7:44PM: According to multiple industry sources, Gausman will receive a five-year deal worth around $100MM in guaranteed money, Morosi reports in his latest Twitter update.
TODAY, 1:09PM: MLB Network’s Jon Morosi tweets that the Giants “have a good chance to retain Kevin Gausman, based on the current tenor of negotiations.”
NOVEMBER 27: Kevin Gausman appears to be close to picking his new team, as MLB Network’s Jon Morosi (Twitter links) reports that the free agent right-hander will likely make his decision within the next two or three days. The Blue Jays are one of the finalists for Gausman’s services, though it isn’t known how many other teams are also still in the running. The Jays, Giants, Angels, Red Sox, Mets, and Mariners have all been linked to Gausman’s market at various points this winter.
There is enough interest in Gausman that “a five-year deal is increasingly likely,” Morosi writes. This is actually less than the six-year, $138MM deal that MLBTR projected for Gausman (who ranked fifth on our list of the offseason’s top 50 free agents), but it is still a healthy commitment for a pitcher entering his age-31 season. Beyond Gausman’s strong numbers over the last two seasons, he can also be signed without any draft pick compensation required, making him an even more attractive candidate for teams.
For example, the Angels have already surrendered one draft pick in order to sign the qualifying offer-rejecting Noah Syndergaard. Therefore, Gausman is probably a more enticing addition for the Angels than Robbie Ray, who is the last remaining free agent starter who rejected a QO (though the Angels reportedly had some interest in Ray earlier in the offseason).
The Blue Jays may have two compensatory picks coming back their way should Ray and Marcus Semien sign elsewhere. That frees the Jays up to perhaps sign another QO free agent since they know they’ll be getting at least one extra pick anyway, or maybe deal a notable prospect if they feel they can replenish their farm system with extra selections in the 2022 draft.
Gausman has long been on Toronto’s radar, as the club had interest in the righty in each of the last two offseasons. Last winter, the Jays reportedly offered Gausman three years and around $40MM before he opted to bet on himself by accepting the Giants’ qualifying offer — a very wise move in hindsight, given what Gausman is now poised to earn this offseason. Should the Jays win the bidding for Gausman, he will immediately bolster a rotation that has already lost Steven Matz to the Cardinals and may also lose Ray. Gausman would join Jose Berrios, Hyun Jin Ryu, and Alek Manoah in the starting five, with other starting options like Nate Pearson, Ross Stripling, or Anthony Kay now battling for the fifth starter’s job.
Assuming he does agree to a deal soon, Gausman will join the long list of major free agent pitchers who have already landed deals before the expiration of the Collective Bargaining Agreement on December 1. Syndergaard, Matz, Justin Verlander, Eduardo Rodriguez, Anthony DeSclafani, and Andrew Heaney have signed, though obviously several other prominent arms (i.e. Ray, Max Scherzer, Marcus Stroman, Carlos Rodon, Jon Gray) are still available.
Hopefully the Mets are in on him too
No way he even considers Mets. I still see him staying in SF
Giants are lowballing him, mariners and Mets are the only teams giving him real money and real years
Mariners and Mets are the only teams giving him real money but the Blue Jays are the only team mentioned in the post…
@dshires4 Check out paragraph 1, 4th sentence.
But from your ellipses, I’ll infer that you were poking fun of previous post.
Check the post again, dshires4.
“Check out paragraph 1, 4th sentence.”
@ paddyo875;
I’m not sure what the argument is over.
But I checked the 1st paragraph a half-dozen times, and it has 3 sentences.
Yeah they way they update articles really backfires on comments. It was a one paragraph article that mentioned the Blue Jays alone when it was first posted.
@dshires4 I guess you are paid in Bitcoin. I guess that works well in Afghanistan.
I would imagine that if Farhan was offering him 5/130+ that Gausman would prefer SF. If Z doesn’t think he’s worth that, I don’t think he’s willing to overpay Gaus. As good as Gausman has been for us, 5 years for a two pitch guy at age 31 worries me too. Thus, if the Jays give him the big bucks and lotsa years, my guess is he’ll take it.
I agree. I’m not sold on Gausman turning a corner and suddenly becoming an ace. He has been at best a number three starter and that was for the Orioles. He had one decent year in Atlanta then fell off a cliff stat wise and was traded to the Reds where he was used in the bullpen. So he had a good season, does that make him worth 20 million a year?
Most if not all of these writers are Canadians and Toronto Blue Jays fans as well so there is a little bit of bias during these posts. just sayin’
Where do you get that bs from. Both the Angels and the Blue Jays are major players in the money game! You’re obviously a disgruntled Mets fan who peeved with the average players your team has signed so far. Syndergaard, Loup, Stroman and so many others want out of New York. There’s no-way that Gausman signs with a losing team !
Scottapp05- the Giants have just as much capital, prospects and FA money to spend as the Mariners. The two clubs are on pretty similar trajectories.
