JANUARY 27: Martino has a bit more information on the Mets’ offer (Twitter link). The deal would run no more than four years, with Bauer picking up at least one opt-out opportunity. There’s still no indication that the Mets are anything more than one of several suitors at this point.
It’s no surprise that the New York org dangled this sort of relatively unorthodox scenario to Bauer. He’s obviously willing to entertain all sorts of contractual approaches and different teams may prefer any number of different structures. It’ll ultimately be interesting to learn (to the extent it ends up being publicly reported) just how many variations Bauer will ultimately have to choose from.
JANUARY 26: The Mets’ interest in Trevor Bauer has reached the point that they’ve made a formal offer to the right-hander, reports SNY’s Andy Martino (via Twitter). However, despite a report from USA Today’s Bob Nightengale indicating that the Mets have put forth a record-setting annual value in their offer, each of Martino, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman and MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand report that the Mets do not have an offer that strong on the table.
Nightengale has since walked back the AAV portion of his report but further tweeted that a Mets source “confirmed” they’ve made a formal offer to Bauer (obviously, at a non-record-setting rate). Mike Puma of the New York Post tweets that the offer was formally put on the table “weeks ago,” so it obviously has not been strong enough to push Bauer toward a deal. That said, the first definitive indication of an offer being made to Bauer is of some note.
The current AAV record is held by Gerrit Cole, whose nine-year contract with the Yankees pays him an average of $36MM per year. There’s been plenty of speculation on the possibility of Bauer eclipsing that mark but on a shorter-term arrangement. MLBTR’s own Tim Dierkes took a look at whether Bauer and agent Rachel Luba would have a legitimate case for seeking such a deal earlier this winter, concluding that a record AAV offer would likely need to come in at four or fewer years in total length. That topic has proven quite polarizing, with many onlookers pointing to Cole’s superior track record and consistency. However, as Tim explored, teams are typically willing to pay substantial premiums in terms of AAV if it limits the overall length of a contract.
Bauer hasn’t closed the door on any contract structure since his free agency began. As recently as 2019, the right-hander insisted he’d only sign one-year contracts upon reaching the market, playing out his career in mercenary-esque, year-to-year fashion. He’s softened that stance this winter, as both he and Luba have voiced an openness to longer-term deals. The potential for opt-out provisions to be baked into any multi-year agreement could certainly impact negotiations as well.
Ultimately, there’s no way of knowing whether a short-term deal with a record annual rate would prove enticing enough for Bauer — if any team is even willing to make such an offer in the first place — or whether he’d prefer the security of a longer-term pact at a lower price point. The answer there is quite likely dependent on the team making the offer. Bauer has stressed on his YouTube channel that he’s seeking a “partnership” with a win-now team that will support his desire to grow his brand on social media and have an “honest” conversation about him pitching every fourth day. The Mets, Angels and Blue Jays have all been linked to Bauer in recent weeks, and other pitching-needy teams are surely at least keeping tabs on his market.
he can be the baseball version of Kyrie
He isn’t stupid.
well he throws fits, will probably get a crazy ammount of money, and causes dome degree of drama off the field.
I know, but he is a smart dude. Irving is not.
Lets be real I know you like him but he’s is holding up free agencybeing a jerk on social. He is so ignorant for wanting highest AAV. He is good but not Scherzer (at the time of FA) or Degrom level
Pretty sure Bauer isn’t a flat earther either. Flat earther=complete stupidity
Let me get this straight, please. You are finding character fault in a pitcher negotiating a deal and asking for more money? Also, you’re doing so with no information on the negotiation itself aside from the public vagaries we’ve all been reading? And there are two Luc’s, not just 1?
I have joined the flat Mars society
Ok money part is bad but he knows he wont get it unless it is short term which is reasonable then, but I heard he wanted a long term. And yes there are 2 Luc’s lol
How is Bauer being a jerk for trying to maximize his earnings, especially at a time when owners are penny pinching? Harper and Machado didn’t sign yet by this point two years ago despite both receiving large offers. Were they being jerks too?
The only drama he causes off the field is among left winging sports reporters who get triggered because he’s conservative.
Dixon, is this true or hyperbole? I’m seriously asking because I don’t know the politics of those with whom he quarrels or his own.
In Machados’s case, he was being a jerk long before free agency came into effect.
Bauer is knowledgeable about some things. That’s not the same thing as being smart.
Please forward me a flat Mars society application! Sounds like a fun group!
“If the moon was made of spare ribs… would ya eat it?” – Harry Ferrell
Not saying the earth is flat but believing the earth is a globe is an assumption. And assumptions are pretty stupid.
2 years @$27.5mm per is pushing it
angels1961 – how can something that doesn’t exist be flat?
An assumption? It isn’t an assumption – there’s literally evidence.
Dixon- let me be clear, I like Bauer the SP and would love it if the Mariners signed him. Of course he won’t though seeing he has stated he will not sign with a rebuilding team like ‘ours.’
The incident you describe was cause enough for the Mets (per K Rosenthal) to reconsider trying to sign him given J Porters recent firing. You’re suggesting the online harassment of Kate Feldman was self-inflicted due to her own intense emotional reaction and inability to stay in the moment, in your words “triggered.” You say it’s her own doing because of her political beliefs? That is ridiculous, tone-deaf, unfair and also untrue. The reporter received death threats and Holocaust jokes after Bauer told his large group of followers to go after her on Twitter.
That was not the only interaction. Bauer’s followers on Twitter also attacked a 19 yr old. I understand that Bauer is only 30 years old and is still learning to be a grown-up. As I said I like the SP Bauer however I’ve changed my view on him as a person after I read about those incidents. How would you like it if your own parents or maybe your own child did this to a stranger? It would be shameful and embarrassing to say the least. Bauer still has time to change the situation, and my opinion of him. It starts with an apology and a level of humility- it’s the least he can do, it’s also the grown up thing to do.
I’m joining the pop tarts are flat society. That makes me smart.
I wouldn’t call a person “not smart” because he needs time away from a game to think about and do things that he fills he needs to handle. That’s not very smart for you to say that.
That’s not a good example cause machado and Harper are jerks
Dix,
Your stupidity knows no bounds.
Keep in mind he is a pitcher. Takes far longer to get ready for the season.
No it certainly isn’t. Their are astronauts and pictures to prove that ‘assumption’.
awwl poor reporter got some of her own medicine. I am sickened….
About time someone did.
@bloodysox Believing the earth is a globe isn’t an assumption. It’s easily backed up by readily available facts. This isn’t a ‘both sides’ situation. There’s a right answer and a wrong answer.
Look up what Harper does when not playing baseball. The amount of time and large amounts of money given to charities is ridiculous. He is also very religious/spiritual and leads a very clean life out of baseball. He could be a role model.
So because sometimes he gets fired up and yells at umps or breaks a bat puts him NO WHERE near Machado who is one of the biggest jerks in baseball.
