Championship rings carry much greater import than financial gain during a postseason run, but teams that reach the playoffs get extra revenue that is divvied up into shares. The Associated Press reported the figures on the 2023 playoff pool earlier this week, and how the $107.8MM in playoff revenue was divided amongst the 12 playoff teams, with more money naturally going to the teams who advanced furthest. According to numbers released by the league, the Rangers got $38.8MM (split into 64 full shares, 12.56 partial shares and $48,000 in cash awards) and the Diamondbacks got 71 full shares and 11.49 partial shares out of their bonus of $25.9MM.
How the shares are awarded within a clubhouse is determined by veteran players on each team. Several players and managers automatically qualify for full shares, but the players must then vote on what other players (such as someone who was with the club for only part of the season) or uniformed personnel (coaches, trainers, support staff, etc.) will also get full or partial shares. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal shared some insight into the process, and how the D’Backs made their decisions in who and who didn’t get a $313.6K full share, but the team did its best to spread the wealth. “I’m not rolling my eyes over a $300K check. I’m just saying the impact that it has on me is not going to be as significant as on any of our younger players who have limited service time or our clubhouse attendants or our kitchen attendants,” Evan Longoria said. “That impact is going to be much, much more for them….I want you guys to understand the perspective that I’m coming from when I say it’s life-changing for these people.”
More from around the National League…
- The Cardinals’ signing of Kyle Gibson this week ended a very long pursuit, as Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch noted that the team’s interest in the right-hander dated all the way back to Gibson’s 2009 draft year. “Multiple times since, the Cardinals have attempted to sign or trade for Gibson” Goold wrote, before finally landing Gibson on a one-year, $12MM deal. The local connection was obvious, as Gibson played his college ball at the University of Missouri and he already lives in the greater St. Louis area during the offseason. The righty’s results have been up-and-down over his 11 MLB seasons, but Gibson’s ability to eat innings should be very valuable for a Cardinals team badly in need of rotation depth before Gibson and Lance Lynn were brought on board.
- Newly-hired Giants pitching coach Bryan Price spoke with The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly this week about his decision to join the team, and end his three-year retirement from coaching. Price had spent the last two years working as a a special advisor with the Padres and working with longtime friend and colleague Bob Melvin, so when Melvin left the Padres to become the Giants’ new skipper, Price couldn’t resist a reunion in his hometown of San Francisco. Giants fans might also be interested in Price’s more old-school approach to pitching, coming off a 2023 season that saw the team use mostly bulk pitchers, openers, and piggyback starters to cover innings in patchwork fashion. “I’m a simple person when it comes to my overview on pitching: The starters pitch the bulk of the innings and you utilize your bullpen as needed….So we can be creative but we’ve got to be responsibly creative in how we use the data and what we decide is usable information versus what takes us into a place where we’re constantly chasing greatness and it’s only taking us into mediocrity or failure,” Price said.
- Before the Mets hired John Gibbons as their new bench coach, the New York Post’s Mike Puma reported that Phil Nevin was a candidate for the job. Let go as the Angels’ manager after the season, Nevin has a long relationship with Mets skipper Carlos Mendoza from their days on the Yankees’ coaching staff. There was some speculation that former Mets manager Willie Randolph might’ve been a candidate for the bench coach job given Mendoza’s praise of his former mentor, but Newsday’s Anthony Rieber suggests Randolph could still return to the Mets in another capacity.
Longoria did some good.
Yep. In 2008 with just six games into his MLB, Longoria, 22, signed a guaranteed deal worth $17.5MM with the Rays. It’s quite easy to let that kind of money and instant stardom get to your head. Good on Longo and the other vets to decide to spread those shares money around.
I did not see anything in the article that said that the team’s veteran players decided to spread the money around, only that Longoria noted that the bonuses were more impactful for the less wealthy.
Sounds like he’s at least pushing for it to go to the hard working men and women behind the scenes.
A clubhouse attendant might make $40k per year. A full share would significantly change their lives. It would be like hitting the lottery. Even a quarter share would change their lives.