I think a time or two last year, Gausy was leading all pitchers. All Star. He IS an ace. A 6.4 WAR, only pitcher above him was Max with a 7.2.
dshires4… Like I said, no pitchers want to go to the Mets…!!!”Mariners and Mets are the only teams giving Gausman money…” But he just signed with the Blue Jays, 5-years $110 million !!! You’re spewing garbage comments like a real beginner here!!
Doug Dueck…Really??? Fact: Gausman signed with the Blue Jays for 5-years and $110 million dollars !!!
Your sources need an upgrade!!!
Of course he would consider the Mets. Why wouldn’t he?
Why would he want to be a met???? To many question marks.. He is what 31 now? hasn’t got a ring yet. He wants to be on a team that has it’s front office in order. Good manager on the field. A team with a good chance to get him a ring. This is his one chance where he can control what team he will play for. Giants or Dodgers best pick for national league west. Houston or Boston if he wants.to switch leagues. mets didn’t even finish above 500 last year.
So teams who finish below 500 don’t sign free agents?
What a bizarre post. Have you considered the possibility that Gausman might simply take the best offer?
And the angles are that team? Lol
I didn’t say that. Teams with losing records over several consecutive years are at a disadvantage over teams that seem to be in the play offs every year. There are exceptions. Some players want to be closer to home or want to play for there favorite team that they followed when they were kids. The vast majority of players want to play for contenders.
No. Halo’s are a few good players away from being a contender.
2003 Marlins checking in.
Fans have this awful tendency to assume to know what a player wants. It usually comes down to straight cash. Mets have plenty of that, and are clearly trying to win now.
Well, Gausman’s splitter does have some good angles to it. He throws it best when he get his angles correct on his delivery. When his angles are off, like right after the AS game, not so much.
Right you are Gphan12, even though you were being obtuse while others attempted to acutely address this issue.
@California Halo’s
Agreed. The lineup is there. They just need some pitching. Not bottom feeders but real pitching.
If the Angels had 3 good starters they would be dangerous.
@California’s Halo’s: Players who don’t take the highest (or near the highest) bid are the exception, not the rule. If the Mets, or the Pirates or the Orioles or whoever for that matter, offered Gausman top dollar, he would absolutely consider it and would probably take it. He just turned 31. A five year deal to maximize his money could leave him with a few years afterwards to chase a ring (or get traded in the last year to a contender).
@VonPurpleHayes- newsflash: look how long it took for the Mets to find a GM. Nobody really wants to be a Met, and also look at the owner Steve Cohen’s immature behavior, a definite red flag.
The Mets signed 3 FA this weekend. In one day. This is a false narrative. I hate the Mets, but players are willing to go there.
Cohen reminds me a lot of King George, “the boss,” and Mr Yankass 4 life, you and many other fans idolize that guy.
The “vast majority” as you say play for the largest payday.
Too- also I doubt Gausman cares about any of that, he wants to turn this into as many dollars as he can. Mets have as much chance in the next 5 years as any team. He’s a mediocre pitcher coming off a career year. This is about cashing in.
Like every other spending team.
Fans have this awful tendency to assume to know what a player wants.
================================
I think, as a general theoretical construct, the fans are right. I think the players think like we think. Everyone in here wants more money. If you’ve spent a long time making less money, the money becomes relatively more important. If you have a little money, then you start looking at quality of life issues.
For 5% more, would you choose a job with a longer commute, and a crappy atmosphere?
None of these lousy bums know or appreciate how lucky they are. With the exception of a very few foreign kids (many of whom are too young to fully appreciate their situation)
NONE OF THESE RICH BSTRDS HAVE EVER HAD A HARD DAY IN THEIR ENTIRE LIVES.
BASEBALL PLAYERS ARE JUST RICH PEOPLE BEING WHINY LITTLE ****ES.
Have you considered that he will remain with the Giants and he is just showing his value to get as much out of them as possible?
Absolutely disagree.
Who are the angles?
Cue the latest bitter tweet from Cohen crying foul because somehow Gausman did him wrong by signing with TOR.
It’s not a Farfan thing to go beyond 3 years. No chance he’s going 5 or 6. Gausman is as good as gone.
@gmen I think that’s probably true in regards to pitching. He did offer Bryce 10 years though.
There was some guy that kept posting comments about “will Toronto finally be able to get Gausman after trying so hard for years?” He kept posting it over and over again and no one paid any attention to him. Eventually someone called him out for it and said, “No. Why do you keep posting this exact comment everywhere?” I think he may have said things even more rude than that. I guess it turns out that guy knew what he was talking about. I never saw him say anything other than that and it’s a pretty big coincidence if one person only says one thing all the time and it becomes true. Especially because at the time no one was predicting it. I wonder how he knew that Toronto was so all in on G-man.
Well the fact the Jays were in on him last year and made a 3 yr offer might be a clue to their intentions this year.
A ton of Jays related media outlets have touched on it since the WS.
No he said he is considering the Mets. I just got off the phone with him. He called me to tell me where he would consider signing. I don’t know him.
