2019-2020 MLB Non-Phillies News/Notes Discussion

[el-pietro]

Beltran to the Mets

Sid Rosenberg on Twitter

[fish]

I just noticed Jacob Waguespack started 13 games for the Blue Jays last year- man, I totally missed that. My recollection in his time with Reading was that he was more of a 4 seam fastball guy who would pitch 90-94, but the Jays had him cutting and sinking the ball while sitting around 90 mph. Good for him.

[Taudawg]

Braves declined Julio Teheran's option. He is an interesting addition to the free agent market. He turns 29 in January.

[zambonir]

Donaldson also gets his QO.

This suggests the Yankees would really have to go back into the penalty to do much of anything - but especially Cole - this off-season.

The luxury-tax implications of Aroldis Chapman’s Yankees extension

[zambonir]

JD Martinez staying with the Red Sox.

[flyers19rw]

Last night on the MLB channel there was a short chat about how MLB could get a boost out of the FA signing period. The opening of the FA period for the NBA, NFL and NHL is major news. Teams scrambling to announce the signing of the big fish and all of the excitement that goes with it.
Once the signings hullaballoo settles, the franchises are in a good place to market their product for the upcoming season. Why MLB doesn't grasp the sense of this is mind boggling. San Diego and the Phillies both would have benefitted greatly with their marketing if Machado and Harper had been signed earlier.
Perhaps the best way to do this is to set a final point for FA signings such as New Year's day. After that the best that a player can do is to get a minor league deal. The MLBPA would want something in return for this and dropping the comp pick might be enough to satisfy them. Whatever it takes, getting the FA season rolling with a bang like with other sports would benefit the organizations and the payers.

[baseballoldie]

I can see a FA deadline date being negotiated in the next CBA. I think a Jan 31 date would work well. That would allow FAs to be with their new teams at the start of spring training and give the teams time to market their new players. I would also work in a two week break from FA signings in December 16th thru Dec 31 for FOs to have mandatory vacation time in December during the holidays. A Jan 31 deadline is also before salary arbitration hearings in February so that would flow well for work loads of the FO and for agents.

[andyb]

They used to use the winter meetings as their big splash for trades and free agents before the holidays. Now agents strategically wait which does not make much sense.

Maybe they could have a deadline for multi-year deals. I think there will always be late signings in Spring Training as teams fill holes, players get hurt, and veterans try to win jobs.

[LoneStarPhan]

The deadline for multi-year free agent contracts sounds like something that might work. I don't think you can have a total free agent signing ban. I don't think they should or want to totally block off a signing chance for players who are still free agents after a certain date.

[zambonir]

The league just proposed a signing deadline and the MLBPA rejected. But yeah, it could be on the table for the CBA. Obviously the most powerful agent in the game would be against it and the MLBPA answers to powerful agents.

I think it's the owners who have created the current situation though. Teams used to step up and sign their guys immediately. Jim Thome was signed on December 5. Roy Halladay was acquired and signed on December 15. So was Cliff Lee (the second time). It's only because the teams have started valuing the free agent market differently that the players have had to wait longer. An artificial deadline just puts even more power in the hands of owners who aren't willing to spend, by taking away even more leverage from the players.

Would it have been fair if Bryce Harper had been forced to take $50 million less because of he could only get a minor league deal after January 31? He probably wouldn't be on the Phillies either, btw.

Conversely, Lee and Thome signed quickly because the Phillies offered them what was obviously going to be the most money any team was going to offer. They could have done that with Harper or Machado too. They preferred to wait too, and it saved them $.

[allentown]

The big problem here is that the teams are valuing the FAs properly and the agents and union are over-valuing them, based on the thinking of now close to a decade ago. Players do need to have a larger share of the revenue, probably about 20% more, but those $ (and more) need to go to the younger players by way of a significant boost in MLB minimum, arb awards calibrated at a higher % of actual calculated value, and higher salaries for non-MLB players on the 40-man roster. Minor league salaries also should be higher, but that is partly a mixed bag -- many players in the minors, who have extremely small chance of ever getting more than a cup-of-coffee (if that) in the bigs should be encouraged to complete school and move on with their adult life sooner rather than later. The bonus pool for draft and international signings also needs to increase, with individual player $ caps about where the top slots are today, but with more $ in second and third round. I phrase it this way, because easier to write -- I think teams should be given a fixed bonus pool, based upon position of finish with no bump for low revenue, which they can spend however they want, without exceeding single player cap (with a team's single-player cap graduated based upon where they finish in standings). Do away with draft comp or do it the NFL way (includes no primo round picks as comp, based on net loss of players as FAs, the signing team does not lose a pick).

[zambonir]

MLB will stop awarding prize belt to team that best suppresses salaries in...

[allentown]

How sick is that? The Phillies must have at least a dozen belts stuck in a closet somewhere from the Giles. The J.D. Drew affair must have been worth at least several belts.

[zambonir]

I don't think it's been around that long, but haha, yeah. Heck, Ed Wade and Tal Smith were the go-to arbitration consultants when they weren't actually working for a team.

Here's the original story, if you have Athletic subscription.

‘Ready to strike tomorrow’: How one $20 toy belt...

[tom81]

The hot stove is heating up.

Cardinals Re-Sign Adam Wainwright

[fish]

Giants hire Gabe Kapler to manage. If Kapler is successful, how much is it a demonstration of his talent vs an indictment on a mis-managed senior management and analytics team in Philly?

[phillychuck]

If he succeeds it may be a demonstration that people, particularly smart people, learn from their mistakes and can improve. He undoubtedly made mistakes in Philly--the WIP crowd never forgave him for the early hook on Nola and not having his bullpen ready in another early game in his first year. We'll see how it goes, but if he wins something big in SF it's going to sting.

[zambonir]

It would be both. We can already say the Giants baseball ops team is both better and has had more recent success than our guys. But I don't think the Giants have enough talent to make for a real head-to-head comparison, at least not for a couple of years.

In a weird way I'm glad they didn't hire Espada who seemed like he deserved consideration from the Phillies (but for their narrow focus on experience).

[Philsmania]

Baby Shark swims east.

Gerardo Parra Signs With Japan's Yomiuri Giants

[flyers19rw]

What remedy would you suggest for the Astros’ sign stealing scandal?