It's hard to believe that Roberto Alomar isn't even the best player with an "A" name born on February 5th, but those are the breaks when you share a birthday with the legendary Hammerin' Hank Aaron. Happy birthday to both Hall of Famers, as Aaron celebrates his 80th birthday while Alomar turns 46 today. Here's some news from around the baseball world…
- In his latest article for his Gammons Daily site, Peter Gammons opines that several of the free agents whose markets are hurt by being tied to draft pick compensation (such as Ubaldo Jimenez, Kendrys Morales and Stephen Drew) may have been better served by accepting qualifying offers from their former teams and using those one-year deals as pillow contracts to multiyear deals next winter. The qualifying offer issue isn't nearly as big a problem facing the game, Gammons believes, as the issue of smaller-market teams having fewer avenues to signing amateur and international talent. "The system rewards a top five market like Houston for losing, and punishes the Rays, Indians and Athletics for being highly competent small markets," Gammons writes.
- Also from Gammons, he notes that Scott Boras, Drew's agent, "is invested" on getting the Red Sox to re-sign the shortstop to a three-year deal that includes an opt-out clause. Such a clause would create a possible pillow contract situation for Drew, and also possibly clear room for prospect Deven Marrero to soon take over at short in Boston (Marrero also happens to be a Boras client).
- Six teams were interested in right-hander Chaz Roe when he elected free agency earlier today, MLB Daily Dish's Chris Cotillo reports (Twitter link). Roe has narrowed his choice down to two of the six clubs.
- Athletics director of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi was recently promoted to the role of assistant general manager, and Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle profiles Zaidi's impressive (and unconventional) rise up the ranks. The 37-year-old Zaidi is highly regarded around baseball, and he's credited within the A's organization as being a key figure in the club's use of platoons and the signing of Yoenis Cespedes.
- The Twins "have expressed zero interest" in signing Cuban shortstop Aledmys Diaz, 1500 ESPN's Darren Wolfson reports (Twitter links). It's possible the Twins could still make a move, Wolfson notes, as the club did heavily scout Diaz last year. The Twins were one of several teams linked to Diaz last offseason but their interest had cooled due to Diaz's asking price.
- Ken Davidoff of the New York Post shares his predictions on where the seven top remaining free agents on the market will land.
- The fates of Jimenez, Ervin Santana, A.J. Burnett and Bronson Arroyo could impact the Red Sox, as teams that come up short in signing any of the free agent hurlers could approach the Sox about a trade for their excess starters, Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald writes. This scenario wouldn't include the Blue Jays or Orioles, however, as the Red Sox aren't interested in sending pitching to division rivals.
Draft pick compensation seems unfair because it is. Its real purpose is to keep free agency salaries low. It’s performing that function masterfully.
The compensation is not the problem, its the punishment for the team signing the free agent. Why the MLBPA agreed is beyond me,
It’s pretty baffling.
Between this and PEDs, I suspect we’re headed for a labor stoppage on the next deal.
Doubt it. Look at the salaries in baseball they are very high. The $14M offer was more than Morales or Cruz would have gotten in recent years. They just way overvalued their markets. They aren’t stars, or even very good players, but want be paid $15M a year.
It’s going to be hard to get the general public behind them also. remember every other time they went on strike?
Salary amounts are beyond belief. Yes.. The players tried using the line that 1 in a certain percentage can play MLB, but when minimum salary is 500k.. Causing a work stoppage will be hard and I really doubt the owners will do a lockout again.
Both sides are making tremendous amounts of money. It takes more than a few guys not getting what they want to stop it. Even without draft picks is Ervin really a $100MM pitcher? Garza had no draft pick and he got $50M.
What exactly about PEDs would lead you to suspect that it’d facilitate a labor stoppage? The players, the union, the owners, and the commissioner all want the same thing in re: PEDS. They want them out of baseball, period.
“its the punishment for the team signing the free agent. Why the MLBPA agreed is beyond me”
Why would the MLBPA care if teams are getting punished. Their business is the betterment of the players. Since overall payrolls are going up around the league, they should be pleased with the agreement.
The MLBPA should care about the team’s punishment being too harsh, as it leads to good players going unsigned. That’s the whole big thing about the discussion. The players are hurt because of the draft pick loss, the “punishment.”
it was a replacement for the old system that was allowing teams to keep middle relievers and catchers signed for cheep dollars. the number of players effected by the system is small and the ones out there are not good enough to warrant huge contracts.
you can’t just look at the players having a hard time and judge the system. it is supposed to allow teams to keep mid level talent and receive something for having high end talent walk.
If it’s real purpose is to keep salaries low, than its not really working considering the huge contracts that many of these players have received over the years. I think it’s a good thing because it helps teams like the Rays get something back when they cant afford to outspend the Yankees, Dodgers and other high priced teams. A majority of players are overpaid as it is, I don’t believe this is effecting their future salary.
When you look at the individual cases of Jimenez, Morales and Drew, the system appears to be “unfair”. But overall team payrolls have exploded the past 2 seasons. The fact that these players made poor decisions at the beginning of FA shouldn’t be held against the entire system. 14.1mil is nothing to sneeze at, I doubt these guys could’ve gotten that kind of money, under the old system either.