And disclaimer, I’m a Marlins fan so I have no reason to defend him.
It does bring up some interesting historical tidbits.
A lot of people think that people use to think the earth was flat. The truth is that we’ve known for at least 1800 years, and probably longer, that the earth was round.
And some people think that the reason the English didn’t fund Columbus’ trip was because they thought he’d fall off the end of the earth. The actual reason was that they knew Columbus had made an error in calculating how far away China was in a western direction. Columbus had made his calculations using an 18,000 circumference, and even in the 1400s, they knew the earth was 25,000 miles in circumference.
They assumed that Columbus would starve before he reached China. And he would’ve had he not stumbled into America.
When Lebron held the ‘decision,’ do you think he was a jerk? Bauer is kind of playing a similar angle social media.
The problem here is Bauer wasn’t the one harassing her, it was other individuals. Feldman and Bauer had a very public disagreement in terms of their stances on COVID. They both reacted accordingly. Other people then acted negatively toward her online (people also acted in a negative manner toward Bauer). When you utilize a public platform, you’re assuming risk in a sense that people will be able to contact you and expose you to information, viewpoints, and/or opinions you may find reprehensible. One potential consequence of having a public disagreement is people may choose to express their opinion in a very negative manner. That does not make the person you had a disagreement with solely responsible for the actions of other individuals who may disagree with your viewpoint. If one cannot recognize that they’re assuming a greater basic risk by choosing a profession that puts them in the public sphere more than the average person, as well being active on social media itself can open a person up to more potential negative views and opinions, then I’m not sure what to tell that person. Maybe they should get out of the kitchen if they cannot handle the potential heat that may occur by being in their chosen profession.
Unfortunately, this other interaction is one I’m not overly familiar with. Though when trying to dig into it and pull up screenshots of the tweets, I could only find articles that already reached a conclusion while not sharing the majority of said tweets. They seemed to work backwards in a sense that they wanted the reader to agree with their somewhat obvious preconceived conclusion, while exposing the reader to limited info. They presented the information in a one sided manner, while showing only several tweets from a series of interactions that contained at least several orders of magnitude more tweets than were being shown in the article(s). That is the definition of cherry picking; which causes me to question the intention of the writer(s) from the available websites. If they won’t even link to the full exchange, then its reasonable to assume they’re pushing some pre-determined agenda. Though I have to admit, his tweet regarding “here’s more followers” is a bit unnecessary. Even from the clearly biased articles, it appears to be an interaction between two individuals where one became upset that the more well known individual had the advantage of having literal fans, and the individual with literal fans is not responsible for the actions of every one of his fans. The individual without the fans knew that the individual that she was engaging with had a fanbase prior to choosing to interact, and that one potential outcome is those fans would side with the player they like and engage with her; some of course in a very negative and hurtful manner (which is unfortunate but within the realm of expected outcomes for humans).
With that being said, I do think its somewhat immature for a professional baseball player to engage in twitter wars, though to each their own. Bauer doesn’t seem to be the type to back down, and that can be beneficial in certain environments (the mound) and a negative in others (unnecessary twitter wars). The trolling appears to get him attention, and some believe any attention is good attention. Bauer is also allowed to express himself and share his opinions, regardless of how ludicrous or sound people find those opinions to be. In a way, I find it somewhat refreshing he will actually engage with us “lowly” normal people, though I can’t always agree with his methods, and I certainly don’t share every one of his opinions. I personally find twitter to be a place of unabashed tribalism, and the interactions on the platform tend to be the equivalent of apes grunting at one another. There aren’t enough characters in a tweet to have a true in depth discussion, and most people just seem more interested in some version of smack talking (though some hide it better through being sophisticated and eloquent with their words).
ayrbhoy – let me be clear…
He probably doesn’t gaf what ur opinion is of him. I definitely don’t. Sanctimonious behavior got rebutted ss a result of what was said and if he didn’t say it then take it up with who ever did.
Being religious and a jerk are not mutually exclusive. Harper can be as religious as he wants but he can still be a complete jerk, because that is his personality. Same applies to a rabbi, pastor or priest, their job is to be religious but they can still be complete jerks
@northside Can you please repeat that?
Give me the tweet that incited all this? Nothing I’ve found online shows any wrong doing from Bauer. This sounds like a way to bring Bauer’s salary down.
I can see you haven’t followed his YouTube. You just follow the MSM take on him. “He has fits…”… he had 1 2 years ago with throwing the ball and that’s it. But keep listening to ESPN.
I’m joining the Pop Tarts taste good society…
He’s a baseball player. So long as can play well it doesn’t matter if he makes a pea plant look like a Rhodes Scholar.
“the only drama”?! Oh, so your saying that stories of Bauer’s weirdness are just products of Fake news, huh?
Yeah, well another ball player that engaged with us “lowly fans” was Curt Schilling, who almost never misses a chance to come off as an idiot, to this very day.
Holy crap, the conspiracy theorists are coming out of the wood work the last 4 years and are multiplying..
I wonder if @MetsFan22 is happy that the Mets may pay top dollar for Bauer’s 2020 season – ahem…the season that @MetsFan22 has said multiple times is not a real season?
Kyrie isn’t stupid. He is having some sort of mental break down and it isn’t funny to make light of it!
Just here to point out the very high “like” counts on some of the above comments.
Except Bauer won’t abandon his team… In fact, he is so dedicated that he’d rather pitch every 4th day versus leaving his team without his services. Big difference. Kyrie is also active in the community, where Bauer is active on working on his personal Brand
Bauer actually donates to charities, but always in the sum of 420 or 69. I’m not making this up. Also, he is very stupid.
The point being, some things are more important than a game. It’s called LIFE!!!!
Nightengale having an “ exclusive scoop” being debunked by like twenty writers ten minutes after he writes it always makes me howl. How is he still employed?
did he break the Brantley news?
No, that was Hazel Mae. The Toronto signing Brantley news.
Hazel Mae…yum yum…
It seems to be a big deal among these baseball writers as to who reports someone signing first. Where, for how much money, for how long, any money deferred, any opt-outs, etc, etc. Any little tidbit about said signing that is reported first is expected to get acknowledgement, and is considered a feather in their cap. But when a writer, like Nightengale, jumps the gun and throws something out there that is challenged and disproven, by his peers, well, it must be embarrassing and humiliating. Poor Bob N. Btw, I know nothing about Bob Nightengale.
Here we go!
Pay the man his money- Teddy KGB
(Rounders)
What a great movie
And in my club, i will splash the pot whenever da f*** I please!
One of my favorites ever. It reminds me of some of the danker places I hung out in. It had a $12M budget, and still managed to have actors that most everyone would know, and three more that folks might be familiar with.
Pay the man and agree about rounders!!
He will make Mets tough too beat!!
