Around Baseball Offseason Edition - Derek Jeter will retire at seasons end

[Heyward]

Gardner signs a 4 year, 52 mil extention with NYY.

And this.....

Yahoo! Sports' Jeff Passan reports that the Angels are discussing a six-year contract extension with Mike Trout that would pay him in the range of $150 million.

Trout won't be eligible for arbitration until after this season, so the deal would buy out his first two years of free agency. Passan says the gap between the two sides "is in the low eight figures," but "optimism exists that it will be bridged." Trout would be only 28 after the contract runs out, giving him a chance to get an even bigger deal when he hits free agency. The outfielder batted .323/.432/.557 with 27 home runs and 33 stolen bases for the Angels last season.

 

[Carp]

Gardner signs a 4 year, 52 mil extention with NYY.

And this.....

Yahoo! Sports' Jeff Passan reports that the Angels are discussing a six-year contract extension with Mike Trout that would pay him in the range of $150 million.
Trout won't be eligible for arbitration until after this season, so the deal would buy out his first two years of free agency. Passan says the gap between the two sides "is in the low eight figures," but "optimism exists that it will be bridged." Trout would be only 28 after the contract runs out, giving him a chance to get an even bigger deal when he hits free agency. The outfielder batted .323/.432/.557 with 27 home runs and 33 stolen bases for the Angels last season.

As I said, the Angels aren't paying Trout 300+ million when they still have cheap control yrs left.

 

[Heyward]

As I said, the Angels aren't paying Trout 300+ million when they still have cheap control yrs left.

They would if they were smart, i'd buy out as many FA years possible.

I'd give him 400 million and sign him for life.

 

[Heyward]

Supposedly Desmond rejected an extension from the Nats.

7 years/85.5 million was the offer according to MLBTR and their board.

Thats a lot of cash to turn down.

 

[Dalyn]

Gardner signs a 4 year, 52 mil extention with NYY.

And this.....

Yahoo! Sports' Jeff Passan reports that the Angels are discussing a six-year contract extension with Mike Trout that would pay him in the range of $150 million.
Trout won't be eligible for arbitration until after this season, so the deal would buy out his first two years of free agency. Passan says the gap between the two sides "is in the low eight figures," but "optimism exists that it will be bridged." Trout would be only 28 after the contract runs out, giving him a chance to get an even bigger deal when he hits free agency. The outfielder batted .323/.432/.557 with 27 home runs and 33 stolen bases for the Angels last season.

I've always liked Gardner. I think he would've made even more with a NL team.

 

[Carp]

They would if they were smart, i'd buy out as many FA years possible.

I'd give him 400 million and sign him for life.

And he could just as easily go the way of Grady Sizemore. He's been in the league 2 yrs. There is zero reason to give him 400 million dollars at this point. You'd be bidding against yourself. And despite the Angels recent spending sprees, every team does indeed have a budget.

 

[thewupk]

And he could just as easily go the way of Grady Sizemore. He's been in the league 2 yrs. There is zero reason to give him 400 million dollars at this point. You'd be bidding against yourself. And despite the Angels recent spending sprees, every team does indeed have a budget.

I agree. I don't think he goes the way of Sizemore but I would want to extend him through age 30. No reason to pay premium for the 2nd half of his career. Look at Pujols, etc. He would still get his payday from someone else as there is always someone to pay you big bucks till age 40 (see Mariners and Cano).

 

[thethe]

I've always liked Gardner. I think he would've made even more with a NL team.

I really thought there would be a match with the Yankees last year prior to getting Upton. The Upton deal was amazing for the Braves so no need to revisit that but I preferred to go after Gardner.

 

[zitothebrave]

Supposedly Desmond rejected an extension from the Nats.

7 years/85.5 million was the offer according to MLBTR and their board.

Thats a lot of cash to turn down.

He's an arb 2 player so you're talking about buying out 5 years of Free Agency. Desmond has established himself as someone who's one of the best SS in baseball. If he stays on this path he'll easily sign for more than that deal shortly. So basically considering the deal he sigend to lock up arb, his FA years would be 5/58 which he should get more than unless he starts sucking.

 

[NYCBrave]

He's an arb 2 player so you're talking about buying out 5 years of Free Agency. Desmond has established himself as someone who's one of the best SS in baseball. If he stays on this path he'll easily sign for more than that deal shortly. So basically considering the deal he sigend to lock up arb, his FA years would be 5/58 which he should get more than unless he starts sucking.

Considering he put up back to back 5 WAR seasons and is entering his prime, I'd say yea he deserves a lot more.

 

[Heyward]

He's an arb 2 player so you're talking about buying out 5 years of Free Agency. Desmond has established himself as someone who's one of the best SS in baseball. If he stays on this path he'll easily sign for more than that deal shortly. So basically considering the deal he sigend to lock up arb, his FA years would be 5/58 which he should get more than unless he starts sucking.

5/68.5, with 17 in arb but yes i suppose so.

Even still, thats alot of money to turn down.

They, like us, have a lot of tough decisions in the next 2 years.

The following i believe are FA's then: Clippard, Storen, JZimm, Desmond, Fister, and i think Span.

