The Mets took a chance on Jason Isringhausen exactly one year ago, signing him to a minor league deal. Isringhausen collected his 300th career save in 2011, and the Mets obtained 46 2/3 innings of 4.05 ERA baseball from the 39-year-old right-hander. We haven’t heard much about Isringhausen’s free agent prospects in recent weeks, but we do have some links from the NL East…
- Ten years ago the Mets made Scott Kazmir their first round pick. Much has changed in the last decade, but the Mets have some interest in bringing the left-hander back, Andy Martino of the New York Daily News tweets. The Mets were expected to have someone in attendance at Kazmir's audition in Houston today.
- Brian McCann said he's not concerned about signing an extension for 2014 and beyond, David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution tweets. The Braves have a 2013 option for McCann on his current contract and they figure to exercise if after the season.
- Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. joined Jim Duquette and Kevin Kennedy on MLB Network Radio and said he's still hoping to work out an extension with left-hander Cole Hamels. The sides haven't set a deadline for a long-term deal.
- Amaro suggested the Phillies don't have the payroll flexibility required to add Roy Oswalt. "I just don't know that it's a fit for us right now," he said.
- The Phillies and Marlins are among the teams eyeing Cuban outfield prospect Jorge Soler.
I have full confidence Hamels is going to get extended.
me too
That doesn’t make much financial since , on his part. He’s gonna be the biggest pitcher on the free agent market
Doesn’t mean that the contract in another city would be significantly better than that which the Phillies would give him. Also, it would probably be less secure, since he doesn’t have a history with said other team.
Oh don’t get me wrong, I agree with all of your points. And i hate when losing players that come up and excell in one organization.But the lure of “Yankees money” has to be very tempting.
“yankees money” is the same thing as “phillies money” these days
Except the Phillies haven’t been over the CBT threshold in the history of baseball, and don’t look to be this year either.
Actually, with performance bonuses, they’re around $180 million. They might in fact have to go over it this year.
It’s possible, but they’re also obviously working overtime to try to prevent it.
I think going over in 2013 makes more sense (financially), because it’s a lower first-year penalty and when the rate jumps in 2014 they’re more likely to remain under the new ceiling.
I’d be surprised if it wasn’t.
That said, New Yorkers don’t love Hamels a whole bunch (ever since he said some things about the 2007 Mets), and the Yankees are finally cutting payroll more than adding to it.
They’re cutting payroll so that they don’t have to pay players like Johnny Damon 6 million. If a player like Hamels hits the market, you have to think they’d make an exception to at least try to get him.
Potentially. But the same could be said for almost any team. There are very few out there who are at the true “ceiling” for their franchise. Even the Pirates are starting to up their salary a bit.
NYY is streamlining payroll. Mainly because of A-Rod/Jeter’s inflated contracts (per production). Luckily, they don’t have any big contracts until 2014 (Granderson, Jeter…), unless you count Nick Swisher, which I wouldn’t be surprised to see them replace.
If NYY doesn’t see progress from some of their pitching prospects, they’ll be at least interested in Hamels, but their P pickups and high-ceiling P prospects should give them some reason not to have to seriously bid on Hamels.
If Hamels said something disparaging about NYM, that’d make him more attractive to NYY.
Agreed on the prospects. If they’re looking to tone down the spending a bit, there’s no reason not to look in-house for arms.
Might make him more attractive to the fans, but the Yankees are a pretty professional organization, and don’t seem to enjoy it when a player mouths off about the competition – even if he’s been goaded into it by the media.
With the new luxury tax threshold, how much room does NYY have? I can’t imagine all that much, especially if BOS is near it – which they are.
I can imagine LAD having the money next season to be in a bidding war, BIG “IF” they’re team is sold by then, which many predict it should be. Imagine Hamels and Kershaw in the same rotation, not that I think LAD would be a big player.
The Yankees haven’t been under the threshold in years, and I can’t imagine them being able to manage that for quite a while yet.
That said, their penalty for being over is only going to be 10% greater than it was in previous years, so it’s not like it’s a huge blow.
It’s not as unrealistic as it seems. Burnett, Soriano, Rivera,Swisher, Feliciano, Posada, Kuroda are all off the books by the end of 2013.
That’s over 80 million. Jeter is done after 2014.
So with roughly 95 million, you would need a RF, SS, Closer, reliever and starter.
Burnett is expendable now so I’m not counting him and Posada is retired, so I’m not counting him either.
We know the Yankees produce tons of right-handed relievers and between Joba and particularly Robertson, I wouldn’t worry about replacing Rivera (well, replacing his roster spot) and Soriano.
So all of that is minimal cost. Nunez seems the heir replacement to Jeter with some other options in the lower minors.
So that leaves a right fielder and a starter in my mind with what, 85-90 million?
Hamels at 20-23 million per and an outfielder and, at absolute craziest, the Yankees should have about 45 million in expendable money.
They need to trim about 20 million off the payroll. So that’s 25 million for raises to Cano and Granderson etc.
That’s assuming that Philly gives him an offer as substantial compared to what he’d get as a FA. If he goes to FA, he’s going to command a huge contract.
Yes he would. But I also don’t believe that his agent would let the Phillies sign him for significantly less than he’d get on the FA market (in AAV, if not necessarily in years). He’s already said that they shouldn’t look at the Weaver signing as a template for Hamels.
I agree, which is why it makes sense for him to go to FA.
If his agent can work out a deal with the Phillies worth about as much as he’s projected to get in FA – maybe a bit less, but also for fewer years – then I don’t see why he should feel the need to take things all the way to the FA process.
