The Cubs announced a series of roster moves today, with Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic among those to relay them on Twitter. Infielder Nico Hoerner has been activated off the injured list, Edwin Ríos was recalled from Iowa and outfielder Mike Tauchman has had his contract selected. In corresponding moves, Cody Bellinger has been placed on the 10-day injured list retroactive to May 16 with a left knee contusion, Keegan Thompson has been optioned to Iowa and first baseman Eric Hosmer has been designated for assignment.
Hosmer, 33, signed an eight-year, $144MM deal with the Padres going into the 2018 but then saw his production tail off once the ink on that deal was dry. He had a career batting line of .284/.342/.439 prior to that deal but has hit just .263/.323/.406 since then. That latter line amounts to a wRC+ of 98, indicating he’s been a couple of ticks below league average. Since first baseman are generally expected to produce more on the offensive side of things, that’s been an obviously disappointing performance.
He was frequently the subject of trade rumors during him time in San Diego and eventually was flipped to the Red Sox at least year’s deadline with the Padres eating almost all of the remaining money on his deal, with Boston on the hook for just the league minimum. Boston was then encouraged enough by the developments of first base prospect Triston Casas that they released Hosmer in the offseason.
The Cubs then agreed to bring Hosmer aboard, which was a move that had no financial risk since the Padres were still responsible for most of the $39MM remaining on the final three years of his contract. It was seen by many that Hosmer would be a sort of placeholder, hopefully playing at a serviceable level until some younger player such as Matt Mervis eventually forced their way into the major league plans. Mervis was called up a couple of weeks ago and is hitting just .220/.256/.317 so far but Hosmer isn’t doing much better, currently slashing .234/.280/.330 for a wRC+ of 67. It seems the Cubs will use Hosmer’s at-bats on other players and let him seek out his next opportunity.
Hosmer will inevitable be released in the coming days and return to the open market. He hasn’t been able to provide much value lately but he might still get interest based on his previous work and the fact that he’d be essentially free in terms of dollars. He also appears to be respected around the game for intangibles like his clubhouse presence and leadership, which could also appeal to certain clubs.
Turning to the other moves, Bellinger seemed to injure himself by colliding with the wall in Houston while making a catch on Monday. The club took a few days to see how his situation developed but has decided to let him rest for at least another week. He was non-tendered by the Dodgers after last season due to his struggles in both 2021 and 2022 but is in better form so far this year. After signing a one-year, $17.5MM deal with the Cubs this winter, he’s hitting .271/.337/.493 in addition to stealing nine bases and playing quality defense. Christopher Morel is in center field tonight and could perhaps stay there until Bellinger comes back.
Tauchman, 32, could also be in that mix, as he’s been playing all three outfield slots in Triple-A this year. He’s also walked in an incredible 20.4% of his plate appearances, leading to a .278/.427/.443 slash line and 129 wRC+. He has 257 games of major league experience under his belt, having played for the Rockies, Yankees and Giants from 2017 to 2021. His career batting line is currently .231/.326/.378 for a wRC+ of 90. He spent 2022 with the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization, hitting .289/.366/.430 in 144 games there.
Aggressive moves. Need to reignite these boys.
Handsome guy, but no longer good at baseball /shrug
There was no need to say that man.
Sorry but when Hosmer was a free agent nobody wanted him. I think pretty much the entire baseball world laughed at Preller and the Padres when that deal was announced. I’m not sure how or why you would think race had anything to do with it. Vernon Wells was given a similar contract at one time and he sucked just as much after signing it. Do you think anyone would pay Giancarlo Stanton $300+ million today? Felix Hernandez didn’t live up to his big contract either. In fact I can think of only 3 players that actually earned their huge contracts. That was Derek Jeter and his 10 year deal, ARod and his first megadeal and Scherzer and his first contract. Greg Maddux definitely earned every penny of his near record deal but that was right when ballplayers were starting to make the big bucks. His deal would be peanuts today. So many have turned out bad that I am surprised teams still sign players no matter how good they are to more than 5-6 year deals. Judge’s deal is going to be laughable in a couple of years let alone when he is a 6’7″ 275lb player making $40m a year in his late 30s.
Vernon Wells gave outstanding value for the money on his contract, to the team that signed him. He played an all-star season for moderate pay, then brought back a nice [if immediately flipped and squandered] return in trade before the money escalated. No regrets.
Manny earned his dollars.
The Scherzer deal with the Nats was mocked, but they got the last laugh on that one, for sure.
What a racist thing to say. Isn’t Cruz still playing. What about Stanton who hasn’t played a full season since he was traded. Muggy still in Detroit. Aldo been and won a WS.
