The Giants signed Aubrey Huff to a one-year, $3MM deal on this date in 2010. It turned out to be a tremendous move, as Huff posted a .290/.385/.506 line with 26 homers and the Giants won the World Series. Here are today's links…
- MLB owners are expected to consider expanding the playoffs in 2012 at their upcoming meetings, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. MLB will "likely" expand the postseason in 2012 since commissioner Bud Selig favors the expanded format. In case you missed it, Selig is set to obtain a two-year extension.
- John Danks will earn a salary of just $500K in 2012, but the White Sox will pay him a $7.5MM signing bonus between June and October of this year, MLB.com’s Scott Merkin tweets. The entire $8MM sum counts against Chicago’s payroll.
- Nippon Professional Baseball commissioner Ryozo Kato discussed the possibility of a worldwide draft with Sponichi (via Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker). “Japanese baseball is not an American minor league,” he said. “We have to be tough about things to be tough about.”
- Two agents say the Mariners claim to have just $3-4MM to spend on remaining offseason needs, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick tweets. One of those agents says the speculation linking Prince Fielder to Seattle is "extremely overblown.''
- The court battle over the Dodgers’ TV rights has ended, Bill Shaikin of the LA Times tweets. The Dodgers agreed to honor their existing deal with Fox and Fox will put an end to related litigation.
“We have to be tough about things to be tough about.”
makes sense…
How could the Mariners possibly only have 3 or 4 million left to spend?
They only made 3 or 4 million in revenue last year? Idk
They’re saving up for the next big Asian mega star
Cransick came on Seattle radio and explained that it is 4 mill left with or without Fielder…an exception could be made for him. his own tweet was misleading.
mlbtraderumors at it’s best getting it’s facts straight! -_-
The Mariners don’t have anybody making that much money…how can they have none left?
Well they have 45M in 2012 tied up in Ichiro (17M), Felix (19M), and Figgins (9M).
Japan will never get a worldwide draft. Nothing in it for us only stuff in it for them. They can sign our FA just like we can sign theirs so they can say what they want but its totally fair. Our best players are already in the best league only our damaged goods go there. And as soon as they figure it out they always try to come back. Not our problem. If the next Strasburg wants to go out of his way to play in Japan he can, just like Japanese prospects can circumvent their system to sign here. Fairs fair. If they want our players pay them like we have to pay theirs. If you can’t forget it.
You do realize that the Japanese teams indulge their players by posting them right? I mean I would imagine that they would prefer to keep their stars for 8 years rather than have to give in to pressure to let them go. True, they are compensated for it but it’s really compensation to cover revenue lost when one of their best players leaves them.
Effectively, they are saying that they are a legit business and while the talent levels might be different they aren’t interested in being a pseudo minor league system for mlb teams. Show some respect.
I can respect that they are proud of their league, as they should be. Players getting posted is not an indulgence to the player though. It might seem it but its a recognition of the inevitability of that players departure 100% of the time. If they let Yu hit free agency he was leaving anyway same thing with Dice-K. They can get more money here. Plus we have established a far reaching league that trumps the competitive level of their league dramatically so people all over the world want to play here. Not our problem. So just like an MLB team that trades a player they knew they were losing in free agency the posting system offers Japanese teams that same opportunity to get compensation for their loss. We owe Japan nothing they get what they deserve and more.
Ok…so we owe them nothing. And the same can be said. Zero reason for them to buy into a universal draft that will ABSOLUTELY weaken their league and that’s the point you obviously miss. Instead of having a Darvish or Dice-K for 8 years they might not have them at all. Now tell me why they should agree to the draft again?
My entire argument stemmed from the fact that WE as in the MLB would not benefit from an international draft. Japan would, but we won’t in any way. If we had that Japan would conceivably be able to draft as much American talent as they want right? And Japans players who are phenoms in NBP have more often than not proven to be far less effective here. So why give them access to a far superior young talent pool (MLB, America) in exchange for access to a system that yields very few talents that can hack it here (NPB). Its best to leave it how it is. The system is fine as it is. Just like here when they’re players hit free agency they can play anywhere, If they want to get compensation by posting that is available to them too. If Japan wants to go compete for prospects in the DR, Cuba, Venezula, ect thats well within their right and nobody is stopping them except themselves. But giving them ANY access to our young talent and see Verlanders, and Strasburgs go to Japan NO. Not ever happening.
And again I never argued for a draft in anyway in anything I said. Always against.
