

[rodg12]

Wonder who Colorado moves for Parra?

Supposedly talking to the Orioles about moving 1 of the three. Figure CarGo is the one the Rockies want to move, although I could see a move to sell high on Blackmon.

 

[E-Z Glider]

Storen's nice. But he's going to have a fairly big arbitration number this year, he only has one year left, and Toronto's bullpen is not bad to begin with. The Torontoans have a lot more faith in Pompey and Saunders than I do.

Revere gets on base, and doesn't cost much. He's not Rickey Henderson, but he's a more solider option than Pompey imo.

Revere gets on base with limited at bats, pretty much cherry-picking the matchups. I think a full-time role would hit his OBP by 30-40 points. Storen, on the other hand is an established closer who only lost his job because management brought in a petulant, self-centered star. What you are saying about contracts is valid, but to me, the talent disparity overcomes it.

Revere is a slap-hitter who rarely takes a walk and has absolutely no power at all. On defense, he takes horrible routes and has one of the weakest arms in baseball. No idea what the Nats are thinking here. Is Storen hurt?

ETA - sounds like the Nats are keeping Paps. If this is why they had to dump Storen, it just makes the deal that much worse.

Storen is a decent but unspectacular reliever with one year left on his deal who, fair or not, had worn out his welcome in DC due to a number of meltdowns in big spots. For all of Revere's faults, he's still a 2 WAR player with two years of team control left who fills a need (lefty speed and contact guy who can play CF and gets on base). This is a no-brainer for the Nats. The only reason not to do it is it presumably closes off the possibility of a bigger OF move for a Blackmon/Fowler type.

If Revere could play an adequate CF, then I'd agree that he was a valuable player, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Last year he played 112 games in LF and only 43 in CF because of his terrible first reads and embarrassingly weak arm. Needless to say, his bat doesn't play as a corner OF. I could be overvaluing Storen a bit too, as Ive always liked him since he was at Harrisburg.

 

[TobiasFunke]

Storen's nice. But he's going to have a fairly big arbitration number this year, he only has one year left, and Toronto's bullpen is not bad to begin with. The Torontoans have a lot more faith in Pompey and Saunders than I do.

Revere gets on base, and doesn't cost much. He's not Rickey Henderson, but he's a more solider option than Pompey imo.

Revere gets on base with limited at bats, pretty much cherry-picking the matchups. I think a full-time role would hit his OBP by 30-40 points. Storen, on the other hand is an established closer who only lost his job because management brought in a petulant, self-centered star. What you are saying about contracts is valid, but to me, the talent disparity overcomes it.

Revere is a slap-hitter who rarely takes a walk and has absolutely no power at all. On defense, he takes horrible routes and has one of the weakest arms in baseball. No idea what the Nats are thinking here. Is Storen hurt?

ETA - sounds like the Nats are keeping Paps. If this is why they had to dump Storen, it just makes the deal that much worse.

Storen is a decent but unspectacular reliever with one year left on his deal who, fair or not, had worn out his welcome in DC due to a number of meltdowns in big spots. For all of Revere's faults, he's still a 2 WAR player with two years of team control left who fills a need (lefty speed and contact guy who can play CF and gets on base). This is a no-brainer for the Nats. The only reason not to do it is it presumably closes off the possibility of a bigger OF move for a Blackmon/Fowler type.

If Revere could play an adequate CF, then I'd agree that he was a valuable player, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Last year he played 112 games in LF and only 43 in CF because of his terrible first reads and embarrassingly weak arm. Needless to say, his bat doesn't play as a corner OF. I could be overvaluing Storen a bit too, as Ive always liked him since he was at Harrisburg.

The Nats don't care about his arm, Wilson Ramos drops every throw home anyway.

Seriously- he's a decent fit. They have Michael A Taylor who is a great defensive OF but is right-handed and strikes out way too much. Revere gives them flexibility to platoon/play matchups. And with rapidly aging Jayson Werth in left there's a decent chance they'll have Revere in LF and Taylor in CF for most of the year. Although I'm still kinda hoping they've got a blockbuster up their sleeves for CarGo with Taylor as a trade piece and Revere slated as the 4th OF/defensive replacement for Werth.

 

[cosjobs]

Storen's nice. But he's going to have a fairly big arbitration number this year, he only has one year left, and Toronto's bullpen is not bad to begin with. The Torontoans have a lot more faith in Pompey and Saunders than I do.

Revere gets on base, and doesn't cost much. He's not Rickey Henderson, but he's a more solider option than Pompey imo.

