The latest from the National League East . . .
- Phillies right-hander Jerad Eickhoff, who made just three late-season appearances for the club in 2018 after battling wrist pain and numbness stemming from untreated carpal tunnel syndrome, is apparently feeling “100 percent” healthy this offseason after undergoing surgery on October 1, writes The Athletic’s Meghan Montemurro. During the moderately-invasive procedure, doctors found that Eickhoff’s palmaris longus tendon was reversed, a rare occurrence even in patients exhibiting symptoms of the ailment, and one that very likely had compounded his discomfort. With the pain-free outlook for 2019, the 28-year-old Eickhoff figures to be in the mix at the back end of a Philly rotation that currently includes Nick Pivetta, Vince Velasquez, and Zach Eflin. Acquired in the 2015 deal that sent Cole Hamels to Texas, Eickhoff is arguably the most accomplished of the bunch, having put together a career ERA south of four (3.91), though his fielding-independent metrics are a bit less propitious, and his stuff – a 90.8 MPH average career fastball that showed little signs of decline even in his supposed injury-hampered ’17 and ’18 seasons – clearly lags behind the rest.
- Despite last summer’s near-ultimatum from current boss Brodie Van Wagenen to either extend or trade former client Jacob deGrom, the team has thus far held back from either. Though the former option remains a “priority,” per sources of the New York Post’s Mike Puma, the team has yet to even present an extension offer to the 30-year-old ace. The reigning Cy Young Award winner had a dream 2018, posting a minuscule 1.70 ERA/1.99 FIP on the way to 8.8 fWAR, the best season for a Mets starting pitcher since Dwight Gooden’s 1985 campaign. It’s unclear whether the Mets will be willing to pony up the necessary cash, which should be considerable, as the team has also co-ace Noah Syndergaard, four years deGrom’s junior, to consider, to say nothing of the huge payout guaranteed to Robinson Cano over the next five seasons.
- Per The Athletic’s David O’Brien on Twitter, it doesn’t appear Miami’s asking price for catcher J.T. Realmuto has dropped much, if at all. Per O’Brien, “no new” discussions have taken place since December’s Winter Meetings, and Atlanta has “moved on” to other needs. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic writes that the Fish are still insisting on major-league pieces with three or more years of team control remaining for Realmuto, which has set off a veritable chain reaction of balking suitors around the league. It seems increasingly unlikely, at this point, that Miami will get what it desires for Realmuto, and the Fish could face stern brushback around the league if the catcher regresses his to offensive baseline from 2015-17 before next season’s trade deadline.
Yankees.
Go banana!
Exactly. Let Realmuto go back to being a solid regular, 2.5-3.5 WAR guy, before going all-in on a trade for him. Some players do continue to progress following an unusually good season for them, but most do regress back to their mean. He’d still be a top 10 catcher regardless, but it seems like trading a true ransom for him right now PROBABLY isn’t a sound decision. That would further explain why teams haven’t sprung for him yet, either, in spite of nearly universal interest.
Where’s Dave Stewart when you need him..
I still can’t believe the Marlins are asking for so much! I get that he is a great player, but any team willing to meet those demands will regret it.
No doubt. Look get all you can for him but don’t be insane. Honestly after their sell off last offseason and not getting much in return, it’s surprising that they would aim so high as to get literally nothing in return. I think it’s safe that the braves move on at this point. We need bullpen help so bad in hurts
Ask High……..Take less.
But they’d better do something soon…..or they’ll get “a lot less” next winter.
Starting negotiations by asking for more than you can reasonably get is a fine strategy.
However, starting negotiations with demands that are ridiculous is a good way to get absolutely nothing. Especially if you then refuse to be flexible.
Under the right circumstances they could potentially get what they are asking for at the deadline. Say a true contending team loses their starting catcher to injury for the season. Then JT has immense value to them. It is a bit of a stretch but they dont need to trade him just yet.
Javi Lopez in his best Arnold Schwarzenegger voice: “Derek just let my protégé go to the Braves at all costs, he wants out…do it, DO IT NOWWWWW!!!”
I’ve said it from the jump, he may have been the best catcher in mlb last year but he is not prime Posey or Pudge. He’s what Lucroy or McCann were, very good all around catchers. The suggestion by some that he’s worth 4-5 top 100 prospects is laughable.
Word!
He may not be prime Posey or Pudge, but he’s better than Lucroy or McCann.
He was talking about Prime McCann and Prime Lucroy.
It’s all relative. To some degree, he’s being overrated as the offense from the position has declined horribly. I am also not to totally convinced that Jeter really knows what’s he’s doing. Is he trying to overcompensate for the Stanton deal?