The Mets are definitely in play, Eppler isn’t messing around.
Scherzer is gonna sign with LAD or SF and Gausman will be a Met very soon
You already got Marte, Canha and Escobar, let other teams have some fun lol.
The Mets won’t part with the pick…….is that not obvious by now
Gausman won’t cost a pick.
@Altuves wouldn’t that be a reason they’d want Gausman?
Bahahaha. No one wants to play for the NY Muts. Your owner is a spoiled brat who cries when he doesn’t get his way. Your GM is a retread, hired because he is a good lapdog (ask Moreno). Plus you have Sandy pulling the strings. That’s why your ace pitcher who you paid to not play last two years jumped on first chance to jettison to a team that can actually contend. Come on now, you really think you can sign 3 over the hill players and not expect all 3 to land on DL come May? Come’ on, man. This is New York! Boom!
I know this is a troll post (calling Syndergaard their ‘ace’, saying the Angels ‘can actually contend’ when compared to the Mets), but they literally just signed three free agents yesterday, so yes, there are people who want to play for the ‘Muts’.
These posts are getting really old. Muts- real original, super clever. The Mets are signing free agents, they extended Lindor, they have the best pitcher in the game, one of the best young stars. The whole narrative around the Mets is tired.
GAUSMAN TO TORONTO
Angels in on him too
yes we are
Except that they probably only offered him a 3yr contract.
You’re probably right. Don’t understand their reasoning for only offering short term deals. It’s not like their system is stocked with arms.
The Angel’s only offer short contracts because Arti realizes that pitchers signed to long contracts are seldom worth the money. If he has to choose paying a pitcher 20 or 30 million a year to make 30 starts a year or pay a hitter big money and he plays in 150+ games a year Artie takes the hitter every time. Unfortunately hitters usually burn him too.
not worth the money, as opposed to Trevor Cahill, Julio Teheran, Matt Harvey,, etc.
Meteor – Actually we are stacked with arms after drafting 20 pitchers this year. They’re just not MLB ready arms mostly.
When I said arms I meant good ones. We have no clue how any of those 20 will turn out. Outside of Detmers and maybe Bachman, there’s really no one. I’ve felt all year that we need to trade Adell, Adams and/or Marsh for top pitching prospects; Meyer, Baz, Cabrera, Greene, ect. At least then we could justify short term contracts.
I get it Meteor and I agree. But the fact is we are stacked with arms from the draft. Maybe 10% will ever be MLB ready. It’s tough to say. I think we should trade Adell for some ready-now pitchers too. But not our usual ragged bunch of has-beens. Pitchers who are solid now, not ones looking to bounce back.
I like Gausman
Ever since he stopped throwing his horrible slider so much and moved to that nasty split finger, he’s been dominating
Well his numbers after umps began checking certainly don’t amount to “dominating”..
I would really like him in an Astros uniform
Astros are so loaded with starting pitching i wouldn’t be surprised to see them shop Jake Odorizzi (even if it means eating a large chunk of his salary). After bringing back Verlander and maybe either signing a stopgap SS (Story) or circling back with one last attempt at keeping Correa i wouldn’t expect the Astros to spend big money on anyone
How is Story a stopgap? He will get at least one offer for five years with perhaps several others. With a very limited market for 300 mil. players, I can see Correa signing a big money contract for 1-3 years, like the late Trevor Bauer.
what why is no one talking about the mystery team yet this off-season
Well attracting one is clearly why Gausman’s agent leaked this story to Morosi.
Jays make too much sense. If they sign him and let Ray walk they get one of the top 5 FA pitchers this offseason and get to keep the compensation for losing Ray. Win win for me
If I had to guess I’d say Ray has Toronto’s final number and is testing the waters. I can’t imagine the way this front office works that they haven’t hit him with a take it or leave it and he’s shopping around. Which he should, no hate on the guy.
I’d put in 6/162 at 27m per year. Doubtful anybody tops it but if they do go 6/174. Anything beyond that pass
Gausman profiles to me as a guy who doesn’t want the drama as much
In other words, doesn’t really care if he’s on a contender and just wants a lower profile, quiet situation
If that’s true then the Angels would be the favorites
Some guys just want to work on their craft and collect a paycheck
in what world is Los Angeles (of Anaheim lol ) quieter and lower profile than Seattle?
Just as long as he doesn’t sign with the Yankees, then it’s ok.
He was actually on the Yankees radar when he was on the O’s. Cash likes him, so I could envision the Yankees assessing his price point, but no way they do it anywhere near the $150/5 mark.
I’m not speaking to whether he deserves it; rather, I’m addressing the obvious issue that they appear hesitant to go there for a clear position of need (SS) without seeking a reduced price, so they certainly won’t for the rotation, which may have been our best performing group in ‘21.
