San Diego must be deferring a chunk of these deals. That's the 2nd FA to take $40 million less to not sign there. I don't think it's the weather.
If you are using numbers from that sample size when it comes to making decisions about building the team, you don't understand baseball well at all There is zero doubt about Vazquez ability to hit over the course of a season. I don't think there is any chance we sign him because he doesn't want to split time with Maldanado, or anyone else
So based on the article about the Cardinals pursuit of Contreras, it looks like their offer stands at 3 years $51 million. Im guessing Contreras *wants* 5 years $100 million…which I don’t think he’ll get. The question now is how do you play this if you’re the Astros. I wonder if the low offer from the Cardinals is an attempt to get the Astros to show their offer. Either way, if the 2 teams you’re negotiating with are the Astros and Cardinals, you aren’t getting a big overpay. These are two of the smarter and best resource allocator clubs in the league.
Actually it could be. They don't spend willy nilly like the Mets and Dodgers. Do they have the resources to? Of course. But they don't. There will be years that this contract is for a player that isn't good, can't stay healthy, and it will cost them the ability to acquire more players. George isn't running the show anymore
If that is the cardinals offer we are going to sign Contreras, unless there is another secret contender. If all we do is sign Contreras I will call this a great off-season. I’m pretty certain Myers is going to make a comeback and we still have ammo to make a deadline trade if necessary.
I would prefer Contreras and Brown in this scenario, then also sign another cheaper vet starting pitcher (like Kluber in your example), for depth. I think the Astros have revolutionized the game with the 6 man rotation, and you will start seeing way more teams try to make this the norm and put a premium on having as many starting caliber pitchers as possible.
I agree. I still think a lefty bat for DH/bench is ideal but the 2022 World Series winning team minus JV and plus Abreu and Contreras is tremendous.
I was having exact same thoughts last night. Trading Hunter Brown to me is just about a no-go straight up maybe. I feel Urquidy is undervalued here. He has had times he was on fire, for example after the all star break he was as good as anybody. That is why Crane nixed the trade, he even mentioned how great he has been pitching. Kluber seems possible, Rodon would require an overpay.
I agree, the tradeoff is sign Contreras or trade for Murphy and have to backfill pitching (if you can even agree to terms). In your hypothetical, I'd guess Rodon and Kluber would cost around $40M AAV. Contreras is probably around $20. If that's a realistic budget (I don't think it is), I'd suggest it's A.) trade for Murphy (lose ~2 pitchers), sign Rodon/Kluber, or B.) sign Contreras, keep current staff, and add another piece -- Benitendi/Nimmo/Conforto or Yuli+Brantley or Bassitt and trade a pitcher for a bat.
The Yankees have an incredible amount of money tied up in players over the age of 30... Just looking at the next 5 seasons alone: Judge (30 y/o): $40M/year for all 5 years (and then 4 more) Stanton (33 y/o): $30M/year for 5 years Cole (32 y/o): $36M/year for 5 years LeMahieu (34 y/o): $15M/year for 4 years Hicks (33 y/o): $10M/year for 4 years Rizzo (33 y/o): $17M/year for 3 years If these guys break down, and some have already shown signs of doing so, then these will be hideous contracts for a long time. It seems highly improbable that these players will outperform their contracts.
Okay - well that ends endless pages of debate on this forum! On to the next. Astros trading for Murphy? Also - I wonder if Contreras signing with the Cardinals has to do with getting his starts in at Catcher. Perhaps our Maldy or bust mentality is hurting us from landing a quality free agent catcher, even if we are willing to let them bat DH and play at other positions?
