10:50am: SNY’s Andy Martino tweets that there are “mixed signals” regarding whether there’s a firm deadline from the Mets to Bauer. Thosar tweets that there is not a concrete deadline in place, but a decision is nevertheless expected soon.
10:05am: The Mets have set a noon ET deadline on their current offer to free-agent righty Trevor Bauer, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports (Twitter links). The current offer is a front-loaded, three-year pact in the $100-110MM range with opt-out clauses after years one and two, per Sherman. Bauer would earn upwards of $40MM in years one and two under the current proposal. Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News tweets that the Mets do expect an answer from Bauer today.
Depending on the specific guarantee of the deal, that range suggests it’s possible for Bauer to set a new record for a contract’s average annual value. Anything north of $108MM on a three-year term would topple his former UCLA teammate Gerrit Cole’s current record of $36MM with the Yankees — albeit over a much shorter term than Cole’s nine-year commitment. Even if the total falls shy of that sum and Bauer narrowly misses an AAV record, if the Mets are indeed willing to pay upwards of $40MM in year one of the contract, that could represent a record in and of itself.
The Dodgers, according to Sherman, remain “in the mix” to sign Bauer, although MLB.com’s Jon Morosi indicated this morning that at least as of last night, it was the Mets who had the highest offer to Bauer on the table. While last night’s report from USA Today that Bauer and the Mets had a deal has been widely shot down, it does appear as though Bauer’s camp is nearing a decision on where he’ll play for at least the 2021 season.
shocking Bauer is causing so much drama. he is usually such a simple man….right?
Congrats Bauer-you are the best pitcher in a very very weak market for starting pitching. there is a reason more teams are not jumping on this dude. They see that his best years were while pitching against awful offenses in the NL central…he would get tagged against the nats braves and phillies
Agreed, and I think it’s partly due to the fact that he performs every other year, and this is looking like it will be an “in-between year”
did you see what my brewers and cardinals and pirates were throwing out there for their batting order last year?
not that tough of competition. put him in the NL east and that ERA will be a lot higher
With that said, Musgrove is lucky to be in the starting 5 in San Diego. Darvish too.
Taillon is about to be torched in New York.
Hendricks, Gray and Castillo aren’t worth the prospects they could command.
Brewers SP is overrated.
That is basically what you are telling us with regard to Bauer. I’ll buy in as long as you admit Burnes, Woodruff and Houser are overrated and complete bush while they hide in the NL Central.
You are wrong about Darvish and Hendricks. They have been quality for how many years now?
Hendricks is not overrated.
He didn’t pitch against the Cardinals last year, or the Twins, or the Indians and still managed to be around .500 facing the Cubs,Pirates,Brewers,White Sox (only good offense he faced),Royals,and Tigers
The Brewers rotation is overrated? Who gives the Brewers rotation any love? They’ve got guys with potential and who can have good games, but nothing concrete. I’ve literally never heard anyone talk glowingly about their starting 5.
LOL you have some piping hot takes over here, guests
Joc – I’m going by Miller’s logic, not by how I feel. I’d love to see Darvish or Hendricks on my team.
Pinstriped if you read what Miller wrote you’d understand. Now get some first aid ready as the clock is ticking on Stanton’s next injury.
Millerpark your right, look how bad he pitched against the Braves in the playoffs.
Sorry, WAJGH, the irony was lost on me.
Yeah, my first thought was, “the Brewers rotation is rated?”
All good Joc. Like the name switch btw.
Darvish was good last year….that’s it.
You really think any player is good enough to decide when they will be good or when they will be subpar? Or worse, you can predict a player will excel then fail year over year, in a pattern? And you can rely on it!? How stupid are you?
I like Cohen putting Bauer on the clock.
I hope Bauer doesn’t take the money. I don’t want him as a Met.
Neither do I. That may cause too much dependence on lolMets lolMetting it up.
As a Mets’ fan who doesn’t really like him personally, I wouldn’t be opposed to the short term deals he’s being offered. I believe he was originally looking for 6 years.
If and when he accepts it, I suppose Gsellman would get DFA’d. They managed to trade Matz. I don’t think they’ll be as fortunate with Gsellman.
I don’t want him as a Met either, for i still believe he will be out pitched by his teammate Jacob deGrom. That said, if there is a deal, I do hope it is only for 3 years tops.
I doubt anyone thinks Bauer is even close to DeGrom. Of course DeGrom will “out pitch” him. That said, I don’t want the Dodgers to sign him, either, especially not if it would take matching or going over what the Mets have reportedly offered.
deGrom, Carrasco & probably Stroman will outpitch Bauer.
Lol
If I’m Bauer, I would sign with the Dodgers. The dynasty Mets are all nervy with their 12pm deadline!
I think the Mets are the only team in this “bidding war” and they feel they are bidding against themselves so they put a deadline on it. Bauer is a complete headcase and I can’t wait to laugh at all the drama he will create for his new team. Once he is signed to an unmovable guaranteed contract he can say and do whatever he wants. He will own you. He has been told to be quiet and to try to stay off social media as much as he can until his contract is signed but when its done. Look out!
Hope bauer signs with Mets for that price! Don’t want him on dodgers for 40 million
IS he causing drama or is he trying to make as much money as teams are willing to pay him? It’s really the Mets causing drama. A deadline is more on an exclamation than a player hoping to get paid as much as he can.
When you offer someone 40 million a year, you give them a deadline to accept. That’s not an exclamation, that’s just logical.
Indeed. However, when one claims that it is a different party creating drama, it’s only fair to make these points.
