Links for Tuesday, exactly one year after the Rockies released Russ Ortiz. It was the third time a major league organization released Ortiz in 2009 and a preview of April 2010 when the Dodgers released him. Here are today's links…
- Hiroki Kuroda denied to Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times that he intends to play in Japan next season. "I really haven't decided anything," the right-hander said (Twitter links)
- MLB.com's Bill Ladson reports that there has been no progress on a contract extension for Adam Dunn. The first baseman told reporters recently that he "assumes" he will finish the year without a deal in place.
- Within the same piece, Ladson mentions that Chien-Ming Wang will not pitch this year because of shoulder weakness. The Nationals signed Wang to a one year deal worth $2MM last winter and control him as an arbitration eligible player next year.
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman told Jack Curry of the YES Network that C.C. Sabathia has done "exactly what they hoped for" when they signed him last offseason, and that includes his presence in the clubhouse (Twitter links).
- Shin-Soo Choo will likely be able to avoid military service in South Korea if he helps his country win a gold medal in baseball at the Asian Games this November, as MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince explains.
- Agent Scott Boras told Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer that Choo may sign an extension with the Indians this offseason. "Things have a way of working out with the good players," Boras said.
- Baseball America named Jeremy Hellickson its 2010 minor league player of the year.
- It's looking like the Marlins will sign Ricky Nolasco to a one year deal through arbitration, instead of negotiating a long-term deal, according to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro.
- Arizona president Derrick Hall likes former Padres GM Kevin Towers and interim D'Backs manager Kirk Gibson, according to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse. The D'Backs haven't had a permanent GM or manager since firing Josh Byrnes and A.J. Hinch earlier in the summer.
What ever happened to Shin-Soo Choo’s mandatory military service? Would a team give a long term deal to a guy who could potentially be a fugitive and get deported?
Not going back to South Korea for his military service would not make him a fugitive and get deported. He would lose his South Korean citizenship and not be allowed to return to South Korea on a regular basis to see his family and friends. He would need to take a citizenship in another country (ie. America)
Exactly. And the guy stays in Arizona over the winter with his wife already…..so their really won’t be much of a difference for him in going back (ie, he doesn’t live their ever).
Plus, South Korea is passing a new “dual citizenship” law that goes into effect January 1st, 2011. I don’t believe it applies exactly to Choo should he get dual citizenship, but it shows Korea is opening up more.
There is a 0% chance he serves in the military though.
He has been selected as a member of Korean national team for this fall. If the team wins a Gold medal, then his military service will be waived.. then the Indians may seek a long-term deal, I think.
The Indians WILL seek a long-term deal regardless of if he gets his military service waived.
Again, there is a ZERO PERCENT chance he serves.
Choo was quoted as saying “I have a backup plan” if he doesn’t get an exemption. A week later he signed Boras as his agent. You think there is any chance in hell that Boras lets Choo go back to Korea and not play in 2011?
If you do, then I have some swampland I’d love to sell you.
Love how Boras says Choo may sign an extention……are we talking 3 years or 5 years? Cause 3 years does nothing for the Tribe (Choo isn’t a free agent til after the 2013 season anyways). 5 years though? That would be nice and would love to see the Tribe offer a 5yr/$43.5M deal with a 6th year option/$1.5M buyout. Option would be worth $11M and could push the deal to $53M over 6 years.
It’s right on par with the Justin Upton extention. Choo has been slightly better but older…..still think he’d be worth a bit more cash (still only 33 at the end and that’s if we picked up his option).
“If you do, then I have some swampland I’d love to sell you.”
When I first came here, this was all swamp. Everyone said I was daft to build a castle on a swamp, but I built in all the same, just to show them. It sank into the swamp. So I built a second one. That sank into the swamp. So I built a third. That burned down, fell over, then sank into the swamp. But the fourth one stayed up.
Boras the poker player realizes he has to extend SOMEBODY, ANYBODY to keep his entire client base from being traded two years before free agency. The attraction of being a Boras client fades when you become a gypsy, a la Edwin Jackson, five teams in three years, even though everyone likes you and wants to keep you.
Prince Fielder is meeting the same fate….no one thinks the Brewers can possibly extend him, so they don’t try and their fans don’t get mad.
After he extends Choo, he should do the right thing and let Prince take the 5 years $100M from the Brewers.
Ok, not sure what you mean by Boras “letting” Prince take the 5 years $100M from them Brewers. Boras (nor any agent) can not prevent any of their clients from taking any deal. The agent works for the player, not the other way around.
