Yahoo's Jeff Passan presents the projected 2012 payroll for every MLB team, from the Yankees ($204MM) to the Pirates ($46MM). Those two clubs are currently working on a trade and, oddly enough, the Pirates would be the ones absorbing salary. Here are tonight’s links…
- Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus lists the game's top 101 prospects and Matt Moore, Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, Jurickson Profar and Julio Teheran lead the way. The entire list is worth checking out and it doesn't require a subscription.
- ESPN.com's Keith Law presents a different kind of prospects list — one based on potential impact in 2012. Moore, Devin Mesoraco and Jesus Montero occupy the first three spots on Law's list.
- The Marlins don't seem likely to pursue Cuban outfielder Jorge Soler, MLB.com's Joe Frisaro tweets. The Cubs appear to be willing to spend $27.5MM to land Soler and are the favorites to sign him.
- Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman remains open to an extension, but he hasn't changed his stance on the timeline for a deal and the start of Spring Training remains an informal deadline, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post reports. There haven't been recent developments regarding a deal for Zimmerman.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports lists five teams that aren't going to make the World Series in 2012: the Mets, Astros, Mariners, Athletics and White Sox.
Floating around out there that the Cubs are getting Soler. If it’s true, restocking the farm with Soler, Rizzo, and Concepcion as well as dumping Zambrano makes for quite a 1st offseason for Jed and Theo.
Nothing like over paid, unproven, “prospects”! Really building the farm!
not sure if serious
forgive the cubs fan. it’s been a long time since he’s seen an actual prospect.
Yeah, no one wants unproven prospects.
-Ned Colletti
Not sure about overpaid. Rizzo was had for another player, and will be paid minor league salary. They acquired Sappelt and Torreyes for Marshall and they will be paid like minor league guys. Concepcion is 18 and 8 million, while not chump change, is hardly a huge overpay. No one really knows anything about Soler, so we really can’t say if that would be an overpay. Even if they do overpay for some international players, it’s still the smart thing to do this year. With the new CBA going into affect, there will be fewer opportunities to make big additions via international talent.
You have to admit though that the Cubs have assembled some very exciting players. I personally dislike the organization, but guys like Rizzo, Jackson, and potentially Soler are HUGE upgrades over what the Cubs were running out there recently. I’ve actually found myself at Cubs sites more often than any other team’s this year. I’m surprised that they have not moved Garza yet. If they could have acquired Turner+ Oliver, then this team would have looked great for the next couple years. There is still time for Hoyer and Theo to make moves though. Should be an exciting year in Chicago.
Not so far to say “unproven” as they have never faced legitimate talent before, but for teams to be throwing around these 25-35m contracts the last few days is astounding.
I understand the new CBA and teams penalized for giving REAL players what they have been used to in the past proper bonuses may have swayed some teams the cause of this, but this is what Selig himself has caused and it just figures. Unless he now goes out and implements an international draft, I see some other teams giving kids from countries where age is constantly in doubt, places where they have never faced real competition etc.. Problems he should have expected, but was in such a hurry to mess up something that worked fine for years he just did it (draft caps) half hazzard regardless.
Hope he enjoys what is going on now as real college and HS kids are robbed, while these who knows how old “kids” take these un worldly sums to the bank.
Unproven for 30 million is what i mean. Just ridiculous. Were has the prudence in baseball gone!! THIS kid is cuban and has a cool last name! Lets throw 40 million at him to show people we mean business! I know these guys have the numbers but they are playing in leagues that heavily inflate their numbers.
obviously a MLBTR commenter is more educated on this subject than scouts and GMs
Scouting aside, i think its too risky no matter the tools the kid has.
Not once did i say i was more qualified then a scout/GM yet you simply have to find a point of weakness in which you attack.
Laudable achievement, impudent at best.
Using big words on MLBTR= automatic argument victory. People here can barely use punctuation correctly. Laudable achievement.
Never once did he say you said you were more qualified. He said that you are implying you are more educated about little known prospects…which is quite impudent of you.
I believe you are the one who is implying, not him.
Of course it’s risky, but that’s true of anybody with obvious talent who is going to command multiple offers and interested parties. If you sit around waiting for somebody with no obvious talent who’s willing to play for peanuts to hit the jackpot, you’re going to be a truly awful franchise for a long, long time.
