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Archives for June 2020

Ian Desmond Opts Out Of 2020 Season

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Rockies outfielder Ian Desmond will opt out of playing in the 2020 MLB season. He provided a thoughtful explanation of his decisionmaking process in an announcement on Instagram.

Desmond explains that “the COVID-19 pandemic has made this baseball season one that is a risk I am not comfortable taking.” He says he’s compelled to stay home “with a pregnant wife and four young children who have lots of questions about what’s going on in the world.”

Fortunately for all of us that care about the future of the game, the widely respected Desmond says he intends to work with his local Little League (in Sarasota, Florida) while he’s not playing this year. He did not offer an indication of his future plans for returning to the diamond.

Desmond’s announcement is essential reading for all baseball fans. It’s a powerful call to action to deal with glaring inequity in the game, from its lowest to its loftiest levels.

Three other big leaguers preceded Desmond in announcing that they would not participate in the 2020 season. No doubt others will follow. It is not known whether Desmond had any personal medical issue that will allow him to opt out while still accruing salary and service time. If not, he will forego a pro-rated portion of his $15MM salary for the year. He remains under contract with the Rockies through 2021; the club also controls him in 2022 via club option.

MadBum And The Rest Of The D-Backs’ Future Payroll Promises

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2020 salary terms may finally be sorted out. But what about what’s owed to players beyond that point? The near-term economic picture remains questionable at best. That’ll make teams all the more cautious with guaranteed future salaries.

Every organization has some amount of future cash committed to players, all of it done before the coronavirus pandemic swept the globe. There are several different ways to look at salaries; for instance, for purposes of calculating the luxury tax, the average annual value is the touchstone, with up-front bonuses spread over the life of the deal. For this exercise, we’ll focus on actual cash outlays that still have yet to be paid.

We’ll run through every team, with a big assist from the Cot’s Baseball Contracts database. Prior entries can be found here. Next up is the Diamondbacks:

*Reflects deferred salary in Madison Bumgarner contract

*Includes buyouts on club options over Ketel Marte, Starling Marte, Merrill Kelly, Stephen Vogt, Hector Rondon, and Junior Guerra

*Includes remaining signing bonus to be paid to Nick Ahmed

*Includes remaining salary obligation to Zack Greinke

*Does not include buyout of Mike Leake mutual option, which is owed by Mariners

(click to expand/view detail list)

Latest On Blue Jays’ Training Plans

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Every MLB club faces a difficult task in launching and sustaining a 2020 season. But the Blue Jays face some unique challenges as the only affiliated organization located outside of the United States.

The Toronto organization announced today that it will gather its players and personnel at its facility in Dunedin, Florida. The club says it will “begin the intake screening and isolation process” there.

[RELATED: Blue Jays 60-Man Player Pool]

The Jays’ next step will depend upon the views of the relevant Canadian authorities. If approval is granted, the club says it’ll charter a flight to train in Toronto “under a modified quarantine, isolated from the general public.” Otherwise, it’ll keep its employees at the Dunedin facility and undertake Summer Training there.

It was just ten days ago that the Blue Jays halted activities at its spring complex as coronavirus cases hit the neighboring Phillies facility and soared in the state of Florida generally. There was indeed cause for concern, as several players and staff members ended up testing positive for COVID-19 infections.

That mini-outbreak served to highlight the need for strict measures if this campaign is to occur in a reasonably safe manner. That’s all the more true for the Jays. With cases within the organization already, and the situation in Florida only continuing to worsen, gathering in Dunedin will have to be done carefully.

No doubt the Blue Jays are aware of all that and planning accordingly. The team’s stated preference is to train and play in Toronto, which will mean convincing the Canadian federal, provincial, and local governments that it can be done without unreasonable risk. As Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reported earlier today on Twitter, it seems as if that process is moving towards a favorable outcome for the Jays.

