Agent Scott Boras isn’t pleased with the Blue Jays after the organization renewed righty Aaron Sanchez at the league-minimum rate, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports. (Bob Elliott of the Canadian Baseball Network first reported the renewal.) Davidi says the Jays’ formula for pre-arb salaries “is believed to be primarily based on a player’s service time,” and it seems the organization is one of several that offers only modest bumps over the $535K minimum. Even that raise wasn’t given when Sanchez declined to agree, leading Boras to criticize the organization both for its “low standard” in setting pay as well as the “poison pill” of renewing at the minimum when players don’t agree. GM Ross Atkins defended the system, which he says is a decade old and leaves the choice with the player whether to take the offered raise.
We have seen a variety of interesting pre-arb salary situations this winter as teams around the league increasingly diverge in their approaches to the process. See here and here for a few examples that compare interestingly to Sanchez, a 2+ service-class player who turned in a huge 2016 season (7th in the AL Cy Young voting, 3.00 ERA over 192 innings).
Here’s more from the AL East:
- Rays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier hasn’t yet officially wrapped up his extension with the club, but he tells Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times that he’s “grateful” to the organization for its commitment. As Topkin notes, the Rays have managed to lock up quite a few core players despite the organization’s low payroll levels. In this case, he argues, it’s a risk well worth taking.
- While there’s still plenty of time for 24-year-old Red Sox prospect Henry Owens to make good on his promise, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe writes that the clock is also ticking on the former top prospect. Owens says he’s staying positive despite struggling this spring, “working hard” but also “staying with an even keel.”
- Red Sox righty Tyler Thornburg was able to return to the mound today, as Speier tweets (with video available). The reliever threw 32 pitches and will now seek to advance towards Opening Day readiness. Thornburg hasn’t thrown in game action in over two weeks as he works to build back shoulder strength.
Shut up Boras. He did this same thing last year with Gerrit Cole. I understand the guy wants to make his clients money, so he can make money. But until a player reaches arb, there’s no reason a team has to pay over the minimum.
Boras is an advcocate for his client in contractual matters. He’s allowed to express an opinion, especially because hi client agrees with it. This is literally what an agent gets paid to do.
You said it, contractual matters. This is not a contractual issue. Pre Arb players get paid whatever the team wants. Boras is just a loud mouth who thinks he should have a say in every aspect of the game.
Boras looks out for the best interest of his client. Exactly what he’s paid to do.
He looks out for his players. If he didn’t he wouldn’t be doing his job. Players know what they’re getting when they sign with Boras. He’s the best agent in baseball for a reason.
You don’t think him complaining about how Bryant was handled in 2015 led to them giving the highest pre-arb salary in history? It’s his job and it usually works well for his clients in the long run.
no, i do not think that the cubs front office took boras’ opinion into account when they made that choice.
No I do not think Boras complaining led to anything with Bryant. Theo and the Cubs front office do their thing. They do not let agents run the show. So you think if Boras did not “complain” then Bryant would be getting what? The minimum or small bumb? Give me a break. No way. Cubs are fair. Bryant deserved it. They gave him $50k above the Trout deal. I mean the man was MVP and they won the World Series so they gave him the record deal which is small potatoes. Nothing to do with Boras.
It is in fact a contractual matter, one for employment. Pre-arb contracts are still employing by contracts.
*Still employment contest
Contracts… Jesus where is the edit function??
He’s the loudest agent in baseball, that’s for sure. other agents don’t negotiate in the media.
Boras looks out for number one and only number one.
As an agent, it’s his job to advocate for the player, and not for how MLB should work overall, kind of simile to how a lawyer must advocate for their client, even if it hurts justice as a whole.
You are so right
Quit whining Bora$
I’m usually one to defend boras, but when it comes to pre arbitration, he needs to shut up. If he doesn’t like what happened, remember this when free agency comes around. It seems like it would’ve been wiser to just accept their modest raise instead of having to get renewed at the minimum anyways, so maybe this is on him.
You are correct. This ones on him. The teams are playing within the rules. Until arbitration players are at the mercy of the team. Boras=greed.
“Boras =greed.”
