2019-2020 MLB Non-Phillies News/Notes Discussion

zambonir 2019-01-11 19:52:02 UTC #21

Yeah the Phillies just never had the players to do it really. Franco can't play middle IF, Hernandez apparently can't play 3B, and Kingery was probably meant to get more looks at 2B and OF, not be an everyday SS. And then of course they signed Cabrera, another guy who could play a lot of positions but none of them well.

I think that's the one drawback with Marwin Gonzalez too, he is a bat who can play a lot of places but he's not strong defensively at the more challenging spots (3B, 2B).

I still wouldn't be surprised if Machado and Segura play mulitple positions this year though as you note, as long as Cesar is here things are pretty set.

allentown 2019-01-11 21:22:55 UTC #22

And then they shifted a lot, which left Franco playing middle IF. Then again, perhaps this season another half dozen teams will learn the lesson the Phillies did last season: really bad defense is a killer.

andyb 2019-01-11 21:44:12 UTC #23

I guess the "keep Franco and trade Cesar" scenario might work if we signed Machado. Kingery or Segura play 2B. Segura or Machado play SS. Machado or Franco play 3B.

I think I like the set lineup better though.

zambonir 2019-01-11 21:52:21 UTC #24

I would think that depends greatly on how much Machado wants to play SS, but it wouldn't be the worst way to ease Kingery into starting while also taking one last look at Franco. Probably depends as much on the respective trade values of Franco and Hernandez. Demand for 2B remains low. Easier for someone to take a flier on Franco since he's cheaper. Then you hope to move Cesar in July.

andyb 2019-01-14 13:06:30 UTC #25

Wil Myers moving back to OF from 3B. Given that we have dealt with the Padres recently, this could be the best landing spot for Franco if we sign Machado. Lots of toolsy prospects in their system.

Lawman 2019-01-15 20:48:32 UTC #26

tom81 2019-01-15 23:50:28 UTC #27

Super ugly accusation, “Wetteland allegedly abused a 4-year-old relative beginning in 2004.”

bkox 2019-01-16 19:29:14 UTC #28

https://sports.yahoo.com/marty-brennaman-announces-2019-last-180428966.html

xogfog 2019-01-17 20:02:43 UTC #29

Yankees assemble their bullpen of doom, signing signing Adam Ottavino to a 3 year deal, adding him to a bullpen of Chapman, Delances, Britton and Green. They might be looking to move Jonathan Holder (great name for a middle reliever) who had a good year last year.

nycphils 2019-01-17 21:02:50 UTC #30

Does that put them into the tax?

mdougherty12 2019-01-17 21:15:06 UTC #31

It appears that adding Ottavino puts them in the tax, but dumping Sonny Gray (or shedding some of Ellsbury's contract) would drop them back under the threshold, based on the Cot's contracts estimates:

https://legacy.baseballprospectus.com/compensation/cots/al-east/new-york-yankees/

tom81 2019-01-22 23:23:47 UTC #32

Another of the potential “mystery teams” for Harper just picked up an OF. I thought he would have gotten more given the year he had last year. $4MM salary for the coming season as well as a $2MM buyout on a 2020 club option that’s valued at $6MM.

julio 2019-01-23 01:46:44 UTC #33

10 posts were split to a new topic: 2019 Hall of Fame Selections

baseballoldie 2019-01-23 02:04:14 UTC #34

Just another example of older players getting devalued. Markakis had a great year last year winning the Gold Glove, hitting almost .300, was an All-Star, won a Silver Slugger award in the OF and yet he can't get more than a $4M salary for 2019 plus a $2M buyout on a $6M option for 2020. The analytics apparently point to a 2nd half that wasn't as good as his 1st half, coupled with the fact that he is 35 years old so he apparently can't play the game very well any more.

He had a 2.6 WAR last year and if each WAR is worth $7.0 million, he provided $18.2 million of value to the Braves last year. I understand he had more lucrative offers but agreed to take less with the Braves. I would expect his other offers weren't significantly higher than what he agreed to with the Braves. I'm definitely not saying he should be paid $18.2 million, but $4 million plus a $2 million buyout? C'mon. He should have easily been able to get $8 million with the kind of value he created last year.

zambonir 2019-01-23 03:55:28 UTC #35

yeah I think he could have held out for more money somewhere but he is probably happy to stay put. On a contender. Given his age and his numbers for the past five years I think it is reasonable to be skeptical of his future worth. Probably true no one offered him a second year.

BostonRoss 2019-01-23 04:55:50 UTC #36

It's hard to feel sorry for Markakis. In the seven years prior to 2018, he had been paid almost $80M for 7.7 WAR, and the value of one WAR wasn't $7M over that period. I don't see why he should be expected to reproduce 2018 when he hadn't even put up a 2 WAR season since 2011. He was overpaid for seven years before 2018, and he might end up being overpaid for 2019.

The Braves have several underpaid players, but Markakis probably isn't one of them.

zambonir 2019-01-23 06:30:50 UTC #37

I'm just glad we didn't have to settle for him after losing Harper tbh. Would we have been happy if the Phillies had given him $10 million or a second year?

baseballoldie 2019-01-23 23:20:44 UTC #38

It’s not about feeling sorry for Markakis, it simply a matter of players not getting paid like they were in the past. Makakais was coming of 3 years with 1.7, 0.1, and 1.8 WAR when he signed with the Braves in 2014 for 4 years, $44 million. If a player is to be paid for performance, Markakis was worthy of more than a one year $6 million deal after his 2018 performance.

allentown 2019-01-24 01:02:53 UTC #39

But isn't that the change in baseball. Clubs have reasonably decided to pay players based upon expected future performance. Does one plus season, coupled with the prior off-seasons, give a 50% chance of another good season this year, 25%, 10%; perhaps an optimist would project 75%. There seem to be fewer such optimists these days.

BostonRoss 2019-01-24 04:41:49 UTC #40

Are you saying that a player's salary should depend only on his performance last year? Or should the Braves have considered the previous six years? Should, say, Adam Jones get a really low salary in 2019 because his WAR last year was 0.2?