Bauer had a goal to exceed Cole’s AAV in a short-term deal. He’s achieved that through the Mets from what we know. The ball is in his court.
I believe his original goal was a long term deal along the order of 6 years.
Yes, but that goal is completely unrealistic in this market. He’ll go with the Mets, the money and opt outs.
He’s supposedly had an offer on the table shince January 16th. If that’s true, it’s definitely Bauer causing the drama.
Nope. He’s weighing his options. I suppose drama is in the eye of the beholder.
Imagine if you are applying for a few jobs. All offered excellent opportunities with the potential to pay higher than the other.. Each of which started on the exact same date. One of the jobs offered by a company/business was made an offer quite early, The others much later.
Some were still pending a opportunity to present offer.
Is it fair to blame you (the applicant) for not taking the first offer?
Exactly. Sub Bauer’s name for Realmuto, DJL, or Springer and the whole narrative changes to smart negotiations instead of “drama”.
That’s because JTR, DJL, and GS aren’t drama queens. Stereotypes are real timesavers for legitimate reasons.
I think it’s called take a dump or get off the pot, not like the player is not having the clubs up there bids is it?
Who could blame him?
Negotiation 101
Hi sasper!
Hello little friend
Yes teams aren’t in on him because they think he couldn’t help them. It has nothing to do with the price tag. When did your entire society decide to despise all rich successful people. I get it’s jealousy and envy but still.
Well, it’s only certain rich that are despised, but organizationally rich, no doubt the enemy – you know, ‘Occupy Wallstreet’ or some such nonsense. We live in a self-centered, callous, jealous world that is being continually reinforced by contemporary culture.
I think it is one, or a combination, of three factors:
1) He can’t help the team;
2) He costs too much for the team; or,
3) He is too culturally volatile on social media for the team and they don’t want it
You know he won the Cy Young last year, right? (Blah blah blah, shortened season, blah blah blah)
The Cy Young is just an award (and that it was less than half a season does actually matter). If he were asking for 24 million it’d be one thing… but the salary he’s seeking? You need a more consistent career than he’s had and you can’t force teams into recency bias or into overvaluing a relatively small sample size
He’s an above average starting pitcher coming off his best 11 starts in a shortened season. The only thing that makes sense from a team perspective is the years. 3 isn’t a huge commitment. If he gets seriously injured insurance will cover some of it, and if he underperforms at least it’s not a long term deal.
Like he got “tagged” in the Wild Card game? Against who? But keep on ranting
I’m not Trevor Bauer, but I know I need at least 60 million per year to pitch for the Mets… Idk how Al Lieter and Mike Hampton did it.
You’re out of your mind. NYC is a great place to play (even Queens) & he can make a fortune here in endorsements. Stop with the Mets hate.
He’s trying to grow his brand so it’s not a surprise that he’s taking his time and having his name in the news so much. It’s really not that big of an issue in my opinion. At least he’s accessible and makes himself available to fans. MLB could learn a thing or 2 about promoting the game.
Bauer is a slightly above average pitcher he should be paid similar to a past prime Clayton Kershaw (Who may I add is better than Bauer). Bro, seriously who even is the best hitter in the Nl central? Paul Goldshmite? Christain Yellich? Ian Happ??? Yes, I get all of those hitters are well above average hitter, but let’s quickly check all the above-average hitters in the Nl east he would face. Starling Marte, Juan Soto, Trea Turner, Ozzi Albies, Ronald Acuna Jr, Freddie Freeman, Bryce Harper, Alec Bohm, J.t Realmuto like seriously there is 0 CHANCE he has an ERA below 3 in the Nl east I would say he would lucky to have one below 3 and a half Imo.
Jacob DeGrom seems to pull off the NL East pretty well. Bauer isn’t quite at a DeGrom level, but he’s a pretty solid pitcher.
I didn’t see what other teams did against DeGrom in the NL East last season but I’m pretty sure the Phillies slapped him around pretty hard. Degrom is a proven ace Bauer is a cocky man trying too hard after one **good** season.
DeGrom had a 178 ERA+ against only the AL and NL East in 2020, so he didn’t get slapped around that hard.
Look, Bauer is not a DeGrom. He’ll be overpaid. That said, toss out his first couple of full time seasons, and he has 3 above average season and 2 very good seasons. I suspect he’s going to be a solid, occasionally great, arm wherever he goes.
Correct that – 276 ERA+ in 2020.
There is absolutely no comparison in the talent of deGroms left pinkie and Bauers whole being.
“Why, Ted Striker’s got more guts in his little finger than most of us have in our large intestine., including the colon!”
Yes!
Didn’t Bauer quiet the Braves in the playoffs and strikeout 13 ? Or was that a dream? I did just wake up at 1:15pm, so who knows. But yes one dominating mini season has gone to his head. Surprised Taijuan Walker isn’t asking for 25 million a year after his superb 2020
Yes, he faced one NL east team and performed well in 1 game but in the course of a 162 game season he would be facing the NL east 15 times and teams like the (Braves) would adjust, and with that talent in every lineup in the NL east he would get slapped around.
The Mets will be the laughing stock in baseball when this guy gets hammered and begins bashing the fan base and blaming everyone but himself. This is the dumbest move ever by a franchise if they do sign him.
I can see him being John Rocker 2.0 except the Mets being his own team instead of a different one lol
its still miller, Bauer dominated the Braves in that gem in last years playoffs so….i think Bauer is a great #2 but he isnt worth 40 million but the all mighty Dodgers are rumored to be at 36 million per season, so he must be pretty darned good!!