Funny dat. When an agent advocates for more money for his client, they are both being greedy. But the owner or GM who wants to pay the player less so that they may keep the difference is just “playing within the rules.” Why not just accept the fact that both sides seek to maximize their share of the pie without condemning either for some imagined moral failing like “greed.”
Scott Boras = Baseall Paul Heyman
Baseball ~
Well who is Baseball Brock Lesnar?
And you can’t teach that!
Just because a team is allowed to renew for the minimum, should they? I’d think teams would want to make it clear to all players that they are a good place to play. Reputation is powerful, especially when they court free agents and draft. So, yes, they saved a few nickels by renewing Sanchez for the min, but did they win a battle and lose the war? Maybe they could have thrown him another $200,000 this year, making him happy and avoiding the damage to their reputation? Think about the impression they’re making on all players, not just Sanchez. It’s hard enough to attract players to Canada that you think they’d have a less combative stance.
And, for the record, The additional fee that Boras could earn from a higher salary for Sanchez is a pittance. He earns his money on those massive free agent contracts. He’s selfish, obnoxious, and annoying, so this is not a defense of him. It’s just to say that his complaint is part of a larger, longer term campaign to maximize Sanchez’s earnings. His 2017 salary doesn’t mean much to Boras’s income.
Yeah, tell that to MLB front offices when players leave one city for another over $5 million…but are signing for a total of $130 million. Teams have only one opportunity for cost control and that is arbitration (and hey, do you understand a player raise is exponentially based off his salary?!)
Players have no control over draft, so that point is useless too.
Players have control over the draft. They don’t have to sign and they can force trades. Same with foreign free agents. A team’s reputation matters. How much is a reputation worth? A lot. Ask any company or organization that has a damaged rep. They’d happily pay millions to recover
An extra $200,000 doesn’t seem like too much in baseball terms, but it also has a massive effect on the team once the player reaches arbitration. Teams want to set the bar low because those salaries can really sky rocket in arbitration and the team can end up losing millions because the bar was set higher for a certain player
I don’t know why anyone thinks the Blue Jays have some obligation to willingly submit to Boras’ campaign to maximize Sanchez’s earnings… I’m all for having a more favorable pre arb pay scale but that’s a CBA thing. The way the system works is if you want more money before arbitration, you sit down and negotiate an extension.
But it’s not. Many teams up the players salary as a sign of good faith. Maybe it helps when you’re ready to sit down for that extension, maybe not.
If players decline the initial offer with a raise, they usually get reupped at a minimum. Players generally don’t give teams breaks on post arb years why would the team when they have no reason too?
Not true. Many teams, like the Red Sox for example, choose the amount of raise they want to offer, but don’t penalize the player if he doesn’t agree. They just renew at that number. Example: Mookie Betts this year. Sox offered $950K, Betts wouldn’t agree (no idea why, it’s a huge number for pre-arb), & the Sox renewed him at $950K. Not $535K. That’s how it’s done the right way.
That’s why I said usually, Mookie was an exception, not the norm.
I would normally agree that it would make sense if the idea was to help them out early on to help sway a player’s opinion about signing an extension later on. But this is a Boras client playing for the Pirates, He will be a free agent in a few years, Don’t think they are worried about keeping him long-term.
Aaron Sanchez plays for the Blue Jays not the Pirates. Pittsburgh isn’t even mentioned in this post.
I think it kind of depends what the raise was. I would have to agree though that this is the only way for teams to control costs on good young players and he will make his money soon enough. Would also love to see a long term deal between Sanch, Stro and the Jays. Along with locking up Donaldson
wow i wish my employer or any employer should give me an extra $200000.
borass needs to go away.
wow, i wish you had a talent that was worth that much in the open market, But since you don’t you just come off as a jealous whiner.
Exactly. Everybody appreciates a raise and recognition for a job well done. Ball players are no different. It might not be enough to please Boras, but it might generate a bit of goodwill with Sanchez, who is critical to their success. They don’t have to pay him more, which is exactly why it’s impactful. For a team spending a hundred million dollars on payroll, a 0.1% or 0.2% increase is immaterial.
