2019-2020 MLB Non-Phillies News/Notes Discussion

[zambonir]

Wow

Source confirms: Mets 2B Robinson Canó tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug and will be suspended for entire 2021 season. Announcement from MLB imminent. First: @JeffPassan .

— Ken Rosenthal ( @Ken_Rosenthal ) November 18, 2020

[Squire]

Mets perfect offseason continues. What a break.

[zambonir]

It's really a terrrible policy, that the money doesn't still get paid to charity. But they're still on the hook for another $44 million or so in 2022 and 2023, and I assume he still counts against the CBT?

He was also actually good this season. Maybe they'd like Segura.

[allentown]

He was also actually good this season.

Yes, cheating works. At age 37, he had his best OPS since 2013.

[zambonir]

I don't tend to think the drugs actually make you better, but they certainly help you train and defy the age curve. In theory he has never not been cheating, he just got caught twice.

If memory serves everyone thought Marlon Byrd was probably cheating again when we brought him back, but he didn't get caught until 2016.

Teams certainly don't shy away from them and I suspect in some cases the training staff is still culpable (for bad supplements if not actual illegal substances) so teams should bear some of the burden when a suspension happens. You don't get a break if you sign an injured player, why get one for signing a cheater?

[andyb]

Looking at Cano there is a bit better performance in 2020, but really not that out of line, He seems to be doing an "every other year" thing where he gets his OPS over 800 in the even years but slips in the odd years. Most major leaguers take some sort of supplement. Just some are closer to the illegal edge than others. The short season and the DH probably had as much to do with a good OPS at age 37 for Cano as any illegal drugs.

[LoneStarPhan]

Mets get lucky with Cano suspension. Gives them $20 million more to spend on payroll this season. They should be major players on the big name free agent market.

[zambonir]

They have so much to spend anyway, and they still have to account for the rest of his deal (what would be really lucky is if he did it again!). As well as the CBT (I assume the AAV still counts).

[andyb]

It does seem a little unfair the Mets get that money back. It should really be given to charity. This way it almost encourages teams to sign players with questions surrounding them with the insurance that they don't pay the salary if the player gets caught. There is joint responsibility here. Of course that argument fell short when it was only the Astros players that broke the rules.....

[allentown]

Yes, not at all fair that a team reaps the benefit of a better than could reasonably be expected age 37 season, then gets no penalty and is excused from paying for an age 38 season, they likely never wanted to pay for. I disagree with you that taking the banned drugs doesn't boost performance, particularly for older players. Guys don't risk the loss of a huge, full-year salary for no benefit and the guys shown to use seem to have their productive careers extended. ARod and Cano -- both Yankees cheats, both playing at a plus level longer than if they hadn't cheated. Great talents, but they used chemistry to stave off the deteriorations of age. Maintain muscle mass and strength with chemically-assisted weight room work, avoid and come back faster from injuries, just being a little younger physically than your true age.

[julio]

It does seem a little unfair the Mets get that money back. It should really be given to charity. This way it almost encourages teams to sign players with questions surrounding them with the insurance that they don't pay the salary if the player gets caught. There is joint responsibility here.

Meh. It gives fans of other teams something to whine about...

[andyb]

So I guess we should do our recruiting here since there is no cost to the teams searching for steroid abusers:

[zambonir]

The Phillies certainly don't mind having guys who had PED suspensions, and I don't even mean the '93 team. One of them is in our radio booth and another will probably be on the Wall of Fame eventually.

[David_Criss]

Braves striking early, I guess. Sign 37-year-old Charlie Morton to a 1/15 million deal. https://www.prosportsdaily.com/articles/braves-sign-charlie-morton-661434.html

So Brad Hand has a $10million option declined because every team save the Mets is in a financial world of hurt, yet the Braves hand Drew Smyly 11 million and Morton $15 million?????? I never would have guessed those two would have gotten half that.

[Philsmania]

The Phillies certainly don't mind having guys who had PED suspensions, and I don't even mean the '93 team. One of them is in our radio booth and another will probably be on the Wall of Fame eventually.

Dykstra? After the Pete Rose fiasco, I doubt it. Like with Rose, there's always another shoe to drop with him

[andyb]

The more I read about it, the Hand decision was a mutual MLB judgement on his 2-year decline in velocity. Everybody is so into certain metrics (like Smyly being up 2 mph in velocity) that they just don't want to take risks. Track record should mean something though and I think Hand probably has a 75% chance of a good season and I would put Smyly at less than 50%.

Morton, on the other hand, has been dramatically underpaid the last few years.

[BostonRoss]

The Phillies certainly don't mind having guys who had PED suspensions, and I don't even mean the '93 team. One of them is in our radio booth and another will probably be on the Wall of Fame eventually.

Dykstra? After the Pete Rose fiasco, I doubt it. Like with Rose, there's always another shoe to drop with him

I assumed he meant Chooch.

[zambonir]

Yes, Chooch (I said not anyone on the '93 team PM). We can split hairs about the nature of his offense of course, but a suspension is a suspension.

Dykstra really should have been on the Wall before he turned into even more of a trainwreck, but they didn't even finish with the old-timers and 1980 guys until 2007.

Even Chooch is not a sure thing given there are as many as 10 guys from that era, but I believe we have a separate thread for that.

Anyone think we have a shot at the NL East next year? I'm not sure any other team does, tbh.

[zambonir]

Phillies not one of the five

Yadier Molina Says Five Teams Have Shown Interest

[andyb]

I did notice the Padres were mentioned as one of the teams. I wonder if we would be interested in Austin Nola if the Padres got Molina. I think his defense is seen as average, but potentially he could be part of a 3-catcher platoon that might allow us to have a defense-only option at catcher on the bench (could be Marchan but could be 10 other cheap backup catchers). And Nola can hit and play lots of other positions.