I’ve been seeing that all offseason, check the stats pitchers in the central division had some of their personal best years last year
Didn’t Bauer dominate the Braves in the playoffs last year?
This is insane! I didn’t like him at $30mm. He’s certainly not worth $40. This pretty much guarantees deGrom will opt out and demand more.
That is two years from now. Who knows what will happen. I’m not worried.
Get ready for a lot of Soto and Freeman Homers off Bauer and his 4 plus era. Mickey Mouse Cy Young against crap teams
LOL! I can’t wait till the Nats are in 3rd and the Braves are in 2nd. I’m going to talk a lot of crap.
One Braves fan here Is nice. I won’t talk crap to him.
The Mets can afford to overpay for a real solid #2. Bauer is not as good as his cost, but people are crazy if they think he’s bad. He doesn’t need to be the ace of the Mets. This will be an insane rotation.
If you pay this to your no.2, you just set the bar for what your no.1 will be expecting.
deGrom was already expecting a huge payday. He’s the best there is right now.
3rd lol, you guys have jack on yur team. Even Conforto is not getting hyped up. Plus Braves may not be as good im not as high on the Morton and Smyly signings. Enjoy your big 2 of Degrom and carassco while I enjoy my big 3. Mickey Mouse Cy young…
I think it’s time to go all in in the NL East… I’m an American League fan, but love a great race! Some how I don’t see Miami in this dog fight this year… so no pressure on them!
Only if he also agrees to a 3 year deal
how exactly can they afford it? just because Cohen is darn rich doesnt mean the guy is going to go $50 million beyond the luxury tax or something.
@ Luc 2, I disagree with people who think the Dodgers’ title should be asterisked, but I think I’d be ok with them asterisking personal rewards, since those were all done against just a third of the league. Bauer, especially, is suspect, considering the only good lineup he faced all year was the White Sox.
It’s the offseason – this is the Mets World Series — go ahead. Cohen bought out the buffet. Eat, kid.
@VonPurpleHayes
Good pitcher with potential to be great, not great though. I don’t want to see an overpay for him.
8 of the 11 regular season games were against teams below .500
2-Det
2-Pit
1-KC
3-Mil and they were bad last year.
Of the 3 games against teams over .500 last year, his team won once.
He’s just not worth the $’s and the potential drama. The $’s are the big issue. He’ll get a colonoscopy from the NY media daily. Someone cue the circus music please.
An overpay for him is 20 mil. This is ridiculous. I say let someone else gamble.
If he signs with the Mets, I’ll just have to hope I’m wrong.
@MetsFan22
No one takes you seriously, anyway.
You are not wrong, that’s exactly what’s going to happen. He will begin losing and getting clobbered and begin bashing everyone except himself. The Mets ownership will look like dummies and the league will just laugh at them. I hope Degrom opts out and goes elsewhere. This is definitely a sign of disrespect for Degrom; giving an inferior pitcher double what he makes.
LOL, wow its funny how so many people hate the Mets just because of Metsfan22!! All of your fanbases have idiots that post in here too…LFGM
He is 100% correct
I think the only people who hate the Mets are fans of the other NL East teams, and any feelings about that organization likely have nothing to do with one clown poster. People just don’t like that one guy because he regularly posts ridiculously immature and stupid nonsense. Disliking one idiot and hating a rival team are two separate things.
Pretty clear Bauer wants to go to the Dodgers but he isn’t happy with their offer. Cause if he was so excited for the Mets, I think he’d have taken 3/100-110 long ago
How do you know how long the offer has been on the table?
Nice job there, Kreskin
pretty clear based on…
How do reporters who consistently get information wrong remain employed?
Because they get clicks. Clicks matter, accuracy — not so much.
There are other occupations in that category- Weathermen, economists, stock brokers/stock forecasters, my mother-in-law…although that title really isn’t an occupation.
Predicting weather is an art and it’s known it cannot be predicted 100% of the time. Reporters are claiming they have sources, they should be accurate.
Some sports reporters try to get it right, and don’t say anything if they don’t know. Others though are only interested in clicks and know that their employers feel the same. These guys don’t consider themselves journalists at all. They consider themselves part of the entertainment industry. Their job is to market the sport and their outlet by producing click-worthy stories. They would feel comfortable working at Entertainment Today.
Yes, but there is also the most unpredictable element involved – the human brain. We can change our mind frequently and on a dime when money and a place to live are involved.
If they don’t name their “sources”, as far as I’m concerned, referencing them makes them “the source”.
And some (Heyman comes to mind) are only good as a source of manure
Nightengale is consistently wrong, especially with these early predictions.
It’s almost as if he knows it’s 50/50, so he announces a signing (not the conditions of contract), but somehow almost always gets that wrong. He seems to think it’ll even out and he will get the story first so it’s worth the shot, I guess? I just don’t read anything he writes and believe it unless it is verified by someone more trustworthy.
Forecasting the weather is a science, unless you are doing it on TV, in which case it’s showbiz.
There’s a lesson in there for us somewhere.
this isnt meteorology. if you say you have hard evidence that something will happen you better be right most of the time.
They are more similar than you seem to believe. Both use data about the past to make probabilistic predictions about the future. In meteorology and in baseball, how well those models succeed in predicting the future is based on the quality of the data and the quality of the model.
Reporting on information about where a free agent is likely to sign based on information provided by a given source is completely different than predicting the weather. You could compare the weather to predicting how a given player may perform in the future, but not repeating information from a source.
