Jimmy Rollins said earlier today that there's a "good chance" he re-signs with the Phillies after the season. Here are some more updates from around the NL East, where all five teams are in offseason mode…
- Ryan Howard's five-year, $125MM contract ranks fourth on Joe Posnanski's list of the ten worst contracts in baseball at SI.com. Howard, whose deal kicks in next season, is "becoming a less and less useful player all the time," Posnanski writes.
- The Phillies interviewed Orioles scouting director Joe Jordan for their director of player development position this week, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Philadelphia now has a short window to decide whether they're going to offer Jordan the job, which previously fell under Chuck LaMar's responsibilities.
- The Phillies will look to sign a free agent closer this offseason and a division rival could be interested in similar relievers. GM Sandy Alderson has hinted that the Mets will find their next closer on the free agent market, according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.
- A Spring Training conflict between Jayson Werth and Nyjer Morgan nearly escalated to the point that punches were thrown, according to Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post. Now a member of the Brewers, Morgan has emerged as a star (along with his many alter egos).
Apparently Crawford’s deal is worse than Howard’s… Either that or Posnanski is a reject.
Not a hard point to argue, Crawford may be the worst signing of all time and I said that before 2011.
at least you’re used to being laughed at, then. crawford’s contact is bad but he wasn’t even the worst signing of 2011
It’s actually a very hard point to argue. According to the dollar figure values on FanGraphs (which admittedly aren’t perfect) Crawford was worth an average of $20.85 million per years his last four years in Tampa. I think it’s safe to assume that he was, and is, going to be overpaid for his time in Boston, but he’s still a very good player.
They’ve got his deal as worse than Werth’s, Dunn’s, Soriano’s, Lackey’s, Zito’s etc. It’s by no means a good deal, but for it to be in that category he’d almost have to play at the level he did this year for the remainder of his contract.
As for “worst signing of all time,” you’re being completely ridiculous.
I think it will go down as one of the worst ever, but yeah “the worst” is a stretch
It could, he could completely tank for the rest of his contract and end up released, that’s always a possibility. But to say that it is already the worst, or even one of the worst, is foolish.
carl crawford is simply too talented of a player to tank the contract. I full expect him to be the player he was before the deal. He just needs to stop thinking he needs to be worth the contract by being a hero.
He said something interesting in an interview toward the end of the season and I wish I could find it again. But basically he said he was uncomfortable hitting behind the guys like Ortiz and Gonzalez instead of in front of them because he always felt like he needed to get the big hit, or hit a home run and drive runs in, when what he’s used to is just having to get on base to be the guy getting driven in.
I don’t know how much of an affect that had on him this year, but I definitely think it had something to do with it.
its all mental with him 100%.. hes one of the most athletic players to ever play the game and showed that in his years with the rays..
After one season it’s the worst signing of all time? Give me a break.
Pos should have stuck with writing about the Royals in the KC Star. His SI articles are a joke.
Nyjer Morgan is a star?
Literally what I said.
No, Morgan is a low life.
What happens to them when they implode more like it with his attitude.
A classic case of GM’s putting some baseball talent above ethics when he is even on a MLB roster at all. this guy would have been playing in some other country, rather than MLB 20 years ago if he wanted to continue his ‘career”.
Please take Joe Jordan. PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Joe Jordan is a good guy and a smart baseball mind. He outthought himself at times but you can’t really think he was the problem.
1) The O’s never offered (or had a chance to offer) arbitration to type A or B free agents so almost never had more than 1-2 picks in the first two rounds.
2) The O’s signed some type A guys killing the chance to have those picks.
3) Player development, Stockstill’s job, was atrocious basically crippling the players Jordan drafted.
4) MacPhail refused to sign impact international players making any bad move Jordan had in the draft highlighted by 1000000.
5) Jordan has a bottom 5 smallest scouting staff in the entire major leagues, and bottom in the division (its not even close).
In my eyes, Jordan did an amazing job with what he was given.
Here’s my problem with Jordan. Outside of Delmonico and Arrieta I can’t think of one time he drafted a high upside guy with signability/price questions. This is a huge area for growth for any team as the draft is the cheapest way to get talent.
The other thing is his insistence on drafting similar players year after year. How many Trent Mummey types do we draft in the first 5 rounds before 1 pans out or Jordan realizes that’s not a great strategy.
That said, I think Jordan was the best member of a flawed front office (besides maybe Klentak?!?!). That said, I think the O’s need to clean house and start fresh. A new GM means an opportunity to do just that.