Only one request : don’t put Puig in same team (one crazy horse at a time)
Bauer has 2 seasons out of nine with an ERA under 4. Explain to me how that warrants being the highest paid pitcher of all time? Two elite seasons and seven average ones doesn’t add up to being perennially elite.
IMO, I’d take Tanaka over him any day.
It should be exciting nonetheless
What does Tanaka have to do with anything? The guy is older and pitching with a torn ulnar. Please compare their postseason stats and get back to me!!!
baseball-reference.com/players/t/tanakma01.shtml
baseball-reference.com/players/b/bauertr01.shtml
I’m speaking on terms of the cost, and volatility of Bauer vs Tanaka. Yes, Bauer has a solid postseason record, and so does Tanaka.. check out their Reg season & then compare projected salaries. Pretty close to the same production at roughly third the cost. It’s just not worth it to me. Mets can afford to take huge risk on a guy like Bauer, where the Tigers have proven volatile contracts can break their system. That’s the difference in organizations though.
Ok, I’m here getting back to you. I see a guy in Bauer who is 1-4 with a 2.94 ERA in the postseason. He’s had some good games and some crappy games. Sucked in 2016 against the Red Sox and Cubs. Wasn’t good in 2018 against Houston. Tanaka rattled off 8 straight quality starts in the postseason, with an ERA around 1.50 until the most recent postseason when he just didn’t have it.
So, you’re basing the decision to spend a $30M+ AAV for Bauer vs $15M+ for Tanaka on the most recent postseason, and you believe both will be exactly those pitchers from one or two starts this most recent October?
Bauer is a better pitcher at this stage. No doubt. If that’s your argument, fine, then just say that. They are a different price points and should not be compared the way you just did, especially since Tanaka had an excellent postseason history up until this October when all it takes is a guy to lose his mechanics for a couple of consecutive starts. Easily could–and has–happened to Bauer. Bauer has lost his mechanics for months on end at times.
Here’s your explanation. It doesn’t warrant it. Plain and simple.
I am not saying he is worth the money, but nowadays teams pay for what you will do in the future and not what you have done in the past. I imagine his future projections look favorable.
He has definitely managed to over hype himself. We will see how well that works for him when he signs somewhere. My guess is it hasn’t worked to his expectations thus far or he would have signed already. The best part is those 2 good seasons didn’t even happen back to back. AND one of those was a shortened season.
I’ll also add that in 2020 he only pitched against the Central divisions. Which no doubt inflated his success.
The AL central was a good division last year though. The Indians and Twins both made the playoffs and the White Sox were in it all year.
Bauer didn’t pitch against the Indians, Twins, or Cardinals and went 5-4 against the rest. If he made the roughly 21 more starts he would have had in a normal season there is no way he wins a Cy Young Award
Bc he held out and then in his contract year – finally started cheating like so many before him. His spin rate while using a banned substance instantly makes him one of best players in baseball
m.youtube.com/watch?v=-8zgvK1UAH4
It’s honestly ridiculous. And he’s coming off a Mickey Mouse Cy Young season where he faced one good lineup in what wouldn’t even be considered half of a normal season. Huge buyer beware flags.
Sounds like Rick Porcello.
Exactly.
I agree he’s not worth it, but just to play devil’s advocate… they do tend to value guys on the last three years.. most know that what happened before that, especially early career, is mostly irrelevant… in 2018-20, he’s 11th in MLB w 3.18 era, 17th in whip w 1.12, 16th in FIP, 9th in K/9… he’s so unlikable and overvalued that people are painting him as worse than he is
I don’t understand why people hate him. Is it because he’s opinionated? Is it because he’s trying to market himself in a big way? Is it just his personality? People generally shy away from people who don’t toe the company line and who go against the status quo. I think it’s hilarious how uncomfortable he makes people.
Stand in the center field bleachers. Turn your head for a minute figuring there is no action then get beaned when he throws it at you from the mound. There’s supposed to be pride in sportsmanship. The man doesn’t have any.
Angel Hernandez called it a strike.
@DTDATL I think it’s too easy to turn this into a personality/political issue. There are other issues to signing him for the NYM’s.
Obviously, I don’t speak for everyone. I don’t hate him. I just don’t think he’s worth the money reported he’s asking for. Plus the #2 pick and Int’l bonus pool money it would take.. He’d be the #2 SP on the Mets at best. The concerns about the level of competition he faced last year are valid. The Mets have more holes to fill. That’s my big issue with it. Social media concerns are there to a lesser degree for me. The NY media will constantly be focused on him for the sheer drama of it. That being said, I can’t imagine that if he became a Met that the clubhouse would want to answer questions about his social media posts on a regular basis. The potential for a huge distraction is legitimate when it comes to him.. Then there’s the whole substance for spin rate thing going on with him as well. If NYM’s didn’t have an Ace in place then It’d be understandable to take that risk IMO..
The way I see it there’s more cons than pros with him for theMets.
On a personal note he just strikes me more of a “me” player than a “we” player but I’d be happy to be wrong.
I couldn’t care less if increases his social media presence, or gets followers, or gets endorsements. Over the years, I heard Patrick Ewing say it is all about putting dinner on the table, or Clemens saying he wanted to be closer to his family in Texas, before taking Toronto’s offer, or Hampton taking CO’s offer because ‘it is all about the schools’.
But at least they cared enough to lie to the press. Bauer coming out emphasizing that it is all about promoting his brand is just awful optics.
@DTDATL No, I just think he’s to volatile. I’m a DET fan, and IMO these contracts can be devastating on the mid-low market teams. If I was a team owner I would gladly take 3 Tanakas for the cost of 1 Bauer. I never thought of Bauer as a “top tier” pitcher though (Which is debatable, I know), nor would I want to pay him as 1. For whatever reason we group these pitchers by class, and decided not to compare them by individuals (exp: tier 1/2/3, ace/2,3,4,5); so for that, my philosophy is, to take 3 #2 pitchers for the cost of 1 “ace”
Totally agreed !! Look at his track record, he isn’t even an ace on the Mets team but a solid #2. Just because he had a hot 12 starts in 2020 doesn’t make him a degrom. Totally fine with him going to the angels.
American Leaguers always have higher era’s
Same case could have been made for Cole before NYY signed him.
MetsFan22 thoughts?
It depends how much we give him.
“Mets already have the best team this century. If they get Bauer, the best pitcher this epoch, then they will have an unmatched dynasty, winning five, no… ten WS championships in a row – consider it done. Hand them the rings now and cue the celebrations”
How’d I do? Mets22?
@Yankee Clipper
Spot on.
Mets>Braves
I’m a Mets fan. “Mets>Braves” only in your deluded brain.
Love the confidence, but I still like the Braves in 2021. Qe’ll see though. You have every reason to be excited.
Lol calm down. I’m not yankee fans. I will say tho that we are already the best team in NY… lol
Mets22 – At least you have a good sense of humor, man. I’ve got to give you that.