Let’s be honest here, Japanese baseball IS an American minor league…
The Mariners fans that believe the rumor need to relax. As Dave Cameron put it, the team wouldn’t reduce its payroll by 10 million unless it wanted to piss off its fan base, which I doubt they will. Jack Z still has that impact bat left on his list, he got his lefty, vertan starter, backup C, backup infielder. Now we wait.
Then there is the possibility that this rumor actually is true.
I doubt it. It doesn’t make sense that the M’s would have that level of payroll reduction in just one year (roughly 15 million). Its probably a smoke-screen as we have seen these kinds of statements come out of Seattle in the past. Also, agents are self serving by trade so there may be another angle to this.
I doubt it too, but anything’s possible. The Mariners could always be saving to spend big on a deep FA class next offseason.
I think that report is BS. You people will believe anything.
why would you want them to sign prince anyways?
Because we need a bat and free agents this good don’t come along too often. Zduriencik is very secretive about internal matters so I believe this report to be total BS.
Because we want the team to compete? 290. avg. & 40 hr helps that to happen.
it won’t help the mariners enough to compete with the Angels or Rangers in the next 2 years.
so why pay 40 exta Million to finish third
Just because people are licking at the angels and rangers laps right now doesn’t crown them the winners before the season even starts. Same all the people said last year with the red sox and look at what happened to them. its a long season and the Mariners have more talent than what we’re getting credit for.
not offensively. They have ackley and ichiro, and ichiro started to look human last year.
The red sox last year were the best team in the majors for all but 2 months, unfortunately when they were bad, they were REALLY bad..
the difference between a tampa bay and the red sox is a lot closer than the difference between the rangers/angels and the mariners, even with prince.
Guess I have a little faith in the young duo Smoak and Carp. Maybe even hope for a bounce back season by Guti. No real solid ground to make a case but we’ll see if they can play to their potential this season. Not saying they’ll compete this year but next year? yeah, not out of the question.
anything can happen for sure..
but if you rely on the perfect storm and you fail, you’re wasting 20+ million a year on Fielder.
I’d let Smoak develop and see if they can acquire a long term impact catcher, SS and a CF
Wasting 20 mil is a little harsh. Fans show up to see prince cause he is an attraction so u get money back there and it shows the fans that your doing something instead of waiting for a window. There’s no FA power hitter next year so you do it now and get it over with.
If you want to get more people into Safeco it might be cheaper just to hire the artist formerly known as Prince.
The M’s have a lot of talented young pitching. They could use some of it (even Felix or Pineda) to acquire both major league hitters and prospects. If Seattle signs Prince and swings some trades then you might have a completely different perspective.
Even then, Prince will sign a long-term contract so unless he has an opt-out clause and opts out there’s a chance he’ll still be around for the team to get it all together.
I’m not ready to crown the Rangers and Angels just yet.
if that’s truly your belief then what’s the point in keeping Felix and paying him 3/$57 over the last 3 years of his deal?
Pujols is a perfect example of a player who signed a team friendly extension and stayed loyal to his team but bolted the next time around when he had a chance to be a FA.
And before ppl go crazy, no I’m not saying anything about the Yanks trading for him. However, to think he would be willing to sign another long term deal seems naive. As much as he might love the city, what incentive would he have to stay if it appears the team is unwilling (as opposed to unable) to spend serious money to upgrade the offense.
I guess the Jays and M’s should just pack it in since neither will compete next season.
no, but they should save there money.
Ask the nationals if they’d like to go back and change their mind about Werth
speaking as a nats fan, i knew that was going to be a horrible signing…….werth was a cog in a machine, not a superstar
Werth is a bad example as he wasn’t worth the contract he signed and was on the wrong side of 30 anyway.
Werth is signed from his age 32 to age 38 seasons.
If Prince were to sign for 8 years then that would be from age 28 to 35 seasons and if he DH’s for his later years then I don’t see why he won’t be an offensive force thru the duration of his deal. Even with his body type I think Prince makes a ton of sense for a team like the Nats and even more for an AL team with the need like the M’s.
major difference being that Werth offers defensive value.
Prince doesn’t..
Papi is the best DH currently in the league and has never sniffed the money that Prince is about to..
No way does prince deserve teix or a gonz years and money.. he’s strictly an offensive piece
Unlike the Cubs, the M’s aren’t in rebuild mode and with the clock winding down on how many years they have Felix signed under his contract it behoves them to make an honest effort to compete. Keep in mind that they added another WC team to the mix and while the Angels and Rangers look good on paper, nothing is guaranteed.