Albert Haynesworth … FTW!
Okay, for one thing, Hosmer speaks fluent Spanish and has a Cuban mother, so let’s put this “white guy” stuff to bed.
He’s not a terrible player, but he’s got a reputation for not being coachable. He uses his prodigious power to pound baseballs straight into the ground in the general direction of the second baseman. Whatever “gold” was once in his glove leaked out long ago. The Cubs, like the Padres and Red Sox before them, just decided that they had better options at first base.
So he’s a scumbag that can’t be coached. And continues to be bad a baseball even though people tell him how to not be bad at baseball.
Eric Hosmer sounds like a garbage person. Thanks for the heads up Dr. Dan
Let’s set the record straight Dr. Dan. The large man who just pounds ground balls to the second baseman title has been figured out. The Gold Medal goes to……Jason Heyward. Hosmer will never get more than the Silver. That ship has sailed.
Jim, what makes him “a scumbag” and “a garbage person?”
*Supposedly* not being coachable certainly is far from ideal, but I don’t see how that makes him the awful human being you’re portraying him to be.
I’ve only recently seen your posts here, and it seems you’re going for hot takes and attempts at humor. I’m glad MLBTR implemented the Mute button.
JimAbbottsRightHandofGod8 hours ago
So he’s a scumbag
=========================
Do you know this for a fact, or are you just making schitt up?
@StephCurryRetiresWith8Rings
What has Hosmer’s skin colour got to do with anything here? Do tell.
Nobody ever talks about Hosmer and even when he was a better player or a free agent he wasn’t talked about. he was never overrated
Hosmers mom is from Cuba…..
Don’t expect missles in October from Mama Hosmer’s boy.
That’s the most racist thing I have heard all year.
Bad take alert.
StephCurryRetiresWith8Rings15 hours ago
Hosmer one of the most overrated players of all-time and the poster boy for white guys being allowed to be mid or bad,
============================
Hosmer is half-Cuban you nimrod. Must stink to be too stupid to know that, and then be too lazy to look it up.
Hosmer, 33, signed an eight-year, $144MM deal with the Padres going into the 2018 but then saw his production tail off once the ink on that deal was dry. He had a career batting line of .284/.342/.439 prior to that deal but has hit just .263/.323/.406 since then. That latter line amounts to a wRC+ of 98, indicating he’s been a couple of ticks below league average. Since first baseman are generally expected to produce more on the offensive side of things, that’s been an obviously disappointing performance.
The problem is your paying a 30 year old for there 20 year old peak performance years under the collective bargaining agreement? Some gimmick they call something like the “grand exchange” or the “great trade off” Max Scherzer spoke on it and is currently being handsomely paid and is injured becauee of it? The great trade off, you pay for what they’ve done and might do… not what you are going to get…. baseball 101
@HippyRipper, there will be ball players that treat the huge contract as if they won the lottery and others that will always give it everything they have to make sure their performance stays as good as it can be. Character is revealed when ball players give it everything from the first to their last day. I’m not a Yankee fan, but to me Derek Jeter embodied this as well as anyone in my time, and this quote from another Yankee says it all
The reporter asked, “why did you play so hard.”
“Because there might have been somebody in the stands today who’d never seen my play before, and might never see me again”
-Joe DiMaggio
Kind of a shame, maybe he’ll hook up with the Royals for one last go around. A former gold glover & MVP candidate fans have expected more & gotten less over the last few years yielding a sad disrespect for the vet. I liked watching him with the Royals.
Best idea of the day. You deserve a snickers, or at least half a twix.
Hosmer could be cheap fun for desperate Royal fans.
I’m sure you’d like an Almond Joy Nuts, but with your lack of BB acumen, you deserve an Almond Joy because you have no nuts…
Hosmer is class, you’re not…
Isn’t that already Greinke’s job?
Royals have no need for Hosmer, they have Pratto and Pasquantino
Regardless I was in on the Sox seeing if he could get anything out of Hosmer. Has his glove returned because that could be his return to the majors. Unfortunately, a non-power hitting first baseman better have a glove to stick even as a backup.
I agree curly, hosmer was clutch for the Royals and being from stl is was good to them win… was so pulling for that I-70 World series in 2014 but those damn giants and Michael Wacha serving up Travis Ishikawa a walk off three run Homer in San Fran
Unless they need his versatility ( which isn’t much) I’m confused with swapping out Rios for Hosmer. Hoz isn’t killin it but he’s definitely having the better season.
Rios not playing > Hosmer playing
Mervis needs to get every at bat he can get. The season is already done in mid May so they have to find what they have at first.