Except for Verlander and Max, I don’t really think this is a great class of pitching free agents. A lot of threes and fours, or guys coming off of career years. The only way the Yankees touch anybody in the starter market is if someone is looking to re-establish themselves (Verlander, who they were in on, or Kluber last year) or if someone is looking for a salary dump after the CBA is figured out. The only guy I would have been in on is Stroman, because of his disability, although I recently posted he’s a perfect fit for the Astros.
I agree SS is the top priority, but aside from a trade for a Lopez from KC or something like that, I don’t think the Yankees do anything before Dec 2. Hal being behind the 180MM luxury tax tells me all I need to know.
As a die hard Giants fan who will never-the-less miss Gausman, I say other teams can HAVE him for 5-6 years and $120-$150 M. No way he’s worth that. He faltered in the second half, I think other teams started to figure him out. I’d give him 3 years max and no higher than $70-$80 M. Time for the Giants to move on and spend their (considerable) money better elsewhere,
Couldn’t agree more. Giants saw first hand what Gausman looked like with a splitter that stopped moving late in the season. Somebody is going to overpay and be kicking themselves in three years for doing so.
Ok, he’s not worth that money and you’re moving on. Who are you going to replace him with, and at how much?
If the rumors are correct, it seems like the Giants might be able to get Max Scherzer on a short term (very) high aav contract, say 2-3 years for $80-90 M. Or Jon Gray, 4 years for $70M. Or they could probably pick up 3-4 guys for Gausman-type money who are looking to get one- or two-year contracts to regain their value… Kershaw, Duffy, Smyly, Foltynewicz, Rodon, Cobb, Kikuchi. Lotta’ names still not off the board. Not as many as a week or two ago! But much better ways to spend $140M in my opinion, if a team is so inclined.
I read about Gausmans’ potential prowess since he first came up. He floated around for 7 years living on potential. 3 teams gave up. The Giants unlocked him.
Now maybe this guy will be a TOR pitcher for the 5-6 years he gets a fat contract for. But unless it’s with the Giants, I have my doubts he’ll be kept in sync….and even then…….
Current MLB team success is all about their staffs – coaching and otherwise – getting the most out of the players they have under contract. No need to lay out that sort of money for all those years. Teams like the Rays, Brewers, Guardians, Astros, Dodgers, and Giants will be squaring away pitchers that outproduce him for far, far less money. I’d like to see stats FO’s have about what the percentage chance is that Mr. Gausman – or any player like him – is going to be solid for the next 5-6 years. Looking back over the past 5-6 years, I don’t think more than a handful of pitchers have been consistently elite. However, lot’s of pitchers did get large contracts that teams are stuck with.
Please see one Pete Walker + Robbie Ray. Jays got staff. But no way do I want to give a 30 year old 6 years. 3-4 tops.
Gausman has dome a fine job of reinventing himself in San Francisco and as much as the Sox need pitching i don’t want to see them sign him. I think he will thrive in Anaheim/Seattle or back in SF but coming east i would be hesitant om a long term contract
Yep, he may not have the stuff to get through those deep lineups. I know he changed his pitching and there are late bloomers, but I could see a significant regression coming to the ALE, especially as he ages into his mid-thirties. Y4L above said exactly the same thing, probably for the same reasons.
May want to rethink that comment. He faced the Dodgers for two seasons. There is no team as deep offensively in the AL East. Also had to face the Padres stacked lineup.
Environmental factors play a part. Dodger Stadium and Petco Park are nowhere close to playing in Yankees Stadium or Fenway Park
I’d want him on Angels but for me he’s far from a sure ace. His second half left room for concerns. His floor is still probably a #3 SP which is better than what Angels have had.. I would be happy if Angels signed him, but I’d prefer Ray or Stroman by quite a bit.
Very telling that Farhan Zaidi is not ready to open the wallet for either Kris Bryant or Kevin Gausman? Who is he eyeing? Ownership is giving the green light.
Who, is Zaidi willing to sign/commit big $ long term?
what’s to say he isnt?
@Central, I’m thinking the same thing you are about Bryant and Gausman. How about Marcus Semien? Didn’t you post about that that other day?? An infield with Bart, Belt, Semien, Longo, and Craw would be pretty solid especially with LaStella and Flores as utility guys. Maybe Castellanos bat??? Ray and Stro on the mound?? There’s still lots of goods on the shelf even tho Black Friday has come and gone.
@central valley Oh my Gawd…A tweet sets you off. It is telling that you don’t understand how this works. If you had any understanding of the Giants, they don’t need to spend big dollars on Free Agents. Why would you want to lock up Kris Bryant?
Max Scherzer
Predictions:
Gausman to NYM
Baez to NYM
Stroman to Seattle
Scherzer to SF
Gray to Texas
Ray to Anaheim
Greinke to Anaheim
Bryant to Atlanta
Correa to Detroit
Seager to Texas
Semien to Anaheim
Story to NYY
Chris Taylor to Toronto
Suzuki to Texas
Rizzo to Boston
@Chev Chelios There’s no way the Dodgers don’t sign at least one big name player this offseason and this is coming from a die hard Giants fan. I think they go all in for Semien at 2B
Ok so Semien goes to Chavez Ravine instead of Anaheim, fair. I didn’t put all FA down so, LAD could still sign Rodon, R Iglesias, Kikuchi, etc.