Going to FA runs certain risks as well as potential benefits, and among them are the chances he puts up 2012 numbers that aren’t as good as were projected. He also has to look at Ryan Madson as a cautionary tale, signing a 1-year deal at well below market value instead of taking a 3-4-year deal at only slightly below.
Absolutely there’s risk, but the threat of FA is on his side. A lot different from Madson because he’s going to be one of the top FA’s if he’s out there. Closers are a dime a dozen. Premier LHP aren’t so easy to come by. I just get the feeling he’s not going to be giving any sort of home discount.
Madson was projected as one of the top 3 closers on the market in 2012. Admittedly, his track record in the 9th inning was paltry, but his overall stats were spectacular and he did do an excellent job closing out games in 2011. That he ended up being passed over for – literally – closers who weren’t as good as him, because his demands were too high (or perhaps because his agent’s initials were S.B.?), was a surprise to almost everybody; himself and his agent included, no doubt.
I, also, don’t feel that he’s going to give a noticeable “hometown discount,” but that doesn’t mean he’s even likely to get dramatically more on the FA market than he would from his current team. All accounts I’ve heard project him to make somewhere around what the Phillies are already giving Halladay and Lee (hence the rumors that Victorino might be traded this year, since they wouldn’t have enough money to extend both him and Hamels), and the Phillies have enough contracts coming off the books in 2013 to make that happen.
The Philies, conversely, have every reason to try to lock him up before he becomes an FA – even if it means offering him near-FA dollars – because they have not only the future to concern themselves about, but also his psychological state this season. Unlike every other potential suitor for Hamels, the Phillies want him to do well in 2012.
All the more reasons why he has all the leverage. Madson did it to himself because he wanted more. Their offer to him was right there and well within range, given that Papelbon was on the market too. Either way, the money for those guys will pale in comparison to Hamels.
Well, I’m not as convinced as some that the 4/44 deal was actually ever in existence. But that aside, Hamels can easily leverage the market without ever hitting FA.
If he can’t get a good deal out of the Phillies, then going to the market definitely makes sense. But waiting also risks injury, reduced performance, and potential PR problems – all of which would lower his value.
But stating from the get-go that he won’t sign anything until after he’s a free agent would be foolish, because it risks turning down a perfectly acceptable offer in the hopes of getting one that’s marginally larger, only to end up with something far less than he would have obtained had he been willing to negotiate in advance.
Phills should :
1)extend Hammels now
2)restructure his 2012 salary so that most of it is spread across the rest of the years in the extension
3) sign Oswalt with the difference
It’s the Average Annual Value (AAV) of a contract that’s used to determine a player’s hit to the CBT (luxury tax) threshold. It doesn’t matter if Hammels’ contract is structured for him to be paid more in 2015 than 2012, he’ll impact the “payroll” in the same way – and that’s guaranteed to be higher than the AAV of his current contract is.
Also, on a personal level, I don’t think Oswalt is worth more than $3-4MM at this point, but he and his agent seem to differ on that point.
Is the Luxury Tax the prob? (I don’t know, I’m not a Phils fan) I was under the impression that they just didn’t have the money…
Nah, it’s more the luxury tax than the money. Nobody has said the Phillies were particularly hurting for cash, so far as I’m aware – they just don’t want to go over the CBT threshold, especially in 2012.
I would imagine they’d be less apt to mind going over in 2013, because the rate for that year would be lower, and they’d be less likely to go over 2 years in a row after the ceiling rises to 189.
McCann isn’t concerned about signing an extension in ATL because it’s not gonna happen. He’s bolting. And I’m a Braves fan. And I wouldn’t mind to see him go considering how good Bethancourt is looking at we’re not an AL team, in need of a DH. Would love to see that money go to filling in another need – Chipper’s 3B replacement/LF-CF power – if not addressed by prospects.
Bethancourt is easily 2-3 years away. He also needs to prove he can hit above A ball. After this season, if Prado is still with the team he will slide to 3B if Chipper leaves. Jurrjens will probably be traded for prospects either at the deadline or in the offseason(one will probably be an OF that is close to ML ready). They will probably decline Huddy’s option(or trade him at the deadline since he has an affordable option). I believe they will extend both Bourn and McCann probably both for 4 year.
Trading Hudson at the deadline? ONLY way that happens is two of Teheran/Delgado/Minor start dominating, Hanson and Beachy stay healthy, and the Braves are out of contention…….
They may buyout his option for 2013 if they trust these young arms, but it’s extremely unlikely that he’s moved at the deadline.
Only way it happens is if Hudson requests the trade out. We need veteran stability.
Sorry, I’ve got to disagree with you. There’s no way they’re trading both Jurrjens AND Hudson in a season they’re not throwing away, even if Teheran/Delgado show they’re ready. I expect Hudson’s 2013 option to be picked up unless he struggles mightily this year.
I do believe they’ll extend Bourn, but I just can’t see them extending McCann. McCann will be able to get more years and more money elsewhere. He could land a $100M deal, so why would he extend with ATL unless he really wants to be here. I’m fine with us moving on from him, knowing we have a better defensive catcher who we need to see some offensive consistency from.
And I’m not sold having Prado at 3B for long. I like him, but he’s getting expensive and he’ll never produce the power we expect for a OF/3B. He doesn’t have any speed, a bad arm, and average defense. Yes, he’ll play hard and make adjustments, but there’s only so much you can do. He will fit in nicely waiting for Terdoslavich/Salcedo for 3B.
Why not bring back Kazmir. We need more pitching depth.
I don’t know if the Mets want to go for another round of Kazmir.
At any rate, I would take him for try outs and ship him to Triple A if he falters.
Heck, make Kazmir into a knuckleballer and see if it works.