If they get Bauer… this will be the best Mets team since 1986, and imo they’ll be even better than the Braves. They still need more depth in the pen, but getting Bauer would be yuuuge.
They are already better. Compare the rosters.
I think the lineups are very, very close right now, but having Matz in the 5 hole for even half a season right now hurts the Mets a lot. You should know. That is almost a guaranteed bad start. Wait… I forgot about Lucchesi. Hmm… it’s very close. Smyly vs Lucchesi? Smyly is better, but if the Mets get Bauer then the Mets have the better rotation because I like Peterson vs Smyly. I am comparing depth, and the Mets would have the better depth there.
The Mets’ lineup is better. I believe that, but it is only by a smidge.
The Mets pen needs to get better though, they need to get 4 or 5 MiLB pickups as possible walk-ons from ST as well as getting a few “bigger” names like Jeffress.
It’s very close. Bauer pushes them over the edge though.
I feel bad for matz. He started his career good.
@MetsFan22 not a bad depth option. pitchers aren’t going to be as conditioned this year and depth will be key. Matz will come into play for sure (unless he’s traded of course.)
I didn’t realize the Mets were still in the league! Do they have uniforms and everything?
all the good colors were already taken
@Rangers29 Sounds right.
The Mets are still short a real starting pitcher, if they want to be in the conversation with the Dodgers and Padres, a reliably well above average arm like Bauer with deGrom-like upside does just that.
Even adding someone like Odorizzi just doesn’t get them there. One of Carrasco and Stroman are likely to be ineffective or done by the postseason, and you won’t go far even with Jake if your postseason rotation is
deGrom-Stroman-Odorizzi-???
Gambling everything on a perfect return to form by Syndergaard is NOT what contenders aiming to go deep into the postseason do.
Figure 180 regular season innings from deGrom after the odd year that was 2020; 140 from Stroman and Carrasco, 125 from Lucchesi and Peterson, and 100 from Syndergaard. That’s 810 from your starters, 350 of which are likely to be iffy, and that’s also if no one suffers a debilitating injury.
In short, the Mets’ best case is not all that great. They really, really need a pitcher like Bauer (or Luis Castillo, or Kyle Hendriks, or Zack Greinke…) both for the regular season and to line up well against the best teams in the postseason. Cheers,
I’m really curious how his honest conversation about starting every 4th day went.
Bauer: I want to start every 4th day.
Alderson: Honestly, I don’t see that happening, but here’s a pile of money.
Bauer: Sounds good. Glad we had this talk.
@JOHNSmith2778
Figure both sides have the requisite map, with Bauer as the #2:
2 1 3 4 2
5 1 3 2 4
5 1 2 3 4
5 2 1 3 4
2 1 5 3 2
4 1 5 2 3
4 1 2 5 3
4 2 1 5 3
2 4 1 5 2
3 4 1 2 5
etc., etc.
It could work, but you’re constantly bumping guys from their usual rest. The best you can do is minimize how often you bump your ace, but you either start your #2 opening day or to get your ace to start on OD you have to push your #2 back to the 4 slot the first week.
It’s not clear that the rest of the rotation is going to love doing all this for one starter. I wouldn’t want to distort my training regimen, unless he pitched like deGrom.
With New York being one of the highest taxed states, he would need to get 50 million higher than the nearest offer.
You have no idea how taxes work
Lol, I’m a accountant, think I know some, but ok. That’s wht over 122,000 have left New York in 2020.
Moving to skip out on taxes is not very patriotic! Good riddance 122,000 jerks. I’m sure you’ll be very happy in Kentucky!
1-Moving from one state to another is not really an act of patriotism.
2-I love NY, having been born here, but there are a whole lot of 2nd tier cities that are lovely.
3-Moving is a form of pure market capitalism. If you two diners in your neighborhood, and one was expensive with high prices, and the moderately-priced with reasonable prices, you would go to the latter. Then the former goes out of business, and the latter becomes rich by virtue of a monopoly, thus drawing in additional competition.
It is an identical model for cities. When places like NYC get too expensive, or places like Chicago get too violent, then folks will, and more importantly, should move to places like Austin, Nashville, and 100 places just like them.
One big reason why people left NYC in 2020 was because with a contagion the worst place to be is where population is outrageously concentrated. 10,000 people per city block. Impossible to be safe. Of course people left the city. Of course. I would have left and I love that city. Last, 120,000 is less than 2% of 8.5 million.
It also depends on the financial value of those leaving. My understanding is that the amount of wealth that left the city was higher than the amount of people. You can only do that for so long, before becoming Chicago.
*** If you two diners in your neighborhood, and one was expensive with food, and the moderately-priced with good food,***
Over 122000 fled NY because their mayor is a f@cking idiot that shut down businesses and allowed riots to happen while defunding the police. And let’s no forget how badly the governor misplayed the virus (nursing homes was a good idea for covid patients…..really?!!!)
YES DADDY!
He doesn’t deserve it. He’s an absolute roller coaster, which is why I don’t want him in SF
Youre safe. He’s not old enough or washed up enough to be on SF’s radar. They’re probably not on his either
That’s right, we don’t want any Cy Young award winners here!
bring on the has-beens and never-weres…
Leaving the debate of “Is Bauer an elite pitcher” aside, I think I’d rather the club invest in another proven late-inning bullpen arm and go into ST with that flexibility than be tied to another pricey starter that puts us over the cap. Next year should have a lot of expensive extensions (e.g. Conforto) and Cano getting paid again.
yeah the cap crunch next year could get ugly. still only 2nd year over, but they might be over by a bit.
As a Met fan, I’m mixed on this. He’s not worth more than deGrom, but I do like that Steve Cohen is willing to spend money. It would be an amazing rotation with everyone healthy and pitching up to ability – deGrom, Bauer, Stroman, Carrasco, and (by summer) Syndergaard.
Bauer and Thor on the same team. Egos aside, the Mets PR is going to have their handsfull on Twitter.
I do like Bauer a lot though. It’s baffling to me that the Mets would go all-in on him over Springer and Realmuto, but he certainly improves an already solid rotation.
And you don’t even mention Stro Show?
Scary!!!
Oh man. Forgot about Stro’s Twitter. Good lord.
@VonPurpleHayes Sad to say, the Mets have nothing resembling “an already solid rotation.”
They have the great deGrom, but after that they
–Carrasco, who missed a lot of 2019 thanks to leukemia, and is 34. A fine pitcher but will he even get to 150 innings, if healthy?
–Stroman, has not thrown to better than a 97 ERA+ in 3 of the last 5 years
–Lucchesi, a below average pitcher for his career. 120 ip is about his max in ’21
–Peterson. A weak season in 2019 in AA, and a lucky 49ip in mlb in 2020.
–Syndergaard, may be back in mid-season from TJS. Maybe. And with what stuff?