It’s not like LAD is hurting to sign top FA…they can make small moves and still threaten the pennant easily.
So Chev Chelios is another troll. You sound like a Proud Boys reject.
Huh?
@chev chelios I’m being realistic. Proud Boys are wannabe Jason Stathams. Farhan has made it clear he would love to sign Semien. Semien is from San Francisco. It makes more sense for Suzuki to sign with SF. I’m talking about logical pursuits.
Well I’ve had this name since Crank came out, dunno what proud boy is.
I could see Semien in SF but…Suzuki hasn’t been connected to SF, Bryant has. He could return to the bay instead of Atlanta.
I guess my question would be why is Semien signing with SF if he’s not going to play SS? That’s the whole reason he’s leaving Toronto. He’d definitely play SS in Anaheim and even in LAD (Turner slides over to 2B). I doubt Crawford surrenders SS to Semien.
@chev I don’t know what you have been reading. Farhan has made it pretty clear they aren’t really interested in bringing Bryant back. I don’t see how he fits.
Why are you listening to Media Reports about player movement? 95% are inaccurate. The Giants are in pursuit of Suzuki. They have the only Coach in MLB that speaks Japanese fluently.
Did I mention that Semien grew up in San Francisco? Playing 2nd base in SF is going to be a lot different than playing it in LA.
Alright dude, I’m sure you’re more plugged into Farhan than me. I did say Semien to SF makes sense I just think he wants to play SS over 2B. He won’t have that opportunity in SF, but hey if he wants to be back in SF I’m sure he’s ok with 2B.
Chev: First, you look so much like Jason Statham the resemblance is astounding. Anywho, Story to NYY? That’s an interesting position given he’s the one they’ve been connected to the least. However it is a plausible theory nonetheless.
Matz wasn’t connected to STL and despite NYY coveting Seager and Correa I don’t think they pay their huge price. Volpe is the future in the Bronx and Story shouldn’t cost more than 6 yrs…he’s the way to go
Yeah, man, I actually agree with your idea/assessment and I can certainly envision that pivot. Quite frankly, as much as I like Seager’s bat, if the contract predictions are even remotely close, the Yankees need to go with Baez or Story. They can cut the years by 1/3, the costs by 1/2, and use the remaining money to fill the other areas of need (CF, SP, 1B).
There’s no way they pay that much for Seager/Correa and still fill other positions adequately.
Exactly. Honestly I would be surprised if they go with Semien over Story after what Semien did in Toronto this season.
Chev: Again, I agree with you. I’m also curious to see what Semien actually gets. I believe, out of all the SS FAs, he’s going to be one that gets more than what the predictions reflect, particularly with Boras as his agent. I could see Semien holding out to maximize his contract (watch him sign tomorrow, lol).
And I really could see your Rangers outbidding other teams for a couple of these big name FAs as well. Curious to see how close you are because this tree is a really difficult one to predict, imho.
Think Story to NY makes more (financial especially) sense. Thoughts are he will take less in terms of years and cash than the other large name SS’s and is just about as top notch as the rest, even removing Coor’s field for half his games. Give Cashman a few extra bucks to work with Judge on an extension and fix that problematic SS hole since jeter retired.
Mets ain’t signing Báez or Gausman. I also think they have zero shot at Scherzer. Mets will get Jon gray and 2 bottom tier starters.
Jon Gray and Stroman
Gausman signed with the Jays, Gray signed with the Rangers…Neither signed with the Mets!!!
So you’re an Angels’ fan huh? 3 free agents to Anaheim but none to LA Dodgers lol
Hahaha I’m a Texas Rangers fan bud. Arte Moreno signs ridiculous contracts almost every season. I think he’ll continue with this trend. LAD are very smart and spend money on the right guys. They’ll sign dudes this winter I just don’t see them spending big because honestly they don’t need to.
How do the Mariners who probably have the most financial flexibility this off season only come back with Stroman? Was any thought out into this?
I think the Mariners IF is set. Signing Stroman and then a few smaller deals like Tyler Anderson, Duffy, Archer, etc., similar to what the LAD will do for the rotation makes sense. I could see them add a big bat or two: Avisail Garcia, Conforto, Castellanos, Pederson, etc., to sure up the lineup.
I said it in another post, I think Seattle trades for Buxton and I doubt he costs more than Kyle Lewis. Then Seattle will figure a way to extend Buxton. Seattle looks really good so I don’t think they necessitate major moves like other teams.
ZERO chance M’s are trading for Buxton. He’ll resign with Twins as soon as his agent figures out other teams are cold on him and his injury history.
The Angels only have 20 mil to spend to fill out the roster so they aren’t signing any of those starting pitchers. Upton’s 28 mil. puts a stranglehold on spending. My philosophy is you don’t sign players, especially pitchers to long term contracts when they are coming off their career year which happens to be their walk year, this is especially true for Ray and Gausman. Besides, Arte hasn’t given a long term contract to a pitcher in 7-8 years. The Angels need to save money for a possible Ohtani extension.
