Crane has never paid the tax. We would have in 2020, but they suspended the tax. I don't doubt Crane would go into the tax for 2023, but only with 1 year deals, IMO.
FYI, for those worried about money... 3 years 60 million Abreu 3 years 120 to Verlander 3 years 42 million extension to Pressly 3 years 34.5 million to Montero That's 85 million in payroll falling off the year Tucker, Valdez, and Javier are due extensions... They are lining up payroll perfectly...
That's why I said it was a one off and he'll return to being a 25-35 HR guy. So yeah, it's happening.
If there was a must have, Abreu was it. Crane moved decisively on that. Now he has the flexibility to wait out the market on other bats and JV. It’s not like Yuli and Brantley will command huge years and dollars, so plenty of time to wait. Amazing to think they could be looking at Benintiendi, but not a must have. I’m hoping the $40MM/year market for JV never materializes and we can get him for 2 years and closer to 70-75MM. That said, I think it would be surprising if Toronto didn’t come up with a third year or 40+AAV
I can see it now, the Astros sign Bellinger, Bellinger hits 0.267/0.352/0.591, and the Astros get accused of still stealing signs as the reason he can hit.
My assumption is they go for Andrew Benetendi, and if they miss wait it out for Brantley. Yuli seems like a far gone conclusion considering he is basically done and hes played his whole career here. 1 year 7-8 million should be fine.
I only watch Astros baseball so I barely know who this guy is. Astros enemies seem pissed, so I'm happy
Are you from the Valley? I heard there is a party in the Valley but I don’t want to go to the Valley tonite.
20 million a year risk for the final 3 years isn’t a crazy risk. The 10 year deals elite players sign is like buying season tickets. Where preseason games cost just as much as regular season games. Just as the tail end years are premium salaries for decreased production. Abreu if he’d of signed a 10 year deal 7 years ago would be making 25 to 30 million each of the next 3 seasons. So 20 million a year for a guy who is still ample productive is good value.