I believe you just made my point.
What is the saying- Fools and their money soon parted.
NOON TODAY!!!
40 million for Trevor Bauer? Wow whoever this mans agent is should be inducted into the HOF right now.
Luba’s been busy between LeMahieu, now Bauer, and still has Puig who will most likely land somewhere.
Why LeMahieu?
I thought Luba was LeMahieu’s agent from an article — she’s not. My mistake.
Bauer is insane not to take 40M with an opt-out after one year.
Here’s an article on Bauer’s agent Rachel Luba:
courant.com/sports/baseball/hc-sp-rachel-luba-mlb-…
With opt outs after years one and two accompanied by Bauer’s ridiculous confidence and self worth; it would be a two year deal just to bag the high AAV and then hit the FA to try and get a crazy record setting deal. His ego will eventually be his worst enemy.
I don’t like him at $25m, but obviously Cohen anticipates a post season and a W.S. which will more than pay for the excessive salary for Bauer.
Can someone please explain to me why Bauer has a deadline. They’re making it sound like they’re gonna retract their offer for Bauer if he doesn’t sign between now and 12 EST
Because they want to build a team, and if he wants to play his Twitter games for another month they want to move on and find other ways to improve the club.
That’s exactly what they are going to do. They are tired of him holding them up on other potential moves.
Gotta keep this kid on task. Shiny objects. “Squirrel!”
I think this is also Cohen showing Bauer up front that he’s the boss. He’s not going to let Bauer control his organization and he wants him to know that. Just my opinion.
I agree that’s part of it, but I also think he’s hands on, really wants to improve the team, and this thing being unresolved is putting a huge monkey wrench in their rapidly dwindling offseason.
Yes, Calcetines, I agree. I think you point is likely the biggest reason for the deadline. Cohen is a business man, and trying to put this team together before they report in 2-3 weeks. He wants to pivot (probably JBJ?) to someone else and is going to move forward with plans.
Teams should look at this (Hello Yankees!) and take note. Make your offer and move on. Build your team to win but keep pushing forward. The stagnation is what’s been most frustrating for many fans this year. Good on Cohen for pushing the issue! I hope he ushers in a new (old) ownership style of actually trying to build a winning team; not this recent one key FA acquisition attempt that seems to be the standard operating procedure for clubs.
Why would the Mets have a deadline? They just offered $40MM a year. Bauer’s response is : I’ll have to think about it.
I’m honestly surprised we don’t see more of these short deals with high annual values. So many more teams could get in the bidding, plus the player has the potential to make a lot more money over the course of their career. And even a two year contract for $80 million is “set for life” cash so it’s not like you’re risking much in terms of security.
The reason you don’t see this is guys like Jason hey ward, chris davis, etc. players generally decline in their 30s. They’d rather take the largest sum of money then have to worry about playing at a high level for another deal.
Yeah, obviously the irony is that those types of contracts that go south fast make the next one for the next player a lot less likely. Obviously teams have caught on. Well besides the Yankees lol.
Look at Bruce Harper. He coulda gotten 100m for 2 years. But would he be worth the additional 230m this off season or the rest of his career? Probably not.
The flip side is what if he keeps producing? He’d have the potential to earn the same money on his current billion year contract in like 6 years instead. And then earn more.
Yeah, I’m sure the players think about this concept. He decided the risk wasn’t worth the potential gain.
I mean Harper set a record for contract. He’s not the guy who need to take a short deal
But someone being offered 6 years at 30M or 3 at 40M could take the total money. Or they bet on themselves.
You could also look at it this way. If a player has FA in 3 years, maybe he trains harder than if he’s signed for 6 years and entering year 3. If the difference in money is high enough, eventually someone will bet on themselves. They’re athletes. Their whole life is betting on themselves over others
Because $40M annually is almost 20% of the salary threshold of $210M. Trevor Bauer is not worth a fifth of your payroll. There’s a reason the As and Rays win every year. They maximize the business value of every player as it translates to aggregate wins.
Holly cow, career era in the high 3s…. getting a highest AAV ?! Baseball has gone nuts!
Depends, are they cracking down on foreign substances? Or does anything go?
how did those substances help him in 2019?
Bauer has bust written all over him. He isn’t as good as we saw in 2020. He is not worth this kind of hassle.
Welp, I don’t care as long as it’s not the Angels. Bauer has done a great job selling himself this offseason. The one year opt-out is the safety valve if he implodes so it’s really not a high risk venture.
I agree, but the media is just as guilty. They have a propensity of selling way high on every free agent class. Every year, every pitcher is a generational talent and a must-have for any organization that wants to win, etc.
They should call it what it is: guy has good stuff, good potential, and hasn’t been very much above average with the exception of the Covid-shortened season.
Normally, I’d be very concerned if he goes to the Mets. I hate them and that would clearly make them better. But the best have had pretty legit pitching for a while now and continue to crumble year after year. Even their lineups have been scary on paper and they fall apart. Idk … I should be concerned, but they have a way
Mets lineup seems pretty legit and they have never rolled out a rotation as deep and as strong as the one they would have with Bauer .
Idk man. Sure, maybe they haven’t had one as deep and strong… but they have had some in recent years that should have been and were legit. Injuries and performance just fell apart.
There is NO team in professional sports I detest more than the Braves
That’s ok, I’ll take you as one of the few hating the Braves. Cause the Mets are the one team in professional sport that everyone detest 😉
So to quote you.. The Mets are the one team in pro sports that EVERYONE detests. Right? everyone? So again every person in the entire world hates the Mets? .