Fielder isn’t taking that 5yr/$100M deal because he thinks he can get a lot more elsewhere. Maybe he’s right, maybe he’s wrong. Boras is no doubt telling him he can get him more, but if Feilder truely wanted to accept the Brewers offer, he would.
I hate Boras as much as anyone, but he doesn’t force players to not sign extentions.
At least the Indians have someone to build around for the upcoming years, and they also have Matt LaPorta and Carlos Santana who are gonna be studs in the big leagues
Russ Ortiz must be like, the nicest guy in all of professional baseball. I don’t know else to explain how a guy who wasn’t that good in the first place got six years worth of chances to try again, extending long, long after it was clear to pretty much anyone that he was toast.
thats why to us Giants fans he’s the guy who blocked Lincecum in 2007 he was the Bengie Molina of 07
When I suggest that Boras controls whether his clients agree to extensions, I don’t suggest he denies the client the choice outright. Of course, in a literal sense, he does the player’s bidding.
What I mean is this. The player is not an expert on contracts, markets, etc. Moreover, the player is not objective about his own performance and future. The player needs two things from an agent: negotiating skill and objective advice on value.
No one questions the negotiating skill of Scott Boras.
But the spectacle of Boras client after Boras client turning down extensions, many times to the player’s clear detriment, strongly suggests Boras misleads his clients into turning down these offers by representing the fair market value of the player to be far higher than is realistic.
Why would he do that? Because it isn’t in the agent’s interest, as opposed to the player’s interest, to sign an extension for fair market value. Such moves don’t grab headlines and draw attention to Scott Boras, super agent. And he wants the next generation of new clients.
Ron Shapiro, agent for Joe Mauer and Cal Ripken, Jr., has commented on this. Ripken and Mauer re-upped with the Orioles and the Twins, respectively. Each are pillars of their communities who will never be able to buy themselves a beer in their hometown if they live to be a hundred. Each would have been a hugely attractive free agent, but Shapiro counseled them that money, as long as it was reasonably fair, wasn’t everything.
A Rod would be the king of Seattle if he had stayed there. He wouldn’t be the scorned figure he is today, hounded by the NY tabloid press, despised for trying to upstage the World Series with an ill-timed (by Boras) opt-out of his contract.
Shapiro and Boras are both good at what they do. Boras, though, is becoming so predictable that GM’s just trade his clients when otherwise they would seek to extend them. This is not in the interest of his clients, so I think Boras needs to extend Shin Soo Choo or someone like him.
Not sure what Fielder getting traded does to his value. Teixeira was dealt twice and still made HUGE money.
And not sure how Boras has “many of times” hurt a player by advising them to turn down an extention…..it’s happened maybe 2-3 times. Heck, even when he “got” Manny to get out of Boston he made him money (best case Manny got 2yr/$40M if they picked up both his options)….he got 2yr/$45M from the Dodgers.
Boras is right 99% of the time on the market……unfortunately…..
Not sure your correct, the agent’s interest is with whatever the player’s interest are. Clearly Mauer wanted to play for the hometown Twins more than make maximum money possible. Obviously this is the exception and the mercenary way is the norm in modern sports. Most players don’t care and want to simply be paid as much as possible, Boras is the best in the business at this and is the players union best friend for sure. He’s also the small/mid market team’s worst nightmare.You don’t think if Boras represented Mauer, and Joe told him I only want to play for the Twins, Boras wouldn’t get as much money as Joe wanted (whether that be fair market value or even a team friendly hometown discount) from the Twins? Boras like all agents still works for his clients, it’s just that most of his don’t care about their legacy/public image and want the most dough.Trust me, Arod can buy a block of bars in Seattle with the extra $ he got if he really wants to have a drink there.
Just because some sportwriters say Mauer is underpaid doesn’t make it so. IMO he’s one of the most overpaid guys in baseball now. That contract is going to look horrible in 5 years. Can’t stay healthy for a whole season and you’re paying him $180M?!?! I mean, yeah hometown guy so it is good PR for the Twins, but man that’s way, way too much money for Mauer because of one great season in 2009, which was probably an abberation as far as power goes.
He’s still a great hitter and best all-around catcher in baseball….but no catcher is worth that much. I doubt Mauer would have gotten that on the open market after this season of his. Again, GREAT season and great player….but overpaid cause of one insanely great year.
And if Choo was North Korean he would likely be able to avoid death if he helped his country win a gold medal in baseball at the Asian Games this November. So things could surely be worse for the Indians.
If Choo was North Korean he wouldn’t want to go back so this would all be an even bigger moot point than it already is, lol
The Marlins probably busted Nolasco’s knees so they don’t have to pay so much money for him. Seeing everything else they’ve done to scam everyone out of money it wouldn’t surprise me…