WHO GOES WHERE

[Cedrique]

just wow

Braves signed INF Matt Olson to an eight-year $168 million extension.​

The deal comes with a $20 million option for 2030. Olson will make $15 million this season, $21 million in 2023, and $22 million a year over the remainder of his contract. Atlanta recently acquired Olson in a trade with the Athletics to replace long-time fan favorite Freddie Freeman at first base. The 27-year-old four-posted a .271/.371/.540 slash line with a career-high 39 homers and four stolen bases in 673 plate appearances last year and will be a fantasy baseball stud for years to come.

It kind of makes sense on paper. They gave up some good prospects to get him and he's younger than Freeman. Seems like a good deal.

 

[Cedrique]

Bobby Bonilla is the go to punching bag joke for deferred contracts but Ken Griffey Jr is going to be the 6th highest paid Reds player this season:

I don't think Bonilla or Griffey should be punching bags. I respect them for setting up those contracts. It is wise to admit that you have shortcomings when it comes to money. At least they won't go full Curt Schilling and spend all their money on a video game company or something.

 

[calsnowskier]

I don't think Bonilla or Griffey should be punching bags. I respect them for setting up those contracts. It is wise to admit that you have shortcomings when it comes to money. At least they won't go full Curt Schilling and spend all their money on a video game company or something.

I have not looked at Griffey’s contract, but Bonilla’s was not an absurd contract. He got a nice 8% annual compound return on his money by deferring. That is a high rate, but given the situation the Mets were in, it helped them get through “today” to get to “tomorrow” after their financial issues.

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

I get that the bigger market teams will get the lion's share on the FA market and TV broadcasting contract $$$...and that in order to make $$$$...you gotta spend $$$$....but what the heck is going on in Cincy exactly?

Are they strapped financially too??

Nonfeasance? Embezzlement? Misappropriations?

 

[calsnowskier]

I get that the bigger market teams will get the lion's share on the FA market and TV broadcasting contract $$$...and that in order to make $$$$...you gotta spend $$$$....but what the heck is going on in Cincy exactly?

Are they strapped financially too??

Nonfeasance? Embezzlement? Misappropriations?

Per COTS, Pittsburgh has the lowest salary number going into ’22 as of yesterday (34.4m) and the Mets have the highest (266.6m).

6 teams had less than 85m (approx 1/3 the Mets current number)…

Pirates 34.4m
Stephen Strasburg (WSH) 35.0m
Nolan Arenado (StL) 35.0m
Trevor Bauer (LAD) 35.3m
Jacob deGrom (NYM) 36.0m
Gerrit Cole (NYY) 36.0m
Anthony Rendon (LAA) 36.6m
Mike Trout (LAA) 37.1m
Orioles 40.6m
Max Scherzer (NYM) 43.3m
Guardians 46.8m
A’s 62.4m
Marlins 65.0m
Rays 79.8m

How were the players not able to get a floor in this CBA session?

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

Maybe both leagues might want to visit contracting a team or 2 from each, either soon...or by the time this current CBA expires in 5 years.

Fwiw....a salary cap needed to be implemented years ago..along with the "luxury tax", which they have now...but I digress.

 

[navamind]

Olson extension looks good

 

[molsaniceman]

Per COTS, Pittsburgh has the lowest salary number going into ’22 as of yesterday (34.4m) and the Mets have the highest (266.6m).

6 teams had less than 85m (approx 1/3 the Mets current number)…

Pirates 34.4m
Stephen Strasburg (WSH) 35.0m
Nolan Arenado (StL) 35.0m
Trevor Bauer (LAD) 35.3m
Jacob deGrom (NYM) 36.0m
Gerrit Cole (NYY) 36.0m
Anthony Rendon (LAA) 36.6m
Mike Trout (LAA) 37.1m
Orioles 40.6m
Max Scherzer (NYM) 43.3m
Guardians 46.8m
A’s 62.4m
Marlins 65.0m
Rays 79.8m

How were the players not able to get a floor in this CBA session?

they never asked for it cause then thered be a salary cap

 

[calsnowskier]

Olson extension looks good

I agree. It looks like a decent deal for the Braves.

