NEWS/RUMORS/DISCUSSION Thread

he'll probably be worth it the next two years
but for 5+ years and into his 40's?
might be time for the jays to look for a trade partner and ask for a boatload of prospects in return

Jose Bautista reportedly seeking more than 5 years/$150MM
By Mark Polishuk | February 24, 2016 at 11:32am CST

Yesterday, Jose Bautista denied a report from TSN’s Rick Westhead that his apparently non-negotiable asking price was an extension of five years and $150MM. What that figure raised eyebrows around the baseball world, it may actually have been too modest, as both the Toronto Star’s Richard Griffin and MLB Network’s Jon Heyman have reported that Bautista’s contract demand was actually higher. Griffin suggested that the number could be higher if Bautista’s $14MM salary for the coming season was included as well, though Heyman says that Bautista is looking for both more years and more money. FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal puts the dollar figure at less than $180MM, however, as the average annual value of a six-year deal wouldn’t have cracked the $30MM threshold.

Needless to say, this is high demand for any player and a stunning one coming from a player entering his age-35 season. When I looked at Bautista as an extension candidate last November, I reasoned that he would certainly land at least a $20MM average annual value in a new contract, perhaps even something in the range of a four-year/$100MM deal for his age 36-39 seasons (2017-2020). Only seven players in history have ever received an AAV north of $25MM per season, and six of those contracts began when the players were much younger than 36 years old. (The exception was Roger Clemens’ one-year, $28MM deal with the Yankees when he was 44, an altogether unique situation.)

Given the size and unprecedented nature of this contract, it’s hard to see the Blue Jays meeting Bautista’s demand. The Jays already have expensive commitments to Troy Tulowitzki and Russell Martin on the books, Edwin Encarnacion is also a free agent this winter and the club will certainly at least explore extending Josh Donaldson before he hits free agency after the 2018 season. Bautista pointedly mentioned on Monday that Rogers Communications, the Jays’ parent company, has derived huge financial boosts from the team’s recent success, so he doesn’t seem willing to accept an argument that ownership couldn’t put more resources into re-signing him or into the club in general.

Payroll commitments aside, it could be argued that it would be unwise to sign any 36-year-old to such a massive deal. While Bautista is universally considered to be an excellent athlete who keeps himself in prime shape, he’s also had some injury issues in his career and his defensive metrics in right field took a sharp decline in 2015. If Bautista is already becoming the type of player who only provides value with his bat, then he’d have to keep his elite hitting numbers through his age-41 season to live up to the value of such a big contract.

Would Bautista land such a deal on the open market as a free agent? At first glance it would seem unlikely that any team would make such a huge commitment to a 36-year-old, and yet the 2016-17 free agent class is notably thin. Bautista’s performance in 2016 will obviously play a major factor in his next deal, and another superstar-level season would help boost his case. Bautista told reporters on Monday that he wasn’t going to budge from his asking price, though it’s possible that this was a negotiating tactic and that he’d be willing to go lower if the Blue Jays or another suitor countered with something at least in the ballpark of the initial demand.​

 

shocker

Josh Hamilton to begin season on DL
By Mark Polishuk | February 24, 2016 at 10:22am CST

Josh Hamilton will miss the first month of the regular season after receiving stem cell and PRP injections in his troublesome left knee, the Rangers announced today. (Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News has the details from the team’s briefing with media.) The Rangers’ plan, as outlined by assistant GM Thad Levine, is for Hamilton to play some minor league rehab games in late April and then be activated off the DL in early May.

“We are giving him an eight-week program because we don’t want to cut any corners,” Levine said. “Last year, we may have accelerated things and he suffered the hamstring injury early and it was an issue all year. This way he will get the benefit of a full spring training.”​

It’s been an open question as to how much Hamilton will be able to contribute to the Ranger this season, as the 34-year-old has battled continued pain in his left knee despite two operations in the last six months. The former AL MVP has played in just 139 games over the last two seasons due to a variety of injuries and Texas was already planning to use Hamilton in a semi-platoon role in left field to try and keep him healthy.

As Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram puts it on Twitter, the Rangers are “taking [a] guarded approach” to Hamilton’s injuries. While the team is still talking to free agent outfielders, Texas could also use internal options like Ryan Rua, Joey Gallo, Justin Ruggiano or perhaps prospects Nomar Mazara or Lewis Brinson. Levine said that Hamilton’s DL status doesn’t greatly change the club’s plans for left field since the Rangers weren’t expecting Hamilton as a full-time option anyway.​

 

walk away baltimore
giving up a fairly high draft pick for a gimpy pitcher is asking for trouble
especially if they're unwilling to renegotiate the terms

• The Orioles are expected to try and restructure their agreement with Yovani Gallardo, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link), but it’s unlikely that the matter will be resolved quickly. It’s a rather risky move on the Orioles’ part, as Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun observes that Gallardo’s camp may well not be willing to renegotiate terms. The team would have to be confident it has the internal pitching depth to fill the rotation spot Gallardo would’ve filled, as other available free agent starters will likely come with more injury red flags than Gallardo and may have an even harder time passing the Orioles’ strict physical standards.