And that’s about it. The Mets are going to be reaching for their #7-10 starters, and they have just about nothing. The rotation is thin, and iffy. They need a workhorse #2 starter if they want to be considered in the same conversation as LA and SD.
Otherwise it’s a lot of wishful thinking.
All this clarifies is that Bauer is still available. Not even a suggestion of whether a Mets’ offer is putting take-it-or-leave it “pressure” on him?
There’s the AAV record of $36M and there’s the 1-year Record of around $38.667M which is held by either or both Rendon and/or Strasburg.
I think it’ll be 3 years/$105M w/ a $10M buyout on a $40M option. So 3 years/$115M or 4 years/$145M. That’s my prediction.
That sounds somewhere in the ballpark and I think the fourth year option should be a vesting or an opt-out if Bauer really wants to bet on himself.
This seems to me like another case of “The Mets were my second choice.”
I don’t know why, just a hunch.
He’s going to Dodgers, that will be big move by blue this off season
I don’t know, I can’t see them wanting to pay him more than Kershaw, and Bauer would also have to accept a short deal. I think he goes to the Mets.
Angles need to go all out for him.
Angels need to get Walker,Paxton or Odorizzi
Angel needs all three and they might make it to .500
If the Angels had a bullpen, they’d easily make it to 500.
The Angels have already messed up.
O’Day went today. The Angels need at least two players. They could have used 2RPs and a Pitcher. They have 38 men on their 40 man roster, Schebler is making the team.
Get O’Day instead of Claudio, then they need one RP and one SP. Schebler still makes the team, and they still have to drop a player, but they would have had a much much better bullpen. Claudio… what a waste!!!!
I’m not impressed with Perry the Platypus. I’m much more impressed with Agent P.
If there’s an incorrect report, it’s almost exclusively tied to either Nightengale or Heyman. Crazy how these guys keep getting paid to publish whether their reports are accurate or not.
Because they always try to be “first” rather than trying to report the actual news. Maybe if they quit acting like 11 year olds in Youtube comments sections and more like grown men, they’d get more right.
I mean, I get it. Clearly their employers care more about being first than being accurate, so if it gets you paid why not keep doing it. Hard to blame them exclusively when it makes sense financially. Doesn’t make it any better though, I’ve had to unfollow both from pretty much every source because none of their scoops have any reliability whatsoever.
The absolute two worst in the industry. It’s shocking that they are still employed.
Agree wholeheartedly. Reputation and reliability used to mean something on the field of journalism and more and more that seems to be less valued, it’s all about click value at this point.
I think they’re both just mouthpieces for teams. They use them to negotiate through the media.
They’re both former weatherman from Seattle
Please no. He’s not worth anywhere near elite money, he’s a distraction, and most importantly, if they signed him, they’re going to have to sail past the Competitive Balance Tax next year to re-sign Conforto/Thor/Stroman/Lindor.
Unless this is for a really short deal, please pass on Bauer.
Sir, I agree with you wholeheartedly. I think a majority of people do, and for your sake, I hope you don’t get him on a long term deal.
The Mets should stay away from him unless they could get him to agree to a short term deal. The risk with this guy outweighs the possible benefit on any deal three years or greater
No, please no! Mets don’t do the crazy overpay.
This article is really interesting… Mark Feinsand posted a Tweet 7 minutes apart from Nightengale stipulating Mets have not made an offer to Trevor Bauer – hm.
@Steve Adams: maybe change two words in the title. Have Mets Made Offer…..
Who’s more reliable? That would be a good poll.
He softened that stance to one year contracts because it was ridiculous stance to have. Especially for a pitcher. I must admit though, I chuckle at the idea he’s learned.
I understand the Pirates are “in on” Bauer .Really, I saw it on Newsmax Sports.
As a Angels fan, I say GO METS!!!
They’ll no doubt have one of best pitching staffs in league but lineup is still a little meh….
HUH? Conforto, Lindor, Alsono, Dom Smith, McCann, McNeil.
Tell me a pitcher that will see those 6 names and be happy they are facing a ‘meh’ lineup.
…to the confortoismyspritual… post:
Add Nimmo’s .400obp and JD Davis very lethal, line-drive bat and who ever might be still added (Bradley) and there are NO easy outs, especially in any DH game.
McNeil
Lindor
Conforto
Alonso
Smith
Davis
Nimmo
McCann
Pitcher
…there’s gonna be some runs scored even if Pete ‘only’ hits .250/.350/.900. That’s still 40+ hr and 125+ rbi.
With good health, this team could realistically have 4 guys with 100 runs scored (McNeil, Lindor, Alonso and Conforto) and 4 guys with 100 rbi in Conforto, Alonso, Smith and maybe even Lindor.
I think you can add 80 more runs with Nimmo and 80 rbi from Davis. McCann should be good for 60/60 just by being on the field for 120 games. If this team stays healthy, their is NOTHING ‘meh’ about the Mets.
Trevor May is the ex-Twin, sorry. The other noteworthy pitchers are Brad Brach, Miguel Castro and Jacob Barnes – all depth pieces. Kilome and Oswalt are starting depth down at AAA.
Nightengale needs his press credentials revoked. Has he ever broke a correct story?
I’m sure he has at least once, even if only by accident. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then.
Hope the Mets put in a no drone clause in the contract
Maybe 4 years @ 40 mil=160 Million total?
Nah, seems high. I’m guessing 4/$144, and even that’s likely to be an overpay by the time it’s done.
@Rob66
Sorry to say, the Mets are not going to sign Bauer.
In order to sail through his approval vote, Cohen presumably had a handshake agreement with other owners not to go over the soft cap in 2021 in order to maintain something of a united front in advance of the next CBA negotiations during the 2021-22 offseason.
They still need a SP, a CFer even if it’s just a backup, a better LH reliever than Loup, probably another catcher at least on a minor league deal, and a backup MI who can play 3B–and that’s if they don’t get a starting 3Bman to replace Davis.
They can’t begin to do that and add Bauer, even at something like 1/30m. It’s not happening.
Trevor Bauer in the NY media market is a disaster waiting to happen. His online trolling won’t go down as well when it’s not shoved in some midwest location like Cleveland or Cincinnati. He’s also nowhere near a lock to even cover his idiotic s**tposting skills by his mound performance. He’s everything the Mets don’t need to go wrong.
Where is Houston on this? They have no reputation to protect now. He wants an organization to “partner with his brand”…well welcome to Nirvana d**k lips.
He used to complain about how brutal the Cleveland media treated him. Good luck in in NYC or LA!
Really disappointed that Bauer is backing off his 1 year mercenary track. I really enjoyed the idea of watching that play out. He could get $45 MM this offseason on a one-year deal and then keep raking it in going forward.
Bauer strikes me as a guy who is more focussed on usurping Cole’s AAV above all else, and may have to take a shorter term deal in order to achieve that status.
Time will tell whether that level of ego pays off over the course of his career.
