The Phillies (31-37), Brewers (30-36) and Diamondbacks (32-34), last year's division winners in the National League, have all lost more games than they've won to this point in the season. Here's some news from the NL…
- Troy Renck of the Denver Post expects the Rockies to trade Jeremy Guthrie (Twitter link). The Blue Jays have some interest in Guthrie, so it’s a question of how quickly trade talks develop.
- A Nationals official said Henry Rodriguez is “not going anywhere" even though the Nationals have a crowded bullpen, according to Mark Zuckerman of Nats Insider.
- In response to a reader question, Jim Callis of Baseball America explains that first round selection Mark Appel couldn’t necessarily become a free agent by refusing to sign with the Pirates then spending a season in Japan. MLB would likely attempt to ensure that Appel remained eligible for the 2013 draft. Callis suggests it's in Appel's best interest to sign with Pittsburgh for $3.5-4MM.
32-24 is a losing record?
yeah it must be a typo. 32-34 is their record. ben
The slot price for Appel is $2.9 million. The new CBA rules have made it nearly impossible to pay over slot – so all Boras has done for his client is cut his bonus in half.
there have been plenty of over slot signings already announced
Guthrie could be a good fit for the Cardinals. I don’t think he’d cost much(prospect wise) and the Cardinals need help now.
I don’t understand the CBA that well but I would never pay a draftee 5 million I don’t care who it is. Until someone has proven they can play against major league players AT LEAST in triple A you will not get over a million. But maybe that is why i don’t own a major league team ;-)
so you think it is better way to spend money for 300M for 10 Yrs of arod instead of signing 60 bryce harpers. It may not seem like it but if you get a few picks that work out, they save an insane amount of money in the first 6 years.
no i wouldn’t sign anyone for 10 years either. 5 maybe 6 years and i certainly would not pay any one player over 10 million. well maybe if i was the Yankees and could afford it fairly easily. just seems like bad business to put that much on one single player. for 5 million a year the pirates could look for someone who is proven. (though maybe not a super star)
they could save an insane amount but more than likely they will loose out. even if Appel is up and playing in the MLB in the next 2 years, after that contract he is gone.
Give’m performance bonuses out the butt but don’t give’m a crazy amount guaranteed.
Thats just my opinion with my very little knowledge of the current CBA.
or the new trends of the Pirates either… The current impression of the Pirates is that they are too cheap to keep their young stars long-term. However, Cutch recently signed a long-term contract for I believe around 60 mil. Tabata (obviously not as good as McCutchen), signed a 5 year deal so he can reach his potential in Pittsburgh past his arbitration years. For a few years now the FO of the Pirates said that they will spend money when the time comes, and recent trends show that they have started to do so. Now its just time for them to start getting some more hitting for their offense
For $5mil/yr the Pirates can’t sign the same players that the Yankees, Red Sox, and the other financial elite in the MLB can sign for $5mil/yr. Just this last offseason Pittsburgh offered Edwin Jackson more money and years to pitch in Pittsburgh and were rebuffed for a single year contract in Washington. Elite players don’t sign in Pittsburgh because the team has a budget that’s too small to compete with. If you were the big name they landed, how much help would would you expect to get? Even if the Pirates put up the most money for this contract you can count on losing, which will drag down the value of your next deal no matter who it’s with.
I do agree with that. however the IMO the Pirates don’t need big names, they need some okay names. you know players that can have some consistency of being average at the plate and have acceptable gloves. But talking any of them into coming to the Burgh is rough
Maybe the past 19 years have caused my brain to think like the pirates management lol
I don’t see why waiting to re-enter the draft in a year with the hopes of being drafted by a team that isn’t so historically tight with the purse strings wouldn’t be a better plan for Appel. It’s not just that Pittsburgh is going to try to deny him the money now- they’re of course going to try to deny him the money in every future negotiation as well. They’re the Pittsburgh Pirates. Is there any reason not to let the draft wheel spin again and hope you come up with the Rays or Nationals? Almost any team would be a better financial windfall than Pittsburgh.