Narron, Wieters (I know, but he fits what you asked), Bobby Bundy, Ryan Berry, Michael Ohlman to name a few.
I do understand what you are getting at, that he has passed over some consensus top 100 guys who dropped to later rounds, but when the Os only have 2 picks in the first two rounds and the supplemental rounds are as big as the rounds themselves there is almost paper thin room for error.
Jordan in my eyes did a B+ job. If he didn’t draft Hobgood, which was a categorically awful pick, I’d give him an A.
I suppose. I’d give him a B- simply because maximizing value in those first 5 rounds is crucial. IMO no team should pass over a player with signability issues (especially if their pick is protected). No excuse. Maybe you don’t sign the guy, maybe you do. Either way you’ll get the pick back next year and have chances to pick up those other guys in later rounds.
The Phillies already have an amazing scouting department… I can’t see this guy coming in and screwing it up. He has drafted some big guys, granted with high draft picks, but I’m curious to see how he’d fare under our system. He’s had busts but most prospects are busts.
The Phillies are going to have a tough time finding a guy since they simply don’t invest any sort of money into the draft. The Pirates spent more on their 2nd round pick than the Phillies did on their draft.
The worst that can happen to Howard is if he makes the last out of the 2012 season to end the chances of the Phillies making the post season.
I wouldn’t quite phrase Nyjer Morgan as a “star.” C’mon.
Nyjer Morgan star!?
This deserves a GOB Bluth, “C’mon!”
Howard’s is the worst from this point going forward. A-Rod’s contract is horrific as well but it doesn’t hurt NY as bad as Philly. Mauer and Tulo’s will get ugly in a few years.
perhaps, but Tulo and Mauer are and have been higher quality players than Ryan Howard and their contracts run for less annual salary. Also Ryan Howard’s contract will completely consist of decline years, whereas barring unforeseen career changing injury, Tulo’s will consist mostly of his ‘Prime’ years.
How can you even mention “Tulo” when talking about bad contracts. I think he is by far the best all around SS in the major leagues right now.
I hope you’re around in 2020 because i will respond to this post and say i told ya so. Remember this day Matt.
1. Nyger Morgan hasn’t grown up.
2. I can’t believe there really are 4 worse contracts than the one Ryan signed.
Wells, Rios, Zito, Soriano.
Good point.
At least 2 of those were bad free agent signings. I mean a bad contract is a bad contract, but bidding against a team helps that. Ryan Howard was going onto the market with (at the time) 3 superior first basemen. Now, it’s just two. (I’ve finally gotten on the Fielder is better than Howard train… at least slightly).
“Slightly”?
“slightly” better than the #’s Howard put up before 2010.
Extremely now.
fielder is far superior at this point to ryan howard..
and now with that Achilles tear, howard is going to be off his feet for a long while.. and he’ll probably get in to fielderesque shape.
I’d like to add Braun’s extension in to the mix.. He’s amazing and I love him, but there was just no need for it.
First someone mentioned Tulo and now Braun????? I think you need to accept that its not 1970 anymore and to have a star player you have to pay. This annoys me as much as everyone but this is the time we live in, where if the best player in baseball was 40 and a f/a he would get a 10 yr deal…
reading comprehension helps
“He’s amazing and i love him, but there was just no need for it”
Braun was already signed until 2015, the brewers then felt the need to offer him a 5 year extension for 105 mil, good until 2020..
I will mail you 10 bucks canadian if you can adequately show me that their are more positives than negatives to the extension.
Well they will basically have him his whole career if they want him that long. Its not even that much money for a really good player.
but the extension saved them no money.. they could have literally waited 3 years and given him the same extension..
12 years/$150M…if Braun wanted to and had Scott Boras as his agent, the man could easily take his numbers on the open market and get almost almost twice that (not in 1 contract). Recognize a discount when you’re getting one.
but he wasn’t a free agent you tool, he had no leverage!
you’re comparing apples to bowling balls.
They’ll have him for basically his whole career whether they want to or not at this point. That’s why the extension makes no sense; why lock yourself into that when you have no idea what is going to happen down the road and you don’t need to do it?
Sorry he’s no Corey Hart.
