Here's a look at some items out of the American League East as the Yankees and Red Sox continue to scour the market for pitching..
- The Red Sox are budget-conscious as they look to add to their rotation and one agent told Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe that he believes it will continue. “[GM Ben Cherington] is listening with free agents, but that’s it so far,’’ said the agent. "I don’t think it’s an act, either. They’re hoping somebody falls to them and that may be it."
- In a piece for the New York Times, Rob Neyer takes a look back at the ten-year, $275MM deal Alex Rodriguez signed with the Yankees in December of 2007. The Yankees have little reason to regret the signing so far but A-Rod remains under contract through 2017 when he'll turn 42.
- Ken Davidoff of Newsday looks at six different approaches that the Yankees can take to solve their rotation issues. Davidoff doesn't like the odds of the club pulling an "old school" move and throwing money at the problem, which would likely mean giving Edwin Jackson a sizeable contract. Instead, it seems likely that the Bombers will look for another lottery ticket and hope they hit it big, much as they did with Bartolo Colon in 2011.
- John Tomase of the Boston Herald suggests that the Rays pair up with the Angels to land either Mark Trumbo or Kendrys Morales. The Halos seem content to keep both sluggers in the mix for now but it seems likely that they'll move at least one of them before the start of the season. Tomase also credits recently-appointed Orioles GM Dan Duquette with prioritizing the rebuild of the front office over the on-field product in 2012.
I thought about a deal between Angels and Rays considering all the expendable peaces both teams have: i would have the Angels complete their rotation by acquiring David Price or James Shields (mentioned as tradable) for their expandable assets which are Bobby Abreu (asked for a trade) + Kendrys Morales + Callaspo or Izturis (given that Trumbo can be moved at 3rd base) + Hank Conger (still good value and could see a lot of PT with the Rays as Jose Molina is the starting Catcher)…. What do you think?
I don’t see us going after Morales. He costs too much and has too many health concerns. Definitely don’t see Shields or Price getting moved either. It’s going to be one or more of Wade Davis, Jeff Nieman, and/or Alex Cobb. Trumbo is more of a Rays type player in that he is young, controllable, and doesn’t get paid a whole lot. Abreu doesn’t have much value anymore either.
he costs less than $3 million and that is one of the reason why we’d like to keep him.
And why would the Rays want Abreu, Calllaspo, or Conger? Also, David Proce would get a HUGE haul.
Callaspo can be a nice addition if he knows how to play SS.
For Price, the Rays would be asking for Trumbo, Conger, and two of your best prospects at minimum. Very doubtful the Angels would do that
You realize of course, that the Rays have made the playoffs in the last two seasons and the Angels have not. Why in the world would the Rays want to absorb any of what you mentioned to help their team? As for the two players originally mentioned, I can see the Angels trading Morales before Trumbo. I can see where the Rays might be interested in Morales, but they have to know if he’s healed 100% before they do anything.
PS Are you Nelson and your now an Angels fan?
I think they’d keep Morales if they knew he was going to be healthy. Trumbo may not ever be any better than he was this year, with his miserable walk rate. The Angels should move him now while they can before he becomes Chris Davis and he becomes filler in a trade for an old reliever.
Hahahahahahahahaha
David Price
Hahahahahahahahaha
Andrew Friedman is our GM and he doesn’t make it a habit of getting ripped off. Izturis is a back up, so is Collaspo (we have this guy named Evan Longoria at 3B, he’s pretty good), Morales hasn’t played in over a year and Conger who has never been known for his defense, hasn’t shown much offense. Oh and Abreu has been finished for 2 years. For Price or Shields? wowza
Trumbo is not a Rays type player. His sub .300 OBP hurts the team
I could see a trade of Trumbo + Abreu for Wade Davis + 2mm in cash. They already have Weaver, Haren, Wilson, Santana, so Wade Davis could then be flipped + Peter Bourjos to the Met’s, even the Red Sox or Tigers and probably a bunch of other teams for something even more useful (they have Wells, Hunter, Trout and could easily find someone else to be a legit 4th OF which Bourjos is not. He’s more valuable than that). If the Angels do this right, they could restock their minors with 1 or 2 pretty high level prospects, which will come in handy in 2-4 years when they face similar budget constraints such as other big market teams. As it stands they have a few redundant players in the field. As for the Rays; Trumbo and Abreu fill the teams two most glaring holes; 1st and DH at the moment. Plus Abreu can probably play 40 or so games in RF for a season.