Can the Cubs (among others) afford $25-30MM on Soler even if he is the biggest flop in baseball? Yes. Is this pretty much the last year that they can use their financial advantage to attain young, controllable players beyond that which other teams can? Yes. Is $30MM in value hard to reach, even if Soler only ends up in the Majors for three years of his contract? Not particularly — it’s about the play of an average Major Leaguer (~2WAR), at least if we’re believing FanGraphs’ valuation of a 1 WAR. Hell, they valued Sam Fuld’s 105 games (365 PAs) at $8.4MM based entirely on his defense — his batting was a net negative that completely wiped out a slightly-above-average baserunning value, so the valuation was literally on defense alone. I happen to think FanGraphs overvalues defense, but B-R has him at almost the same WAR value.
What I’m getting at is this: Yes, it is a risk, but it is the right risk to take, at least for the Cubs. Maybe it’s not for other teams and that’s fine. The fact that they threw out a number as specific as $27.5MM is strong proof that they have given the matter a lot of thought and believe he should be able to hit that level of value without too much risk. Maybe they’re wrong, but all you can ask of a franchise is that they do their diligence. You can’t win if you don’t put money on the table.
I’d take an MLBTR over a cabal that earned its street cred by routinely overpaying for slots and then proceeding to overpay for free agents. Doesn’t take much intelligence to be spending other people’s money
epstein produced more homegrown talent in the last 10 years than any other GM in the game
no one is giving him money based on numbers from cuba.
They are buying a draft pick and giving a signing bonus indirectly.
i know semantics of it. My point exactly that it is too much. I wonder who set the market this high? Chapman?
its too much because every team technically has a shot at him.. I mean look at darvish, dice k, chapman etc.
Can you imagine if Harper or Strasburg were international talents? They would easily be trumping these deals.
But the reality is, the more suitors means the price goes up.
I actually heard that Scott Boras someday is going to take a kid out of high school and enroll him overseas to workout an even bigger deal
Ohh really? Could you tell me who was the last draft pick that signed for $27 MM?
none, but you have to put a value on the actual pick itself.
a top 10 pick is not free. you have to endure a losing season to get a pick like that.
any more smart alec comebacks?
True, but draft picks can only negotiate with one team and either take that deal, or go back to school – if they have remaining eligibility.
What would Bryce Harper be worth in an auction of all 30 teams? Or Trevor Bauer? Etc.
True. It’s just a little frustrating how teams spend multimillion deals on these unproven players. While there are legit MLB starters that don’t make this kind of money in their whole career. What do we know about this Soler kid? Can anybody post information about him? Thanks
That is as opposed to the proven prospects, I suppose?
Nothing like a worthless post.
Nothing like a worthless post.
Right, the Dodgers have a much better strategy, committing millions to proven back-end starters and bench players who will never be more than back-end starters and bench players.
Soler isn’t even a FA yet. The Cubs can’t sign him.
I hope they do get Solar. I have it on my house and the electric bill is pretty cheap now.
*Crickets*
Haha this is the worst joke I’ve seen on MLBTR. You can’t just change a dude’s name to make a play on words.
Oh…they get worse….but I don’t think anyone would have understood the joke if I used the acronym for interviewing….Sit squarely, Open posture, Lean towards the client, Eye contact, Relax.
It’s in the very nature of Cubs fans to react that way. Give them a break. It’s also been a long time since they’ve actually seen all 9 innings of a game.
Like I really needed someone to write an article to tell me that the Mets and Astros won’t make it to the 2012 World Series…
You missed the key points then, because the A’s, M’s and White Sox are on that list too. If that isn’t news, I don’t know what is.
My response as well, the Orioles still have a chance it would seem.
as a mets fan i
am a liar… there are no mets fans anymore
Ya, Morosi is really going out on a limb here. Does this mean that the Padres, Royals, Twins, Orioles, Pirates, and Cubs should have some hope this year?
KG says the Soler deal with the Cubs will not begin until he makes it to the majors, which makes it a very good move for the Cubs if it is true. Give him a 5-10 million signing bonus and then pay him 3-5 million per year for his first few years. Low risk, huge ceiling.
How is 3-5 mill for a few years low risk. Sounds like real money. That’s a lot of money for a sandwich pick, if they’re not planning on resigning him (if he pans out)
It’s low risk because it shouldn’t affect any of their other plans? It’s just money at this point.