I haven’t paid any attention to the Mets in many years, much less developed any strong feelings about them. If you want to generalize a NY team that a lot of people hate, stick with the Yankees. I don’t think the Mets are on most people’s radar. I know a lot of people that hate the Braves, though, if only because they hate their fans with that lame tomahawk thing they do in the stands. I just tune it out, but I know many people who can’t stand it.
Time for the drama queen to make a decision.
Drama Queen in Queens?
I liked it, it was punny and made me laugh – see what I did there?
Stroman already signed.
Hopefully 12pm comes and goes with NO deal, screw him
The only risk here is if Bauer takes the offer, the Mets don’t win the World Series, and Cohen refuses to spend more money because of Bauer’s salary. Assuming Cohen isn’t going to let Bauer’s salary keep him from spending money elsewhere, go for it.
He is not worth 10 mil a year!!!
Not taking any shots at the Mets, but he probably just doesn’t want to be affiliated with all the Cohen nonsense, and the Mets current issues. I don’t know why Bauer gets a bad rep…media blows it out of proportion. They portray him like he’s lunatic, or Greinke kind of guy and he’s far from it. He’s outspoken…whoop-di-doo
I don’t know what the Dodgers are offering, but he’s not going to turn down $40 million because he “doesn’t want to be affiliated with all the Cohen nonsense.”
What exactly is the “Cohen nonsense”? What are the “Mets current issues”? I’m seriously curious to know what you are referring to
The Cohen nonsense involves apparently a great deal of sexual harassment in and around his companies.
He loves Cohen lol
how much of that hedge fund money is Cohen slipping him?
Bauer cyber-bullied a teenage girl. It got quite brutal. He does NOT get a “bad rep”. There is plenty of info out there about what a jerk he’s been.
The girl was 21 but you are right it is not a good look. He tagged her 80+ times harassing her for an entire weekend.
Geez, it was all started when a college senior tweeted that Bauer was her “least favorite person in all of sports”…you’re gonna need that energy with the NY media.
I picture this: Bauer accepts the Mets offer and creates a buzz. He gets the ball opening day and proceeds to go 3.1 IP 7 hits 6 runs and leaves all ticked off. He proceeds to start the season 1-7 with an era of 6.48 and the NY media starts to dig at him and he snaps in an interview. Meanwhile, fans on twittee really start to hammer him and he responds way too much and accidently uses a racial slur at a fan and is suspended by the league for 10 games. He finishes year one of the deal 5-14 with an era of 5.11 and doesn’t opt out because he knows he’ll get way less money.
Right city, wrong team, Mr. Whitson.
Quite an imagination you got there
What makes you think he would use a racial slur?
Just part of my story, Art.
Yeah, and monkeys might fly out of my butt.
He’s not getting the ball opening day
I am a Dodger fan. My best guess is that the Mets have by far the best offer on the table and that either Bauer would prefer the Dodgers (other than him being from LA, there is no strong indication that is the case) and/or that he is trying to get the Met’s offer even higher before he takes it. The math does not work for the Dodgers unless they can offload Kenley and his contract: Dodgers are 4 million below the luxury tax. Let’s say they sign Turner for 14 million a. year (a reasonable assumption), they go 10 million over the luxury tax. Adding Bauer at anything over 30 million puts them 40 million over the luxury tax. Forget the money, which the Dodgers can absorb for a year. At 40 million over the luxury tax, their top draft pick next year drops 10 places. I just don’t see this front office allowing that to happen. It is antithetical to their mindset. I will be BEYOND shocked if the Dodgers sign Bauer. If they do, I would expect it is only because they are able to dump money in a trade – but, we all know that nobody will take Kenley at 20 million (16 million for luxury tax purposes), or Kelly at 8 million, and it will only happen if the Dodgers pay a team to do so with great prospects. But again, that is antithetical to the front office mindset. All of which leads me to think that Bauer is not winding up in LA.
Most of this seems reasonable but it also seems reasonable that the Dodgers have made Bauer an offer that could not be massively different than the one he got from the Mets. So if you believe the Dodgers FO doesn’t think this way, you might be wrong. Apparently they do but in terms of marginally smaller numbers. If that wasn’t the case we wouldn’t be having this conversation.
I don’t think that the Dodgers get Bauer given the strong Mets offer, but I doubt dropping 10 draft spots concerns Friedman if he really wants Bauer. The Dodgers pick so late in the first round. 10 slots is nothing.
The dodgers could be offering 1 year 50M, for example. If Bauer plans to opt out at year 1 with a good year, maybe he should take the extra 10M vs the Mets reported 40M in year 1… but he risks HAVING to perform in year 1 of course
Not an easy choice
Clock’s a tickin”
As a met fan who doesn’t have to pay this guy bring him on but my hope is that he is using the Mets and then they go sign Odorizzi, who besides K’s will probably have similar numbers. All’s I know is they better start writing checks to Conforto and Lindor now. Their price is just going to go up. And while they’re at it write Degrom a thank you check for being a good guy and doing the right thing to stay in Queens. He deserves 40 mil a yr much more then Trevor does.
Bauer’s career ERA just under 4 (3.90). The Mets offer is insane.
Career ERA is meaningless if it’s much better of late. I guess you would have passed on Randy Johnson too in a similar age if you just looked at career ERA. It takes some guys longer to put it all together. Not saying that this is Bauer, but potentially it is. The offer is huge but just goes to show you how much the Mets want him. Can’t see the Dodgers matching that and so Bauer will have to take a hometown discount to pitch for the Dodgers.