 

[calsnowskier]

they never asked for it cause then thered be a salary cap

Fewer teams are pushing the cap than are obliterating a non-existent floor.

Accept a cap of 225m (or whatever), but implement a floor of 90m (or whatever). If a team doesn’t make the floor, they contribute 1.3x (or whatever penalty) the amount they missed the floor by to the pre-Arb bonus pool. Have a similar penalty for exceeding the cap (.3x the overage gets contributed to the pre-Arb bonus pool).

I would assume these levels would be slowly implemented over the lifetime of the current CBA so the agreed upon levels are met for the final year.

End of the day, I think the players would end up with more overall money by implementing a floor than they would lose by accepting a soft cap.

 

[calsnowskier]

Using those completely arbitrary numbers, these teams would be over the limit for ‘22 as of yesterday (based on the CB# rather that the flat numbers that I used earlier)…

Mets 277.7m (52.7m over)
Dodgers 253.1m (18.1m over)
Yankees 236.0m (11.0m over)

81.8m over

These teams would be under…

Pirates 54.3 (35.7 under)
Orioles 61.6m (28.4m under)
Guardians 66.7m (23.3m under)
A’s 75.5m (14.5m under)

101.9m under

 

[molsaniceman]

Mariners signed 1B Mike Ford to a minor league contract.​

Ford showed great promise as a rookie with the Yankees back in 2019, but the now 29-year-old has batted just .134/.250/.276 across 156 major league plate appearances since the beginning of the 2020 season. He's mostly a depth addition for the rapidly-improving Mariner

 

[molsaniceman]

Braves signed RHP Collin McHugh to a two-year, $10 million contract with a $6 million club option for 2024.​

McHugh was said to be generating a ton of interest on the restarted free agent market after dominating to the tune of a 1.55 ERA and 74/12 K/BB ratio in 64 innings last season for the Rays. He ultimately chose to latch on with the reigning World Series champions and should be an excellent addition to the bullpen corps in Atlanta. The 34-year-old right-hander does also have past experience as a starter

 

[calsnowskier]

Braves signed RHP Collin McHugh to a two-year, $10 million contract with a $6 million club option for 2024.​

McHugh was said to be generating a ton of interest on the restarted free agent market after dominating to the tune of a 1.55 ERA and 74/12 K/BB ratio in 64 innings last season for the Rays. He ultimately chose to latch on with the reigning World Series champions and should be an excellent addition to the bullpen corps in Atlanta. The 34-year-old right-hander does also have past experience as a starter

Another very nice move by the Braves (admitadly I don’t know the Braves current roster construction, though).

 

[navamind]

I agree. It looks like a decent deal for the Braves.

$168M over 8 years isn't that crazy nowadays and he'll only be 35-36 by the end of it.

The ZiPS outlook for Olson looks pretty good too, FWIW:

Braves Acquire Matt Olson as Freeman Replacement in Blockbuster Swap

Atlanta replaces its All-Star first baseman with another, younger All-Star first baseman.

blogs.fangraphs.com

 

[bksballer89]

 

[molsaniceman]

ESPN's Jesse Rogers reports that the Yankees have re-signed Anthony Rizzo.​

It's a two-year, $32 million agreement with an opt-out after the first year, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Rizzo has been in a pretty steady decline as of late, but he still gets on base at a good clip and offers decent left-handed power. The 32-year-old first baseman finished with a .783 OPS and 22 home runs in 141 regular-season games between Chicago and New York in 2021. Luke Voit is again stuck in limbo, and this Rizzo news also seemingly narrows the market for free agent Freddie Freeman.

 

[mr.hockey4242]

Blue Jays about to get Chapman

 

[navamind]

Blue Jays about to get Chapman

fucking hell

and what is it with the Jays and A's trading 3rd basemen

 

[molsaniceman]

Multiple publications out of Japan are reporting that Seiya Suzuki has agreed to a five-year deal with the Cubs.​

Tokyo Sports has it as a $70 million agreement, which would be the largest contract ever for a Japanese player. More to come, assuming these reports are true.