Revere gets on base with limited at bats, pretty much cherry-picking the matchups. I think a full-time role would hit his OBP by 30-40 points. Storen, on the other hand is an established closer who only lost his job because management brought in a petulant, self-centered star. What you are saying about contracts is valid, but to me, the talent disparity overcomes it.

Revere is a slap-hitter who rarely takes a walk and has absolutely no power at all. On defense, he takes horrible routes and has one of the weakest arms in baseball. No idea what the Nats are thinking here. Is Storen hurt?

ETA - sounds like the Nats are keeping Paps. If this is why they had to dump Storen, it just makes the deal that much worse.

Storen is a decent but unspectacular reliever with one year left on his deal who, fair or not, had worn out his welcome in DC due to a number of meltdowns in big spots. For all of Revere's faults, he's still a 2 WAR player with two years of team control left who fills a need (lefty speed and contact guy who can play CF and gets on base). This is a no-brainer for the Nats. The only reason not to do it is it presumably closes off the possibility of a bigger OF move for a Blackmon/Fowler type.

If Revere could play an adequate CF, then I'd agree that he was a valuable player, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Last year he played 112 games in LF and only 43 in CF because of his terrible first reads and embarrassingly weak arm. Needless to say, his bat doesn't play as a corner OF. I could be overvaluing Storen a bit too, as Ive always liked him since he was at Harrisburg.

The Nats don't care about his arm, Wilson Ramos drops every throw home anyway.

I'd be much more concerned how many throws your 2B drops. It'd take him six bounces t reach the plate.

 

[E-Z Glider]

Storen's nice. But he's going to have a fairly big arbitration number this year, he only has one year left, and Toronto's bullpen is not bad to begin with. The Torontoans have a lot more faith in Pompey and Saunders than I do.

Revere gets on base, and doesn't cost much. He's not Rickey Henderson, but he's a more solider option than Pompey imo.

Revere gets on base with limited at bats, pretty much cherry-picking the matchups. I think a full-time role would hit his OBP by 30-40 points. Storen, on the other hand is an established closer who only lost his job because management brought in a petulant, self-centered star. What you are saying about contracts is valid, but to me, the talent disparity overcomes it.

Revere is a slap-hitter who rarely takes a walk and has absolutely no power at all. On defense, he takes horrible routes and has one of the weakest arms in baseball. No idea what the Nats are thinking here. Is Storen hurt?

ETA - sounds like the Nats are keeping Paps. If this is why they had to dump Storen, it just makes the deal that much worse.

Storen is a decent but unspectacular reliever with one year left on his deal who, fair or not, had worn out his welcome in DC due to a number of meltdowns in big spots. For all of Revere's faults, he's still a 2 WAR player with two years of team control left who fills a need (lefty speed and contact guy who can play CF and gets on base). This is a no-brainer for the Nats. The only reason not to do it is it presumably closes off the possibility of a bigger OF move for a Blackmon/Fowler type.

If Revere could play an adequate CF, then I'd agree that he was a valuable player, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Last year he played 112 games in LF and only 43 in CF because of his terrible first reads and embarrassingly weak arm. Needless to say, his bat doesn't play as a corner OF. I could be overvaluing Storen a bit too, as Ive always liked him since he was at Harrisburg.

The Nats don't care about his arm, Wilson Ramos drops every throw home anyway.

I'd be much more concerned how many throws your 2B drops. It'd take him six bounces t reach the plate.

Yeah, I feel like the weak arm thing is something you really need to experience for a full season before you can understand how detrimental it is to your team. He is challenged on literally every single ball hit to him and yet he only has 19 career outfield assists (most of the flukey variety). It's maddening to watch over the course of a season. You literally cringe every time the ball is hit to him.

 

[Eephus]

Alexei Ramirez to the Prellers

 

[Swing 51]

O's have offered Cespedes a deal. MASN reports financial info unavailable.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Alexei Ramirez to the Prellers

Zzzzz. He's been completely out-Prellered this year.

 

[Eephus]

Alexei Ramirez to the Prellers

Zzzzz. He's been completely out-Prellered this year.

Nothing that a little Fernando Rodney wouldn't fix

 

[Long Ball Larry]

Chen to the Fish for 5 years, 80 mil. Parra to the Rockies for 3 years, 26 mil. Action!

semi-interesting note about the Chen deal.

Source: Chen getting $8M signing bonus, $6M in 2016, $14M in ’17 before opt-out. Would walk from $52M over three years if he becomes FA.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Chen to the Fish for 5 years, 80 mil. Parra to the Rockies for 3 years, 26 mil. Action!

semi-interesting note about the Chen deal.