Re: Braun…that’s one of the dumbest statements I’ve read in awhile. And especially ill-timed considering MIL is at 1-1 vs. STL in the NLCS mostly because of the Hebrew Hammer (much more so than Prince). With the deals in place, MIL will be paying Braun $150M for 12 years of his service (2008-2020), not including an option for 2021. Compare Jayson Werth’s current contract from WSH (7 years/$126M) and that’s insane. Braun will finish in the top 2 in MVP voting and knowing that Pujols is getting older, it looks like he (and Matt Kemp) will take home multiple MVP honors through Braun’s current contract. Knowing the escalating costs of power hitters in their prime, that’s a much better contract than COL’s contract to SS Tulo. As a Braves fan, I’d kill to have someone like Braun hitting #3 in my lineup for 12 years at $200M, let alone $150M!
Nyjer Morgan is a piece of garbage. Truly classless. He could hit .400 for the next 10 seasons, and he would still be trash. I hope he charges the wrong mound real soon and gets some sense headlocked and punched into him.
Chris Volstad (6 ft. 8 inches) and Gaby Sanchez say hi…
I wish they would have beat him so badly, and I was thinking that during that game as a Nats fan.
Morgan’s a hockey player, he can handle his own.
Apparently not, did you see that fight. He didn’t do much of anything accept get tackled by gaby sanchez. I think he threw one punch.
I still remember that fight. I was in my car listening to it happen live on the radio and knew I’d have to check out the video. Charlie Slowes was beside himself — yelling that it didn’t even hit him and he charged anyways, and how he got owned by Sanchez? I think that the was who tackled him.
Nyger Morgan vs. Kyle Farnsworth… somebody make that happen.
I like Nyjer… he makes Lastings look like a saint.
Well i think the real argument is…what makes someone a “star.” He has become a lot more popular over the last few months. Maybe that’s a star… who knows.
Nyjer Morgan a star? ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!!! Anyone remember him charging the mound last year and running over not one, but two catchers without reason? Thats the real morgan, not this fool that is playing everyone.
Poz’s line of “[…] I guess you could call Crawford Aaron Rowand with a sunroof” was really awesome.
I’m surprised we haven’t heard more about the Phillies search for a farm director… it’s a pretty glarring need for a team getting older.
I hope they get the right guy but it’ll take a miricale worker to turn the Phillies into a top 5 farm system after the trades and the limited draft budget (that’s why LaMarr resigned, among other reasons aparently) and terrible draft positioning. The Phillies have a good farm system now with Trevor May developing into the pitcher everyone expected him to be, Biddle having a great season, and some other lower level guys, plus Galvis finally showing signs of hitting. It’s just not at the point where you see the New Wave of Phillies like you do with the Yankees. The new wave of Phillies has become the future of the Blue Jays.
Is so sad but true. I hope those prospects do well but at the same time I hope they all do nothing in MLB for the jays to make it hurt less.
none of those prospects will ever be as good as doc.
and it will be a few years until all 3 of them add up to the value of 1 doc..
d’arnaud does look awesome though.
D’arnaud looks like a star. He was the one guy in that deal I was going to miss… and I didn’t even think he’d become this kind of a prospect. No doubt I’d rather have Halladay though.
Morgan a star?
What could possibly make Jayson Werth want to punch Nyjer Morgan?
Nothing would be sweeter than seeing someone put Nyjer Morgan in his place! Waiting for the Brewers fans to tell me how bitter I am but I can’t stand him, but I don’t really hate the team, I respect what they’ve accomplished. I don’t have a problem with Fielder, Braun is meh, and I’m a huge fan of the Brewers pitchers, especially Axford. I want to like that team but Morgan makes it so difficult.
It’s ok, I have enough hate for two Pirate fans.
Nyjer will go back to hitting .220 next year.
his career line is .288/.347
nyjer morgan….star or milton bradley number 2? discuss!!!
He had a fluky babib and UZR bloated season, he should fall back to earth very soon, happens all the time. Andres Torres and Franklin Guiterrez say hi.
His UZR is in line with his career (UZR/150 this year was 15, career is 18.4), and his BABIP isn’t all that flukey considering his speed (in ’09 it was .355). Dislike him all you want, but this isn’t the first time he put up a good season. Is he a star? No, not at all; but he’s a pretty good player (two seasons of 4 or more WAR in the past three), especially considering he plays CF.
Nyjer is an above average player this year but by no means is a “star” on the baseball field. He did get the media to notice him this year , therefore, if they have something to write about, he becomes a star to them.
The Cardinals exposed him Monday night as a below average defender with a weak bat.
They misspelled loudmouth as star