And any at bat Hosmer would get at DH needs to go to Morel.
There was not a single reason Hosmer should have ever stepped up to the plate after about April 15.
And that fact that they are playing Mancini at first ahead of Hosmer shows you what they think of his defense.
If any front office thought that the season was already done when they were 5 games out of first place in mid-May, they should be banned from the sport for life. It amazes me the desire of some fans to just completely give up instead of seeing their team try.
My mistake was not taking into account that Hoz was blocking Mervis from playing his primary position. thanks.
Yeah but Hosmer not play is > than Rios not playing so what’s the point? Leave Rios in Iowa for now and bring back Amaya.
Also think you gotta keep Morel on the field as a utility guy. He can play 5 positions well enough to float around and give those guys an occasional break. Couldn’t believe Nico didn’t have a single day off until the hammy forced him too.
The issue with bringing Amaya back is that he can’t get the needed at bats because you can’t take Gomes out of the lineup or from behind the plate five days a week.
I certainly agree that Amaya is more of a future player than Rios but if you are talking 4 or 5 at bats over eight games, Rios is the least destructive option.
Barnhardt will be DFA’d eventually for Amaya. Gomes and Amaya will split time.
I think this is a likely scenario for next season, possibly later in the year if the Cubs can trade Barnhart.
I don’t really care all that much if Amaya is getting at bats at the major league level but gaining knowledge from Gomes as a catcher and learning the pitching staff.
Another thing to consider is that the catcher is an important part in a pitchers development, which is why I could see the Cubs being really hesitant to call Amaya up as a luxury vs a necessity. The Cubs have several guys in AAA that will likely crack the roster this year or next (or who have already and need to sort things out) and getting them comfortable with Amaya should pay dividends.
drascoo- I agree that Amaya should be left in Iowa. He got to work with most of the P’s this spring and having been at AA and AAA this year already has a pretty good base to work from. Barnhart and Gomes should be here through this year barring a serious injury. Amaya getting AB’s and proving he’s durable are more important right now, I still say Aliendo has a bigger upside as his bat is better but Amaya’s glove is a little better but not by much. Gomes should be brought back next year and give him a raise, He’s earned it. Was watching Herz tonight dominating at AA since coming back. He had a rough time of it at AA last year but he’s back. I’m just wondering what the Cubs ever saw in Ryan Jensen. Guy is like 28 and stinking it up in AA. Tried him as a reliever, starter I hope next he’s the Bat Boy. Cubs farm teams might win 6 games tonight, 2DH’s and 2 other wins. The only team that sucked was the Cubs. Tallion looks overwhelmed. I still say Estrada needs more important work.
Cubs hold a club option on Gomes for 6 million or a 1 million buyout. Seems like a no brain decision as long as he is healthy.
@mike127. All very valid points mike. Probably the only thing I’d feel differently about, is because of the mediocrity in the division, the season isn’t already over. But I feel your frustration.
Surprised it took them this long to DFA Hosmer.
@hiflew, how is it I can’t reply to your posts? Especially when I agree?
He muted you if you can’t reply.
Thanks man, being muted kinda sucks
After all these years on this site, never realized that.
He makes really stupid comments then mutes anyone that calls him out for being stupid.
Yeah. Well you can live in your own bubble by muting everyone! All your opinions are the truth! Nobody should ever challenge your thought!
I guess if he mutes everyone the only posts he’ll see are those containing his own mindless drivel.
You can’t reply to someone who muted you. Hiflew is known for having a machine gun trigger finger on the mute button. As is outinleftfield and his burner accounts.
Appreciate it goat
<3
I never understand why these GMs always block prospects with absolutely useless veterans. It would be one thing to be like “Well yeah we just have well-paid bench guys who barely play, who cares” but another to have to force the fans to watch some 34 year old struggle to an .650 OPS everyday while you literally have a better option in-house.
Sometimes it’s because the prospects legitimately need more time to develop in AAA even if they can technically outplay the incumbents. It’s the main reason why rebuilding teams sign placeholder free agents in the first place. (Hoping to get someone decent when trading them at the deadline is the secondary reason.) You will often ruin a prospect’s development if you call him up too soon. Meanwhile, it’s not like a couple of extra wins is going to help these rebuilding teams make the playoffs, anyway.
The Padres are still on the hook for the bulk of his salary through 2025, and any team who picks him up only having to pay him the prorated MLB minimum salary.
I wonder if teams will just continue to keep picking him up as a cheap lottery ticket, veteran presence, guy who can plug a hole at 1b for a couple of months?
He can get two more teams in this year, 3 more next year, and 3 more in 2025.