If I offered my employee a pay raise, and that employee didn’t accept the pay raise, guess what, that employee isn’t getting a raise. The Jays offered him a pay hike, he didn’t agree to it, so they are well within their rights to keep paying him the league minimum. No sympathy here, especially when the “minimum” is over half a milly a year. He continues to play well, he will get his enormous, extremely overvalued free agent contract when his time is due.
Guess what, baseball isn’t the local hardware store, and this kind of comparison is dumb.
Most employers give raises, they don’t “offer” them. Your comparison is poorly conceived & inapposite.
With Boras and his like constantly increasing contract lengths and aav of course teams look to hold on to a bargain when it’s in their lap.
Henry Owens, at best, is a relief pitcher.
Sometimes I’m thinking abt all we could have traded him for a few years ago, but then I remember we also could have traded bogearts or betts. Win some, lose some I guess.
Might be worse. He’s really got no command of the strike zone, or control with any of his pitches and the one pitch (curve) the organization was dreaming on when he was drafted? he never really got any improvement upon. It’s his change that got better.
FB was supposed to improve, which it did somewhat, but not enough to rely on. The signature change which they thought would become a wipeout pitch? never really got under control and his change became his #1, but he has had issues getting command of it also.
Watching him with miLB tv these years, then ST games.. His star is quickly dimming to nothing.
He seems like the next Jake Arrieta. He’ll just go somewhere else and it will all work out.
That seems quite optimistic for a lot of reasons. Arrieta was good enough to stay in the bits and get other teams interested in keeping him in the bigs, not just a minor league deal. I’m skeptical about the Red Sox pitching development in the minors as the next person, and maybe he is a major league pitcher in another program, but Arrieta is way too strong a comparison.
I don’t see why the Jays had to renew him at the min. If they don’t want to give him 1 million fine, even 700, but at least bump him to whatever offer they made him. They are worried about breaking a 10 year policy, but given this kind of case doesn’t even happen once a year why worry about that? If they had one of these every year over the past 10 years the policy has been in place it would still cost less than half a season of Justin Smoak. Or a rando relief pitcher you end up cutting when a small gamble doesn’t pay off.
No player with 2+ years service should be making the min, let alone your ace. I am not suggesting they should set some kind of record here but something in the 6-700k should be about right.
So sign a long term deal… why a team would bid against themselves in this situation is beyond me. Do we think Boras would give the Jays a little break in the arb years and beyond because of their good will now?
the problem with that is his arbitration goes off that salary. which then bumps up yearly from there. so if they offer him more now that is ballooned out before long
the thing that irks me here is that if players play terribly and don’t earn their contracts in the least they don’t offer to pay it back so how is it justifiable to ask for more of a raise than the one offered.
I never understood why the Royals caved and gave Salvador Perez more than his contract. yes he played well but the Royals took all the risk there paying a player who was not showing much signs of being all that great.. then he had the gall to suggest he was worth more and they paid him!
I don’t get why this is a thing, Scott
Scotty doesn’t know.
Scotty has to go!
Boras’ whole schtick is getting the best clients and then using them like a hammer to pound teams into submission.
This causes teams to push back where they can….on his lesser players.
I have no idea why guys like Wieters or Alvarez would sign with him. Teams are all too happy to tell them to shove off.
I grow weary of Bore-us.
Players sign with Boras simply because he is the very best in the game at what he does. It’s not difficult to understand. And an agent has every right to challenge the system, or at least to talk publicly about it. Boras is getting paid handsomely by his clients and he wouldn’t be doing his job if he wasn’t advocating for them.
Why is Boras the best? How many clients did he talk into leaving a good situation for a few extra bucks and then having that player realize the grass is not always greener on the other side. He does it to make a name for himself.
Boras works for the players; they don’t work for him. Strasburg could have made many millions more than he did. Think about your financial adviser, if you have one. He doesn’t tell you where to invest, but he certainly will offer advice if he’s doing his job correctly. And you can fire him anytime you think he isn’t acting in your best interests.
Please enlighten us…post some players’ comments that are negative toward Boras. That’s ok, I’ll wait.
a-rod
varitek
kenny rogers
That’s three off the top of my head in 5 seconds.
Please, where are the quotes. You’ve just listed a bunch of names with no substantiating proof..
