2025 Around The League Thread

That Nola contract predictably looks REALLY bad now. 5 years are 126.5 million remaining after this year and he currently sports a 6.05 ERA.
 
That Nola contract predictably looks REALLY bad now. 5 years are 126.5 million remaining after this year and he currently sports a 6.05 ERA.
I find it really hard to believe AA was anywhere near what the Phillies gave him. He was pretty great in 2022, and 2021 ERA not withstanding. That said, I could see him being a mid to high 3 ERA guy for the length of that contract, which may not look so bad in 3 years.
 
I find it really hard to believe AA was anywhere near what the Phillies gave him. He was pretty great in 2022, and 2021 ERA not withstanding. That said, I could see him being a mid to high 3 ERA guy for the length of that contract, which may not look so bad in 3 years.
I suspect if AA had an offer out on Nola it was a higher AAV deal for 3-4 years. If it was anything close to the same length he might as well tried to retain Fried.
 
I find it really hard to believe AA was anywhere near what the Phillies gave him. He was pretty great in 2022, and 2021 ERA not withstanding. That said, I could see him being a mid to high 3 ERA guy for the length of that contract, which may not look so bad in 3 years.
His ERA since 2019 is right at 4 and he's trending in the wrong direction. Looks like he's had some bad luck on balls in play this year, but his fastball velocity continues to decline and he's giving up more HR than ever.
 
His ERA since 2019 is right at 4 and he's trending in the wrong direction. Looks like he's had some bad luck on balls in play this year, but his fastball velocity continues to decline and he's giving up more HR than ever.
True, his FB is down 1MPH this year which is big, but that hasn’t really declined until this year so not sure I get the “continues to” statement. He had a couple of higher ERA years where he pitched better than his ERA suggests which inflates that number. He’s always given up homers and I’m guessing that MPH less this year is primarily what’s making it worse. He’s never really been hurt, mechanics look pretty easy and fluid so I don’t think he’s in for big injuries even if he isn’t 100% right now. I think he’ll age pretty solidly.
 
I havent done any research yet but how many teams do you think Grant Holmes would be in the rotation at this exact moment? Not as in who would have moved him to the rotation but who is currently starting someone worse than him? Off the top of my head I would guess 18-20.
 
to lose a whole mph off the FA from last years screams arm issues.. That is a huge drop from one season to the next.. being older, it is more feasible I guess... but man, that is a big drop.
 
I find it really hard to believe AA was anywhere near what the Phillies gave him. He was pretty great in 2022, and 2021 ERA not withstanding. That said, I could see him being a mid to high 3 ERA guy for the length of that contract, which may not look so bad in 3 years.
Dude, Nola is toast unless he can reinvent himself. Declining velocity, career high hard hit rate, career high EVs, etc.
 
True, his FB is down 1MPH this year which is big, but that hasn’t really declined until this year so not sure I get the “continues to” statement. He had a couple of higher ERA years where he pitched better than his ERA suggests which inflates that number. He’s always given up homers and I’m guessing that MPH less this year is primarily what’s making it worse. He’s never really been hurt, mechanics look pretty easy and fluid so I don’t think he’s in for big injuries even if he isn’t 100% right now. I think he’ll age pretty solidly.
Over the previous 2 seasons, his ERA and FIP are almost identical. He was a 4.00ish ERA pitcher and now his stuff is declining further.
 
True, his FB is down 1MPH this year which is big, but that hasn’t really declined until this year so not sure I get the “continues to” statement. He had a couple of higher ERA years where he pitched better than his ERA suggests which inflates that number. He’s always given up homers and I’m guessing that MPH less this year is primarily what’s making it worse. He’s never really been hurt, mechanics look pretty easy and fluid so I don’t think he’s in for big injuries even if he isn’t 100% right now. I think he’ll age pretty solidly.
Since 2019, his fastball velocity each year:

93.3
93.1
93.1
92.9
92.9
92.6
91.6

Hence, "continues."

And yeah he's always outpitched his ERA (even this season), but you said you expected him to be a mid-high 3s ERA pitcher for the rest of his contract. I have trouble seeing him do that in his age 32-37 seasons when he hasn't managed it age 26-32, especially not when his fastball velocity and peripherals are already in decline. Even if you expect the HR rate to drop from where it is right now (it probably will), his HR rate over the last 3 seasons is still pretty bad and significantly higher than his career rate. His K% is down, his BB% is up, and he's getting hit harder than ever.

I don't think he's as bad as he's been so far this year, but he's pretty clearly in decline.
 
Since 2019, his fastball velocity each year:

93.3
93.1
93.1
92.9
92.9
92.6
91.6

Hence, "continues."

And yeah he's always outpitched his ERA (even this season), but you said you expected him to be a mid-high 3s ERA pitcher for the rest of his contract. I have trouble seeing him do that in his age 32-37 seasons when he hasn't managed it age 26-32, especially not when his fastball velocity and peripherals are already in decline. Even if you expect the HR rate to drop from where it is right now (it probably will), his HR rate over the last 3 seasons is still pretty bad and significantly higher than his career rate. His K% is down, his BB% is up, and he's getting hit harder than ever.

I don't think he's as bad as he's been so far this year, but he's pretty clearly in decline.
I see you conveniently left out what it was before that 93.3. Let me help:
92.6
92.9 (arguably his best season)

I doubt 93.1 to 92.9 is a statistically significant decline.

Not sure why you’re nitpicking so much. He was a mid-3 ERA pitcher *last year*. He’s gone up and down on his ERA being better than his FIP and for his career it’s 3.78 and 3.50 respectively…which is pretty close. Short of a current catastrophic arm problem, it’s hardly unreasonable for him to be what he’s roughly been his entire career. He’s always been up and down ERA-wise, likely due to just how costly each home run ends up being, and that will continue. I could see him being the pitcher he was *last year* (or slightly worse) for the length of the contract…that’s all I said…to act as if it’s not possible is wrong.
 
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