I guess it depends on where he wants to live for 2 month periods, and maybe he can pick up a random ring.
I would pick: New York (both teams), Toronto, Miami, Seattle, San Francisco, LA, and Pittsburgh.
One of the chat hosts said that he is a very respected clubhouse presence. I would think that after repeatedly getting dumped by teams for ineffectiveness, he would start to command less and less respect.
I don’t think any of those teams could use Hosmer.
A respected clubhouse presence has nothing to do with how productive a player is. It’s just someone who many guys on the team enjoy being around and listen. Whether they go about their preparation the right way, offer words of encouragement or wisdom, take care of their teammates, lighten the mood, or anything else they’re respected. In Hosmer’s case, he’s a former top prospect, franchise pillar, All-Star, and World Champion who’s also made a ton of money in his career. Even if he’s far past his prime, you’d think he’s picked up a tip or two about baseball and being part of a team that people might want to listen to.
Brandons-3: A person like that who can’t play should retire and become a coach.
Everyone knows SD was desperate to get rid of Hosmer. He really wasn’t bad at all as a 2022 Padre.
Boston didn’t want him because he was bad, and the same thing just happened. How many times can this happen before his vaunted clubhouse presence just isn’t that impressive, and starts to look foolish?
Honestly I’m not sure why he’s still playing in this country. He could sign for more money over seasons and probably put up MVP seasons someplace like the KBO. Maybe he just doesn’t think the travel or being alone on another continent is worth it. I would.
To play in Korea, wouldn’t Hosmer have to retire from MLB? If he does, I would think he would forsake his remaining salary which runs through 2025.
The padres would probably buy him out if he really wanted to go. They’ve obviously already written that contract off.
No. He can play anywhere he likes and still get paid. The Padres would also be responsible for 100% of his salary, not just his salary minus the major league minimum they were paying when he was with the Cubs.
Probably because of these salaries:
2023: $13 million
2024: $13 million
2025: $13 million
He gets the money either way because it’s guaranteed. Players jump to foreign leagues and come back all the time. Miles Miklasz that’s starting for the cardinals right now is one. Now, him having a new baby would probably be a big reason why not.
Yeah, but those guys are almost always pre-arb or arb players previously on one year contracts in the first place, I’m not sure multi-year MLB contracts are still valid when a player gets his team to release him to play overseas. I could see it going either way.
He has a new baby and a wife in the media. They are rich. He’s not moving to Korea.
The injury catastrophes that would have to occur for the Dodgers feeling the need to sign Hosmer would likely spell “lost season” for LA.
He was never good. Got gifted a huge contract. Can go on to be a coach or whatever.
Try looking up his MLB stats instead of giving yourself a thumps up.
He was nowhere near worth what he was paid. Not terrible. But not really good either.
Nah he was as bad as Joe Carter. Like not “bad” but 1-2 WAR on average means you weren’t really helping if you were playing a full season. You cant be a 1 WAR player and act like you were a big deal. RBIs are the emptiest stat in pro sports that pays the most, as MLB is insane.
Why is he a racist?
Because he got his Carters confused.
You know, Chris, Khris, Cris, Vince, Jimmy, Sergeant Carter, Nell Carter… You get the idea.
I’m not racist at all, Joe Carter stinks and only had RBIs and a big WS moment. Awful career otherwise.
Chris Carter deserved more playing time in MLB than he got.
I didn’t even get them confused, Joe Carter didnt clear 20 career WAR – thats a bad player if they played everyday for a decade+.
I’m going to argue that prospect pedigree gets average baseball players the most money.
Hosmer got paid like a super star, not because he was one but because he pedigree shine. Mitch Haniger got 35.5 million guaranteed from the Giants and he is no where near a 20 million dollar player.
It happens all the time, dudes that are good, not great players but were high draft picks or up on prospect rankings get huge deals or, again like Mitch, aren’t even good and still get a huge one/two year deal.
Pitching Wins are right up there with RBIs, and the very concept of RBIs makes me think of Assists in basketball, soccer, and hockey.
That’s only because WAR overrates defense.
Even if he was a lousy fielder, anyone with 396 HRs and a career wRC+ of 102 (with career highs of 35 and 125, albeit in different years) was a pretty darn good player.
A run saved is worth a run scored. End of discussion.
Now if you want to have a discussion about the fact that all defensive metrics undervalue defense at 1B because they don’t factor in Scoops or outs on errant throws, then we can talk.
Not sure who you are talking about, so I must have muted the person you are responding to, but I am going to guess Joe Carter since he is the only guy with 396 HR and a 102 wRC+.
100 is league average in wRC+. If a player has a 102 wRC+, then he was mediocre with the bat. An average offensive player. That is not “pretty darn good”.