Who cares about career era? In the last 3 years combined, he’s a top 15 pitcher
You can say he’s not a 1.70 ERA guy or whatever he posted in 2020 and that’s likely legit. But he’s not the guy from 2013-2015 either
He is a 2nd tier pitcher at best. You can spin it anyway you want. The Mets are overpaying by at least 15 million a year. On top of that, he is a head case.
If he wins you G2 and G6, will you really care about his Twitter trolling? No. You won’t
3 Years $ 105 MM front loaded at $ 40 MM, $ 40MM, & $ 25 MM with opt outs after years 1 and 2 is a serious offer which expires at Noon ET.
Maybe he doesn’t want to play for the Mets and is leveraging them to play in LA.
I am hoping the Angels jump back in as they really need an Ace with competitive fire missing since Jered Weaver left, or if he goes to the Dodgers perhaps they can trade for Joe Maddon’s former ace David Price to create payroll room for the Dodgers. If he opts out this year again, he doesn’t get paid.
Not insane a better Pitcher than Tom Seaver in his prime!!
The Mets will have an amazing staff!!
Wait I hope I am missing what you said. Because I know you didn’t mean Bauer is a better pitcher than Tom Seaver
that’s insulting to Seaver
How could anyone pay him 40mill per year lol talk about all stars aligning for that guy.
What if Bauer turns down the Mets and winds up with nothing close to their amount. I like the deadline. Quit picking your nose and pick a team already.
Bauer would be completely stupid to leave this deal, there’s no way he’s getting more than this
Are players really THAT concerned about setting salary records? What a commentary on what baseball has become.
What goes up must come down.
Takes like yours, Spinning Wheel, are baffling. As the value of MLB franchises go up and up and up, why in the world would you want player salaries to remain artificially low so your favorite team owner can keep more money?
There’s a big difference between understanding that salaries are going up and an individual expecting to break the individual salary record. Plus, Bauer ain’t worth that much.
Point taken, Stevewpants. In my Pollyanna world, my take reflects my yearning for lower ticket prices, concession costs, etc., etc. But, I understand that by no means does a lower pay scale for players assure a cheaper night at the ballpark for fans. Reality is the owners would just pocket the difference. *Siiiigh.*
Well, Realmuto seemed like he was trying to up the AAV for catchers of the future. I’d believe that with him getting paid only 100k above the previous record (Mauer), so good on him. With Bauer, it feels like it’s personal, with backlot beef with a former teammate having the record (Cole) and a constant need for approval.
Crap or get off the pot. I like Cohen more and more.
Pirates will swoop in as the dark horse and sign him.
My guess is that Bauer and Rachel Luba are busy creating their YouTube videos to have ready to post before they officially accept the Mets offer. That’s the only hold up at this point.
I feel like I was right about video preparation delaying the announcement, just wrong about the team.
I would think the opt outs are more valuable than the AAV. You can basically decide when you can become a free agent again in the next two years. If you pitch well and can get more on the open market then opt out. If you don’t do as well you stick with the deal.
That should appeal to a free spirit like Bauer.
Time’s running out!
As I see it Bauer can take the Mets offer and have his name in the record books (for now) as the largest single year payday or take less money but probably have a better chance to win a ring. Not that the Mets won’t be competitive but they need to go through L.A. to
do it.
We’ll see what’s more important to him.
This would be the biggest overpay in the history of mlb. With that said, it seems like he wants to be a dodger.
This guy is not worth having the highest AAV for a pitcher.
He really isn’t worth $40 million a year. As much as this would hurt his feelings he’ll never be better then Gerrit Cole. He is definitely more important to the Mets then the Dodgers though.
He symbolizes the issue with this free agent class: none are really good enough to deserve top dollar.
What’s interesting is teams are paying out (at least with COVID discounts) for players few front offices, if any, would build a team or a staff around. You should only get this money from an organization if you’re “the guy.”
What the heck
How do you turn down that kind of offer. And two opt-outs as the cherry on top.
LA Angels should open the pocketbooks
If the Angels had opened their pockets less in the past they’d be able to field a more competitive team. Signing Bauer to his asking price wouldn’t turn them into an instant playoffs team, but it WOULD push their payroll over 200 million.
em65 – We have needed starting pitching for years. What makes you think that the Angels will ever spend money on Bauer? They have done nothing to address pitching in a decade. Nothing different this off season.
Plus there are better ways to spend 40m than on one ego like Bauer. Moreno will never go over the tax threshold, especially for pitching.
Just sign somewhere.
em65or- nah he definitely isn’t going to the Angels with disgraced Mickey Callaway there as pitching coach. They hate each from their Indian days. So no chance. If I’m Trevor, I’m signing with the Dodgers.
First, whatever a player signs for is his value..If a team offers x amount, than that is what he is worth..what we think matters little..
also, I doubt a 12 noon deadline would faze him..The only thing I am surprised at is that so few teams are interested…As a Phan, I’d prefer the Phils don’t face him too much..
DIDB, you seem to be the only poster who understands what economists figured out in 1870. Thanks for posting.
Bauer obviously doesn’t like being told what to do.This deadline might backfire on Cohen and put doubt into Lindors future as a Met.Mets better win no matter what or Lindors jamming regardless.
