The winter’s unusually slow free agent market has led to a number of major signings in March, though the 2017-18 offseason hardly has a monopoly on late signings. It was on this day in 1981 that Carlton Fisk signed a five-year, $2.9MM deal to join the White Sox, concluding a very unusual (and unexpected) trip through the free agent process for the star catcher. Fisk’s deal with the Red Sox was up after the 1980 season but, under baseball’s rules at the time, he was still under Boston’s control as long as the team mailed him a new contract by December 20, 1980. Red Sox GM Haywood Sullivan, however, mailed contracts to both Fisk and Fred Lynn a day late, leading to arbitration hearings that eventually resulted in Lynn being dealt to the Angels and Fisk being declared a free agent. Fisk went on to spend the next 13 seasons in Chicago, further adding to a resume that eventually led to enshrinement in the Hall of Fame.
Some notes from around the sport as we head into the new week…
- Could the lack of free agent activity lead to more young players accepting early-career extensions? ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (subscription required) wonders if this could be the case, as “cautionary tales are swirling throughout baseball right now” as players and agents wonder if this offseason could be a harbinger of future free agent droughts. Players with more limited or one-dimensional skillsets, for instance, might jump at taking a guaranteed deal early rather than risk facing a cold market once they hit free agency. In the words of one agent, “The lesson to be learned is that for a lot of players, if you get offered a fair deal when you’re young, you should take it — to make sure you get paid. Then, if you get to free agency later, that can be the bonus on top.”
- Mike Rizzo has built the Nationals into a contender and wants to remain as the team’s general manager, so the Washington Post’s Thomas Boswell isn’t sure why ownership doesn’t seem to be in a rush to extend Rizzo’s contract. Rizzo is entering the last year of his deal, and though he said last month that he was “confident” a new agreement would be settled, there hasn’t been any news on that front in the interim. Boswell wonders if the Lerner family has held off on an extension since they could be considering letting Rizzo leave if the team again falls short in the postseason — if this isn’t the case, however, it makes little sense to put Rizzo and the franchise itself through an awkward lame-duck period.
- The Cardinals optioned catching prospect Carson Kelly to Triple-A today, seemingly solidifying Francisco Pena’s spot as Yadier Molina’s backup. Pena was a non-roster invite to the Cards’ spring camp, and though neither Pena or Kelly hit much, the team would prefer to see Kelly continue his development with regular playing time in the minors rather than spending most of his days on the Cardinals’ bench. “[Kelly] needs to play,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny told MLB.com’s Joe Trezza and other reporters. “He’s still too young with too high of a ceiling not to go and be ready. If something happens, we need him to step in and be our guy. There are not going to be a whole lot of repetitions to get here.” As Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes, Pena’s defense has helped his case in a camp that also saw catchers Steven Baron and Andrew Knizner impress the team.
astros_fan_84
I don’t follow the Nationals much but they seem to clean house regularly. Maybe they don’t deserve to win a Gane 5.
xabial
If the Lerners Fire* Rizzo, then they deserve all failures. Remember his predecessor?
*Fired in the sense not having a new contract tendered when current contract expires.
majorflaw
“*Fired in this case refers to not having a new contract tendered when his current one expires.”
I agree.*
But, yeah, if they “fire” Rizzo they will deserve to lose. Can’t imagine they will though. While the Lerners think of managers as fungible they still remember the pre-Rizzo days, when the Nats were NL doorstop.
*Agree in this case refers to finding your attempt to re-define words on the fly a source of endless mirth. Cheers, x.
brettmar21
I tend to agree. Rizzo literally took them from nothing. Including nothing in terms of a farm system or anything on the MLB club worth trading and a perennial laughing stock to a team who is a legit WS contender and has been for the past 7 years. He is absolutely a top 5 GM in baseball.
Most fans can give the Lerners the benefit of the doubt with Williams and Dusty. However, they will lose almost all political capital if they can Rizzo after the job he has done
iceman35pilot
Yeah, no. Williams at least was an unknown. Dusty’s style and reputation were very well known, as were the reasons he was fired from every previous management job. Simply no excuse for Dusty, and they got exactly what they should have expected.
majorflaw
“Simply no excuse for Dusty, and they got exactly what they should have expected.”
Two straight division titles?
iceman35pilot
Two straight losses in the NLDS, both in the 5th and deciding game. What is he now? 3-17 in series deciding games?
They brought him there, in theory, to win a World Series, not a division. Also remember he was their second choice.
majorflaw
I am not and was not a Dusty fan. Wasn’t happy when he was hired. Saw both his strengths and his weaknesses at work on a daily basis.
What Dusty needed was a bench coach, someone like Wotus in SF, who could feed him the right answers during games. Dusty was fine as a manager of people, he just wasn’t familiar with advanced metrics, etc.
