A Marlins shakeup is looming and the focus is on the team's minor league system, says Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports in this week's edition of Full Count. Jim Fleming, the vice president of player development and scouting, has informed his staff that he will be reassigned. The club's revenues will grow once they move into their new stadium but they still need to do a better job of producing homegrown talent. Let's take a look at some more highlights from Full Count..
- The Red Sox are reluctant to give lucrative long-term contracts to closers, but with Jonathan Papelbon they might not be able to resist. Papelbon will want an increase from his $12MM salary, perhaps something closer to Mariano Rivera's $15MM average yearly pay. It's possible that no team will want to go there but Rivera has just one year left on his deal and Rafael Soriano hardly looks like the heir to Mo's throne. Rosenthal wonders aloud if the Yankees would jump in and offer Papelbon a backloaded deal to take over as closer.
- The Rangers would seem to be an obvious suitor for Prince Fielder or Albert Pujols, especially in light of Mitch Moreland's recent struggles. Texas will have to spend on pitching if they lose C.J. Wilson in free agency and they might prefer to keep both their payroll and roster flexible. Josh Hamilton is only one year away from free agency and Ian Kinsler is only two years away.
- The sale of the Astros to Jim Crane is not yet official and some in baseball believe that he will not be approved as owner. Others, however, view a deal as inevitable. Current owner Drayton McLane wants out and Crane is offering a fair price for the club. Perhaps most importantly, there does not appear to be any other bidders. McLane has been loyal to the commissioner's office and he will want to see that loyalty reciprocated.
Why would the Yankees want Papelbon when they have a perfectly good option in Robertson?
Because Robertson is a proven closer who can handle the pressure in NY? I like where you’re going, but the Yankees may not be able to resist sticking it to the Red Sox. 4 years, $55 million.
2012: $7 million (sets up Rivera for a year)
2013: $15 million
2014: $16 million
2015: $17 million
Actually, I’m pretty sure ‘sticking it to the Red Sox’ would be seeing them sign Papelbon for 3 years @ Rivera prices. Ouch.
Bard is not a proven closer either yet there were many talks last year of the Red Sox NOT re-signing Papelbon and just making Bard the closer.
It’s a catch 22 with Pap. He’s not worth 15 mill a year, but what other pitchers can the Sox trust to take over? Maybe Bard, but we’ll see.
No thanks, Rosenthal. Robertson and/or Soriano and/or Chamberlain will fill that role just fine.
3 bullpen arms for nearly 40m total? Yikes!
yeah, that’s what I thought, too. Rosenthal is a moron.
yeah, that’s what I thought, too. Rosenthal is a moron.
I think the Red Sox will make a big mistake if they let Papelbon walk. I know people here don’t value closers for whatever reason… but I can’t see a good reason to break up the Bard/Papelbon 8th/9th. They turn a 9 inning game into a 7 inning one.
If he asks for something ridiculous… then I can see letting him walk but if he asks for something fair and they decide to just go with Bard, I think it would be a mistake. It’s not like they can’t afford to over pay for him.
Lies! You want Ruben to sign him and convert him to a SP so your team can have 5 aces!
I would love to have Papelbon as the closer.
I wouldn’t want him to waste a rotation spot. We need the space for when we trade for King Felix.
Blue Jays played 7 inning games when Duane Ward/Tom Henke were there.
I personally don’t think they will go crazy with Papelbon, even if the NYY do offer him 15m and 3 years plus. There are just too many options available on the market and even bard, who I think would be fine as the closer with a long enough chance.
A couple of reasons:
1, They do not want to spend that much LT on that position and Epstein does not have a real history of doing it on relievers after Foulke that was a disaster other than 1 year.
2. Papelbon was declining the last 2 seasons and has this miraculous rebound season when he hits FA, will be 31 next season and looking (more than likely) for a 3 year deal.
Risky, risky, risky. Hope that Bell is going to decline arbitration and take a 1 year deal perhaps cause Papelbon will probably be the highest paid FA reliever available this off season.
What some people call loyalty, others would call brownosing. Uncle Drayton has definitely been a nice drone owner for MLB.
Pujols is going to get signed by the Cardinals before anyone else has a chance to anyway. So, I don’t think Texas will be much of a suitor.
Hopefully Cashman learned that giving big deals to relievers is a bad thing. All our successful relief pitchers came from the farms one way or another.
The Yankees are going to sign Ryan Madson this winter, and have him setup/occasionally close until after Mo retires at the end of next year. Phillies fans accepted this as an inevitability back in April.
They did? I’m pretty sure the Yankees have bigger holes to fill than the back-end of the bullpen.
the first five innings are overrated
This is true. The Yankees need upgrades to their rotation pretty badly. Madson is a Boras client though, and will probably look to be overpaid. I guess when people think “overpaid” the thought which naturally follows is “Yankees” (although the Nationals could soon jump ahead on that list depending upon which moves they make this winter).
Then again, considering the dancing plethora of closers that will be on the market this off-season, I suppose all bets are off.
David Robertson is the Yankees closer of the future. Besides, Yankee fans despise Papelbum and not in that grudgingly respectful way either.
Damn you’re right. I forgot that the yankees make roster decisions based on what one person claims that the fan base wants.
I have never met a Yankee fan that doesn’t hate Papelbon
I’m not sure even the Red Sox fanbase likes Papelbon.
agreed, I even hate the stupid way he exhales before each pitch.
If only because when he was in his first year closing at one point his numbers were amazing and he got asked by a reporter if he thought he was the best closer in the AL East and he said something along the lines of “my numbers seem to say so” or something like that.
That and whenever I have him on a fantasy team he always seems to explode in playoff weeks/ tight ERA/WHIP weeks (I play h2h)
Once upon a time the yankee fan base hated Johnny Damon. You can tell the rest of that tale.
Once upon a time the red sox fan base loved Johnny Damon. You can tell the rest of that tale.
I hate Jose Reyes and David Wright… doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like them on my team.
Can’t they just play Moreland in the outfield if they sign Fielder or Pujols?