Source: Chen getting $8M signing bonus, $6M in 2016, $14M in ’17 before opt-out. Would walk from $52M over three years if he becomes FA.

An opt-out is essentially a bigger bet against a player collapsing, and as far as I can tell, only one contract has burned its team and been opted into when the player had no chance of opting out and getting more. Vernon Wells.

With the rash of them coming out now, some teams are going to get mightily burned here. Coincidentally, Stanton could be a financial time-bomb for the Fish. Obviously he's great, but a hulking OF with contact issues in his age 31 season, being able to grab another $200mm?

 

[Grahamburn]

There's so much money in the game it doesn't even seem like it matters at this point if you're paying a player $20M+ a year to be just a guy.

 

[jfranco77]

Cespedes weighing a 5-year offer from the O's vs. a 1-year offer from the Mets.

LOLMets.

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

Ian Kennedy to Royals. Five years, $70MM, with a guarantee he will only have to pitch when the wind is blowing in.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

Chris Davis 7-year deal, $161 million with Os.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

Random left-handed man found on street, given 3-year/$24-million dollar deal.

 

[whoknew]

Ian Kennedy to Royals. Five years, $70MM, with a guarantee he will only have to pitch when the wind is blowing in.

Wow. That is a lot of money for Ian Kennedy. Rany probably said it best -

Rany Jazayerli @jazayerli

I think Ian Kennedy is a better pitcher than he's shown the last 3 years. But over the last 3 years, he's been BELOW-REPLACEMENT LEVEL.

 

[whoknew]

I'm feeling much better about the Tigers Zimmermann signing.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

Ian Kennedy to Royals. Five years, $70MM, with a guarantee he will only have to pitch when the wind is blowing in.

Wow. That is a lot of money for Ian Kennedy. Rany probably said it best -

Rany Jazayerli @jazayerli

I think Ian Kennedy is a better pitcher than he's shown the last 3 years. But over the last 3 years, he's been BELOW-REPLACEMENT LEVEL.

What is that based on? He has had wars of .6, 3.5 and .8.

Is that some cumulative measure over the three years, rather than individual seasons?

 

[shadyridr]

70m for Kennedy? Lolz

 

[whoknew]

70m for Kennedy? Lolz

And, apparently, a first round draft pick.

 

[whoknew]

Ian Kennedy to Royals. Five years, $70MM, with a guarantee he will only have to pitch when the wind is blowing in.

Wow. That is a lot of money for Ian Kennedy. Rany probably said it best -

Rany Jazayerli @jazayerli

I think Ian Kennedy is a better pitcher than he's shown the last 3 years. But over the last 3 years, he's been BELOW-REPLACEMENT LEVEL.

What is that based on? He has had wars of .6, 3.5 and .8.Is that some cumulative measure over the three years, rather than individual seasons?

Where are you seeing that? Baseball Reference had him at 0, 1.4, and -0.4.And his era+ are 81, 93, and 85.

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

Ian Kennedy to Royals. Five years, $70MM, with a guarantee he will only have to pitch when the wind is blowing in.

Wow. That is a lot of money for Ian Kennedy. Rany probably said it best -

Rany Jazayerli @jazayerli

I think Ian Kennedy is a better pitcher than he's shown the last 3 years. But over the last 3 years, he's been BELOW-REPLACEMENT LEVEL.

Apparently there's an opt-out after two years. Game, set, and match to the agent on this one.I wonder if there will some sort of head-in-vice scenario in early November 2017 where Ian Kennedy's people decide it's best to opt out for a change in scenery after giving up 73 HRs in a Royals uniform.

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

70m for Kennedy? Lolz

And, apparently, a first round draft pick.

At least it was the last pick of the first round. That counts for something.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

Ian Kennedy to Royals. Five years, $70MM, with a guarantee he will only have to pitch when the wind is blowing in.

Wow. That is a lot of money for Ian Kennedy. Rany probably said it best -

Rany Jazayerli @jazayerli

I think Ian Kennedy is a better pitcher than he's shown the last 3 years. But over the last 3 years, he's been BELOW-REPLACEMENT LEVEL.

What is that based on? He has had wars of .6, 3.5 and .8.Is that some cumulative measure over the three years, rather than individual seasons?

Where are you seeing that? Baseball Reference had him at 0, 1.4, and -0.4.And his era+ are 81, 93, and 85.

Hmm, those are the Fangraphs numbers.

his park-adjusted ERA definitely doesn't look good. He does miss bats, though.