Bauer Career stats (9 years) 195 starts
17.5 War
3.90 era
1190 innings
1279 strikeouts
1.265 whip
1051 hits allowed
556 runs allowed
Cole career stats (8 seasons) 204 starts
26 war
3.19 era
1268 innings
1430 strikeouts
1.119 whip
1087 hits allowed
488 runs allowed
Bauer should not get paid more then Cole plain and simple
smh I hope Bauer gets shelled for this attitude
And it’s not likely he will be, in terms of years
Didn’t Cole spend much of his career pitching in the “weak American League West”?
2 seasons, actually, 5 of his 8 seasons were with Pittsburgh.
Full career is somewhat irrelevant. It’s always what have you done lately. Bauer’s numbers are much closer to Cole’s if you look at the last three years leading up to free agency. Bauer’s spin rate was massively up last year. Cole’s biggest improvement was when his spin rate increased significantly when he headed to the Astros. Smaller sample size for Bauer but he obviously has the potential to deliver elite numbers and why he’s going to get paid a lot. Not as much as Cole on a full contract basis but still a lot.
Cole signed a contract worth 3 times the amount they are discussing for Bauer. He isn’t getting paid more than Cole. If Cole wanted a 3 year deal he might be making 50 million aav.
Wow, $40MM for years 1 and 2? He’s not going to perform to that level of money, so he would be an idiot to opt out or not even sign.
Bauer is not worth anywhere near 40mil. He’s maybe worth what the Phillies paid Zack Wheeler and not a cent more.
If he wins game 5,6,or 7 in the WS he’ll be worth every penny.
There’s the deGrom factor in this. Whatever they pay Bauer will push up the pending cost of deGrom who can opt out.
Thor too!
LOL! First it is announce there is a deadline. Time starts to dwindle to under an hour to the proclaimed deadline and……….then it is reported that the deadline is not a hard deadline…..
It is after 12:00 PM ET now………
This guy is a headcase – just make a decision ya baby!
Well? it’s noon my man
Hopefully this means the Mets are ready to switch to other targets if a deal doesn’t get done soon.
I’ve watched baseball for a few days and from my view, it seems that free agents go for the big bucks..if things were equal, then he’d choose the better team..usually, the money is not equal..
Non of us really knows if it is true that the contract would be front loaded to the tune of $40m for the first two years, but if so, that is a load of scratch…good luck to him and the Mets
In the immortal words of Judge Elihu Smails ” Weeell? We’re waiting!”
pics.me.me/well-were-waiting-16036724.png
He’s waiting on angels to make their move. Now or never LA ! Get after him !
LA has already put in an offer. Anaheim may or may not.
Look at this guys career numbers. Had a nice 2018 only (26) starts. Last years 11 games and that is it. Every other year he has been in the bigs ERA over 4.20. That’s about 37 games which is equal to a full year of number 1 type numbers. The pressure on this guy now in NY for $40 million. Not worth it. Pull the offer take 25 million of it and go fill out the rest of your needs.
About time the Mets showed some Cojones with Bauer.
Let’s be fair, calling Bauer a Cyberbully is not accurate as Dude would for sure give you a swirlie IRL.
I don’t believe Alderson wants Bauer. Seems to be a Cohen obsession. Not sure it’s allowed, but Cohen should pick up the phone and call Brian Cashman and say, Brian, you’ve been running a team in NY for nearly a quarter century. We’re in the same town but different leagues. You’ve had a lot of highs and some lows. You’ve dealt with many personality types in this city. If you were working for me, and I said I wanted Bauer, what would you recommend and why? The offer to Bauer would be withdrawn shortly thereafter.
Toronto was supposedly talking to him. Thank God they didn’t offer him enough. He would get lit up in the AL East.
As opposed to the NL East which is a better division?
This is fun … kind of reminds me of LeBron and his talents going to South Beach.
2022 Pujols subtract Lindor add.Trout,Rendon & Lindor.15 teams have similar scenarios.Mets get first crack,we’ll find out quickly if Cohens money and salesmanship translates to living breathing human beings.Big money can save a organization or destroy it.IE Knick’s,WFT,& NYJ
Its funny that the highest offer is just $100 million over 3 years. Obviously most teams did not value Bauer nearly as much as he thought they would. One great season does not an Ace make.
Whoever signs him is going to immediately regret the decision come June or July. This guy was a flash in the pan for 60 games, or about 11-12 starts. They’re not exactly the same, but I think of this potential deal very similarly to how I thought of Eovaldi’s deal with Boston (4 yr/$68m after the WS win).
Guy was never good, they saw a short run in him, and fell for it. Outside of last year, Bauer has over a 4.00 career ERA. Again, good luck to whoever signs him to a 3 yr/$100m+ deal. You’re going to need every bit of luck you can find.
If this contract info is true… stupid. Why do teams offer opt outs? Does the team get to opt him out after a bad year? No. This is basically 3 one year deals. If he performs well- which I don’t expect- he opts out and re enters FA. If he sucks … he doesn’t opt out and your paying him a king’s ransom still. Stupid to me
I wonder how Degrom feels about this. Has better numbers than cole and Cole got more than him. Now he sees a career 3.9 era (last years shortened season really helped keep it under 4) getting offered more money or about the same as him?
So this guys been vocal about being the highest aav and some front offices are letting Bauer dictate that? It’s crazy, you’d think they’d see his resume and say yes he’s got potential but he’s been in the league for almost 10 years and hasn’t tapped it consistently but wants to get paid like he’s been dominating like Cole and Degrom has been for more than a quarter of a season. Bauer got lit the F up his first half in Cinci, now after 12 or so starts is gonna be paid as one of the best.