I wouldn’t even give this guy 2 years at $35M+. One year though I guess I could live with. Even though Syndergaard hasn’t been great in years, I’d rather have him long term.
Reporting offer in place with a record breaking AAV…
Then changed to An Offer In Place…
Is it me, or has there been a huge up tick in this kind of fishing reporting this year.
Exaggerate a report only to be corrected so you can have more details for later?? I do get it is a Rumour site. Some of these guys are accumulating a terrible track record though.
EastCoastCanuc
Reporting offer in place with a record breaking AAV…
Then changed to An Offer In Place…
Is it me, or has there been a huge up tick in this kind of fishing reporting this year.
=====================================================
I think it’s always been like this. ‘An offer in place’ is probably something that can be said about every FA. An offer that will be strongly considered is an entirely different animal.
The bar has been set pretty low. Probably pretty much in line with the rest of the media reporting.
Any conversation about Bauer’s AAV should not start with record + … it should start with deGrom’s salary –
I love Bauer gets all this credit for a being a “pitching savant” and hes a genius when it comes to breaking down pitching. Do ppl really think he’s the only pitcher in the MLB that utilizes info like him? Answer No, he’s the only one who makes it public for everyone to watch.
Remember how much he was criticized for his unorthodox methods in Arizona? He put himself out there unlike anyone else and should be rewarded for thinking outside the box and withstanding immense criticism.
Put it this way. For the money Bauer wants for this year, you can sign both Bradley Jr. And Tanaka. Sorry the latter scenario would make them a much better team.
Reds just hoping Bauer cracks $50M total for the better compensatory pick under the ridiculous current CBA formula. AAV is irrelevant for that.
Bauer turned the easiest 73 innings of his career into a Cy Young award.
He faced the Tigers twice.
He faced the Brewers 3 times.
He faced the Royals once.
He faced the Pirates twice.
He faced the Cubs twice and White Sox once.
There is no way any time should overpay for more than one season. In his nine year career, the guy has been an All Star ONE TIME.
If I’m playing on house money, I offer 15 million for one year to pitch for the Mets, load it with incentives and be done with him. Unless Carrasco gave some kind of glowing review, there’s no way any team can believe he won’t regress back to 13-12 with 200 K’s, an era of 4.00 and more headaches than he’s worth.
All that being said, I hope my Mets sign him for 1-2 years and slot him in right behind deGrom.
1 deGrom
2 Bauer
3 Carrasco
4 Peterson
5 Stroman
6 Lucchesi
7 Matz
Syndergaard later, but only if he’s 100% (I still think he comes back in the bullpen – imagine THAT!)
Bullpen
Diaz
Lugo
Twin (brain fart)
—still need a lefty unless we are converting Matz or Lucchesi
Betances
Familia
Gsellman
Syndergaard
I still feel like I’m forgetting another 1 or 2 pitchers. Damn, that’s deep! Starters throw a lot of innings which takes even more pressure (and innings) off the pen.
“Twin” = Trevor May?
Your thinking of Trevor May. And great analysis on Bauer.
He was best pitcher in baseball in 2020 and 2018 before a come-backer ended his season. He’s one of the most dominant strike out pitchers in the game and very durable outside of freak injuries. One more thing about Bauer that people don’t really appreciate unless he’s on your team is his stamina. He’s the only pitcher in baseball who is willing to throw 120+ pitches whenever it’s necessary.
Dude is not worth Gerrit Cole money.
Gerrit Cole is not worth Gerrit Cole money. But teams hand out big contracts to make it harder for the competition to sign players. It’s a pyramid house of cards.
Gerrit Cole is worth Gerrit Cole money because Gerrit Cole received Gerrit Cole money.
Cole will definitely not be worth it after the league cracks down on foreign substances. Look for Cole to revert back to his Pittsburgh days in 2021.
3yrs – 100MM. followed by 3 yrs of of salary to be determined by arbitration based off previous years salary with a cap of 25% raise or paycut. That way he gets to keep his “gambler” persona and backing up his paycheck with his output. If the union would even allow something like that ( guessing they wouldn’t).
I could maybe see
1 / $40
2 / $75
Any longer term and AAV would have to drop big time.
He’s just weird. I don’t trust him. If we haven’t learned not to hand people things without regard to their makeup than we are just hopeless.
I wish this idiot would get on with it. I can’t wait for the colossal blow up. My team, the Jays, have talked to him. There is NO WAY I would want to be saddled with whatever he is asking. Good on ya, get your money, and get out of the way so we can move forward.
An offer for all the free drones Bauer can handle?
Antone as a Cubs fan love it !!
After signing Springer it’s put up or shut up time for the Jays. They need pitching and it’s time to get him. More annually than Cole? No. 6-years for $170-mil is a strong offer for the reigning Cy Young winner.
For those calling him a Mickey Mouse Cy Uoung winner, does that apply to every 2020 winner including the Dodgers? Jose Ramirez? Both rookies?
Jays still need a 3B and at least 1 top arm. Look. Even if Bauer rides an ERA near 4.00, as long as he can start 30 and give you 190 innings or more he should win 15 per season with that lineup. You can cheap out and settle for Tanner Roark 2.0 again. How did that work out? Let’s go get Bauer and make another big statement to the AL East.
What did Ramirez win? Abreu got MVP.
Yeah, I totally screwed that one up. Abreu is the reigning MVP, not Ramirez.
Exactly what I said on a Bauer post before (not the Jays needs but Mickey mouse stuff) and to add on it wasn’t his fault that’s how the season schedule worked out
For those calling him a Mickey Mouse Cy Uoung winner, does that apply to every 2020 winner
===================================================================
Yes, to varying degrees. Ramirez is likely not a .993 OPS. But his 3 previous seasons showed a .907, so that becomes my guess. Likewise, Bauer is probably not a 1.73 ERA pitcher. But in his case, his three previous seasons were a 3.68. The difference on Ramirez is not much more than y-o-y variance. The difference on Bauer is huge.
And I will say that about a lot of guys. For example, is Dalbec really a .959 OPS kind of guy? I doubt it.
Right. But let’s not tell a team on the rise with loads of money below the threshold who’s in serious need of pitching to say no thanks to Bauer, only to turn around and overpay Odorizzi. Bauer could potentially be the best long-term solution compared to next year’s FA class. Jays need to go get him.
One thing I haven’t seen mentioned much here that could drive up Bauer’s price tag is the scarcity of high-end starters on the FA market this year, especially considering who is left.
Tanaka is aging, has some questions about his elbow, and while good hasn’t been a stud (higher floor, lower ceiling). Paxton has a scary injury history and just hasn’t been able to demonstrate any sustained success. Odorizzi is similar with less of a ceiling.
Bauer projects to a solid floor with a Cy Young caliber ceiling. He’s been reasonably durable (aside from off the field injuries). And he’s only 30 years old. There just aren’t very many pitchers available who offer all of that. And every team needs good starting piching. Low supply, high demand = $$$.