Actually, as another poster pointed out, the deal that Jeter really seemed to get fleeced on was Yelich. In the end, Jeter May simply be in over his head and prove to be a victim of his own ego. Being a great player as opposed to a great MLB executive are worlds apart.
That’s why no buddy has pulled the trigger!
No buddy and nobody.
Are they only trying to trade with friends?
No offense, tell Jeter to “Go Pound Sand”
Offense taken
I get that the Marlins would set a high price for Realmuto. But there’s a difference between showing gamesmanship and being delusional, and so far their asking price is a lot closer to delusional.
From a PR perspective, It seems that when he makes a trade viewed as a low return he gets lambasted. He’s holding out for what they deem to be the right return and everybody seems upset. He’s the property of the Marlins. Why should any fan of another fanbase be upset?
JT is the best catcher in baseball right now. We’ve seen what teams are willing to pay for deadline rentals historically (Chapman, Miller recently). Is it so outrageous to ask for a current mlb player w/ 3 years of control? I’ve heard Nimmo and Conforto suggested by many. Isn’t that what the Marlins were asking for? Not sure if the Mets put them on the table tho. But I don’t think a current player with 3 years is an absurd ask. It might not be the smartest move since the Marlins are probably more than 3 years away tho. You would think they’d rather get a nice prospect haul.
They’ll cave eventually. He doesn’t want to be on the team. Dodgers phone will be ringing soon, with what they offered the Marlins day 1!
Realmuto has 2 years of control left, not 3. Nobody is getting mad here. There’s a perception that Jeter is trying to make up for the fact that he got screwed in the Yelich deal (which he did) with the only trade chip he has left – whom has asked out of MIA already. MIA could get a nice prospect haul if they dealt JT now, but how much longer is that on the table? You really think less than 1.5 years of JT will get that if traded at the Deadline 2019, especially if he regresses at all? Something that looks very likely considering his lineup has gotten any better. The difference is MIA is trying to get untouchable prospects (i.e. they asked for Acuna last year, couldn’t come to agreement). Getting a prospect haul and demanding the best prospects in baseball are drastically different. And if you think that was where they started discussions and could pivot into a nice prospect haul – a trade would have already been consummated by now. But they are standing firm in their illogical requests – as Realmuto’s value only decreases.
Stop the Miller/Chapman comparisons. Power lefty relievers are the rarest of commodities and make an impact during a playoff run.
And catchers don’t?
I’d say a catcher that is elite defensively, offensively, and on the base paths is MUCH a more rare than power lefties these days.
I agree 2 yrs of Realmuto is worth way more than 2 months of Chapman. BUT 2 nonths is Chapman wasn’t worth Torres. Cubs were desperate and got the guy they exactly wanted and overpaid for it and won. Could the marlins holdout and take advantage of a team who’s injured catcher is out for the season right around the deadline? Sure but that’s hella risky.
Considering he’s asked for a trade on multiple occasions I’d be asking for teams beat offers right now, asking for slightly more and taking the best deal. Seems the likelihood of him resigning is pretty much 0. The best opportunity to trade him though was with the Mets involved.
I still think they should consider a trade for him straight up for Gary Sanchez and I never suggest huge blockbuster trades like that but I think it makes a lot sense for both sides. Opinions on a deal like that are all over the place because people don’t know what Sanchez’s value is. Some don’t think he’s a catcher at all, which if that’s the case means he’s not worth Realmuto straight up, I think it works for the marlins because they can save face and say look we got a potential superstar and can afford to be patient with him behind the plate, whereas the Yankees can’t if his struggles continue behind the plate.
I’ve never had two nonths but I’d like some please
Neither Chapman nor Miller got major league talent. They got good minor Leaguers from m teams with a desperate immediate need.
Nobody desperately needs a catcher at the deadline. They may want one, but at that point it’s more about just getting a bat you need. So unless JTR’s one of the best hitters in the league… How do the Marlins figure to get more for him then any other deadline deal in recent memory?
You also have to consider that teams making deadline deals want to win immediately, so will be even less willing to give up major league talent, because they kind of need it at the moment.
So yeah, Jeter’s making a huge rookie owner mistake is he thinks he can hold out for a better deal at this point. Time to start walking it back to a realistic price.
Jeter should have stuck to handling baseballs and melons. He can’t handle a baseball team
Pain free sounds optimistic with a flipped tendon. But hopefully eickhoff can get close.
No one commenting here knows what the Marlins are in fact asking, or what the teams trying to fleece them actually offered.
But this is media and social media in America today.