Even with a fabulous team the Rangers only won 96 games last year and that was with playing 1 mediocre team (Angels) and two pretty bad ones (A’s and M’s). Yet, they lost CJ and signing Darvish isn’t a given.
Exactly same thing I ask every mariner fan, on every mariner blog…why would we want Fielder anyway..? I mean, sure, he will make things a little more exciting for a bit, but I really don’t think he is the answer to our problems right now.
mariners have some really good arms coming up.
wait a year, get 2 impact position players plus for Felix, and then pounce on the angels and rangers.
What happened to the Rangers in the end? That’s right…pitching. That’s why you never get rid of Felix.
you mean making it all the way to world series? yah how terrible..
you get rid of Felix to maximize your asset, he’ll eventually leave, you need to make sure you don’t lose him for 2 draft picks.
Felix won’t be leaving unless this team stays in the bottom. If not then he’ll get another extension. No pitcher in the mlb gets love like Felix gets here in Seattle and he lives here year round.
I used to say the same thing about roy halladay.. reality is that these guys are fierce competitors and want to pitch in the playoffs..
The mariners have 3 top of the rotation pitchers in the system, Walker, Hultzen, Paxton.
but they lack position player depth, they have no high end catching, cf prospects and the book is out on if Franklin can stick at SS.
Felix is their best trade chip, they can get a huge haul and add more pieces to their young core..
Think of what texas did with Teix.
The Mariners plan to compete at some point in the future, not turn into the Jays.
clearly this conversation is too advanced for you, move a long little boy
20 year rebuilds? No thanks
Just because the Jays finally caved and traded away Halladay doesn’t mean the M’s will do the same thing. Trading away Halladay hasn’t helped the Jays in the slightest. How much better would the Jays look now with Halladay at the front of their rotation? If anything the Halladay trade is a pretty good cautionary tale of what not to do with your ace.
I’m not going to respond to you because nothing of what you just said is true, and trying to reason with the ignorant never works..
The Jays did just fine with trading their ace and still have a quality pitching staff. Oh and funny thing, the Jays are a lot closer to competing than the Mariners are.
You don’t know that. They guy has been in the org since they plucked him out of Venezuela, he’s already extended once, his brother is in the minor leagues and he’s expressed nothing but gratitude and dedication to the M’s. He COULD leave and he COULD stay, but neither are foregone conclusions.
Jays have some really good pitchers coming up. They should probably trade Romero since they won’t compete during his contract.
The idiocy of blanket statements is only extrapolated in baseball context.
jays won 81 games last year and have a really good offense.
mariners won 67 games last year and have a bottom 5 offense .
and its not a blanket statement, its a specific statement to the mariners position..
but you’re an irrational, emotional fan, I should expect nothing less.
I’m a very rational fan. You have yet to lay out a convincing argument for why the Mariners should trade Felix other than that they have a bad offense and they won’t compete next season. By that same logic the Jays should trade Bautista because their pitching sucks and they won’t compete next season.
but the reality is, the mariners are a lot further away from competing than the jays are.
Red Sox, Yanks and Rays havent added anyone from last year, where as the jays, coming off a .500 season have added full seasons of Kelly Johnson, Colby Rasmus, Brett Lawrie, Henderson Alvarez, Santos and Oliver.
Mariners, coming off a 67 win season haven’t added anyone of significance, while the angels added a solid #2 pitcher and one of the best players in baseball, Rangers may add darvish, but even if they don’t are a much better team than the mariners..
Mariners have some high end arms coming through, but lack position player depth.
Even if we fast forward to 2013/2014. and you have a rotation of Felix, Pineda, Hultzen, Paxton and Walker, which would be a force, but still would have a good chance of not being a playoff team. Angels rotation is just as good but their offense is much better, Rangers rotation will be improved by then, but will still have a good offense.
You can’t win a game 0-0, so where do the mariners plan on getting an offense from without trading one their arms? and when the time comes to trade an arm, its going to be felix, why trade hultzen, pineda or walker who are going to be making peanuts, when you can move a big salary.
really not all that complicated
Prince Fielder levels the playing field.
not even close. all you have to do is walk him.
Cause its a long term deal. Baseball can also be really weird with teams coming out of nowhere and competing where nobody expects them to do anything. Mariners have the money to pull this off and they’ll probably make a profit…yet AGAIN. There’s no reason not to do it really.