Jays would unfortunately not be getting a compensatory pick for Stroman. He was on the Mets last season and was not eligible to receive the QO
Oops misread “Semien” as “Stroman.” Enjoyed the article!
Half of Berrios is the compensation for Stroman, indirectly.
The Blue Jays shouldn’t prioritize Gausman over Ray because of a compensation pick. Ray is not only the better pitcher but has proven he can dominate in the hostile AL East. Gausman was awful in the AL East in the past, although he is much better these days. With that said, as a fan of a rival team I hope to see the Blue Jays make a foolish decision
Sharkins have tried to get Gaussian before….love him as a week 3
Who’s Gaussian? Some guy coming back from the KBO?
Gausman had a couple of very good years in the AL East… and over his entire time there he had an ERA+ over 100.
@Ronk
Ray has only performed like he just did for ONE year. Gausman, two. Neither pitcher has the track record that teams would like to see. They are both high priced gambles. Admittedly, no pitching is ever a sure thing. Ask LAD about Bauer, who should have been about as sure of a thing as it comes.
Stymee: I agree. I like Ray, but I could certainly envision a Ray signing coming back to haunt a team for years. There’s been no indication throughout the rest of his career that he’s the pitcher he was last season. He’s got good stuff, but his walk rate was almost completely inverted for one season.
Players have a strong habit of working there tail off in their walk year, and once signed to a comfortable contract, defaulting to their prior routines/habits. I notice a lot of similarities in the manner in which media talks about Ray’s training (lots of working out, more so than most, etc) to Arrieta. I think the results will be similar too.
Ray was also very good in 2017 with the Dbacks. His biggest issue was always walks and he’s seemed to have figured that out. Like you said neither guy is a sure thing but Ray is the better guy to take a chance on, especially since he’s already had success with the Blue Jays
It might not be that they think Gausman is better, but just that they can get him for a better deal. Ray should get more money and year.
If they can get Gausman and end up with a pick for Ray and 5-7 million more a year to spend, that may make the team better overall ( if you spend the extra money wisely)
With the exception of Scherzer, not trusting all the arms out there. Got some good timed peak performances out there from 2021 who are going to cash in on some overpays.
It would be so Angels to sign a guy who declined the minute umps started checking for stick stuff.
5 years for Gausman? I like him but seems like someone will by buying really high.
On the upside, the lockout on 12-1 sure has.made late Nov. hot stove stuff more interesting.
The Blue Jays are going to win the division. I’ve never heard anything louder in my life than the reaction to Bautista’s home run, And you know the one I’m talking about, but this season is going to be louder.
As an Orioles fan, I will at least to be able to take pleasure that the Yankees and the Bosox Will be looking up at the Jays at the end.
Still to early to predict that, A lot of things went right last year and Tampa is going to get better just by having a full year of Wander.
Going to be another exiting season
Scherzer to Yankees 2 years 78 million 3rd year player option
Holy *^%#! That’s a haul, bro. I don’t know that the Yanks would spring for that, but if they did, they wouldn’t acquire SS, CF, 1B & SP like they should.
That said, I’d love for Hal to sac-up and bring Mad Max in on a short-term, high AAV deal. Then get Seager, trade for a Buxton-type, re-sign Rizzo, and trade for Contreras.
Nah man, you want some trades…
Olson to NYY for Dominguez, Pereira, Wells
Gallo to SD for Weathers, Morejon, Mears
Leody Taveras to NYY for Voit and Deivi Garcia
@chev Chelios Why would the Padres want Gallo? Gallo doesn’t fill a need for San Diego. If you guys took Myers and Hosmer, the Friars would jump on that in heart beat. Gallo is a definite non-starter.
Preller is a former Rangers Assistant GM and loves Gallo, even tried to trade for him at the deadline. Friars have three OF on the current roster, they’ve been trying to rid themselves of Myers and Hosmer for a bit now. Sure they might find a suitor but I don’t think NYY is interested in taking on more money unless it’s for Olson, SP, or a SS. I could totally see SD trading Hosmer in a package with $ back to KC.
Hosmer and Myers are non-starters for the Yankees.
Which is why neither will be traded there
Hmm…Why would Kansas City want Hosmer? He is not the type of veteran you build a team around.
@Chev Chelios- there is absolutely no way the Yankees would be giving up all of that for Olson. Lol. They would be better off just re-signing Anthony Rizzo for a few years. Olson isn’t a need for the Yankees. The A’s can trade him somewhere else, or move so they could resign him. Pass.
Chev: Yeah, absolutely, and I think the A’s will want a package similar to your proposal. We could certainly fix nearly all our issues through trades.