@Manny It’s the first paragraph of Rosenthal’s The Athletic piece:
“Not all of them know it yet, but numerous members of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ support staff, including food-room attendants, are going to receive at least a portion of a postseason share.”
Some people want to be curmudgeons. I’m appreciative of Longoria and others mentioned in the article for their perspective and generosity.
Spot on.
Mets and Mariners fans. A trade proposal
To Mets
Gilbert
Berroa – Mariners #15 prospect
DeLoach – Mariners #25 prospect
Marco Gonzalez – Mets eat his $27mm contract
To Mariners
McNeil
Williams – Mets #2 prospect/ #78 overall
Morabito – Mets #28 prospect
Discuss pros and cons.
I don’t see why the Mets would do that when they paid all that dead money out for Max and JV to restock their farm. They can just go sign a SP.
Gonzales guarantee is only for one year $12m as the second year is a team clause with no buyout. So wouldn’t be eating anywhere near as much.
Gilbert’s value is seemingly extremely underrated here – baseball trade has his surplus at 70+ given his ability and four years of control – even knocking off 10 surplus for Marco the Mets portion only accounts for 25 so not even close.
Change it to a Woo or Miller and that’d be more balanced, but can’t see why they’d take another 2B who’s on a four year $50m with options, even if he is a 3 WAR player.
Changing it from Gilbert to Woo or Miller would be a definite no go from the Mets side. Gilbert is only slightly above average. A #3 starter. Not a TOR guy.
Going to take more than prospects, especially ones that project out only as MLB average or below players, to get McNeil who has averaged over 4 WAR, and Williams. McNeil is guaranteed $43 million over the next 3 seasons including the $2 million buyout of 2027.
You are right about the part of Gonzalez money that is guaranteed. Either way Mets are eating most of the money since he won’t be ready to do his rehab outings until ASB according to latest reports and there is no guarantee he will be back up to speed in 2024.
BTV is garbage. I typically just mute people that insist on using their estimations of value. Be better off using your video game’s evaluation of a trade.
Logan Gilbert is an established middle of the rotation starter with four more years of control (Super 2). There isn’t enough upside coming back in that deal to make it worthwhile for the Mariners to part with him despite Trader Jerry’s reputation of being an aggressive trader.
McNeil and Williams aren’t even close to the level of return to land Gilbert. McNeil will be 32 next season and Williams is a bottom-half Top 100 prospect. I think the potential return starts with Brett Baty to fill the Mariners’ vacated 3B position (short and long term upside), plus two more Top 10 org prospects (Parada and Vasil/Tidwell come to mind) to make Seattle part with their 3rd best SP in a year they expect to contend.
Jett Williams is a bottom-half top 100 now, but he’s been elevating quickly to get to that point (he’s moved to the top prospect in the Mets system according to Baseball America in just a year+ of milb service). He’s probably the one untouchable the Mets have in their farm. I think it’s more likely they would part with Acuna.
No way I would move Jett in a deal for Gilbert, even though I like him as a SP. Jett has way more upside and has more years of control obviously.
Not sure why Ms would give up Gilbert at this point anyway.
Certainly not for this.
McNeil not impactful enough.
Mets are not trading Jett.
You’re right, Cleaver. Because the Mets don’t have Jett.
They have Jett Williams.
Agree, and they shouldn’t. He’s a first round pick, a fast rising prospect, and has tremendous plate discipline and speed, with some power mixed in. Altuve type upside
The Mets aren’t trading Jett Williams…yet. They’re going to see what he can do in the high minors this year. And they can sign mid-level pitchers from the current free agent class, there are plenty of them available. They’d be selling low on McNeill right now, and he tends to go back and forth between good year/bad year. I don’t see this proposal making much sense for them.
While I don’t think it’s necessarily the case, the Mets are supposedly taking a step back on big FA signings.
Gilbert is a mid-rotation starter with 4 years of team control and costs about MLB minimum.
Berroa is a hard throwing, MLB ready pitcher who could step into the Mets bullpen today or be stretched out to pitch at the back of the rotation.
DeLoach is a power hitting corner OF who could step in as the Mets #4 OF in 2024.
Gonzales had a terrible 2023, didn’t pitch after late May, and had season ending forearm, not TJ, surgery in August but had been a serviceable league average starter for his career.