Google is a wonderful tool…
…So are you.
But since you can’t back up the statement with facts I’ll just have to assume you’re lying.
It’s not my job to prove your argument.
Great reply. Move along now and play in the sandbox, we are having adult time.
Why, thank you. Unfortunately your response shows you to be the obnoxious jerk which you appear to be from your posts.
The Blue Jays did offer Sanchez a raise, according to Shi Davidi’s article. Boras and Sanchez decided to turn it down.
While the raise was a minor one (the exact amount was not specified) they elected to take the league minimum – the Jays did not force them.
Apparently it felt like an insult so why take an insult? When I was around 19 years old I was a manager at a pizza restaurant. I was making something like 5.75 an hour (this was obviously a long time ago) I remember my boss offered me a 10-cent an hour raise. I rejected it and put in my notice. This is the equivalent.
This is not the equivalent. If the minimum is $535, and they offered $540 (I’m exaggerating for principle), there is no option #3, and Boras and Sanchez know that. Why not take the $540 or whatever the higher amount was? Purely immature spite? Or, GASP, could Boras actually have given out poor advice to a client?
I would love to make $500,000 plus a year to play baseball. I wouldn’t complain about the money especially knowing I’m getting paid to do what I love and there’s a lot of people well worse off than me at that point.
But that’s the false equivelance argument, right? Baseball players provide a lot of value to their teams, way more than 500k, providing they are good. There’s only 800 people in the world, basically, good enough to play major league baseball at any given time. That’s an extraordinarily rare skill set. Sure, most of us would play baseball for 500 thoousand $ a year because that’s way more than most of us make in a year and most of us aren’t remotely good enough to play major league baseball. Many of us, like me, play recreational softball for free. 25 people come to our games, mostly people we’re related to. But if our league was worth billions of dollars you can bet I’d be trying to get my fair share.
I think all of us here would love to have $500K per year, but a couple of things to also consider:
– Minor League players make next to nothing just for the chance to get a real payday.
– I’m not sure what “modest increase” means in this scenario, but lets say $100K (which a 20% raise is more than modest in the player’s favor, I would think). Playing hard ball over $100K as a team is like you or I getting all up in a tizzy over $1 when splitting a bill. The $100K is nothing to Toronto, but make a huge difference for a young player.
– The career lifespan to make money is so short for most players, you need to maximize the few years that you do have. Also, for most players, once their playing career is over, they are left without skills to use in another career.
– It must suck making the league minimum, but look around and see your peers who do the same job as you making 10, 20, 50 – even 60 times more than you do.
– Pre-abritration players are stuck in an employment hell hole where they have zero leverage for negotiations – either take what you are offered or quit your career that you have worked for since you were 8.
By denying the increase Sanchez/Boras have only hurt the potential earning power through arbitration. Begin with a lower base salary, and the salary from year to year will be lacking somewhat. Probably won’t be a huge difference percentage wise, but it will be less than what could have been.
You mentioned a short earning period for these guys, so why wouldn’t these guys want to maximize their pre-arb & arb salaries by accepting the offered increase? This part isn’t a negotiation thanks to the CBA, which the players’ own union ratified.
If they’re truly good enough they will be paid a commensurate salary eventually, no matter what their pre-arb & arb salaries were… but only if they’re lucky enough to have good health.
Should Sanchez flame out before arb, or during arb he’d probably be happy to have the extra dollars from this year and any arb years in between.
Basically Sanchez/Boras just gave away more money than just this season’s increase – money that will never be recouped.
By renewing him automatically, the Blue Jays gave up any chance they might have had to sign him when he is FA eligible. And that’s ok, that’s a team’s choice. But I don’t want to hear the Jays and their fans whine when Sanchez walks.
Are you kidding me?! Sanchez just showed you he is in it for the money. This should make any intelligent person think Sanchez and bor-ass shall take the highest offer even if it is from the Jays.
davbee, you are clearly delusional and ill-informed…
I’m an intelligent person, and I reject your argument. Sanchez showed he’s in it for the give and take. The Jays showed they’re in it to low ball the player. You reap what you sow.
Stubborn does not equal intelligent.
Also intelligent does not mean likeable.