True. The problem for Bauer is that not many teams are in the market for a 35 + million/year starter which limits his options and limits teams bidding up the price. The other problem for Bauer is that next year’s FA class is shaping up to be one of the best ever and no one wants to be on the wrong side of the luxury tax. He will make more money then baby Jesus, but it will take time because the few teams that are interested are not bidding against 30 teams. More like 3 or 4.
The stats for Bauer over his last 90 starts (the Cole & Strausburg comparisons) are impressive. He definitely is a pitching nerd and yes he likely benefits from a substance, but so do 95% of pitchers. Batters would rather a guy have improved control than a guy who is wile and throws 98 and may Ear Hole them.
Bauer’s social media stuff is not ideal, but we need to put it in context. He didn’t kill a guy drunk driving (Dante Stallworth), he didn’t knock his g/f unconscious on video (Ray Rice), and he didn’t Bill Cosby women (self-explanatory). He used his fame to send his social media followers after a random woman and he also harassed another woman. Neither instance are acceptable. However, a team is still going to sign him.
As for the Mets and Porter….it’s important to note that the Mets didn’t know about it, and when they found out they fired him….<12 later. It may have been even <8hr later. Porter did what he did when he was with the Cubs…I think it was 4+ years ago. Scumbag move, but the Mets aren't to blame that he withheld this information from them, and when they found out they terminated him quickly.
Is Bauer worth the $$…meh. I don't want him on the Mets for more than 3 years. $3/$80m as the base, with bonuses to push him to $36.5m AAV so he can claim that he beat Cole, but he'd have to repeat as Cy Young, hit X-number of innings, X-number of strikeouts, etc. The particulars will depend upon what is allowed by the CBA to count as a bonus and what isn't.
If Bauer committed a violent offense and was facing a year suspension, that is a different scenario, but right now I'd begrudgingly support his signing. 3 years or less, with incentives, and hopefully he can be that #1-#2 he claims to be. I still view him as a #3-#4 who has optimized his pitching to be better. His pitching insight could be interesting with the new stats dept that Cohen is implementing. If he can produce on the field, I don't think he will be a clubhouse problem because teams that win rarely fight. Teams that lose, fight about most anything.
deGrom
Bauer
Carrasco
Stroman
Lucchesi
Peterson
BP get Matz as a mop-up, Syn because he'll need to be stretched out, and the SP will likely run a 6 man rotation anyway bc of a shortened last season. Their lineup really doesn't have a hole. Their defense…much improved.
Trevor Bauer’s numbers last year have to be taken with a grain of salt. 60-game season and he pitched in the National League Central which was by far the worst hitting division in baseball. Yu Darvish, the Cy Young runner-up also benefitted from this. He is not a #1 starter. He is more like a #3 when he is on. He was awful with Cincinnati in 2019.
Excellent point, not to mention pitching against only AL and NL Central opponents. The two worst divisions in MLB by far. Anyone shocked a guy from the Central (Shane Bieber)won in the AL as well??? Then went out and faced an AL East team and got hammered.
The two central divisions had seven combined teams qualify for the two out of three play in series and not one of them won!!! All the division series were played by east and west teams, Asstros were fortunate enough to get the Twinkies despite a losing record, go figure.
@Very Barrt In the OP’s defense, he did use Bauer’s last 90 plus starts as his main sample size, while your rebuttal fixates on the most recent 12. As much as the NL central had some questionable lineups last yr, Bauer did face the white sox (and Bieber had to face the WS and Twins regularly). Furthermore, though the cubs had a down offensive year, that lineup isn’t devoid of talent by any means, and the cards and brewers have ran out respectable lineups ovet the last several years as well. Bauer is most definitely less of a sure thing as Cole, and his asking price is a bit unreasonable. However, his last 90 plus starts indicate he’s closer to a one or two than a mid rotation hurler
That would give the Mets a good rotation. Assuming Bauer and Stroman can get their heads through the locker room door.
Bauer is an ace on a good chunk of rotations if we stop comparing him to Degrom Sherzer Cole Verlander Beiber etc
Right. So get rid of all the true aces and Bauer definitely looks more like one. =D
Or Gerrit Cole? Because he’s better then Shwerzer at this point in his career. Like Verlander, Sale and even Kershaw, all showing signs of age. I put Cole number 1 in the AL and de Grom in the NL..
Bauer has a longstanding beef with Cole going back to their college days and that’s the reason he wants to break that record of most per year, he seems to be spiteful enough to take even as low as a one year deal if it eclipsed Cole’s yearly salary, despite it hurting himself after a CY Young year..
Excellent point, not to mention pitching against only AL and NL Central opponents. The two worst divisions in MLB by far. Anyone shocked a guy from the Central (Shane Bieber)won in the AL as well??? Then went out and faced an AL East team and got hammered.
The two central divisions had seven combined teams qualify for the two out of three play in series and not one of them won!!! All the division series were played by east and west teams, Astros were fortunate enough to get the Twinkies despite a losing record, go figure.
Is Bauer an ace if he’s on the….
Angels=yes
A’s yes
Mariners yes
Rangers yes
Astros probably if Verlander is gonna be out
NL west
Dodgers could make an argument but probably not
Padres toss up/pick your poison
Giants yes
Rockies yes
D backs yes
Al central
Indians no
Royals yes
Tigers yes
Twins yes
White Sox could be
NL cent
Reds probably Castillo
Brewers yes
Pirates obviously
Cubs yes
Cardinals probably
Al East
Yankees no
Red Sox yes if Sale is gonna be out
Jays toss up with Ryu
Orioles yes
Rays yes
Nl east
Nats no
Mets no
Phillies could be
Marlins yes
Braves no
Last year I’m not going to knock too hard on him. Can’t fault him for the competition he faced, he didn’t make the schedule. He did however keep his team in every game he pitched if not went deep and the pen blew it. But he showed up and dealt when his number was called. With that being said…
So to his numbers, out of 7 seasons in the bigs he’s only registered 2 seasons of era under 4 (last year and 18’) so 5 seasons of era north of 4. Only 1 season of 200+innings pitched (19’)
Wins are subjective I know but the Cleveland teams at the time were playoff contenders, had good offense. I mean they almost won it all in against the cubs. Most wins is 17 (17’) has never won more than 12 across his 6 other full seasons. Again some people dont hold that much weight in wins but the Cleveland teams he were on weren’t sorry offenses and were playoff contenders.
The year he was traded (19’) he had very good numbers 9-8 with a 3.79 era but then got lit up his first half season to go 2-5 with a 6.3 era. To his credit he turned it around and dealt. But again last year was subjective, there is no doubt he was filthy but at the same time he never faced true elite offenses that if he faces in a regular year his numbers aren’t going to be as good.
