I was really hoping he would take the $5,000,000 offer so the Astros would have plenty left for Nix (1.5) and Marshall (~1.5-1.7). Now, I have no idea what's gonna happen, but I hope we stick with Aiken.
If he's really set on that, and if this injury is "really bad" (doubtful) he should just come out and say it... why go through all of this? Offer Aiken the minimum that needs to be offered (which he won't take, and then they lose Nix too)... don't negotiate anymore... and then do damage control like Morey did yesterday on how this offers up better "flexibility". Again, the more likely scenario is that they're just seeing how much less Aiken is willing to sign for, and see if its enough to convince Marshall. If it is, great... if its not, then the Aiken camp wants that extra money that won't be spent on Marshall (or anybody).
He didn't say it was the only offer. More accurately, he implied it based on the quote. The Astros, Close said, made one revised offer to Aiken of $3,168,840 million - the minimum amount required to ensure that they would receive the second overall pick of the 2015 draft as compensation if they failed to sign Aiken.
They were required to make that offer by a certain date to ensure compensation in case they can't come to an agreement. Doesn't mean that was the only offer or their final offer (I guess juicy just beat me to saying that). Its annoying that apparently this agent doesn't often speak in public or play the usual "agent games" by leaking stuff to the media and is really pissed at Luhnow/the Astros... but then again, that could be a game in and of itself.
Doubtful Heck, last year at this time we were excited about the 2014 draft because we finally had a "sure thing" first overall pick in Rodon
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Tony Clark, speaking strongly: “It is disappointing on any number of levels to think what has happened in that situation"</p>— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) <a href="https://twitter.com/EvanDrellich/statuses/489104213444550656">July 15, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Tony Clark calls <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Astros?src=hash">#Astros</a> Aiken/Nix situation "disappointing with respect to the integrity" of draft, cites "manipulation we think happened."</p>— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) <a href="https://twitter.com/BillShaikin/statuses/489104480957251584">July 15, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>“The manipulation that we think happened in this case is going to lead us to have some conversations” — Tony Clark</p>— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) <a href="https://twitter.com/EvanDrellich/statuses/489104557113233408">July 15, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Asked if team doctor has too much power in draft medical review, Tony Clark made clear that would be looked at.</p>— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) <a href="https://twitter.com/EvanDrellich/statuses/489104842648846336">July 15, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>.<a href="https://twitter.com/injuryexpert">@injuryexpert</a> Rules don’t command teams to use them though, that to me is a very central issue. If team doc says a draftee fails, he fails</p>— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) <a href="https://twitter.com/EvanDrellich/statuses/489105430388281344">July 15, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Slot for Aiken is $7,922,100 and slot for Nix is $370,500. If we went $100,000 over so far (thanks, juicystream!), that gives us $8,192,600 to divide amongst Aiken, Nix, and Marshall. Kolek signed for $6MM and Nix previously agreed to $1.5MM that means if we can get Aiken for just over what Kolek signed for, we'd have around $700k to throw at Marshall which would be close to top of the third round money according to Baseball America (link). Wonder if they can get all three and how much they'd collectively be willing to give in order to be on the same team?!
Wait, so Tony Clark is mad at the Astros for not paying over slot to a player without first knowing they have the money to do so and risk running over their allotment? In other words, he's mad at the Astros for following MLB's rules? Dude, stop tripping....
Don't forget we also get to go 5% over our budget without any pick penalties. I just want them to sign him so we can stop getting all this bad press...
$0.01 They aren't going to sacrifice money to play together. These are amateur players who committed to different colleges. Marshall is believed to want at least $1.5M, which would require Astros to get Aiken for under $6M, and the Astros to pay a 75% penalty on their pool overage. If the team was just interested in signing all 3, they wouldn't just offer the minimum for Aiken. The $5M would guarantee the space to sign all 3, likely without going into the overage (or very deep into it).
No... I think the manipulation he's referring to involves having their team doctor stand by a diagnosis that causes a player to fail a physical, which leads them to being allowed to pay less for a player than their previously agreed upon deal, which frees up money for other players.
At the end of the week, we could very well end up with all three of Aiken, Nix and Mac, but there's no doubt that that Astros' reputation is suffering from episodes such as this. Maybe we're 100% in the right that there's an elbow problem, but we're getting hurt in the court of public opinion, and ultimately that can have consequences later.
The main issue is that the Astros seem more interested in Aiken "failing" his physical for the potential money saving portion of it... than they do in seeking 2nd opinions to determine if the original diagnosis is actually "right" or "accurate" so that they get the best possible player in the draft. I know they don't "have" to seek a second opinion... but if their ultimate intention was ensuring Aiken was ok or not, two or three sets of eyes examining a problem makes more sense than just going by just one (unless you benefit from that said one's "opinion"... and make no mistake, in medicine they're all "opinions" unless there is unrefutable radiological or pathological evidence, where in this case there doesn't seem to be).
All three were on the 2013 18U National Team (sounds familiar to another Big Three!) that won the World Cup and tweet each other. Why can't we dream that they'd like to one day be on the same staff and compete for more titles together?
So did he fail a physical or did it raise alarms due to "abnormalities?" Man, I hope they don't take this players are assets thing to a new level... In a city like Houston, why not get a second opinion? Shoot the results over to Dr. Andrews and let him weigh in on a diagnosis/prognosis.