“given that Trumbo can be moved at 3rd base”
If he can be moved there, why not keep Morales as the DH?
This is going to be Meseroco 2.0. I believe we were offered Grandal in a good trade but demand Mesoroco for Shields and lost out on a bunch of young guys. Now we will be offered Morales but hold out for Trumbo because he’s healthy and under control for longer. And just like with Mesoroco, we will get neither.
yeah your GM is a real underachiever
you don’t want Trumbo and his sub .300 OBP
I know the giants are trying to extend both cain and lincecum, but I think the yankees would match up really well with them. Some major league ready pitching prospects, high upside arms at AAA, and Montero, Williams, and Sanchez as high upside bats.
I’m not sure the Yanks could get Cain he is a free agent at the end of the year.
This may be wishful thinking, but how about we send Wade Davis, Reid Brignac, and JP Howell for Trumbo + a prospect.
i don’t think the angels have the space in the roster to fit all three players.
i don’t think the angels have the space in the roster to fit all three players.
Trumbo AND a prospect for that “haul”? Eh. Replace Reid Brignac with Ben Zobrist, then let’s talk.
Keep it simple. Trumbo + Abreu for Wade Davis + $2mm. Book it.
No one wants abreu. At all.
No one wants abreu. At all.
I will comment separately on beloved Orioles and I do mean beloved! =P
Tomase also credits recently-appointed Orioles GM Dan Duquette with prioritizing the rebuild of the front office over the on-field product in 2012.
Tomase, I never heard of you till today and with the spirit of it being New Years Day, I will be kind. So, I am just going to roll my eyes with your bold statement from above, however with one caveat. If you think for a moment on what Duquette has done so far with the Orioles is anything more than window dressing, than you need to check your Pitcher of Kool-Aid because I think it’s been spiked again!
The orioles are hopeless right now. The only way they will ever compete is if they take the Rays route to success, which means rebuilding the FO. They need to put together a good group of scouts and build through the draft. So while you’re laughing at the O’s new GM, at least it sounds like he has his stuff figured out.
The thing people don’t realize about A-Rod’s contract is that it was front-loaded and already on the way down, so in 2015 he’ll get $21 million and then $20 million the next two seasons, so while that’s still not pretty it’s not quite as ugly as people make it out to be
Sorry but Arod’s contract sucks…although his contract deminishes each year…the longer he plays the more likely he reaches homerun bonuses…they are 6 million a pop…when he ties Willie Mays,Babe Ruth,Hank Aron,Barry bonds and then breaks the HR record…my guess is he will either break the record or come close to it…but at the same time he will not be a real impact player…batting 7th 8th or even 9th in the last 2 or 3 seasons of his contract…way too much money for his underwhleming production…Arod’s contract will rank in top the 10 or even top 5 worse contracts in baseball history.What makes Arod’s contract so bad is it hinders the team from improving in other areas…this is goes for Jeter’s deal…They should have gone year to year with him…My prediction is thy will stop making the Playoffs for a couple years…but i’m crossing my fingers.
It all really depends on how you look at it. As a player contract it’s awful, ARod’s already 36 and has 6 years left on a deal. Also I don’t know if they changed it with the latest luxury tax rules but it used to be a team’s salary for luxury tax purposes is actually figured by taking the yearly average of a player’s salary. So even if they’re paying him $20M in 2017, he’ll be on MLB’s books at $27.5M. However if you look at ARod’s contract as a marketing tool then it could be worth it.
Though as for breaking the home run records, well I doubt I speak for everyone but I think there’s become more of a “who cares” attitude about the home run record in general.
“I think there’s become more of a “who cares” attitude about the home run record in general.” While there is some truth to this, the reality is once A-Rod nears those milestones, it will be an absolute frenzy at whatever park the Yankee’s are playing in. Say what you want, but those games will be standing room only when the times comes. There’s a lot money to be made here for a lot of teams.
He’s got to get there first. ARod’s last 2 seasons have displayed a player who is surprisingly fragile, whose injuries are of the rare variety that aren’t solved by typical ‘poke’ and a rest… Twice now the Yanks have had the opportunity to demonstrate some kajones with these reopened contracts, where the players are unseemingly already well-paid and with no leverage, and caved. It’s an embarrassment and has created what is now an unaffordable ticket; only the rich can sit in the lower deck in the ‘new’ Yankee stadium.
IMO the Yankees philosophy is second only to the PED issue for being the most damaging to the game in the past 15 yrs.
