Lmao if that's where you want to take it... Why don't the Mets just sign everyone then? Cohen is worth $20B+ compared to Crane at $2B. He has an additional $18B he can spend on players. Yes, Crane as a business owner is choosing to run his team to make a profit just like every other team in the league outside of the Mets. That doesn't make him "the bad guy". There are plenty of owners that meet that criteria though. And once again, even if Crane wanted to spent like crazy...he owns 40% of the Astros. Do you think the other 60% are going to be OK with losing money? The situation is not the same as Cohen and the Mets.
Random thoughts: (1) Good for Bregman. Congratulations. (2) Good for Crane and the Astros. Deferred or not, the AAV is silly money. (3) While I don't think Bregman "didn't want to be in Houston", it is now clear there was never any *preference* given to the Astros - and that's perfectly fine. It was a business deal on both sides. See [1] and [2]. (4) How to move forward? The Astros are a contender, but closer to the 2024 team than the 2022 one. There has not been a star-level player come through the system since 2015 (when Bregman AND Tucker were drafted). That needs to change. (5) Is there a "keep the window open" option which does not cripple the farm system? (6) Another seismic shift is coming in salary structure - MLB needs to close the "deferred money" loophole, which is indirectly an Astros issue.
I don't blame Bregman one bit for taking 40M over the 28.3M the Astros offered. Alonso was willing to take a paycut to go back to the Mets, Bregman wasn't. I wouldn't be surprised if he wanted a change of scenery and Boston makes sense in a lot of ways. I'm going to miss that ****-eating smirk. Farewell.
I knew he was gone. I appreciate everything Bregman did for the Astros. He was a key piece in the rebuilding of the Astros. But sorry, I hope he doesn't accomplish anything on the Red Sox.
Seems like a win-win to me. I feel like Bregman and Boras ended up doing very well for themselves. Guaranteed $120M, and in case Bregman continues to perform very well at Fenway (this was definitely a strategic and smart decision to go to such a favorable home ballpark for Bregman's skillset), he will absolutely get another deal, that when paired with this one, will be more than our offer. Our front office wisely moved on, and moved early in the offseason as to not be handcuffed on his decision. Bregman was an integral part of our dynasty, and although I do not believe he is worth anything close to $40M per year, I am glad he got it (from a different team), and I wish him the best.
Framber signed as an International player in 2015. Yainer is not a star-level player yet, and neither is Jeremy Pena. Yordan qualifies (signed by Dodgers in 2016), and he did come through the system, but I meant signed/drafted by the Astros.
Yainer by that definition won’t meet the criteria either even if he becomes a star. That said, I think Hunter Brown will meet your criteria by the end of this season.
Framber was signed by the Astros and came through their system - the only professional club he has ever been with. Yainer is on his way to stardom. you didn't specify drafted by the Astros... you said "come through the system". Now do any other Major League team that won their division last year (using the same post 2015 timeframe). Homegrown players that become star level and stay with their original club past 5 years are few and far between.
The scandal guarantees he's no lock. But putting that aside, he's not there yet. He's really, really close - but, if his career ended today, he would be, by JAWS, a tick behind Dustin Pedoria, who narrowly made a second ballot this past year. He trails Utley by a much more significant amount, and Utley just received 40% of the vote on his second ballot. Grich, Whitaker and Randolph are all ahead of him, too - and while none are eligible for the main ballot, them not being in leaves Altuve with work to be done, IMO. If he has another 2-3 years that look remarkably similar to '24, and then he can stick around for a few years in which he adds to his counts, he's probably in, at least statistically. But, with the scandal.... he'll never be a lock.
I mean, congrats to Alex I guess? less guaranteed money, much of it deferred, paying a shitload more in taxes and maybe when he’s 33 and has continued to decline he can get something like 3/60 which would be equivalent to 6/180 on face value, six counter heavily for present day value of dollars with him getting deferred money, minus excess taxes and it all adds up to, if things play out well for him, being worth slightly more than the Astros guaranteed. Way to go Bregs- you sure won that one. Alex is smart enough to know all this- he pretty clearly didn’t want to be here. Oh well.
I'm lost trying to follow whatever point you're making. I didn't say Crane was a bad guy - or, at least, that wasn't my point. I said Alex Bregman *wasn't* the bad guy. But if fans want to be angry at someone, it should be directed at Crane. The lines he's drawing, spending-wise, are drops in his bucket. The Astros are not going to fall into financial ruin if he pays Alex Bregman $200M. He's choosing not to - it's a choice he's been making since 2021. And while he has spent on the Astros, and I have no reason to complain... he's absolutely spending *way* less by letting those expensive free agents walk, and that money is going into his pocket. All good by me. But let's stop pretending the players are the greedy ones and the owners - like the fans - are the victims.
Altuve has 58 fWAR compared to 45 for Pedroia. Altuve's playoff numbers also help his case. The scandal is blown out of proportion by the fans. Clearly it didn't have much impact on Beltran, who will likely get in the HOF next year, and was named as the key contributor.
Our fans shouldn't be angry at anyone in this situation. That is the point I'm trying to make. If we were the Pirates, Mariners, Orioles, etc. and this happened, then I would be pushing "be mad at ownership".
He took the best possible deal... which was much better than what anybody in this thread was predicting he "could" get when he rejected the worse Astros offer. The opt outs every year make it even more advantageous. Not only would Crane have never come close to the $/year, he certainly wouldn't give those opt outs deferred money or not. Its also not like he's leaving Houston for Dallas, florida, or colorado. He's going to a historic franchise in a great baseball down that actually hasn't had much recent success (but is very likely to be better than the Astros this year)... in a ballpark that he's also expected to have some major success in. Lastly, Nook already said his preference was to stay in Houston... but no matter how you're trying to pretzel yourself with the taxes/etc... he got a much better offer that Houston had no chance of coming remotely close to.
You've apparently never paid property taxes in Texas... This is another bullshit lie teams feed their fans... Taxes weren't a factor when Judge, Soto and all the players the Dodgers have signed chose to play in NY and LA. Do you honestly think these guys aren't employing top-notch CPAs who know their way around tax loopholes and breaks? Not to mention, aren't players taxed not on their residences but the cities where they play, including on the road? Again, the owners find ways to villainize the player so they can pocket money but look like they're putting forth a fair deal, and it's all (mostly) bullshit. No state income tax doesn't carry weight. I won't pretend to understand all the intricate details of deferrals, and such. But Bregman most certainly does and so we have to assume he's taking the offer that makes the most sense to him, financially. The Astros could've matched Boston's offer - or offered it originally. Or offered more. Only a moron would assume Bregman was going to make a decision based on any factor other than money. If his gamble pays off, he will likely clear $180+M over this final stretch of his career.