All the screaming going on about draft pick compensation isn’t because it’s an unfair system. It’s because agents overvalued their players. Now they want to be compensated for their mistakes?? Small and mid market teams are never in on top free agents, even their own because they can’t afford to. What’s fair about that? Baseball’s been unfair ever since the dawn of free agency and the refusal of big market ownership to share local revenue.
Gammons must forget that Drew already did the pillow contract. Not sure what a pillow contract does for a player already coming off a good season, since they will suffer the same problem next year being 1 yr older, and risking an injury that kills their market value.
not to mention that instead of just vs peralta, next winter has Hanley, Lowrie, Hardy, A Cabrera.
An injury should kill their market value.
That would be someone like Jed Lowrie and let me make a prediction.. Lowrie somehow manages to stay healthy next season..That would make 2 years in a row.. Oakland should offer him a QO. He’d be a far more valuable commodity on the open market than somebody like Drew.. Lowrie can play 3b/SS/2b and carries a better bat than Drew, who hasn’t hit since injuring his ankle that well.
Lowrie may not have the slick glove at SS (his worst position), but he’d be a fair 2b/3b for some team and it he puts up close to what he did in 2013 would get a 3y offer as a 30YO heading into 2015.
Also, if Drew so badly wants a pillow contract situation, he could have just accepted the QO and had $14MM this season without lifting a finger.
or perhaps he realizes that the $14 he was offered is a 40% increase on what he took last year.
The players have to adapt to the changes. You always have to change with the times.
Tired of hearing about how the Red Sox will “trade from their excess of pitchers”. Let’s look at the options: Lester, Buchholz, and Lackey- NOT getting traded. Jake Peavy- seems unlikely, he is great for a 4th starter and if they needed him enough to trade for him last season, why unload him now?
That leaves us with Dempster and Doubront to battle for the 5th spot. Both have been mediocre starters but acceptable swingmen. No team in baseball needs to pull a trade for a guy like that, they are everywhere. Makes far more sense to keep both and let them fill the same role: starting until they blow up, then relieving until they get it together, then starting again, etc.
Doubront is 26 year old coming off 160 innings and 4.32 ERA (1.29 ERA in playoffs), who made only 500k last year. “they are everywhere” – No they’re not.
You mention a 4.32 ERA like it is something impressive. You also mention his playoff ERA, which is based on 7 total innings, all out of the bullpen. The fact is, Doubront has never been highly touted, never shown dominance at any level. The guy seems like a 4-5 starter at best. You’re right that he has upside being just 26, but that’s exactly the reason a trade match would be so hard to find. The Red Sox inherently will want more for him than anyone would be willing to give up, so they might as well keep him as their 5 starter.
Simply put, I see a guy on roughly the same trajectory as Justin Masterson. Masterson was even traded at a similar age/service time. He was the centerpiece in trade for Victor Martinez. There’s no reason to believe Doubront doesn’t carry that same relative value.
BTW: You saw 7 inns of relief in the playoffs. I saw some really tough innings in crucial games against powerhouses Detroit and St Louis to help win WS, done at a very young age.
I apologize for this in advance, but every time I see the name Denny Doyle? It reminds me of Doug “The Dude” Griffin he took over for at 2b in Boston and that great run at the plate Doyle had on that ’75 ALCS team.
Lol, Doyle was the man, at least for ’75 (I had his image as my avatar, but recently reformatted mac). Clell Lavern Hobson over at 3B (don’t understand why he went by ‘Butch’). Freddie Lynn crashing into walls. That team was great, “if” Rice doesn’t break his wrist . . .
He sure was and a nice guy also. One of the few brother trios to play MLB i guess. Dimaggio, Alou, Molinas. Probably a couple more.
Cost-controlled 26 year old LHP with strikeout stuff is quite hard to find. After a slow start Doubrant put up a 3.81 ERA in his final 130 innings (3.50 over 129 innings if you take away a hiccup final start when he was tiring). And he did it in Fenway Park through an AL East schedule. Funny how people forget that last part…if Doubrant were a Padre he’d be viewed as a “burgeoning star”.
That doesn’t mean he should be viewed as a big chip, but he has significant trade value.
I’m astonished by the Boras ask for Drew. Three plus an opt-out? I guess that’s why they pay him the big bucks…
Well before the winter meeting Boras mention Elvis Andrus’ deal as a comparison for Drew so he is slowing coming down to a realistic demand.
I’m surprised there were no comparisons to Honus Wagner
It’s also Babe Ruth, Axl Rose, and Bob Marley’s birthdays.
Time to start looking to draft players born on Feb 6, seems like a good birthday for hitters
Ruth is today. Aaron/Alomar were yesterday, when this was posted.
I really hope the Sox pass on Drew if it’s gonna be for 2 or 3 years but, then again, I’m a Middlebrooks apologist and, above all, am interested in letting the “kids” play…like they originally intended after 2012. Sure, it would be nice to have Drew THIS year, but after that? With XB, Cecchini, Marrero and probably still Brooks in the mix for 2 spots? not so much.