IMO the Yankees philosophy is second only to the PED issue for being the most damaging to the game in the past 15 yrs.
The last thing the Yanks have to worry about is A-Rod and Jeter, they are immortals.
Actually, this is flawed thinking.
Inflation and investments dictates that money is worth more now. Therefore, by paying more now, it is actually worse than if he had been paid more later.
The contract is going to be fixed no matter what (meaning it’s a total of 275 mil back-loaded or front-loaded)
If you were to pay Arod 275 mil now, the present value of the contract is 275 mil. But, it you were to pay him 275 mil at the end of his 10 year tenure, the present value of his contract is only 225 mil (assuming you reinvest in to keep up with inflation at let’s say only 2%)
The only way a front loaded contract is better is if there is deflation but that is unlikely.
Either way, the contract was stupid. 275 million… who the hell was going to pay even close to that? Add this to the list of idiotic moves by HANK Steinbrenner. (he did it again with Soriano; although that one wasn’t a $275 mil move)
Actually, this is flawed thinking.
Inflation and investments dictates that money is worth more now. Therefore, by paying more now, it is actually worse than if he had been paid more later.
The contract is going to be fixed no matter what (meaning it’s a total of 275 mil back-loaded or front-loaded)
If you were to pay Arod 275 mil now, the present value of the contract is 275 mil. But, it you were to pay him 275 mil at the end of his 10 year tenure, the present value of his contract is only 225 mil (assuming you reinvest in to keep up with inflation at let’s say only 2%)
The only way a front loaded contract is better is if there is deflation but that is unlikely.
Either way, the contract was stupid. 275 million… who the hell was going to pay even close to that? Add this to the list of idiotic moves by HANK Steinbrenner. (he did it again with Soriano; although that one wasn’t a $275 mil move)
Do the Angels still really need starting pitching
we’d like to have some depth.
Don’t they have depth in the minors? Usually Angels have a starter or two near ready in the minors.
we have just one ready in the triple a.
I’m not even sure “ready” is the right term just yet for Richards. I’m hoping everyone stays healthy in 2012 (for myriad reasons), so that he can get a full season at AAA.
pray! angels may help.
we have just one ready in the triple a.
Longoria has got to be getting too expensive for the Rays, he sure would look good at 3B in an Angels uniform.
Trumbo + Bourjos + a prospect or two? I’d be happy to have Trout play CF and learn on the job a bit…
nope!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA you’re talking about Longoria?!?!
Ok here’s what the Rays would ask for Longoria…Trumbo, Bourjos, Trout, and like 3 of your best 5 prospects
I’m not sure that would be enough.
Longoria and Moore have the two most team friendly contracts in baseball. That’s what happens when you sign with less than 20 days MLB experience. He’s going nowhere.
right now his contract is for 5 years and $40.5M, with the last 3 years as club options
as a 7 WAR player, he isn’t too expensive for anybody
Hear, hear. As much as I’d love to see Longoria in Angel red, it ain’t gonna happen.
Yeah maybe they’ll take abreu for longoria straight up.
I can’t believe what people say sometimes, honestly.
Yeah maybe they’ll take abreu for longoria straight up.
I can’t believe what people say sometimes, honestly.
happy new year, everyone!
once healthy morales is as good as any at first-base and he is a switch hitter. trumbo, for the reasons he appeals to the rays is a keeper for the angels. he will play some at third-base and back up first, dh and corner outfields. i don’t see either one traded until the trade deadline. that is only if trumbo cannot play passable defense at third.
edit
wow….just wow, you sir, have been disqowned
hello!, hello, hello. echo, echo, echo
Say that again?
Yeah, and you know what’s sad? Everyone should know this. This is simple finance — you don’t need to be a contract expert or anything. Everyone should know this because stuff like this is actually relevant to real life application. (most people manage their own finances) Everyone should know that a dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow.
I don’t get why they don’t teach this stuff in high school. (they don’t force you to learn it in college either) Instead of learning about stuff you know everyone will have to deal with (Taxes, how to pay bills, interest rates, basic finance, investment opportunities, risk); this country makes people take art and existentialism literature. And you wonder why people can’t find jobs?
Anyway, that’s enough of my rant. It’s amazing that they were able to make the Yankees (actually, just Hank) shell out 275 mil AND still be able to make it front-loaded. Was there no one on the Yankees to explain to him why every other freaking team makes back-loaded contracts? I shudder to think what this team would be like without the huge bags of money. Imagine what they would be like without Hank? (whose sole reason of being there is because he is the son)