Now I’m heading back to today’s ‘the White Sox made an offer’ – which I’ve been reading they have for over 2 weeks now. And the contents of the published offers fluctuate as often as Oprah Winfrey’s weight.
You are correct.
This.
I find it funny how we can read an article about the Yankees asking for high quality major league talent for Gray, and everybody says “it’s always good to start high,” but when the Marlins do it for a piece that’s actually valuable, they’re unrealistic and impossible to work with.
Yeah, but the Marlins have supposedly basically been asking the same price for over a year,and no one has met it yet. The longer they wait the less control Realmuto has and therefore his price deteriorates.
Barring an injury, his value won’t “deteriorate” for another year and a half. It’ll certainly go down, but he’ll still have plenty of it until he’s legitimately about to walk.
None of us have ANY idea what offers are on the table. If they’re feeling like they’re being lowballed, they don’t NEED to move him yet. They can hold out until they get an offer they like, or they can wait it out until his value drops enough that it’ll be worth taking whatever package they think is “best.” This is the same crap dumb fans were saying about the White Sox and Jose Quintana not too long ago. Despite what some people thought, they didn’t HAVE to move him in the offseason and could wait until they got an offer they liked. Seemed to work out pretty darn well for them.
“Barring an injury, his value won’t “deteriorate” for another year and a half. It’ll certainly go down…”
Splitting angel hairs, aren’t you?
Problem is, dude doesn’t want to be on the team. Marlins know it. They will trade him before season starts.
“but he’ll still have plenty of it until he’s legitimately about to walk.”
Sure, if you want to leave out the rest of the quote.
Explain to me the difference between “deteriorate” and “it’ll certainly go down”. You say there’s a difference, but they mean the same thing. The rest of your comment is irrelevant.
Merriam-Webster:
Definition of deteriorate – transitive verb
1 : to make inferior in quality or value.
It’s because media tells them last year’s trades brought back no value and they feel like their favorite team should be given the same luxury… top 3 player at his position without giving up any of the teams true prospects.
Oprah weight jokes? Did we travel back to 1996?
Mets should pay degrom or atleast extend him an offer of 5/150 he has been consistently a beast for them. If not teams will line up for his services at 31 years old.
I think you’re correct.The Mets should extend him but I think you’re too high.He’sunder control for 2 more years. I think 5 years $125 million will get it done.
They need to commit to extend deGrom now and Thor next year. Wilpons should sell the team if they can’t afford to commit to them. They should extend Wheeler as well. If Matz improves, add him to the list. No high priced free agent is worth more to the team than committing to them.
It’s not going to happen. No extensions coming. No sale of the team until fans stop supporting them to the point where it embarrasses the Coupons and hurts Mutt and Jeff’s ability to find their whims.
Common sense would tell you the Marlins are asking too much since he hasn’t moved yet. More teams backing out and moving on. This is all speculation and rumors, welcome to the website. Get used to it. Fun though
Why would a team be in a rush to move him for a deal that they aren’t comfortable with? Because he says he wants out? Because fanboys say now is when they need to move him now? Common sense is buying teams aim low and selling teams aim high. In their mind they can afford to wait because they haven’t found the deal. Common sense would tell you they’re trying to one up a team for JT because they got bent over for Yelich and Ozuna. They are taking a gamble that he will continue to improve as he’s done the past two years. He may lose a year of control but if he improves more you may get a team desperate at the deadline. It’s a risky gamble but it’s what they’re comfortable with. If you don’t like the speculation and rumors or fanboy discussions you may need to avoid this site.
Excellent post, Callingoutdummies247
The Mets have to be careful with ban extension with deGrom. If they sign him to an amount, AAV or length, that is viewed as too high or long, there could be backlash from the commissioner’s office. Likewise, if the contract is too low in AAV, there may be talk of collusion. It’s a slippery slope and it might be in their best interests to leave BVW out of the negotiations.
What in your mind would be too much for DeGrom. The Mets have been accused of many things but overpaying players is not one of them. And exactly why would DeGrom accept a contract thats too low. Also how exactly does collusion fit into this discussion.
There is something about Syndergaard that bothers me. I don’t know if it’s a stubborness, arrogance or an ignorance. Has anyone ever heard an interview or seen a conversation where he smiles or shows any kind of personality or ability to process communication? This makes me wonder about whether or not he will be able to adjust to NOT throwing 100 or “learning how to pitch” over the length of a long term contract when he can’t simply over power hitters. It worked for Nolan, but there will only ever be one of those.
Are you kidding Willy? You don’t think that the Mets overpaid for Cespedes? Come on. you must be running around centerfield and out of breath. Get some oxygen and think about it.