Mets fill 4 holes in one trade.
Question is, is that enough for the Mariners?
Um, Gilbert is a TOR arm. That package doesn’t get him alone, much less the rest of what the Mariners would be giving up.
Gilbert is a 105 ERA+ starter that was a 3.73 ERA/3.85 FIP/108 ERA+ starter in 2023. He is a #3 starter.
McNeil alone gets Gilbert. McNeil is a 4+ WAR player and under team control for the same # of years as Gilbert. Putting Gonzalez in the trade was in deference to making the money more equal.
The question was about helping both teams at multiple positions.
No he is not. He is an about league average starter.
Gilbert would command a pretty solid return on the market. His contract, the fact he’s controllable for several more seasons, and the simple fact he’s a quality rotation piece give him excellent value.
It’s an interesting trade proposal, but I would change some of the names around.
First, I doubt the Mets would consider trading Williams, and I also doubt McNeil would really move the needle for the Mariners.
Don’t underrate how much value Gilbert has compared to McNeil. Pitching is the far superior commodity in baseball
Not this year. Pitching in FA is plentiful while there are only a handful of quality hitters on the market and only 2 that are as good or better than McNeil.
McNeil is 4+ WAR position player. He is under team control for 4 years. Yes its more money than Gilbert, but he is undoubtedly the better player. He alone would bring back Gilbert.
Mariners have a black hole at 2B and 3B.
Including Gonzalez in the trade brings down the money difference by $12 million, not $27 million but still substantial. I had it wrong in initial post.
A net $11 million AAV for a 4 WAR player at the keystone is cheap.
Williams is a 2022 1st round pick that already made his way to AA at 20 years old, grades out as a 55 FV which is the same as Baty who has little shot at winning the 3B spot with the Mets. I think the Mets would much rather include Baty than Williams.
So
McNeil
Baty
Morabito
For
Gilbert
Berroa
DeLoach
Gonzalez
Is what you are saying?
McNeil had a 2.4 WAR last year, not 4. He is 32 and doesn’t hit for much power. Gilbert is already a number 3 starter and would be a number 2 on a lot of teams. Young pitching is the most valuable commodity in baseball and has been for some time. The mariners would not consider this trade at all.
He actually hit 23 dingers in 2019 oddly enough. I wonder sometimes if it was a juiced ball, a changed approach, or something else for the sudden decline in power. He’s also the type of hitter I’m skeptical of because his entire seasons offensive performance relies on him having a high batting average. Though his defensive versatility is a plus for him.
Gilbert is a 105 ERA+ starter, 108 in 2023. That is not a #2 on any contending team and he would be the #3 on the Mets if they made no other additions to their rotation. He is only 5% better than Joey Lucchesi.
McNeil has averaged over 4 WAR in full seasons. He was a 5.7 WAR player in 2022 and has a career .362 OBP making him exactly the type of player diPoto said he wants to add to the lineup. They are not looking for power, they are looking for average and obp.
The Mariners GM just said they traded Geno because they were looking for contact hitters. That is what McNeil does best. Hit for average with a high OBP. He also plays good defense at 2B. That makes them extremely strong up the middle.
No we are saying a young cost controlled pitcher is FAR more valuable than McNeil going forward. Throwing in prospects on both sides just clouds the value and leaves it up for debate. Woo for McNeil would be more likely, but don’t see the incentive for either side. Mets can just pay for their pitcher, and the Mariners can trade for a 3B that would be easier to pry.
You’re probably right… McNeil for Woo is a loss for the Mets (in my opinion), and Seattle probably doesn’t do McNeil for Gilbert, even though I think McNeil would help the Mariners more in the next two years because their SP is strong enough without Gilbert (but again, my opinion). He’ll have a down year like last year, but also 130+ WRC+ years as well. Mets probably hold onto him because they wouldn’t get the value they’d want in a deal for him.
McNeil is cost controlled. Under contract for 3 years with option for 4th. He is the better of the two headliners by far and there are far more good pitchers than hitters on the FA market.
I think so too, but i know others who would disagree
I would think Baty would be the more palatable trade piece for both the Mets and Mariners.