 

wish i could
either there's more to the story than we're being told (unlikely)
or torre still has a hard on for fucking with us (more likely)

still saying chapman gets a slap on the wrist from the yankee lover, while they'll look for any possibility to drop the hammer on puig

 

good since the pen is the only place you'll be catching him

Maeda, Ellis find rhythm in bullpen session
by Jesse Sanchez | MLB.com — 16 hours ago

PHOENIX -- The change of pace is proving to be a good thing for Dodgers starter Kenta Maeda.

On Tuesday, the 27-year-old right-hander threw 40 pitches to catcher A.J. Ellis in his second official bullpen session since signing an eight-year contract in January. On Sunday, he threw 39 pitches to Yasmani Grandal.

Overall, Maeda has thrown four bullpens this spring.

"I know about his fastball command and I've seen evidence of his slider and how devastating his slider can be, but I was impressed with his changeup and his ability to throw that today with the quality of depth he had with it and really command it in the middle of the plate," Ellis said. "We talked for a while afterwards about what an important weapon that can be for him this year."

Maeda said he used his changeup regularly in Japan. He will likely use it more often, especially against left-handed hitters, after speaking with Ellis. The pair also discussed where Maeda likes catchers to set up behind the plate.

"It's been fun the last couple of days getting to know him as a teammate and getting to know him in the pitcher-catcher setting; he was very impressive," Ellis said. "He's obviously very polished and he understands how he wants to work in a bullpen-type session. The command was off the charts. It was very similar to what I saw in the video after we signed him."

The biggest adjustment for Maeda remains pitching every five days in the Major Leagues, compared with once every seven days in Japan. The ball used in the Major Leagues is also slightly larger than the ball used in Japan. One of the biggest surprises for Maeda is the shorter practices. Maeda's teams ran more and took more ground balls in Japan, he said.

Maeda was asked if he enjoyed the shorter practices.

"Yes," he said in English. "Because I can relax, too," Maeda added through a translator.​

 

agreed
never questioned his heart or his hustle
agreed
but he’s only 2 years removed from hitting .270/.339/.407 with 11hr and 78rbi in 2014
not expecting him to duplicate that
but if he can come in somewhere between 2014 and 2015
say .250/.320/.385
that would be sufficient imo

scary shit going on down there
and this is just the stuff we're hearing about
have to imagine it's probably even worse
not unlike being in debt to the mob, being in someone's pocket
american agents are known to be ruthless (from a negotiating standpoint)
but i doubt boras has ever threatened to kill someone

 

dear keith law...
suck it long, suck it hard

Seager to remain SS, Turner at 3B
by Matthew Moreno | Dodger Blue — 16 minutes ago

The Los Angeles Dodgers are entering this season with much of the same group of infielders from 2015, which is a versatile collection of talent. Outside of Adrian Gonzalez, and catchers A.J. Ellis and Yasmani Grandal, each infielder is capable of playing multiple positions.

In addition, outfielder Scott Van Slyke has spent time at first base over the past four seasons. Throughout much of the offseason the only notable change was expected to come at second base, where Kiké Hernnadez and Chase Utley were slated to platoon.

However, that went out the window when the Dodgers somewhat surprisingly re-signed Howie Kendrick to a two-year, $20 million contract.

Kendrick spent last season as the Dodgers’ primary second baseman, but president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said his return was in part due to Kendrick’s willingness to play other positions.

While Hernandez, Kendrick and Utley figure to move around the infield, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Corey Seager will remain at shortstop, according to David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports:

Justin Turner is also expected to remain at his primary position, per Bill Plunkett of the OC Register:

Seager’s height has led to semi-constant speculation he eventually will be moved over to third base. However, Friedman and others in the Dodgers front office have maintained Seager can succeed at shortstop despite being taller than a prototypical player at that position.

Seager took hold of the starting job at shortstop, capitalizing on an opportunity created by Jimmy Rollins missing time due to a sprained right index finger. Seager also played six games, including four starts, at third base last season.

Since making the Dodgers roster out of Spring Training in 2014, Turner has received time at first base, second base, third base and shortstop. However, he supplanted Uribe as the Dodgers starting third baseman last season.

Seager is working to recover from losing 15 pounds over two weeks as a result of having his tonsils removed. Meanwhile, Turner is coming off microfracture surgery on his left knee.​

 

So the most interesting part of spring training for the Dodgers will be: health and the bullpen?

Kinda boring but oh well