In retrospect they obviously did but at the time they had no way of knowing he’d spend most of the contract on the dl Cespedes was a big time hitter at the time and made the Mets click On the other hand Murphy was coming off a big season and they refused to offer him even 10 million dollars and instead traded for Walke rwho was earning more.Murphy followedthat with a huge career year
They had no way of knowing he’d spend time on the DL? Ummm did they not have access to his medical report or acesss to aging curves of players in their 30s? Cause of teams have seem to figure that out that’s why all the mouth breathers last year will telling collusion all winter last year.
Hey Willy-Cespedes has had problems staying on the field long before he hoodwinked Mutt and Jeff. Do ya think that they should have had a thorough medical exam to protect themselves?
What were the causes for all of the injuries? And the foolishness after the fact that his pulls were due to not drinking water. Was everyone blind in Flushing?
Murphy was a no brainer that only the morons couldn’t see. They would have had virtually the same performance from a rising offensive star for half the cost.
So are you going to give the Mets your money?
He’s already said that he will not be involved in negotiations with his former clients for just that reason.
No he said he won’t be involved in arbitration because he would no some secrets about the players that the team didn’t know and it would giveownership an unfair advantage. Of course he would be involved in signing players.To not do so wouldn’t make sense and he gains no advantage by having been there agent
Incorrect. He clearly stated he would recuse himself from negotiations with former clients.
The Braves have moved on to letting players they need go to division rivals and hang out there on the FA market to be plucked away.
Yup, I don’t believe a thing I read about Atlanta until they actually make moves. Seeing that money savings is paramount I have no clue why they paid 23 million on Donaldson. Camargo and Riley could have handled third base easily
It will be very hard to win the East in 2019…wildcard ? maybe..
As a Brave fan I was excited this offseason because of all the talk about all the money they had to spend this offseason. For me now looking back if the purse strings are this tight than I believe they shouldn’t have signed Donaldson
If that’s all the money they had to spend it woulda been better allocated than investing it all in on a guy coming off injury playing a position they had young depth in.
Offseason has bout 6 or so weeks to but for me the biggest weakness hasn’t even been attempted to be fixed and that’s the bullpen.
Why do I feel they are gonna come away with overspending on Ottavino or Kimbrel ?
For what the Phillies paid Robertson the Braves shoulda had him. I know he said he wanted to play in the Northeast but for a little more or another year at that price Atlanta could be just another hour on a plane further from RI than Philly is.
Donaldson has the second highest war in the game outside Trout the last five years, and that is with missing almost all of a season. It’s a huge upgrade no matter who he’s replacing. Even bigger when you realize he isn’t replacing Johan, but Ryan Flarety. The signing makes the Braves much better. A huge problem last season was guys getting tired down the stretch. Camargo in a super utility (what the organization had always viewed him as) will help keep everyone fresh and him with plenty of at bat’s. Saying that Riley could have handled it easily is odd since he still has holes in his game that need worked on. Him spending time in AAA is for the best. Plus if it came down to it I’d rather have Donaldson (who has a higher war than even Freddie) and a platoon of Camargo/Duval/Culberson and eventually Riley and play the hot hand of four than any of the free agent outfielders and hoping that Camargo holds it down until Riley is ready if he gets ready and having a weak bench again
^Eddy who cares about the WAR when you already have 3B covered. It’s the Carlos Santana signing from last year; Philly didn’t need to overspend for a 1B and people pointed to Santana’s WAR as a reason to get him. Yet Philly overlooked the fact that moving Hoskins out of position would negate said WAR, and that’s what the Braves are looking at. Hoskins struggled defensively, then struggled with the bat as a result and Santana proved to be the overrated player he’s already been.
Even if Donaldson has a bounce back season it won’t matter if the OF situation isn’t addressed. Anthopoulos pulled this in 2014 offseason when he overpaid Russell Martin when the Jays still had a very capable Dioner Navarro. Then the Jays suddenly had an OF problem, a starting pitching problem and would have had a 1B problem had it not been for a career season by Chris Colabello.
Atlanta is playing it safe rather than wanting to go for everything in 2019. That’s fine, but at least address the needs properly rather than throwing $23-million to a Third Basemen you do not need.
Except it’s a 1 year deal for Atlanta. Def not Santana level signing.
As a Braves fan, I’m happy with it. Good off season so far.
Not sure why so many Braves fan believed they had 40-50m when the best writers for the Braves told
You they wouldn’t.