Say what you want about his Cy Young but y’all know damn well if he pitched in the nl east or west, he’s not having a dominate year. Well we’ve seen him in the AL and wasn’t really anything too special. Won more than 13 games 1 time in his whole career plus more seasons of eras north of 4 than under 4.
Good luck LA or Mets, better hope mlb makes it legal for pitchers using substances for this contract to be lived up too, but then again those 2 divisions are miles better then any he’s been in so it’s gonna be interesting.
Degrom is rooting for him to make as much as he can
It just means degrom will earn more in his next deal
Bauer is a roll of the dice.
He could be anything from elite #1 to an inning eating #3. He could be a crowd pleaser to a pariah.
What he does in post game interviews and on social media may be just as interesting as what he does on the mound.
He has the ability, the brains, and the dedication, but does he have the self control.
Somebody is gonna pay a lot of money to find out. Good for him. Maybe good for the team.
But one thing for sure. NY ain’t Ohio, and the NY media and fans aren’t nearly as forgiving and protective as they are in the smaller markets of the Midwest.
Buy lots of popcorn.
Does Bauer have a long winded opinion about wearing Craig Swan’s old number?
Prediction: Dodgers. Why? 1: Better team. 2; Close to home. 3: Nicer fans and media
Per your prediction, Cole should have signed with the Dodgers too. for the exact same reasons.
Only difference is Bauer has made it known he would like to pitch for the dodgers. Don’t remember Cole ever saying that.
Didn’t say Cole did but Cole went for the money instead of boing with the better team, closer to home and the nicer fans and media ((f you believe what @ NY. Yankee said about the fans and media) Money always enters into the decision. If the money is close, other factors will weigh heavier. If money is much higher for one team than all others, Money weighs heavier.
He goes to whoever pays the most. These guys are all the same.
Apparently he “accidentally” added a link to his website titled, ‘LFGM NEW MERCH’. But this guy is a massive troll so not sure if he is just stirring up chatter.
Signed with LA.
Those are insane numbers. As a Mets fan, I really hope he signs elsewhere if this article is accurate.
He had a very good 11 starts against very mediocre teams. If that amount of money is guaranteed, it’s an awful deal for us.
It would be a crazy deal. Where does that leave the Mets going forward? I know they will lose some payroll next year but Cano’s contract comes back. Also I’m sure they’ll want to resign Lindor, Syndergaard and Conforto will need to be paid.
So I wonder what time the 12noon deadline expires.
They said 12 noon but didn’t say which day.
Typo….they meant 12:00 PST
Fire Callaway and sign Bauer Angels!
Ha, he posted a signed Mets hat on his website but replaced it a few minutes later with a Dodgers cap. Trolling, trolling, trolling…
Obviously this guy believes the whole world is just dying to know what he’s thinking all the time about everything. Please Steve just walk away.
Cohen ,now that Bauer is gone, try to trade for a good pitcher like Castillo or Hendricks.
As a Dodger fan, I really hope the Mets sign Bauer.
As a Met fan, I really hope the Dodgers sign Bauer.
86KMets, let’s compromise and let the Angels have him.
As an Angels fan, I fear that the Angels sign Bauer. Maybe the thought of having to change his number will prevent him for signing with the Angels.
Judging by the Chalk in your name, I’m guessing you’ve been an Angels fan for a long time. It’s interesting to me how hardcore fans don’t want Bauer on their team. They understand that’s not how winners are built. I would be stunned if the Dodgers signed him, especially if those Mets numbers are real.
The Dodgers aren’t going to make an offer that doesn’t make sense for them. That could be a large number, though. I’ll trust Friedman to figure that out. Mets may make a silly offer because new owner wants to make a splash. I’d say 70%-30% Mets but wouldn’t be shocked if Bauer takes Dodger offer even if slightly lower.
Blank Frank, I have complete faith in Friedman. I think he will do something significant though maybe not this. Jose Ramirez or Matt Chapman would be more to my liking. We’ll see.
Regarding the Mets, it is my opinion that if a team needs to make several big splashes in one offseason, then they aren’t truly ready to contend.
You mean like the 2009 Yankees?
Tick toc tic toc? Bauer doesn’t seem to be worries about a 12 o’clock deadline and the Mets haven’t pulled the offer off the table. All posturing I think.
Mets could invest better this money
Trevor Bauer will not be a met.
He is a mediocre pitcher who got lucky last 11 games against a horrendous division.
He is a Dodger 4th man.
Leave Bauer a note …. I’m leaving the office at 5pm and plan B takes off tomorrow
It is interesting watching Cohen get played here by a baseball agent.
He’s not worth that, especially with 2 opt outs on a 3 year contract. 3 years at $87 M and a team option of $31 M for year 4. No opt outs.
Why bid against yourself? The Dodgers don’t want him for 3 let alone 4.
lol he has to be a Met in a few minutes
Story out there that says on Bauer’s website they were selling Mets hats. It’s now been taken off his site.
As a Marlins fan, I hope to God he goes to the Mets and and they have to eat that crap contract. He sucks big time. He was lights out for a whopping 10 games or so. If you look at his numbers year to year, he usually always starts out strong and then completely flames out. Come on uncle Cohen, give him that record contract man!
Apparently, he is only looking at NL teams because he is TOO AFRAID TO FACE COLE HEAD ON IN THE AMERICAN LEAGUE!
Dodgers just signed bauer.
Bauer released a video saying Dodgers…what is MLBTR waiting for?
Multiple reports state he signed with LA. Mets dodged the bullet on this one. Pun intended.