He’s a position player with star potential you’ll be getting in his peak years. I’ll risk the money on that over a middle reliever for the same amount.
So because the Cubs are the favorites for Soler, I must assume that someone else will sign him.
my money’s on mystery team. they seem to have the money and the appeal.
Oakland Athletics of San Jose?
Oakland Athletics of San Jose California United States Planet Earth. OASJCUSPE for short.
You forgot The Galaxy lol Go A’s!!!
Nationals, 6 years and $113M with ‘correct age’ incentives.
Nah, Rizzo’s new thing is “fair market value”.
Last time I checked 28 teams don’t make it to the World Series
He’s just starting the list right now. He’ll add more to it as the season progresses.
and still be wrong when the WS comes around.
Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports lists five teams that aren’t going to make the World Series in 2012: the Mets, Astros, Mariners, Athletics and White Sox.
Congrats Paul, a goldfish sharing a single braincell with a worm could have figured that out. I’ll do you one better: Orioles!
So the pirates have a chance? sweet!
Extend Zim now!
As an O’s fan, how are the O’s not on the list of not making the WS?
If Rendon stays healthy, I think he’ll be a Top 10 prospect by the end of the year
thanks joe buck! i mean jon paul morosi….i mean…captain obvious!
These are the articles that make me miss Fire Joe Morgan.
Anyone got Law’s list?
arodys in the 60s is a lil rough
I’m a Braves fan and it’s fine with me. He’s being projected to be a reliever and he’s missing a ligament in his elbow. As far as Teheran, Delgado, and Vizzy go…..I believe that Vizcaino has the best stuff, but unless he’s traded I don’t see him getting a legitimate shot to start anytime soon and as a Braves fan, I hope that’s the case.
Chicago Tribune reports Soler to the Cubs is a done deal. 27.5 million
explain to me how cole is better than bauer? It probably won’t be as bad but could be another Matt Bush vs Verlander comparison. Imagine what would have happened if the Padres picked Verlander.
Matt Bush was barely even a 1st round pick talent wise
Because Cole had the best stuff in the draft, while Bauer’s workloads are scary and his stuff in the dirt might not draw as many swings and misses in the big leagues? College stats require a huge grain of salt.
Wow Daniel Norris ranked 54, didn’t know he was thought that highly of
As an A’s and White Sox fan, I now have no hope. Thanks Morosi.
I think the A’s, Astros, White Sox, Mets, and Royals are the five teams most likely not making the World Series. The Mariners are a playoff contender if GM Jack Z can sign either Johnny Damon or Hideki Matsui to a one or two year deal for a bit less amount of money if either won’t mind at all to help the team to be much improved on offense. Plus adding Roy Oswalt to the mix in free agency will help the Mariners to take some pressure off King Felix Hernandez and Jason Vargas to go along w/ Kevin Millwood and a Japanese pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma. Then trading Chone Figgins and pitcher Charlie Furbush or Blake Beavan to the White Sox for Paul Konerko (figgins then gets shipped to NL team) would be a huge upgrade for the M’s to bring back Refuse To Lose this season.
The Mariners have no chance of winning their division.
Oh and none of that will happen.
That seems pretty reasonable to me……
The Mariners aren’t close to playoff contention, you are delusional
So the Mariners are a playoff contender just as long as the GM can turn over 20% of his roster with all the moves done to help him and not the team he’s dealing with?
And that’s ignoring the part where I STILL don’t think they would be serious contenders. Oswalt and Konerko are nice players but they don’t make one of the worst offenses in baseball compete with the Angels, nor the rotation so dominant that the offense can win enough games. Damon/Matsui are average-to-below-average DHs at this point in their careers. It might be an improvement for the Mariners offense, but not a meaningful one.
Oh come on, the Mets are better than the M’s, I think they’re also better than the other 4…
Wow, $62M. It is unbelievable what the Rays have accomplished with that kind of salary restraint. just over a third of the Yankees payroll and they are right there with them every year.
Woo-hoo! Orioles vs Pirates World Series 2012! Neither made the list…wonder what kind of odds I could get in Vegas?
Perhaps Morosi will reconsider his stance on the White Sox now that they’ve made their big free agent splash… who needs Prince Fielder when you can have Fukadome???