Either you have a personal vendetta against tuna or you are just an angry person.
I don’t wanna hear anyone complain when Sanchez walks either.
Milk an arm while it’s cheap, trade away or let it walk before it breaks down. Most arms break down. Halladay’s don’t grow on trees.
This franchise is never gonna pay up for Sanchez anyway.
He’s never signing a Halladay discount if he has Boras as client.
The day he signed Boras was the day I kissed the idea of seeing him as a long term Blue Jay goodbye.
Traded before he gets expensive in arb if Shatkins is still around. Bank it.
@davbee- I take back the personal vendetta against tuna part. I have re-read earlier posts and that condescending tone from tuna is not enjoyable.
Oh and it’s not a comment from player but a recent fact,
Beltran and Cano are not fans of Boras. Check their client history.
Use google to learn more about the Beltran case yourself.
Boras wants to sign max contracts to even the playing field against the greedy owners. But is the player taking home the same amount and getting more out of a different agency?
Boras certainly isn’t helping Sanchez much now. In fact, why bother with an agent in these pre-are years? It’s not like there’s anything to negotiate. During the arb years, hire an agent, but negotiate his fee so you can keep more of your paycheck. Once again, the upside of a great agent in the arb years is small. Agents earn their keep in free agency. That’s when you want Boras, provided you’re ok with the risk of alienating several teams and prioritizing money over winning (or any other factor you care about). Boras is high risk, high reward. Other agents are less risky.
I’d love to see Boras, and other prominent agents, press the MLBPA into making greater efforts the next time around to raise minimums and reduce service time before arbitration and free agency, Younger players are trapped into this system because of the CBA. Want more money–don’t just gripe about a handful of players. The league out-negotiated the Union last time, conceding somewhat on the small issue of QO while avoiding the far more serious other points.
So you want to kill all the small market teams? Lowering service time for free agency means that low revenue teams will never have a chance at signing their players long-term, meaning fans of those teams will disappear. I couldn’t think of a worse thing to happen to the game.
A small market team won the World series two years ago and played in one the year before that. A small market team nearly won the World Series this year.
Look at football, which has a hard cap. There is zero parity in the game. In the last 15 years in the AFC, these are the quarterbacks who have played in the Superbowl: Tom Brady. Peyton Manning. Ben Roethlisberger. Joe Flacco. That’s it. So explain again how capping salaries helps out small market teams?
Yes, under the current system that’s exactly what happened. Allowing players to reach free agency even earlier, and you’ll never see that again. You pretty much confirmed my point.
Maybe you need to read better, I didn’t say a word about capping salaries. I disagree with shortening service time and reaching free agency.
If every player was a free agent every year, salaries would actually go down, because of surplus supply. That’s how a free market works. The system now artificially caps earnings for a set number of years, after which a handful of players test the free market, creating a deficit in talent and artificially jacking up the pay scale. It’s economics 101.
Average salaries would go down. Top salaries would stay about the same and they would disproportionately play for large market teams.
Small market teams would never be able to accumulate enough young talent to compete.
Remember when the entire league used to treat the Montreal Expos like a farm team? Economics 101.
Not equivalent. The expos couldn’t pay FA prices for their players who reached free agency. If every player was a FA every season they’d have been able to keep many of their players because salaries would have been naturally suppressed rather than artificially suppressed.
Are you guys talking Economics 101? Like for every 100 economists we’ll have 101 opinions on economics?
The surplus supply would not drop salaries in any way. Have you considered what would happen to demand if every player was a free agent every year?
If there are still 30 teams, hardly anything but make it difficult for small market teams to compete. Not impossible to compete but difficult. Young hype would get the money, and vets that paid dues would be fighting for scraps. There are enough rich teams that I can’t imagine salaries would be driven down too much in this scenario.
Sustaining is impossible without becoming big market for a few years. Royals are already pulling ‘chute on spending big. Indians will be there soon.
Interesting to watch as a baseball fanatic, but difficult to inspire new fans to get excited if all the best players went to the rich teams. That is exactly what would happen.
If you actually attended any economics classes you would know this! JK with the tone, but I swear you are way off base. Hints of sarcasm to get another point of view into consideration.