Dodgers Sign 2nd-Rounder Landon Knack

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The Dodgers have signed second-round right-hander Landon Knack for $715K, Jim Callis of MLB.com reports. It’s an under-slot deal for the 60th overall pick – whose selection carried a recommended value of $1,157,400 – but may be a record bonus for a fifth-year college senior, Callis notes.

The 22-year-old Knack was previously at East Tennessee State, where he logged a 2.29 ERA with 10.7 K/9 and 1.3 BB/9 in 122 innings from 2018-19. Despite the dominant numbers he posted in school, Knack did not rank among the top 100 draft prospects available at MLB.com, Baseball America, ESPN.com, FanGraphs or The Athletic. BA, which placed Knack at No. 113, writes that he possesses a high-90s fastball but only “fringy” offspeed offerings.

Although he’s just a couple weeks removed from coming off the draft board, it’s possible Knack will make his major league debut sometime this year. At the very least, there’s a good chance Knack will end up in the Dodgers’ 60-player pool, Callis suggests.

Minor Leaguers Left Out Of Player Pools May Be Able To Play Indy Ball

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8:31pm: Cooper now tweets that minor-league players will need to receive authorization from their team before joining an indy ball roster. But he adds that the expectation is that many teams are amenable to doing so.

7:12pm: Wondering what’ll happen to those minor-league players who weren’t named to MLB teams’ 60-man player pools? While teams are paying stipends to those minor-leaguers they’ve retained, those players’ contracts were formally suspended.

Accordingly, as J.J. Cooper of Baseball America reports, Major League Baseball has determined that clubs lack grounds to prevent minor-leaguers from signing on with independent league outfits. The inverse is also true: MLB teams can’t encourage players to sign on with indy clubs. The situation is different for 40-man players, as MLB contracts were never declared suspended.

As a practical matter, relatively few players will likely end up landing new gigs. The independent leagues aren’t generally rolling in cash, needless to say, and their revenue stream faces even greater challenges than those of MLB teams since in-person attendance is the whole ballgame. Those that are cobbling together 2020 seasons obviously won’t be at full tilt.

That said, the appeal is obvious for players, many of whom would surely make a buck for playing ball rather than sitting dormant and losing a year of development. The calculus would obviously change if there’s some sort of minor-league season to speak of — a decision that could soon be made.

At the same time, there’s obviously some risk in playing outside the affiliated ranks. The controlling MLB team wouldn’t necessarily be on the hook for any injuries or health issues that may arise. And it’s an open question whether an otherwise available team stipend would be withheld from a player earning money for playing baseball in an unaffiliated uniform.

Minor League Baseball’s 2020 Fate Could Be Decided Tuesday

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Because of COVID-19, odds are there will not be a minor league baseball season in 2020. No official decision has come down, but that may be on the verge of changing. Minor League Baseball’s board of trustees are scheduled to meet Tuesday, when they could make an official announcement on whether a season will take place, Evan Drellich of The Athletic reports.

“I think in the next 24 hours we’re going to find out what we’ve known for a month and a half now,” a minor league owner told Drellich.

A canceled season seems likely as a result of multiple key factors, as Drellich explains. For one, in the improbable event of a season, minor league teams would have to provide their own players because Major League Baseball suspended its agreement with the minors amid a national emergency. Additionally, from a financial standpoint, the minors would not be able to sustain a season with no fans in their ballparks.

It goes without saying that not having a season would have a detrimental effect on many individuals and teams throughout minor league ball. There may be an increase in furloughs and layoffs of employees, Drellich writes, and it’s possible some teams will have to file for bankruptcy if they’re unable to play this year. Notably, even before the coronavirus reared its head, MLB was exploring a “radical restructuring” that could eliminate about a quarter of minor league clubs. A season off (or a truncated campaign with empty stands) wouldn’t do those teams any favors.

Giants’ Hunter Bishop Tests Positive For Coronavirus

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Giants outfielder Hunter Bishop has become the first member of the team to test positive for COVID-19, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports. Bishop is exhibiting “mild symptoms” and “was not in contact with any of our players and staff subsequent to when he believes he was infected,” president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi announced.