And his nickname is IPK? WTH? http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/kenneia01.shtml

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

Ian Kennedy to Royals. Five years, $70MM, with a guarantee he will only have to pitch when the wind is blowing in.

Wow. That is a lot of money for Ian Kennedy. Rany probably said it best -

Rany Jazayerli @jazayerli

I think Ian Kennedy is a better pitcher than he's shown the last 3 years. But over the last 3 years, he's been BELOW-REPLACEMENT LEVEL.

What is that based on? He has had wars of .6, 3.5 and .8.Is that some cumulative measure over the three years, rather than individual seasons?

Where are you seeing that? Baseball Reference had him at 0, 1.4, and -0.4.And his era+ are 81, 93, and 85.

Hmm, those are the Fangraphs numbers.

his park-adjusted ERA definitely doesn't look good. He does miss bats, though.

And his nickname is IPK? WTH? http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/kenneia01.shtml

When he was with the Diamondbacks, "Nerfbeard" got some nickname traction.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

I'm feeling much better about the Tigers Zimmermann signing.

Definitely looks good compared to Kennedy.

 

[dparker713]

Chris Davis 7-year deal, $161 million with Os.

Basically the Os just outbid themselves, right?

 

[Long Ball Larry]

Chris Davis 7-year deal, $161 million with Os.

This seems like a pretty good deal for the Orioles. If they can get 3 years from him with similar WARs as the 2013 and 2015, that would be worth like $100 million according to the $/WAR calculations. Of course, his skills will likely not age well and there's always a chance of the 2014 season again, but he slide into DH eventually and his upside seems to far outweigh the albatross factor. With the money being thrown around today, it looks like a decent deal to me.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

Chris Davis 7-year deal, $161 million with Os.

Basically the Os just outbid themselves, right?

Isn't that known as the Boras Jedi Mind Trick?

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

Chris Davis 7-year deal, $161 million with Os.

Basically the Os just outbid themselves, right?

Isn't that known as the Boras Jedi Mind Trick?

"We live in a different world than we did 60 seconds ago, Angelos."

 

[shadyridr]

Chris Davis 7-year deal, $161 million with Os.

This seems like a pretty good deal for the Orioles. If they can get 3 years from him with similar WARs as the 2013 and 2015, that would be worth like $100 million according to the $/WAR calculations. Of course, his skills will likely not age well and there's always a chance of the 2014 season again, but he slide into DH eventually and his upside seems to far outweigh the albatross factor. With the money being thrown around today, it looks like a decent deal to me.

agreed. The fact he can dh in that park in a few years means he should have a good career there.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Who else was seriously contending for Davis?

 

[Long Ball Larry]

Apparently Davis got a Bonilla deal. $17 mill per year for 7 years and then additional payments until 2037. So really more like 7/$119.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/14580503/chris-davis-agrees-deal-remain-baltimore-orioles

"How much is enough?" Showalter said Wednesday during a leadership conference, according to the Baltimore Sun. "I asked Chris during the season, 'Chris, when you walk into a Target store, can you buy anything you want? So, how much is enough?'

"I love Chris, but if that [his decision] makes or breaks our team, shame on us."

well, that is blunt.

 

[dparker713]

Apparently Davis got a Bonilla deal. $17 mill per year for 7 years and then additional payments until 2037. So really more like 7/$119.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/14580503/chris-davis-agrees-deal-remain-baltimore-orioles

"How much is enough?" Showalter said Wednesday during a leadership conference, according to the Baltimore Sun. "I asked Chris during the season, 'Chris, when you walk into a Target store, can you buy anything you want? So, how much is enough?'

"I love Chris, but if that [his decision] makes or breaks our team, shame on us."

well, that is blunt.

Wonder if he's ever asked Angelos that.

 

[shadyridr]

Apparently Davis got a Bonilla deal. $17 mill per year for 7 years and then additional payments until 2037. So really more like 7/$119.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/14580503/chris-davis-agrees-deal-remain-baltimore-orioles

"How much is enough?" Showalter said Wednesday during a leadership conference, according to the Baltimore Sun. "I asked Chris during the season, 'Chris, when you walk into a Target store, can you buy anything you want? So, how much is enough?'

"I love Chris, but if that [his decision] makes or breaks our team, shame on us."

well, that is blunt.

I think he should stay out of other players personal affairs

 

[whoknew]

Apparently Davis got a Bonilla deal. $17 mill per year for 7 years and then additional payments until 2037. So really more like 7/$119.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/14580503/chris-davis-agrees-deal-remain-baltimore-orioles

"How much is enough?" Showalter said Wednesday during a leadership conference, according to the Baltimore Sun. "I asked Chris during the season, 'Chris, when you walk into a Target store, can you buy anything you want? So, how much is enough?'