If he was a lousy fielder like Carter was and an average offensive player, then he was an overall below average player. His 19.5 bWAR over 16 seasons bears out that fact.
I do hope you are not placing any value in pitcher wins or RBIs. They are both useless in measuring individual player performance.
I like when people say, “he was a below average player. His 19.6 bWAR bears out that fact”… I know I don’t have to say this but WAR stands for “wins above replacement” which means he was ABOVE average, hence his positive WAR.
But WAR clearly overrates how much defense affects opposing runs. If WAR were weighted correctly between offense and defense (and baserunning), then Carter would have more like 30 WAR for his career if not more.
No, a league average offense over an entire career, including his decline years, is indeed pretty darn good, and Carter managed a little above that. The good majority of Major League hitters .never manage that much, because their decline years drag down their rate stats including OPS+ and wRC+. Besides, league average in any capacity has never been mediocre,.
Across his peak (measured as his 7 best seasons), Carter was easily worth over 2 WAR per season (2.55) even with his defense dragging down his WAR more than it should’ve, so he was overall clearly an above average player
As for Wins and RBIs, that commenter you have muted was claiming RBIs are the emptiest stat that pays the most in pro sports, so I was pointing out that Pitching Wins and Assists and other sports are just as bad in that regard. They’re far from useless like you claim, but they all depend too much on the combination of individual and team performance that they’re lesser stats for individual performance analysis yet get players pair like they’re actually great stats in that regard.
“Wins above replacement” doesn’t means “wins above average.” League average is generally thought to be 2 WAR per season.
The issue is that Career WAR includes a player’s decline years dragging down his rate stats that feed into WAR. During his peak, Carter was worth 2.55 bWAR per season. even if you don’t agree with me about WAR overrating defensive value.
@cohen is a dumb stooge
The comment was where he was talking about the colour of a player’s skin, and it’s been removed. It was about Hosmer being ‘some white dude’ etc, as if that entitled him to more than someone else playing MLB. Hosmer’s Mum is Cuban, so Hosmer being called ‘some white dude’ is abject nonsense, and furthermore it has nothing whatsoever to do with his playing ability.
@StephCurryRetireswith8rings
Joe Carter cleared 100 rbi’s in a season 10 times(he also cleared 100 rbi’s at age 37) and he cleared 30 HR in a season 6 times in his career, and you assert “he only had RBI’s and a big WS moment”.. 396 HR and 1445 rbi’s, plus his outfield work was pretty good, yet you assert “Joe Carter stinks”.
If you are not a troll, you are clearly lacking in any idea about baseball players with ability, or it’s both.
I love when people say “I blocked key people of this convo but will still reply anyway like a psychopath” – NO ONE ASKED YOU
No, and I actually watched Carter be awful defensively in his prime. I watched him in those World Series live. There was always something off about his game to me, and when WAR came out a couple decades ago my gut feeling about him being only an RBI guy (and RBIs being generally worthless to deciding if players or good or not).
He had a few years where he was above average. I suppose that could be considered being good…but over his career he’s accumulated 9.8 fwar in 6977 pas, or .84/600 pas.
Hosmer was good, not great, for several years.
Loveable losers DFAs lovable man.
Stop with the losers bs. They won in 2016. Only 6 teams have won more recently.
That means they won 1 WS in 114 years. What winners they are.
Hey, they’re the defending World Series Champions of the NL Central.
Hey, any team can have a bad century!
Just look at the Guardians and White Sox. Terrible century.
Handsome? Is this a dating app or a baseball site?
As much as I get yelled at for speaking my opinion, it feels more like a marriage app.
Tauchman lives!
For me it is a good news/bad news post. Hosmer has been DFAd. Now let’s dampen that excitement by telling you Tauchman has been recalled.
At least Hosmer took it like a champ, he knew this would eventually happen. Hosmer at least has class, good luck and thank you!
hosmer would be the second best player on the Mets after Nimmo I see them scooping him up quick
I’m sure the Cubs would be OK with a Hosmer for Alonso swap if you think that would be an improvement. They might even throw in Mervis too.
His lefty bat could be a replacement for Vogelbach if the Mets were looking to go that route.
Not quite sure what took them so long. He is playing abysmally. Worse than he did with the Padres. He is not worth what he is getting paid by the Cubs and the Padres are paying most of his salary.
Does anybody actually think that Edwin Rios is absolutely a better player today than Eric Hosmer??
He might be better, but I wouldn’t put money on the proposition.
As someone said earlier in the thread, Rios on the bench is better than Hosmer playing.