The plan was for Bishop to be part of the Giants’ initial player pool, but they left him off as a result of this positive test. Bishop will be back under consideration if he returns to full strength, per Pavlovic, though it will be at least a couple weeks before he can join the team in camp. Manager Gabe Kapler said Bishop will “do nothing for the next 14 days.” He’ll also have to test negative for the virus twice before he’s eligible to participate.

The 22-year-old Bishop, whom the Giants drafted 10th overall in 2019, registered strong production during his first season in the organization. In 146 plate appearances divided between the rookie and Low-A levels, Bishop slashed .229/.438/.429 with five home runs, and though he did strike out 39 times, he also drew 38 walks. MLB.com ranks Bishop as the game’s 71st overall prospect, while FanGraphs credits him for his “rare physical tools.”

Mets To Sign Second-Rounder J.T. Ginn

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The Mets have inked second-round draft pick J.T. Ginn, Tim Healey of Newsday reports on Twitter. He’ll receive a $2.9MM bonus, per Joe DeMayo of SNY.tv (Twitter link).

This puts a bow on the Mets’ 2020 draft class. The club had already inked their other five draftees, with its four selections after Ginn all going for well under the slot values attached to their picks.

The New York org needed every penny to reel in Ginn. He was taken 52nd overall, a position that came with a $1,403,200 pool allocation. Clearly, he wasn’t willing to turn pro for that amount.

Ginn, a draft-eligible sophomore out of Mississippi State, is working his way back from Tommy John surgery. But the Mets obviously feel the talent is compelling enough to roll the dice on a full recovery.

Most draft watchers graded Ginn as a first-round talent, in spite of the obvious risk. He was already selected there once before, but spurned the Dodgers back in 2018. Ginn is said by some to possess a potentially front-of-the-rotation arsenal — a big heater, compelling slider, and promising change-up — though others anticipate he’ll settle in more as a back-of-the-staff starter or late-inning reliever.

Athletics Sign Tyler Soderstrom

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The Athletics have announced a deal with top pick Tyler Soderstrom. It includes a $3.3MM signing bonus, Jim Callis of MLB.com reports (via Twitter). The San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser reported yesterday that Soderstrom would sign today and is expected to be added to Oakland’s 60-player pool.

Also going under contract was fifth rounder Stevie Emanuels. The University of Washington righty receives a $400K bonus. With his signing, the A’s have completed all of their draft business.

Soderstrom, a high school catcher out of California, received a bonus that weighed in about $646K north of his slot value at No. 26. Emanuels also went over-slot, with both players getting an extra payout from the cash the Athletics saved in signing second-rounder Jeff Criswell and third-rounder Michael Guldberg to below-slot deals.

The A’s obviously had their eyes on Soderstrom entering the draft. All major draft pundits rated him among the 25 best players available. ESPN.com’s Kiley McDaniel was particularly bullish, grading the youngster as the tenth-best player available due to his promise as a hitter.

While it’s awfully tempting to imagine Soderstrom as a bat-first catcher, there’s concern with his ability to develop defensively while also maximizing his offensive potential. It remains to be seen what course the A’s will take, but most scouts seemingly believe Soderstrom is athletic enough — and sufficiently talented with the bat —  to man other areas of the diamond (third base or the corner outfield, most likely).

Each MLB Team’s 60-Man Player Pool

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Teams had until Sunday at 4:00 pm EST to report their initial 60-man player pools to MLB. Note that these pools can contain up to 60 players but were not required to be full upon their first submission. Teams can — and in some cases already have begun to — make additions at any time, so long as they have an open spot in the pool. If their pool is full and they wish to sign someone, claim a player off waivers or acquire a player via trade, they’ll need to either release, waive or trade a 60-man player of their own.

While a handful of teams waited until Monday to make their player pools public, all 30 have now been announced. Here are the initial lists submitted by all 30 teams…

AL East

AL Central

AL West

NL East

NL Central

NL West

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