So good luck to whatever team he signs with and pray baseball lets pitchers use stuff for better grip cuz he ain’t gonna post those numbers again.
Dude is a head case. Good luck!
DeGroms deal looking like a steal. Signing Bauer to Cole money will they still have money left for Lindor, Conforto and Thor?
It’s what Alderson and the Mets need to do. Sign him or move on in whatever direction they see fit. The hole in CF, a right handed hitting CF. With no DH package Smith and Matz to the Cubs for Bryant
Why not go after both Bryant and Hendricks on the Cubs.
I sure hope the Mets didn’t offer him anywhere near $36MM/year.
Agreed, Jays and Angels make the most sense, but your right, nowhere near 36m per. That price really looks bad for the Mets, when it’s not a TOP PRIORITY need.
They need a back end starter, not a front of rotation guy. Certainly not one that would cost them 36m. Put that $$$ aside for next season
Offer him two years at DeGrom money. No more than that. At least DeGrom has been producing near Cy Young work for longer than Bauer. Forget about the comparison to Gerritt Cole. Jacob is who has to stand next to him in the locker room.
““confirmed” they’ve made a formal offer to Bauer (obviously, at a non-record-setting rate)”
How do you know it was a non-record-setting rate? Could’ve been $200MM over 5 years which would be a record setting contract of $40MM per year. But Bauer thought he could get more.
Come on, Bauer—take it already.
If Bauer is willing to bet on his health for another year, I think he’d be wise to take a one-year deal with the highest AAV he can get and go back to free-agency after the coronavirus is controlled enough to permit more-or-less normal-size crowds in MLB stadiums. That supposes, of course, that the virus will be under control before 2022. Owners are bound to feel better about long-term investments when they can count on ticket sales to pay the bills.
If Bauer is willing to bet on his health for another year, I think he’d be wise to take a one-year deal with the highest AAV he can get and go back to free-agency after the coronavirus is controlled enough to permit more-or-less normal-size crowds in MLB stadiums. That supposes, of course, that the virus will be under control before 2022. Owners are bound to feel better about long-term investments when they can count on ticket sales to pay the bills.
If Bauer is willing to bet on his health for another year, I think he’d be wise to take a one-year deal with the highest AAV he can get and go back to free-agency after the coronavirus is controlled enough to permit more-or-less normal-size crowds in MLB stadiums. That supposes, of course, that the virus will be under control before 2022. Owners are bound to feel better about long-term investments when they can count on ticket sales to help pay the bills.
If Bauer is willing to bet on his health for another year, I think he’d be wise to take a one-year deal with the highest AAV he can get and go back to free-agency after the coronavirus is controlled enough to permit more-or-less normal-size crowds in MLB stadiums. That supposes, of course, that the virus will be under control before 2022. Owners are bound to feel better about long-term investments when they can count on ticket sales to help pay the bills.
You can say that again
Hit the Enter button again, why don’t you?
This is what I’m thinking.. 4yrs/$120M with opt out after year one. $30M a year but If he opts out, his 2021 salary increase to $36M. This would allow Bauer to play on a WS contender for a year and reenter the FA market again next year after $36M pay day. Otherwise, if he struggles or gets injured has a 3yr/$90M safety net.
If he opts out his salary would retroactively increase? Why should he be incentivized to opt out?
I’m suggesting that contract if the Mets don’t plan to pay that high AAV for more than one year. Bauer won’t just take a “1 year” deal because if he gets injured there goes any chances of him cashing in next offseason.
Also Mets did something similar for Céspedes’ first time leaving NY for FA. Signed for 3yrs/$75M with an opt out after one year that he exercised and increased his 2016 salary to $28M before being resigned for 4yrs/$110M.
Good point.
It’s also sad how Cespedes let the Mets off the hook after his production halved in 2016 and he missed 30 games, and the Mets STILL upped him to 4/110m. Just pitiful.
Yeah they like to outbid themselves for FAs.. Ollie Perez & Jason Bay too.
So supposedly a four year offer from Mets. Does he even break 30mil per? Does he get offered 4/140$??
Will Dodgers sweep in and offer one year 38-40$?
dearly hope the angels are not sitting on their hands!
Not sure why you would want bauer on 4/130 million dollar contract. Dude has a lifetime 3.9 era outside of 1 1/2 seasons has been pretty average….think angels will trade for gray or Castillo and add to pen imo
i rather hope they keep the few prospects they have.
@Tatsumaki That’s true. I mean, every projection system factors in what a guy did 5, 6, 7, 8 years ago instead of looking at what he’s done in the last 3-4 seasons.
Oh. Wait.
Lord if the Mets got him and I’d be very upset
AF/LAD should offer him $40 million, commit to letting him start every 4th day (until September, when organization reserves the right to prepare for playoffs/set rotation) on a 1 year deal.
I think a Bauer signing would put the Mets at least head to head with Atlanta. Probably ahead. Atlanta should have gone for Tanaka instead of Smyly.
Supposedly Tanaka was only considering the Yankees or going overseas. I wanted the Mets to try for him, but I saw he just signed overseas, so that is that.
Was also hoping Mets would get him. Bauer is something else…nasty 12-6 and solid pitcher but man…that personality in the big apple could be interesting to say least and do not believe he deserves Cole money or something like he wants.
If Mickey Callaway ends up helping the Mets get Bauer, I will die laughing.
Can the Mets afford a free agent? It’s been a rough few days on the stock market for the owner. #oppsIshortedGameStop
I’m sure he has AMC and Gamestop
lol…Cohen made $2B+ last year. From one of his companies. I think he paid $2.6B or so for the Mets. Dude is fine. He even responded on twitter to someone saying that one investment has nothing to do with another investment. They hedge fund gets do 9 and 10 figure deals regularly, so he knows what he is doing. The Gamestop stuff is admittedly hilarious bc of how much the financial industry has screwed over the 99% over the decades.
He may be smart to sign a 2 year guaranteed deal with an opt out, and option for years 3/4. The market will be better in the future.
If the deal runs 4 years, why aren’t the Jays on this? It’s not a 5-year deal and it’s not a 6-year deal. A 4-year run is about right and it takes him off the books when Springer is limping into his last two seasons.
He seems like a real piece of work. Met’s would be better off without this tool bag. He likely wants to be in the NY market though.
Don’t do it! Spend less on a SP.
The Mets could buy Odorizzi who has similar career numbers and Walker for less.
Agree. Sign Walker & call it a day.
If Bauer had any balls…..he would sign with the Tigers for cheap and announce he did it because they play the Yankees twice in the beginning of the season. He wants to pitch against Cole. Then demand to be traded to whoever plays the Yankees next when trading opens up.
His goal = be a 30 game winner and most of those wins……against you know who.
Ok. Look….he plans on shutting them out. So the Tigers CAN score enough runs.
I’d like some of what this RnR is smoking/using…..
Does the offer include Rachel Luba?