"I love Chris, but if that [his decision] makes or breaks our team, shame on us."

well, that is blunt.

Wonder if he's ever asked Angelos that.

Exactly. Seems weird to be upset at the millionaire for wanting more of the billionaire's money. But fine with the billionaire not wanting to pay.

 

[SoCalBroncoFan]

Ian Kennedy to Royals. Five years, $70MM, with a guarantee he will only have to pitch when the wind is blowing in.

I am happy the Padres get a draft pick for the guy, but they will just screw it up.

 

[the moops]

The Royals get the privilege of paying him 70 million and they lose their first round draft pick.

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

The Royals get the privilege of paying him 70 million and they lose their first round draft pick.

They're the current World Series champions in a small market with a window to contend that realistically runs through 2017. Cain, Hosmer, Escobar, Moustakas, and Davis are all FA after the 2017 season. A pick at the end of the first round in 2016 won't help them win in 2016 or 2017. Ian Kennedy might. The team desperately needs a SP who can pitch a lot of innings and strike a lot of hitters out. Their ballpark keeps HRs in play, and their outfield takes away more doubles than anybody in MLB. It's highly unlikely Kennedy plays out his whole contract in KC. He has an opt out after 2017, right when the current nucleus will break up. He won't want to stick around after that. So he will either opt out if he regains his 2011 form, or he will get traded to a big market team that needs an innings-eater at the back of the rotation.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

The Royals get the privilege of paying him 70 million and they lose their first round draft pick.

They're the current World Series champions in a small market with a window to contend that realistically runs through 2017. Cain, Hosmer, Escobar, Moustakas, and Davis are all FA after the 2017 season. A pick at the end of the first round in 2016 won't help them win in 2016 or 2017. Ian Kennedy might. The team desperately needs a SP who can pitch a lot of innings and strike a lot of hitters out. Their ballpark keeps HRs in play, and their outfield takes away more doubles than anybody in MLB.It's highly unlikely Kennedy plays out his whole contract in KC. He has an opt out after 2017, right when the current nucleus will break up. He won't want to stick around after that. So he will either opt out if he regains his 2011 form, or he will get traded to a big market team that needs an innings-eater at the back of the rotation.

This is some pretty fancy tap-dancin'. But if Kennedy continues like this, he's going to opt in and be near-untradeable.

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

The Royals get the privilege of paying him 70 million and they lose their first round draft pick.

They're the current World Series champions in a small market with a window to contend that realistically runs through 2017. Cain, Hosmer, Escobar, Moustakas, and Davis are all FA after the 2017 season. A pick at the end of the first round in 2016 won't help them win in 2016 or 2017. Ian Kennedy might. The team desperately needs a SP who can pitch a lot of innings and strike a lot of hitters out. Their ballpark keeps HRs in play, and their outfield takes away more doubles than anybody in MLB.It's highly unlikely Kennedy plays out his whole contract in KC. He has an opt out after 2017, right when the current nucleus will break up. He won't want to stick around after that. So he will either opt out if he regains his 2011 form, or he will get traded to a big market team that needs an innings-eater at the back of the rotation.

This is some pretty fancy tap-dancin'. But if Kennedy continues like this, he's going to opt in and be near-untradeable.

In a vacuum, it's a bad signing. I'm trying to understand it from the Royals' perspective. Way too much value is being placed on that first-round pick: it's at the end of the round, won't have an impact until after their window is closed, and they are ####ty drafters anyways.On the open market, $14MM is what? 1.8-2.3 WAR? That's Phil Hughes to Mike Leake. He's doesn't even need to be Edinson Volquez to earn that salary. It's not as risky as the number seems. That's how crazy the money is right now.

 

[Daywalker]

Apparently Davis got a Bonilla deal. $17 mill per year for 7 years and then additional payments until 2037. So really more like 7/$119.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/14580503/chris-davis-agrees-deal-remain-baltimore-orioles

"How much is enough?" Showalter said Wednesday during a leadership conference, according to the Baltimore Sun. "I asked Chris during the season, 'Chris, when you walk into a Target store, can you buy anything you want? So, how much is enough?'

"I love Chris, but if that [his decision] makes or breaks our team, shame on us."

well, that is blunt.

Wonder if he's ever asked Angelos that.

Exactly. Seems weird to be upset at the millionaire for wanting more of the billionaire's money. But fine with the billionaire not wanting to pay.

It's pathetic to think it let alone voice it.