@brick house- at the least Rios is a home run threat if he has to be leaned on as a pinch hitter late in a game. I can think of so many times Hosmer got a crucial at bat late in close games that he just failed miserably this season already. At least with Rios if a pitcher makes a mistake, he can hit the ball out of the park.
All of Rios’ MLB hits this year have been for extra bases and half of them have been home runs. (Tiny sample of two hits though. LOL)
Already more productive than Hosmer.
Bummer for Hosmer, but I get it.
And PLEASE when does the Madrigal move happen? Soon PLEASE.
I had hope but now realize he has to legitimately hit about .370 to be valuable in the major leagues.
31 games….FOUR extra base hits. Morel eight games…FIVE home runs.
Madrigal does nothing above average. And if you say “what about making contact” there is nothing about his contact that scares an opposing team.
He has options put him in the minors—-please.
He’s an insanely valuable bat off the bench
Insanely valuable? His average is not nearly high enough to deal with his total lack of power and on base skill. Madrigal sadly isn’t a major league quality player.
I understand the nuances of baseball confuse you. As does the English language
Insanely valuable, no. He is Tommy La Stella (Cubs version) with no power and a better glove. I would say he is MLB quality.
And LaStella was insanely valuable to the Cubs as a pinch hitter.
It’s very valuable to have Madrigal as a bench option for situational hitting. Example, who do you want up in extra innings, a guy on second base, no outs, Wisdom or Madrigal? You are ignorant if you’re taking almost anyone over Nicky two strikes because he’s going to advance the runner. Guy on third, less than two outs, same. If you’re building a bench, dudes like Madrigal are on the top of your list, if they are not, you’re wrong.
Madrigal may be a little more likely to advance the runner, but anyone else like Wisdom is more likely to either walk/HBP and add an extra baserunner for the next guy or drive in the run in the first place with a hit (and then *much* more likely to then put himself in scoring position with a double if not score himself on a home run).
Madrigal is only running a 64 wRC+ this season! No matter how good his contact skills are, that isn’t a guy you want hitting for you in any situation! Even his batting average is only a decent .253.
His good defense then raises his fWAR to…zero, barely MLB quality at all.
Nick Madrigal= hanser Alberto
Hey is Hosmer better than Abreu with Houston. He has not done much and Houston let Yuli go and he was doing good in Miami. Not sure what doing now. But was curious too with Mancini with the Cubs. He played the first game of the recent series we had with them then they used the other guy. I know Hosmer has not been great lately but do not remember a lot with him and the padres. But I agree is a position that they should be producing at first.
Hosmer is practically free so a team struggling at 1B has nothing to lose buy giving him a shot
…..nothing to lose but placement in the standings….
Wasting time is said something contending teams can’t afford to do.
That was a short stay before he got blown away in the Windy City.
BRING OUT YOUR DEAD
BRING OUT YOUR DEAD
WOW, one of the juiced ball millionaires released, who woulda thunk ? Those long term deals when the go under, they go under. So many were signed this year too, but once again the ball has been livened up. Along with the clock, aging pitchers may not see so many good pay days after this year.
I wish baseball had a real commissioner that could give Galarraga back his perfect game of 28 outs. That would go a long way to fixing a wrong in this day an age of cheating in baseball. Cue Kim Carnes, Arron Judges eyes song. Gambling, sticky hands, roving eyes, electronic intercepts, along with bigger bases, and not enough camera’s even though they are cheap as ****.
Armando Galarraga’s imperfect game is likely more infamously famous now than had the correct call been made. Still sucks, because it’s been recorded incorrectly because of the call, but we all know Galarraga threw a perfect game, and I’m guessing the vast majority of those who are aware of it consider it a perfect game.
It was a perfect game and an absolutely perfect example of why umps need to be phased out asap.
The umps do the best they can, and unlike balls and strikes, there’s no potential alternative system for safe and out calls beyond the one we’ve already implemented: instant replay. A situation like Galarraga’s will never happen again thanks to instant replay. Even if a team runs out of challenges, there are still the freebies once the 7th inning starts.
Welcome to Ph- er, the home dugout Eric!
I was thinking the same thing!!
That was long overdue. Rios was OK and Tauchman was doing OK. Does it translate to MLB? IDK. Gives Ross a full bench anyway. I wonder If Thompson is going to be stretched out? Interesting.
Something is up with Thompson, his velocity was all over the place during the Spring and all the sudden he became hittable out of the pen. I didn’t see his last outing, if his velocity was off or if he is tipping or simply missing his spots but he needs to get it figured out.
Dude has made 175mils. I sure he is more than happy right now lol
It would be eons beyond charitable to even consider signing Eric Hosmer to the Long Island Ducks or Utica Unicorns let alone any club in Organized Ball.