In fact, I wouldn’t mind a Lopez or DeJong trade to fill the SS void, but I’m huge fan of Story, Seager as well, so selfishly I’d love for either signing to come to fruition. The only block to the trade idea is Cashman. He’s a….. prospect-hugger, and I don’t see him letting Dominguez out Volpe go regardless of the impact it has on next season.
@Bigtimeyankeefan- nice offer for Scherzer, but if you don’t offer him 3 years $120 million, then there is no way he’d consider the Yankees. Mad Max wants to pitch on the west coast anyway.
Is the “Blue Jays are finalists” line this year’s version of the “Blue Jays have an interest” that ran last year non-stop on MLBTR? Mark is a Blue Jays fan, yes?
Yep, exactly. Jon Morosi’s source is the Jays front office trying to look like they’re more active and serious than they actually are. While they did get Springer, Ray and Semien last year, the Semien and Ray deals were both one year “show me” contracts where the players bet on themselves. Kirby Yates was an irresponsible mistake signing and ignored multiple bad medical reports. Matz arrived in a January trade for a bag of balls (although one of the prospects, Josh Winckowski, was just added to the Red Sox 40-man roster).
Give it a rest Charles- You will never admit when Jays mgmt make wise decisions and are constantly bashing them. Best keep to your Jays Journal musings .
Did Aitkins or Shapiro sleep with your girlfriend or something?
While they say get Springer, an AL MVP and the AL young winner… but then proceeds to try to make that somehow a negative ?
I’ve never been a fan of Shapiro or Atkins, but they had a really good offseason last year, you sound bitter and unintelligent when you try to spin it another way.
Ever get tired of being wrong Charles ?
the mets and yankees could use one more starter they should try and sign this guy he is good
At this point guasman who I like, reminds me a lot of Barry zito, he looked great last year but the league is on the verge of figuring him out the way the dodgers did at times last year. He is really a two pitch pitcher. And adjust slowly he won’t be a bust as he will have flashes of brilliance but he will be a .500 type pitcher and far from a lock on game day or anything approaching ace like status. He will end up a good #4 or a decent #3 and will seem like a bust given the money he is about to receive. Likely by a team trying to show they are emerging from a rebuild and it will set them back years. My guess is a team that isn’t mentioned playing out of Arlington Texas.
Personally, I don’t think he’s worth the gamble. Doubt Bloom is in this thing when Gausman’s price drives up.
Well looks like the blue jays will not be where he signs, whenever it mentioned blues jays are finalists they sign elsewhere, as a blue jays fan i dont expect the blue jays to sign any top names as sad as it is to say
At age 30 and beyond, no team should give ANY pitcher a five year (or longer) contract. It’s very risky. Find someone else instead.
The MLBTR projection for his contract was stupid
As a Giants fan I was happy with Gausman, that is until after the AS break. He was very unimpressive and got hit hard. Whereas Ray actually got better as the season went on. Way too risky to commit 5 years to him.
I’d even be hesitant to give him 3 years. He just doesn’t have a track record of sustained success to warrant 5 or 6 years. Buyer beware for sure.
I’d prefer Scherzer over all of them since he’d be a shorter commitment
Scherzer is also very close to out of gas. He had severe arm fatigue in the NLCS so I wouldn’t be too worried about not signing Scherzer
The Blue Jays are the finalist? What is this? American Idol?
Can’t be since Jays are Canadian!
The Giants don’t need Gausman. We specialize in waiting for the cheap leftover reclamation projects and turning them into 1-2 year studs. Gausman is a .500 pitcher at best. Nothing spectacular. No Giant fan will mourn his loss.
So Bundy to the Giants then?
Zito, Cain, Lincecum, all got big pay days! More recently, Cueto!
Not under Farhan.
Are people really excited for gausman ????
I’d love to see a reunion with the Braves if the price is right. Unbeatable rotation.
Let’s sign Freeman first
Good pitcher, but in the 4 years prior to 2021, Gausman averaged a 1.6 fWAR, and a 2.1 fWAR/162 games. I generally shy away from players that have a great walk year, after some mediocre years. Even 5 years, imho, is too much.
e.g., not i.e. Yes, a pet peeve, but they mean completely different things.
The Angels probably have the greatest “need”, but we’ve also said that for years.
Whoever signs Gausman will regret it long term unless maybe Giants sign him in a spacious ballpark… home-runs haunts his past
That was all in his pre-splitter days. His slider got hammered, especially by lefties. It was batting practice at times. But now he doesn’t throw it very much. The issue will be whether he can stay healthy throwing so many splitters (most pitchers can’t, it’s brutal on arms) and whether hitters can recognize it a bit earlier so they can lay off it (it’s usually low). I don’t think his top-of-rotation success will last, to be honest. One of those two things will happen, and soon. He won’t be terrible, but he will either be hurt a lot or more middle of rotation at best in this coming contract.
According to informed sources, The Marlins are in on Kevin Gausman and will remain competitive in securing his services.. The Marlins made a “strong” offer, and are fully prepared to increase that offer if needed..
“informed sources”…. lol
Jays are gonna have to overpay to lure him from going back to the Giants. It’s gonna come down to those two teams imo.