 

[thewupk]

5/68.5, with 17 in arb but yes i suppose so.

Even still, thats alot of money to turn down.

They, like us, have a lot of tough decisions in the next 2 years.

The following i believe are FA's then: Clippard, Storen, JZimm, Desmond, Fister, and i think Span.

Yeah it would be only 13.5 or so per for 5 years. 10 WAR in the last 2 seasons. He's a top 5 SS in baseball and would get paid a lot more then that on the open market. High teens at the lowest.

 

[Carp]

I agree. I don't think he goes the way of Sizemore but I would want to extend him through age 30. No reason to pay premium for the 2nd half of his career. Look at Pujols, etc. He would still get his payday from someone else as there is always someone to pay you big bucks till age 40 (see Mariners and Cano).

I don't think he'll go the way of Sizemore either, but when negotiating a long term contract, you have to factor in injury risk. And being that CF is either the 2nd or 3rd most physically demanding position on the field, I'd say it's a pretty legit concern.

 

[thewupk]

I don't think he'll go the way of Sizemore either, but when negotiating a long term contract, you have to factor in injury risk. And being that CF is either the 2nd or 3rd most physically demanding position on the field, I'd say it's a pretty legit concern.

Definitely. Just look at two best CF in the 90s/00s. Griffey and Andruw were all world the first half of their career before the demands of the position caught up with them.

 

[AUTiger7222]

I don't think he'll go the way of Sizemore either, but when negotiating a long term contract, you have to factor in injury risk. And being that CF is either the 2nd or 3rd most physically demanding position on the field, I'd say it's a pretty legit concern.

It's always more risky giving a center-fielder a long-term deal because of the demands of the position. It's been that way for as long as I can remember, top notch center-fielders ultimately end up moving to a different position to prolong their career. A lot of Griffey's injuries in Cincinnati were fluky injuries, similar to the fluky injuries Chipper had the last half of his career. Andruw on the other hand didn't take care of his body and it broke down on him as a result. It's a shame what happened to Grady Sizemore though. Talk about an unbelievable talent putting up all-world seasons and then bang!

 

[Hawk]

Definitely. Just look at two best CF in the 90s/00s. Griffey and Andruw were all world the first half of their career before the demands of the position caught up with them.

Andruw got fat and Griffey was disadvantaged by playing on the turf at the Kingdome the first decade of his career.

Jim Edmunds (40), Bernie Williams (37), Kenny Lofton (40) all played into their late 30s. Griffey played until he was 40.

Trout could easily transition to RF, LF, or even 1B if injures became an issue. I wouldn't be afraid to lock him up (very) long term.

 

[Heyward]

I don't think he'll go the way of Sizemore either, but when negotiating a long term contract, you have to factor in injury risk. And being that CF is either the 2nd or 3rd most physically demanding position on the field, I'd say it's a pretty legit concern.

They can always move him to LF or RF as he gets older.

Even still, i'll take my chances with that deal.

 

[thewupk]

Andruw got fat and Griffey was disadvantaged by playing on the turf at the Kingdome the first decade of his career.

Jim Edmunds (40), Bernie Williams (37), Kenny Lofton (40) all played into their late 30s. Griffey played until he was 40.

Trout could easily transition to RF, LF, or even 1B if injures became an issue. I wouldn't be afraid to lock him up (very) long term.

Andruw also had knee and back problems at 30 thx to the wear and tear of playing center every day for 10 years.

And those players are prime examples really. Yes they played till they were older but weren't even close to being as good. Bernie was never a good defender and was done being a good hitter at age 33. Lofton was 34 when he no longer was a good defender and the bat started to slip too. Edmonds did remain elite but one has to wonder about steroids who he played with and for.

Still center is a very demanding position and one players rarely stay great at into their late 30s. And yes Trout could transition to other positions. But if his defense/speed slips he's no longer going to be the 10 WAR player he is now. Which means the later years are likely going to be a mass overpay. The Angels should know that better than anybody considering what they have done with Pujols and Hamilton. The smart teams are finally realizing that players don't continue to have their peaks into their mid 30s anymore and that paying players for what they have done is a huge mistake. Sign players up through their prime and if another team wants to pay them for what they have done and not what they will do then let them. This seems to be what the Braves have done with their current core.

 

[Hawk]

Still center is a very demanding position and one players rarely stay great at into their late 30s. And yes Trout could transition to other positions. But if his defense/speed slips he's no longer going to be the 10 WAR player he is now. Which means the later years are likely going to be a mass overpay. The Angels should know that better than anybody considering what they have done with Pujols and Hamilton. The smart teams are finally realizing that players don't continue to have their peaks into their mid 30s anymore and that paying players for what they have done is a huge mistake. Sign players up through their prime and if another team wants to pay them for what they have done and not what they will do then let them. This seems to be what the Braves have done with their current core.

I would counter that most players aren't 'great' in their late 30s, no matter which position they play.

But I agree with the latter half of your post, by and large, although to me Trout represents a special case.

 

[zitothebrave]

Not sure what the argument that's going on is.

But if it's Trout and CF, he should be moved to RF ASAP. But guys don't age well in CF. Guys you listed who played late into their career were smaller and lighter than Trout.