Please no.
KC T-Bones!
Such an awesome contract for the Padres #rockstargm
Hosmer will be remembered as a good fielder and hitter who helped the Royals advance to 2 World Series and a championship.
A fit for the A’s?
Ryan Noda has a .400 OBP while playing 1B everyday as a rule 5 draftee, no thanks
He’ll end up on the MLB Network giving hitting breakdowns and instructions just like Mark DeRosa and Carlos Pena.
Hosmer at a stage where he’s not a 40 man or 25 man roster spot, even if he is essentially free. Score a big thumbs up for Boras, getting that kind of scratch for a player who has onlt topped 1.6 BWAR in three seasons, Three good (not by any means great) seasons.
How did Preller convince himself to sign Hosmer to that contract? Doesn’t he have an Ivy League education?
The Padres seemed very insistent upon trading Hosmer rather than cutting him even though they were on the hook in either scenario for the remainder of his contract. They even delayed getting rid of him until they could find a trade partner. That always seemed strange.
I don’t know but it could have been service time/pension related.
Hosmer is very respected and loved by his teammates, coaches and presumably the front office so I’m sure as an organization, the Padres wanted to do “what’s right”. Either that of Preller figured a prospect is a prospect, you might get lucky and 700k, or whatever the veteran league minimum is, is 700k and it’s worth saving every penny you can.
Drasco, seriously I’m starting to think that you are a close relative of Hosmer. Either that, or your bedroom has pics of him on your ceiling.
Cool story
“The Cubs then agreed to bring Hosmer aboard, which was a move that had no financial risk…”
This is an impossibility from a standpoint of economic theory.
Whether the Cubs filled that roster spot with Hosmer or a minor league player with no major league experience the cost was the same. They are required to fill that spot. Hence no financial risk.
Re: “….. required to fill that spot.”
Yes, playing without a 1B considerably hampers one’s ability to throw a batter out at 1B. Thanks for the deep dive into strategy!
As I said, spot on the ROSTER, not the field.
Hosmer has not played much at 1B lately, just 1 start there this month, and the Cubs have continued to play..
Teams are required to have a full roster. 26 men.
But then you PROBABLY knew that and were just choosing to be a jerk. Congratulations, you succeeded.
Incorrect. There’s risk of some form in all decisions and transactions.
There is no additional risk, The team has to fill the 26 man roster spot. They will have to pay someone the major league minimum or more to be there. Hosmer costs them exactly the major league minimum.
Why are you arguing when you are not even semantically correct? Why are you upvoting your own posts?
Nobody said anything about “additional risk.” The statement in question is that there exists no risk whatsoever which is patently untrue. It’s an economic impossibility. If you’re unable to comprehend economic theory that’s perfectly understandable, but that lack of compreh does not make you correct.
There is NO risk. It is a financial requirement, so it CANNOT be a financial risk. They HAVE to spend the same amount of money they would spend on Hosmer. PERIOD.
That you do not understand that basic fact is enough. It shows that you are here ONLY to troll. You have nothing to add to any conversation.
It’s unfortunate that you are so blinded by your insistence that you are correct that you are unwilling to learn something new.
Nothing to learn from you. I am right. You are wrong. Next.
You’re free to continue drowning in a pool of ignorance. There’s risk involved in doing so.
I wish Hosmer all the best in his future endeavors. I kinda hope they keep him as a coach.
Man, you all are cold-hearted. Hosmer still has more home runs, higher batting average, and lower strike outs % than our new boy, Mervis! Hosmer was doing just fine , until Ross started platooning players like Maddon! Big mistake, Mervis is not the answer. I predict Mancini and Wisdom at 1st and Wisdom will hit 200, 25 homers 50 rbi’s maybe. Bullpen is in shambles and Ross has cost us 5+ wins with his poor management. Fire Ross immediately and bring in Ozzy Guillen from MLB network. My cubs are in trouble or they have told Ross to start Tanking again!
By WAR, the Cubs are the third best team in the NL, getting top value from 2nd, SS and center field but yet they are under .500. The talent is there, the on field results are not.
If the Cubs are gonna raid MLB Network for a manager they should go after Mark DeRosa, not Ozzie.
Too bad Rizzi retired otherwise the Cubs might still have a productive 1b
Never understand what people see in this player. Used to be compared to Freddie Freeman. Really at his best he was no better than someone like Adam Laroche and essentially became James Lonely.
Autocorrect…meant Loney
Eric Hosmer plays baseball as well as Christopher reeves dance number on America’s got talent in 2019.