That being said, I was pretty surprised that the Nats chose not to offer him an extension. They got two very good years from Dusty, with the obvious caveat about the postseason. If they liked Dusty when they hired him they should have liked him even more after two years. I’m still optimistic about Davey II.
deweybelongsinthehall
It’s all relative to what he really is demanding in years and dollars, other expected commitments and your projections on going forward. The Red Sox misread the Market with Lester but before that correctly read it with respect to Ellsbury after 2013 who had that phenomenal 2011 season. They had JBJ in the minors and realized Ellsbury was possibly worth more to another team than he was to them. No one has tea leaves and could have foreseen the Yankees bidding against themselves or Ellsbury’s immediate decline but they planned on moving on.
JFactor
Also can help delay Kelly’s service time, which will be useful when Yadi retires.
This could get his team control up to 2024.
JeremyR
No, because Knizer will be the starting C when Yadi retires
tim815
I’m wondering if the Pirates, Cardinals, or Brewers end up drafting Joey Bart.
Georgia Tech catcher looks to be a MLB starter type “in that range” of the first round in June.
diddlez
I dont think it was as much about the service time as it was how bad of a spring he has had.
kbarr888
….and how bad he hit last year when he was called up. The Bat just isn’t working for him right now, and that’s NOT good news.
Knizner has an excellent stick……Kelly was sent down to get more seasoning / more reps…… “so he’d provide a better return when he’s traded at the deadline”.
They considered trading him this past winter. The writing is on the wall…..IMHO
Priggs89
Agreed. 2016 was the first time he even looked respectable at the plate against minor league pitching. I thought they should’ve sold then.
He still has a lot of value, but he’s nowhere near the “untouchable” status Cards fans were trying to put on him the last couple years. They should’ve tried to center a deal around him and some pitching for Quintana last offseason (not that it would’ve worked if Eloy was on the table at the same time). If they’re still interested in Abreu before the deadline, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Kelly going to the South Side at this point.
spudchukar
The offensive woes are only a small part of the demotion. It was his defensive struggles that triggered the move. Kelly was unimpressive handling pitches, especially from Martinez. But the move still couldn’t be made without the emergence of Pena. Knizner can hit, but he isn’t Big League ready behind the dish, and might not ever have the skills as a catcher. I applaud the move. The Red Birds are a better team with Pena, and his skills behind the plate when needed, especially his ability to call games and handle pitchers.
JFactor
Oh for sure. I’m just stating it’s an added benefit.
stubby66
Tell Rizzo his contract is in the mail lol
Cardinals17
Kinzner is the best all around best young catcher prospect in the Cardinal organization!! Kelly is overrated. The organization said they have been impressed with his defense in the past. However, this Spring you could tell his defensive skills had deteriorated. Never a contact hitter, the Cardinals definitely made the correct move sending Kelly back to the minors.
nutbunnies
Whether planned or not, just another way the owners are screwing the players over with a domino effect. Ice out free agents, then cause a chilling effect making young players consider taking below market extensions.
javier 3
Man that Carlton Fisk deal seems so cheep compared to deals now!! That cheep is what some minor league players get!!
ABCD
Yeah, but ticket prices were a small percentage (10%?) of what they are today.
camdenyards46
Inflation has a lot to do with it also.
bearcat6
Cheap. Cheep is what a bird does.
bearcat6
Birds either cheep or chirp. chirp is better. Sorry about my chirping!
Cardinals17
You are absolutely correct about the high ticket prices!!! Highway robbery. It cos me over $1,000 to take my family to 2 games, plus hotel expenses!!!! While the Cardinal Village is attractive, try to eat there or pay admission to anything for a family of 4. Ridiculous!!! We use to be able to go to about 8-10 games a year. As ticket prices, and concession prices have risen over the past 6 years our trips have decreased because we can’t afford it. We’re down to an annual, one game family gathering now. Plus, the President of baseball operations doesn’t put a contending team on the field anymore. Sad state of affairs for middle class fans.
camdenyards46
The only situation that I would not accept and extension in pre arb or arb is if I was a Machado/Harper level type player. If I was anyone else I would take a guaranteed extension even if it ate free agent years. For example, if I was Paul DeJong I would take his extension 10 out of ten times. To get the guaranteed money should be the priority early in your career.
dcahen
Everyone acts as if Rizzo had no say in choice of manager, I disagree. If this is truly a WS contender, then he’s as culpable as any manager
pjmcnu
Kelly is just having his career wasted by the Cards. Will he be Rule 5 eligible soon so that some other team can save him from Cardinal jail? Otherwise, he’ll be a 27 y/o rookie when Yadi finally decides to hang ’em up, and will be told (by the Cards first) “sorry, you’re too old for a big/long contract” once he’s a FA. Shameful.
chesteraarthur
How do you even judge Rizzo from the outside, we have no idea how many time’s the owners have let agents (Boras) skip the gm and just speak to them about signings.
tbone0816
I can still see the Cardinals looking at the free agent market!! Possibly Ryan Hanigan or someone like that.