Gilbert is not as great as MAriners fans think he is, basically a league average starter but he has 4 years of inexpensive team control.
McNeil is a great player, as you said 4 WAR average, but he is owed $43 million over the next 3 years, so he is about as valuable as Gilbert. That part is pretty even.
Baty would fill the gaping hole at 3B for the Mariners, McNeil would fill the gaping 2B hole, and Morabito is a contact hitting machine even if he is not a guy that is thought of as a possible starter on most teams.
Then Urias is just a utility guy, not someone expected to be a starter. That makes so much more sense for the Mariners.
Maybe the Mets throw in $15 million so the money is closer to even and that seems like a great trade for both teams. .
A fair trade would be Gilbert to mets For Alonso and Williams+ mid tier flyer. Four years of a #2 starter at 8mm-10mm AAV.is a lot of value. Mcneil is not enough.
The Mets should not give up prospects. The current prospects who played and/or made their debut in 2023 did not acquit themselves well and there’s no guarantee they ever will. Thus, keeping the prospects they have is paramount. Heck, even add some more.
Gilbert alone isn’t gonna close the gap that separates the Mets from the Braves and Phillies. Gilbert and M. Gonzales wouldn’t either.
Mets should plan ahead. I view 2024 as a throw-away year in terms of contending for the NL East title.
Making the playoffs in 2024 is a whole different story. The Mets grabbing the sixth seed would not be a shock. And don’t forget, the past two seasons, the NL’s sixth seed (Phillies and D-Backs, respectively) made it all the way to the WS.
Alvarez as a 20 year old catcher who showed amazing improvement defensively and hit 20+ hr would beg to differ. Mauricio showed great promise and showed that his glove is not as bad as many scouts said. Baty yes, he is lost. Vientos once he got regular playing time started to come around in September with some actual big numbers. Those young Mets you are referring to did in fact show they could be long term pieces.
Three of those you mentioned barely hit .200, and Mauricio’s debut was too short to predict one way or the other. Still, each one of the four showed signs that better days lie ahead. Thus, I wouldn’t trade any of them even up for Gilbert.
As an aside, the one player in that group who I believe will eventually be a long-time piece in the Mets everyday line up is Baty. The second coming of David Wright? Maybe not. But a solid MLB player for a decade or more? Yes, indeed.
Remember, stability and success at the MLB level is a marathon and not a sprint.
Going forward, and with a little patience from Cohen and Stearns, I could see the Mets dominating the NL East in 2025 and beyond.
I agree, some good signs, but not enough yet to bank on them (other than Alvarez – I think he showed enough as a MLB C both offensively and defensively, and think he’ll be a force). The one guy I think could be moved is Mauricio since he flashes extreme talent, but has consistency issues – but Mets could regret trading him, and not sure what other teams would give.
I truly see Mauricio as a great Alfonso Soriano comp. I wouldn’t trade him or alvarez, as you said he was 20/21 and was a top 15 catcher already. Baty I have doubts on. Nothing seems to click for him but I’m ok giving him one more shot. Vientos strong September once he got everyday reps made me very happy. If the Mets fail on a bigger true dh type guy, I wouldn’t be upset seeing vientos as a regular dh and 1b help for alonso. Save some money there to allow for a couple big splashes in the starting pitcher and bullpen area? Theoretically, nimmo, Lindor, alonso, Alvarez, vientos, mcneil, marte, Mauricio, Baty, isn’t that bad a roster, with continued progression from the young kids and health for marte. Would I love one big bat signing at least to maybe stretch the top more to move alonso to four and alvarez to five, yes, but that roster with youth growth shouldn’t be a disaster. We need healthy strong starters and Eric Chavez to do his 2022 thing as batting coach.
I guess the Cardinals got their man. Granted he is 36 years old now. They really didn’t do too bad drafting Shelby Miller in 2009. Pretty much got the best out of Shelby for a few years then flipped him for a decent year of Heyward. Gibson will eat some innings for sure.
Congrats to Gibson for having a team maintain interest in his services for 14 years.
My respect for Evan Longoria just went way up.
That’s a pickle.