Neither Hosmer nor Rios adds value except as a weak pitch-hitter.
Hoerner, Swanson, Happ, Belli. Suzuki, Gomes, Morel, Wisdom, Mancini and Mervis gives you ten batters.
Cubs destroyed the NL defending champs tonight
The Cubs doing Cubs things, they scored 10 last night, let’s see if they can score more than two per game for the rest of the series.
The line up is actually pretty decent now that Morel is up and crushing the ball. Hopefully he lasts and either Mervis figures it out or is sent back to AAA to do so when Bellinger comes off the IL.
When Bellie is back, the best 9 in the line up is: Hoerner, Swanson, Happ, Suzuki, Bellinger, Morel, Mancini, Wisdom, Gomes
Mervis isn’t going back to AAA. The Cubbies will give him at least 250-300 at bats to show that his strong 2022 wasn’t an outlier.
Royals are stacked at 1b, please no Hosmer reunion. Hope he latches onto a new team for the better.
Time to retire?
Morel needs to be in every lineup for the cubs going forward!
Nah, Morel did the same thing last year. Started off red hot and then the preponderance of Ks bit him in the butt. and he fell back down to earth. Best served as a utility type. Like last year, some guys get exposed when asked to do more.
Watch him sign with the Nationals because no one else will give him an offer. Haha
With Machado injured, Friars and Horner could have a short reunion- nothing would be funnier (nor more unlikely)
Hard to sing the blues when you are a multi millionaire.
Seems like some may forget that at one point in their respective MLB careers several “experts” were convinced that Hosmer was the superior player over Freddie Freeman.
Time reveals all.
Anyone have a uneducated guess where Hosmer ends up?
Hah! One of the other 4 teams in the NL West so he doesn’t retire, forcing SD to pay the full haul?
Pirates? They just released Andujar and Santana isn’t playing well. Maybe they want a new veteran 1B. This one even has legit World Series Winner pedigree
Would be a good add for the Phillies. Cody Clemens doesn’t add much when he plays 1B, and when Bohm plays 1B, Sosa at 3B is middling at best. Would be interesting to see what Hosmer might do in a line up surrounded by the likes of Turner, Harper, Schwarber, Castellanos and Realmuto. I know, he was probably in much the same situation with the Padres, but I believe the pressure of living up to that huge contract weighed heavily on him and was, well, above his pay grade.
Phillies now sit at 20-24 and trail everyone in the NL East save for the Nats. Dombro knows he has to do something to shake things up and get this team back on track.
Not expecting the same result this year as last, but the Phillies are still good enough to make the October dance, and like we witnessed in 2022, if they get hot at the right time, maybe even make it back to the WS. But like I said, I’m not expecting that lightning bolt of good fortune to strike us twice.
JimAbbottsRightHandofGod
=========================
You are damaged goods. Seek help.
Hoz no doubt has some great memories of his career…not to mention the millions of dollars. He should retire, relax and collect the rest of the cash then head to the broadcast booth somewhere if he wants to remain connected to the game. He’s personable, intelligent and well-respected. I’d love to see him come back to KC as an analyst but he’s a warm-weather guy and would probably want to work closer to home.
Such an embarrassment of riches on the Northside that they can just DFA a 4x gold glove, all-star, all-star MVP, sliver slugger, World Series winner. Other teams should be so lucky.
This was just a charity signing that the Cubs do annually to make their fans think their trying.
To exasperate the “bad contract” status, he’s not even able to stay on the roster at the league minimum…
Doing the honorable thing and retiring (maybe swinging a deal on a buyout) won’t happen. Earning his pay by deserving his pay is a foreign concept. Being ethical is a “flaw” in the system.
He’ll land with someone, my advice is to stay in shape, Eric…..
Abreu<Hosmer<Gurriel
As a Nats fan, I love the smell of Hosmer bouncing around in the morning. The Nats not good enough for him? Nobody else is particularly interested in him either.
Gonna wind up on the Nats after all
Sports Illustrated has truly morphed into The Onion. They actually suggested the Cardinals might pick up Hosmer to back up Goldschmidt at first. There are at least four better options between the 26 man roster and Memphis to back up Goldschmidt at first.
“Hosmer, 33, signed an eight-year, $144MM deal with the Padres going into the 2018 but then saw his production tail off once the ink on that deal was dry.”
—–Try a little basic research.
Hosmer’s OPS+ from 2020-2022 was 109.
Hosmer’s OPS+ from 2012-2018? 109.
He had a down year in 2019, but also wasn’t much better than that in 2016 and 2018.
I like long walks on the beach, soft evening rain, and when the Yankees stomp someone by 10 or more runs.