BREAKING NEWS!
Nov27. The Blue Jays are one of the finalists for Gausman’s services…
Nov28. (AM) MLB Network’s Jon Morosi tweets that the Giants “have a good chance to retain Kevin Gausman…
Nov28. (PM)The Mets are one of the finalists for Gausman’s services…
Nov29. (AM)The RedSox are one of the finalists for Gausman’s services…
Nov29. (Midday)The Angels are one of the finalists for Gausman’s services…
JMorosi was first with this…
“And then you realize that most of the reports coming out in the media are based in no reality” -Rachel Luba
So, after torturously reading these comments, the general concensus is, no one really cares if Gausman winds up on their team of preference, lol. I don’t think he’s going to the Mets at all, so it’s really inconsequential to me.
Met fans should be happy if he doesn’t sign there
Yeah, at 5 years around 28 million per year. Not ideal. Then it’s a salary spot you don’t have for next year’s free agents
You got to weigh it against free agents from next year and the years beyond
I Will like blue jays sign Jon gray, is a good pitcher and more cheap five years for gausman is to reasky
Gray is tricky because he seems to have promised the Rockies that they will be given the opportunity to match any offer. And he’s been better at Coors Field than on the road, especially lately, so is worth more to Colorado than anyone else. On the road he really hasn’t been that good. I think teams are wary of that combination of factors and may just let him return to CO.
I picked Gooseman to the Giants in the prediction contest
Running back the exact same team sounds like something farhan is to smart to do but I guess not ! That was a team of all 30 year olds minus Webb having great years ! Pitchers like disco and wood where more healthy then usual as well ! Giants running it back minus posey and Bryant will struggle to break 85 wins !
Giants nearly had 85 wins without Bryant. Posey only had 300 ab.
Yeah and wood disco and even gausman stayed healthy compared to their usual standards ! Lots of negative regression to come but where is the internal improvements come from ? Belt stays more healthy? Yaz plays more like two years ago then last year ? Wade learns how to hit lefties ? Running it back is rarely a good idea !
Not mlb but I remember the 2020 niners running it back calling it revenge tour lol what a flop Expect similar with giants
thanks for your expert analysis
The internal improvements seem to be coaching driven at the Giants. Would love to see a high percentage of continuity so the same roster gets the opportunity to build with that.
Happy to have Gausman back as well. Limited repertoire for sure, but the man competes.
I agree you could see a huge regression as I doubt Crawford desclafani wood come close to what were likely career years… and posey either retired or no chance of repeating his performance… but you might see Yazstemski bounce back and Bart develop… never know
Usually when Morosi tweets about the Jays being “in” on someone, it’s a balloon from Shapiro and Atkins so it looks like they were more serious than they really were, just to try and appease the fans and make it look like they were serious players even though they were not. Probably means he’s going back to the Giants.
A balloon from the Jays mgmt? You have a source in the Jays front office I take it? Give the rinse and repeat posts a rest Charlie boy.
The need was real this time, so they got it done. Hopefully TOR doesn’t get burned by a regression by Gaus.
There’s been more free agent signings in November than most years driven by the pending lockout, but about 90% of the top 50 free agents remain unsigned, including all of the top 10. Marte is the top free agent signed at #13.
We’ll no doubt get a flurry over the next few days, but I suspect over 30 of the top free agents will remain unsigned and almost all of the top 10, which means we’ll absolutely have a free agent frenzy of top names once we come out on the other side of the lockout. This is probably not a bad strategy. History shows free agent spending increases once a new CBA is signed as teams have certainty and know the new financial structure, which almost assuredly will be more beneficial toward the players. Teams will also want to create positive buzz and momentum after what almost assuredly going to be a very acrimonious, dark and bleak winter months.
Enjoy the next couple days, because we’re about to have a serving of crickets when it comes to player news for following three months.
Lord, the flurry of signings turned into a blizzard this afternoon, with now two of the top 10 signing, and I suspect a few more in coming days. I believe you’re right, though, that many will wait until post the lock out. That said, not sure 30 will be left. Maybe only half? Maybe only 20? We still have three days to go.
I’m still kinda skeptical of his sudden success. Personally I’m hoping the Mets give him a 6/200 deal and just cripples them.
It was just a matter of a change in coaching. The Giants have done that with multiple pitchers, and position players too, really. A change in pitch selection was a huge part
Don’t put it past Zaidi to come in at the last minute and pony up only 4 years at a higher AAV. Gausman and his family likes SF, and the clubhouse likes him.
Exactly my point when I say he will stay in SF
Yeah I mean the giants payroll is at like 100mm after an expected Cobb and wood signing so there is plenty of space to add at least a couple big contracts
Gone, baby, gone. Time to move on to Ray, Gray, or one of the A’s available starters.
Blue Jays, 5 years/$110mm per Passan
Blue Jays
Jays got their man.
New new for you you
Still wondering why on earth MLBTR predicted six years for him. Just would have made no sense.