The Mets need to extend both deGrom and Syndergaard…
4yr/$115 for deGrom
5yr/$132.5 for Thor
That’s through age 34 for deGrom and 32 for Thor. Both of these are after the 2019 season and both coming off of 30+ starts
The roster is still shaky and lacks depth at both the big-league and minor-league levels. For all we know now, the Mets could still be sellers in July. If I am either pitcher, I wouldn’t rush into a long-term commitment.
“the Fish are still insisting on major-league pieces with three or more years of team control remaining for Realmuto”
Isn’t that what the Yankees want for Gray too?
They’re killing themselves, watching potential trade partners come off the board. Mets, Nationals, Braves all wanted him but have all signed or traded for other players. Clock’s ticking on where Grandal lands so they could lose another potential trade partner and if the Dodgers don’t sign Harper, they can probably forget about getting Verdugo since they’ve already dumped two outfielders. Marlins seem to have no idea what leverage is.
I contend that it’s not “The Marlins” that have no idea………It’s JETER…!!!
His ego is getting in the way of making intelligent decisions.
Derek Cheater is going to send his old team a deal for J.T. just like the Stanton deal that Rob Manfred (Cheaters) new buddy allowed.
You do realize Stanton held the TrumpCard when it came to his deal, right? He had full NTC and didn’t want to go to certain teams.
The only way Miami could trade his salary off the books was to whatever team he wanted to go to. Yankee’s knew that, and were able to offer what was prob a below market offer for Stanton.
Jeter isn’t the GM
Reversed palmaris longis. Jeepers.
Not regress? Can you say Jonathon LuCroy
That is a great comparison. High performing C who was the darling of the trade market who hasn’t been the same sense. I’m sure that is the cautionary tale interested GMs are telling their kids at night.
*since
is it just me or does it seem like the Marlins are overreacting to the beating they took last year for getting so little back for their starting outfield? I get that it’s a great PR move to get a good to great return for a good player but you have to be reasonable. Jeter seems like a guy who’s going to try to make everyone happy and end up making everyone mad. He needs good baseball decision makers around him for sure.
I feel like it’s part that and part they know this is their last piece to cash in on. Amy time you get siren to that you start to realize what’s missing more and want to do more than what’s needed
Eickhoff for cheap OF help.
Miami front office is really coming across as incompetent
Forget about Realmuto what exactly have the accomplished to help this team next year. I know they signed the 2 Cuban kids but what have they done for this season ?
Most successful rebuilds involve teams signing a bunch of bounce back veterans that can be moved at the deadline for prospects. They have not done anything.
I wonder if the Marlins are thinking a deadline deal? That doesn’t seem realisitic though.The Manager isnt going to want a catcher and pitching staff to have to get to know each other on the fly in the middle of the season.
They are either going to simply take the best offer within the next few weeks, because Catchers start reporting soon or they will be content to trade him with one year of control.
Love Jake, but….why are we rushing to extended him? He is ours for 19 and 20. The first year we would be gaining is his Age 33 year in 2021. We would be paying him like a Cy Young workhorse which….thousands of precedent stats on pitcher aging curves tell us, he will not be in his mid 30s. And this isnt some guilt trip…he will be paid about $12 mill in arb in 19 and another boatload in 2020, extension or not.
Our vaunted young starting pitching was all that because it was cheap. When these guys become market price, lets look at the market. If you ae willing to pay 25 mil per year for ace type starters, your phone will be ringing off the hook from retooling teams and free agents….we could have Greineke and Madbum in March.
The Marlins could use the demand for J.T. Realmuto to package off the $42M contract of Wei-Yin Chen. That would serve the organization just as much as an over demand for prospects that may never be.
Marlins already said they won’t dilute the return for JTR by including Chen or Prado or Castro.
Please don’t give them either of the @astros top prospects. Thats to expensive for a 2 year deal. It’s not worth giving up a top 10 plus… It just isn’t.
The marlins are dumb. Once the season starts realmuto’s value will drop and they will have screwed up yet another trade. The marlins should just be contracted and give their ballpark to the rays lmao
Or Realmuto continue to rake and his value continues to go up.
Good thing Marlins won’t be contracted lmao
Odds are better he regresses. That risk/reward calculation is not good for the Marlins.
It’s a calculated risk, no doubt about it. Having said that, JTR’s always been a strong starter to the season. Regardless, they are sticking to their demands. Something no previous ownership/regime had ever done, including the current one last year.
A good return will eventually come. How big? Time will tell.
Sticking to their guns would be better if they were sticking to even a smart demand.
Honestly I have no idea why they’re after major Leaguers when they’re just starting a rebuild. If they’d Target high end AA prospects as headliners they’d have many more suitors (which means leverage) and have more time to properly build a team.
The whole strategy just strikes me as bad. High risk, questionable reward…