They have the money? When it’s speculated that you only have 3-4 million to work with, then it’s obvious you don’t have that much money, true or not.
Umm…you said it right there, “speculated”. How do you the word “speculated” but then say it’s obvious that it’s true. You make absolutely ZERO sense.
It was sarcasm. Calm down.
Sure it wasn’t.
Whatever helps you sleep at night.
You people?
Didn’t expect my statement to blow up!
Touche’
2 agents said?! who cares what 2 agents said that have no inside knowledge of what’s happening with the Mariners front office. Just like I care what Bowden, Rosenthal, or any of the hot stove minion’s say on a daily basis. Until Jack comes out and says he’s out on prince then that’s when I’ll believe it.
Not to mention it really doesn’t make any sense considering it would mean the team drastically cut payroll. Also, Zduriencik said off-season target #1 was a big bat and we have yet to get one. Don’t believe everything you hear, especially with baseball free agency.
The Crasnick rumor makes no sense. Even better, he went on the Kevin Calabro Show shortly after posting his tweets and admitted that he wasn’t sure whether the Mariners only have 3-4 million left to spend now or IF THEY WILL only have 3-4 million left to spend after relegating ~20 million for Fielder. This rumor changes the Fielder sweepstakes just as much as Olney’s Mariners rumor from last week did. Essentially, it means nothing.
After current contracts, estimated arbitration, and league minimum players, the M’s are at about roughly 74M for their 2012 payroll. If they really are only going to spend 3 to 4M more, that would put them at about just 77 to 78M total for 2012. That’s a 17-18M drop from 2011’s 95M payroll. I don’t know how the M’s can expect to reel in/retain talent if they insist on continuing to drop payroll.
It’s interesting. Fielder has some tough choices ahead…
AL West:
Angels: Just signed Pujols, no way do they bite for Fielder
Rangers: Are out if they sign Darvish and frontrunners if not
Athletics: lolno
Mariners: Fielder may be forced to sign here, even though he’s said he doesn’t want to play out west and even though they won’t win soon, just because they seem to be the only remaining AL team with interest and some money.
AL Central:
Tigers: Already have Cabrera and Martinez
White Sox: “Rebuilding”, already have too many bad contracts
Indians: Could come out of nowhere, but no money and Hafner at DH
Twins: Too many bad contracts and Morneau at first
Royals: Already have Hosmer and Butler
AL East:
Yankees: Already have Tex and like 3 DHs and aren’t spending
Red Sox: Already have Gonzalez and Ortiz and aren’t spending
Rays: There’s a need, but only if they decide to suddenly splurge.
Orioles: Would fit, but no money.
Blue Jays: Could be a nice fit, but GM has repeatedly shied away from giving anyone a big contract and denied interest in Fielder.
All NL Teams: No DH, so contract would be smaller
NL East:
Phillies: Already have Howard
Braves: Already have Freeman, no reported interest or money
Nationals: Maybe, but they seem inexplicably committed to LaRoche and just got burned by the Werth contract.
Mets: lolno
Marlins: Maybe their new stadium has made the just insane enough to hand Fielder a mega-deal, and he’d certainly enjoy being close to home, so there’s a decent chance this could happen.
NL Central:
Cardinals: Already have Berkman
Brewers: That bridge is nearly burned, but he could hypothetically go back
Reds: Already have Votto
Cubs: Just got Rizzo, new GMs are denying interest or money
Astros: lolno
Pirates: lolno
NL West:
Rockies: Already have Helton and Giambi and no money
Diamondbacks: Could be a need, but no buzz whatsoever. Possible mystery team?
Giants: Repeatedly denied interest, Huff, Belt
Padres: Too many first basemen to count
Dodgers: No money, no interest
Basically, almost no one seems to have money and interest except Seattle, Texas if Darvish falls through, and newly-insane Miami, who may have already blown the money…
Mariners fans have gotten all defensive about their money, so how in the world would you know how much any other team has. For all you know, the Orioles, Indians, Marlins etc, could have already offered.
Angelos has gotten a little cheap at his old age……I don’t see the indians because they plead poor mouth alot…..I do see the marlins throwing down an offer……they were in on Pujols until anaheim got him…..so i think the marlins do have the bread to do it……
True, but an exception can always be made to bring in a guy. It’s asinine to assume any other team won’t do such a thing as the first guy was implying.
What?
Just ignore him
Ignoring people with different opinions than yourself is usually the way to go.