Also, the Expos made bad trades in a failed rebuild/playoff push. Plus some theories involving ownership wanting to move the team to a more profitable location, after it became apparent the local politics would prevent ownership from making the citizens pay for a new stadium. Bad case study to get the Expos involved. One of the more unique cases in modern memory. And actually weakens this argument.
Good chat though. Waiting 90+ more opinions from the economists lurking out there. Mine might be the one that counts double. End ramble.
Personally, I’d tweak the revenue-sharing system to send more money to smaller market teams–and give them more flexibility to spend on players. I’d include a floor on spending (or pool it) to avoid them using the money to be like Loria, but MLB is a national market and greater sharing is indicated.
As to raising ML minimums, that’s not going to kill all small market teams, hyperbole notwithstanding. You don’t like lowering the 6years? Try reducing service-time manipulation. The player should not be asked to bear the entire burden.
I think he WAS the best, but he’s had defections and the game has caught up to him. He’s made some stirs, but in the recent past he’s cost his clients some money.
How’s about an agreed upon independent analytical system that measures players true economic value and helps determine salary. Keep the control system and let nature take its course. Im still boggled how the strongest union in the nation gets away with individually negotiated contracts. If they were teamsters there’d be seniority and a pay scale.
That sounds an awful lot like collusion. The players would never agree to
That.
I can’t feel sorry for Sanchez on this one given that he rejected that the raise that Toronto offered him. I understand it wasn’t to his liking (and if he feels that taking a stand against an unfair system is worth giving up a relatively large portion of his contract, then more power to him) but this is a CBA issue more than it is a Blue Jays issue. Expecting a team to renew players for more than they have to is analogous to exciting a player to take a hometown discount in free agency. Neither makes a ton of sense
Thornburg seems to be on the Carson Smith path, though I hope I’m wrong.
I do think the idea that this affects an organization in the future is kind of overblown. You hear these stories about arbitration all the time, and eventually everything seems to smooth itself out. The only thing this off-season that just seemed awful for PR was Levine trashing one of his best players in public
Y
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Like I said an independent organization, an accounting firm. It’s not collusion in any sense if it’s agreed upon. It only bolsters the prearb players salaries commensurate to actual value. The most casual fan now can know a players true value….surely this tool can be used to obliterate an old system and base pay on merit. I’d think the fact that a person cannot pursue to ply his trade anywhere he so chose would itself be illegal…but thats the antitrust exemption. It wouldnt inhibit long term contracts…but it would stop the collusion by mlb teams that suppresses talent pay.
If it’s fair in pre-arb years then it would be fair for a player’s entire career. No free agency. Players are only paid what they are worth.
The Union agreed to the CBA because it creates some parity and allows for players to make a fortune later in their career.
So you are suggesting the players be paid actual earnings this year based on last years stats. What if they produce $300,000 in 2017, is the player going to be okay with that pay for 2018?
And how about when a player signs for $200,000,000 and earns, in actual dollars, about $75,000,000, do they get to keep it all?
I think you should stick to reading the comments, and leave the writing alone.
Yes, and the cba lets minor leaguers flounder on pocket change and doesn’t allow a great portion of the players to make what they are truly worth. The days of big market clubs paying for past their prime names is largely over….unless someone gets Arte Moreno some more checks. Im only throwing this out there….players and owners will never agree. Cost control is actually the only leverage a smaller market has….though I dont for the life of me believe there’s such a thing as a small market team anymore. Team valuations have skyrocketed….its a matter of what any given ownership is willing to spend….mlbproperties has blown the lid off revenue globally.
Mlbpa should seek a percentage of profits for all players under control and disperse it in bonus form….cover some minor leaguers as well
Ive been around this comment section commenting for a decade….so no need for the snark…i also come with professional baseball experience. Im only tossing a hypothetical. Please elaborate on what rostered 25 man player only contributed 75k…even the prorated guys would nail that. Maybe im saying boost the league minimum with a profit sharing.
The comment section is largely why ive drifted away from this site.
@Redline- that comment reads like a player paid 200M but performs at 75M for the contract’s life. Hard to tell through the sass. But that’s how I read it. A Pablo Sandoval-esque.player. Not a bad point, but just seems so hard to tell through the condescending tone. Sorry to echo that tone myself, but I just can’t help it. Monkeysee, monkeydo.
