Jim Crane: Q: How do you view the potential of adding a player via free agency or what have you? A: Well I think there's always an opportunity there, if not now than during the break. We're always looking to improve the team. (General manager Jeff Luhnow) is up there working on it right now. We're always open-minded. We've got some flexibility, we're probably going to end up somewhere around the fourth- or fifth-highest payroll this year and we have some room to move if we have to or need to or if someone gets hurt. (Luhnow) does a great job of keeping the team with a lot of talent in it. Our farm system ... pitching is really deep in particular and you need a lot of pitching to win." Q: Both Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole are free agents after this season. How do you feel about attempting to keep or extend them? A: We certainly are going to look at it either now or as the season progresses depending on what they want to do. Both of those guys are good pitchers and should be good pitchers down the road. There's three things in baseball that I always tell Jeff he needs to know: it's pitching, pitching and pitching. We'll always try to take a look at those guys and see if we can't extend both of them or one of them. Q: How imperative is it that you try to get something done before (Verlander and Cole) hit the (free agent) market next year? A: You know, the market has been a little crazy. A lot of guys in free agency this year, (Manny) Machado went off the board (Tuesday), I'm sure a lot of these guys have had offers, they just didn't take the offers at that particular time. It's always sticky but we'll try to pick a good spot. It could be at the end of the season, it could be during the season, it just all depends on what they want to do and whether they want to stick here and for what number they want to stick here. There's a common ground there some place and if we don't reach it, then sometimes we won't go after them. Q: What was your reaction to Manny Machado's reported agreement with the Padres for 10 years and $300 million? A: He's young. If you're going to go that deep, there's a lot of data out there that says 10-year deals are hard to make toward the back end, but you never know. He's certainly a premier player and he's getting a big number. Good for him. Q: Does it make you nervous as an owner, though, when an agreement ike that comes and drives the price of other guys up? A: That number has been hit before. I think each team is different. Certainly the smaller market teams have a difficulty eating a contract like that if it doesn't go well. The bigger market teams have more cash, and I don't need to tell you who those are, they can afford to make a mistake and still eat a deal like that. You have to be very cautious. San Diego has a plan and I'm sure they knew what they were doing when they signed him. They've got a bunch of good owners and I hope it works out for them. Q: What do you think of the 20-second pitch clock that will be tested in spring training games? A: I think everybody is looking to speed up the games. The games have gotten too long in everyone's opinion, even the players. They're going to have to do something in order to get the game times down under three hours, and even lower. It's hard for the fans. And, by the way, the fans are paying the bills. It's hard for the fans to go to a 3- or 4-hour game. It's really, you have to focus on the fans and what makes them happy and what they need to do to pay the money to come to the ballpark, which is eventually paying us all. We have to stay focused on the fans." Q: Any other rule changes or proposals? A: There's a couple more on the board, I don't know exactly if (commissioner Rob Manfred) is going to implement them this year or not. We're in discussions. It's not the commissioner against the players, it's what's best for the fans, and that's what we really need to stay focused on. We need to speed up the game. The games have gotten too long." Q: I know every player has his own individual situation, but you got Jose Altuve's extension done during spring training last season. You have some guys on your team that would be candidates for extensions. Do you prefer to get it done before the season? A: I think the guys would probably prefer to have it done before the season starts; they don't have to think about it while they're playing and get that off the board. Certainly that was a great one for us last year and hopefully a good deal for him and a good deal for us. We really love Jose and the fans love him, so that one was pretty easy. I'm headed up to Jeff's office after this to see what he's got on the board. Hopefully there will be a deal there or two that we may be able to extend right now but, if not, we'll do what's best for the team." Q: Any further thoughts on Dallas Keuchel or Marwin Gonzalez, who both remain unsigned? A: I think those guys have had offers, if not from us from other teams. Those are offers they didn't take. Hopefully they'll land in the right spot and certainly it could be one or two of them might be back here. Who knows? Q: Have they had offers from the Astros? A: I'll let Jeff comment on that.
after reading the translation you posted of the entire interview, this quote is taken just a little out of context.
With Josh Harrison landing in DET (1y/2m)...I wonder if SFG or CWS is where Marwin lands if (when) they miss out on Harper?
I have no inside information but I can tell you that the White Sox media thinks Marwin is likely headed to the Sox. On a side note I don’t think anyone outside of living in Chicago knows how hard the fan base took not getting Machado. Lots of very angry and bitter fans.
That would sort of suck for Marwin... being the consolation prize with a bitter fan base not getting their guy. I don't know why they feel they needed to go after Machado now. Kopech is gone for the year with TJ surgery and plenty of big free agents coming up next year and the year after that probably won't require 10 years.
I know how we can get him. Let's hire his family members! Then he can work and travel with his family members all year!
I believe he was mocking the White Sox approach to try and appeal to Manny Machado by adding his friends/family to the team/coaching staff. In retrospect, it is kind of embarrassing.
Twins interested in Marwin. No wonder nobody has signed him. Boras wanted 60 million https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/02/twins-interested-in-marwin-gonzalez.html
I looked up Bonilla... you know what? He wasn't *bad* for the Mets: .285/.366/.513/.879; 135 OPS+; ~10.8 bWAR in 4 years. (I'm including his post-trade #s with Baltimore to give complete season perspective.) Well above average and a player that would be more highly-regarded today. He was also 29, not 26, like Machado.
I don’t think $60M/4yr would have been a bad starting asking price in November. But they should have come down from that pretty quickly and they never should have expected more than $50M; from the beginning he would have been lucky to get $40M/3yr.
My initial thoughts were 11-12 million for 3 years and maybe a 4th year option. Then on Oct. 22nd Eduardo Escobar resigned with the D-Backs at 3 years 21 million. To me that killed Marwin's value. They are the same age and have career numbers that are very similar. The only outlier year was Marwin's 2017 season which he did not repeat in 2018. Escobar also has 2 seasons with an OPS over .800 and Marwin only has the one.
I'm not talking about numbers, I'm talking attitude. Ask any Mets fan from that time frame, Bobby got his money then he began dogging it in the field and fighting with media, teammates and manager. I think Machado may take his attitude to another level of DGAS with his new contract. It will be sad if he does because it will ruin the Padres and their up and coming players. At least he fans will always have the best weather in the states.