The line above: “players and owners will never agree” needs a bold glitterfont to emphasize the awesomeness of that statement. Sandoval’s happen. Who is Matt Harvey’s agent? The players that avoid buying out the arb years are taking a huge gamble. The Scherzer types win. Sanchez can be Scherzer. He can be Harvey too. This is what makes baseball so fun. Not just the stats but the fun of speculating on millions of what-ifs per season!
I’m amazed at how angry everyone seems in here. Maybe just this thread. There hasn’t been much for news so I haven’t been tuning in much. The sass is off the charts. It can’t be lack of baseball, the WBC has been super exciting. Is it society? I’m off on cloud 9 trying to be blissfully ignorant so I don’t really get it.
Go baseball! The final 4 WBC is going to be unreal. Jurrjens, Balentien, Zeid etc could be signed by MLB teams after this last couple weeks. This is not a time to be angry, enjoy life as a baseball fan everybody!
To be fair he has a history of being wild in the minors and has had one full season as a starter under his belt. This yr we shall see if he warrants ‘Scott Boras’ prices or gets another bump.
Thornburg has not impressed anybody this year! I haven’t been happy with the trades the Red Sox have been making for pitchers like Abad and Thornburg!!!!
I hate this “pretend you like whatever crumbs we’re offering, or you don’t even get the crumbs” BS. The Red Sox (and other teams I’m forgetting) do it the right way. Not a Sox fan, just remember they’re an example. Once they pick their number, if the player still won’t agree, they renew at that number (ex: Betts). It’s their right, pre-arb, to renew at whatever number they choose, but why stick your thumb in the player’s eye (who, in situations like this, may legitimately feel they’re being underpaid) as well? For relative peanuts! And the fact that you’ve been doing it for 10 years isn’t an excuse. Doing something the wrong way for a long time doesn’t suddenly make it right. And if his point was “it’s not just this guy, we treat everyone worse than we have to”, is that really a point worth making?
I dont think thats correct. So, if they offer a contract, the player refuses, they still renew at the offered contract. So, why is an offer even made then, if they just intend on renewing at that amount anyway? We’re missing a step in there somewhere
I like this pjmcnu post. I’m a non-sox fan and impressed/surprised and find it admirable that any team goes above bare minimum these days.
MLBPA negotiates the rules on behalf of the players. Veterans fighting owners for share of the pie while the pre-arb players and the non superstar arb players get crumbs, and superstar arb players sometimes get some bigger scraps.
Jays used to have policy of always settling before arb cases. Things change. Do what’s right. Build some goodwill for free agency?
It might backfire, but if they aren’t likely to sign despite the goodwill notion by the franchise, just trade them 2-3 years before FA. Get some new trade chips and avoid the expensive veteran gamble.
Imagine OAK paying nearly $20 mill for Donaldson right now??? Beane is about to win back a whole lot of that trade value in the next 2-3 years if Barreto can keep on this path. This Shatkins regime is going to be more like buying out the grinders arb years, and trying to create superstars to trade before they get expensive. Never going to be on a Redsox/Yankees level. If Yankees go cheap with Gary Sanchez when it gets to that day, we’ll be able to feel better with our Jays conscience about this Aaron Sanchez case.
Aaron Sanchez could become Matt Harvey or Max Scherzer. Take the flip. You really wanna build up goodwill for Matt Harvey?? Harvey’s wishing he bought out his arb years I bet. Meanwhile Scherzer is ecstatic that he waited and survived to the big FA payout.
All for now baseball fans.
Catch that WBC fever!
All good points….just tired of going through the comment sections and not even being able to find decent discussion. A person can’t post anything….even a hypothetical to a complex situation without being snarked at. Fact is….the current economic situation basically works or there would be more trouble. Agents can cackle….its their job….and its the way it is. Whatll happen is we’ll see some extremely large arb salaries for under control players. Teams are saving money when they can. The discrepancy between pre arb and older players is pretty crazy though.
What would be really nice would be to see the mlbpa stand up for minor league salaries. Players at lower levels dont even make a living wage.