While the market for Shin-Soo Choo has been slow to develop, he could have already found a home had accepted a lavish offer from the Yankees. Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports that even after signing Jacoby Ellsbury to a seven-year, $153MM contract, the Yankees offered Choo a seven-year, $140MM contract. Agent Scott Boras reportedly countered by asking for Ellsbury money, and the Yankees instead elected to sign Carlos Beltran to a much cheaper three-year, $45MM pact.
With Choo no longer a fit in New York, Boras will have to look elsewhere to try to top that $140MM figure. The Rangers are one team that has been said to be interested in Choo, but reports have indicated that they prefer him on a five-year deal. Beyond that, according to Passan's report, Texas has instead turned its focus to Masahiro Tanaka.
Passan also adds that multiple teams, including the Astros, have offers on the table to Choo at this time. It's not clear how much Houston has offered, but as Passan notes, an outfield of Choo, Dexter Fowler and top prospect George Springer would be an excellent trio. The Astros, however, aren't big fans of the idea of surrendering their second-round pick to sign Choo, writes Passan, especially considering that NC State lefty Carlos Rodon — a Boras advisee — is the favorite to go No. 1 overall to the Astros. Rodon would command a significant chunk of Houston's draft budget, which would shrink were the team to forfeit its second-round selection.
wooooooooooooooooooooooooow?
He turned down 7y, $140m? Crazy
maybe he actually wants to play
Well Choo would have meant no Ellsbury and an OF of Beltran, Gardner, and Choo. Not sure what you’re getting at.
You didn’t read the article did you?
” Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reportsthat even after signing Jacoby Ellsbury to a seven-year, $153MM contract, the Yankees offered Choo a seven-year, $140MM contract.”
In all likelihood, had they did sign him, then either 1 – Gardner would be traded, or 2 – They wouldn’t have signed Beltran
In all likelihood, had they did sign him, then either 1 – Gardner would be traded, or 2 – They wouldn’t have signed Beltran
lol completely missed that. Makes zero sense.
What Choo talking about?
too many OF’s in NY…but apparently as the article says Beltran was signed instead…so not sure why this is news now
Admit it, you’ve been saving this one
ha
Wow why would he do that!?
Maybe his wife doesn’t like New York?
He’s not going to get that much money anywhere else.
I was kidding, it was a reference to why Cliff Lee turned down 28 million from the Yankees a few years ago.
Meh. Phillies offered him more overall money. It’s not like NY’s offer blew it out of the water.
That was also a reason that Sabathia required the contract he did if I’m not mistaken as well….
well let’s see…gardner, ichiro, ellsbury, beltran, wells, soriano…can’t wait to see how much playing time they all get
Wells will probably get released and the Yankees will seek a trade partner for Ichiro who could also become the 4th outfielder. Soriano will DH most of the time. So really it’s just Gardner, Ellsbury and Beltran who will probably switch with Soriano with DH’ing. If Soriano does well enough the Yankees can also trade him to a contender needing a power bat or some mid-season offense by the all-star break.
Side note, but I’m excited to see what Sori can do as a full time dh. That dude absolutely mashed as a dh in inter league games w the Cubs. I think you guys will enjoy him this year if that’s the plan for him
Still seems odd. That log jam should just be a problem for 2014. After that, it would have just been Gardner, Ellsbury, and Choo left.
Gardner’s a free agent so at years end it would only have been Choo and Ellsbury under contract.
One will be traded, one will be DHing a lot, and one will be injured. They’re not going to have a playing time issue.
read the article, if he signed there would be no beltran, and they are currently trying to move ichiro…so the outfield would have been cho, gardner and ellsbury..wells would be the 4th and soriano would mostly occupy dh.
Ichiro would be the 4th and Wells would be cut (which he probably will be once they sign Beltran anyway)
This was before they signed Beltran
why is this news today then?
Because it didn’t become public knowledge until today:
“the Yankees offered Choo a seven-year, $140MM contract. Agent Scott Boras reportedly countered by asking for Ellsbury money, and the Yankees instead elected to sign Carlos Beltran to a much cheaper three-year, $45MM pact.”
Ichiro? who cares… he’s a 4th OF on any team. his last 2+ WAR season was 2010.
He’s chasing 3000 hits in the MLB. I’d imagine he’s hoping for a starting gig somewhere. Or a championship….
considering Eduardo Nunez was more productive than Ichiro at the plate last year… I think the Yanks should cut him loose and move on.
dont worry the way those guys all get hurt you will be needing a few extra by years end just wait! lol
So basically Boras got a little greedy and wanted to get Choo even more money from the Yankees and the Yankees walked away and picked up Beltran. I think that sounds better than how it appeared on Twitter. Made it seem like Choo either didn’t want to play for the Yankees or thought he was worth way more money than that.
Something tells me this was Choo’s decision. 7 years at a $20M AAV doesn’t sound like something an agent rejects…I know Boras is notorious for trying to squeeze every dime for his client but even he knows he’s not getting more than that
The Choo Choo train of money is leaving the station shortly, better climb on board one of the platforms.
Boras is fired!!
This could be the true Boras blunder—-the first one that sits at the table gets the best cut of tenderloin. The rest get the second best. Choo baby Chioo.
If Boras really did turn that down, it was a bone headed move.
Doubt Choo gets anything over 5 years and 100 mil at this point.
Boras has made some truly dumb decisions lately, Morales turning down the QO was another.
In the end the decision is up to the player. Boras may have given them bad advice but it’s the players who get greedy. That’s why people hire Boras to begin with.
yeah, the player has the last word but probably Boras had a lot to say like… “oh don’t worry, I know the Yankees and I’m sure they will give you more money, just wait”
These players are paying Boras a lot of money to make a deal for them.
Yes, of course they have the final word and input, but they are heavily influenced by their “trusted” agent.
Boras blew the Ryan Madson deal a couple of years ago too. Madsen ended up signing a one year deal with the Reds for 6 million after Boras left a 4year/44 million dollar deal on the table with the Phils, and he blew out his arm in spring training.
You mean K Morales of the Mariners? He should get a good multi year I think. Someone is going to need a 1B/DH don’t you think?
Ellsbury isn’t even worth Ellsbury money. How the heck does Choo think that HE is?
Remember Suile, Choo is “revered” amongst some teams.
Yes, I kept reading about that every time someone advocated the Mets get him. $20m a year for seven years? That is a lot of reverence! LOL!
Some team will give him 20MM AAV.
But not for 7 years.
That’s why I feel like this wasn’t Boras’ fault. Choo has to have qualms with playing for the Yankees or something. Every one of Boras’ mistakes were only really mistakes in hindsight (ie- Morales this year and Madson a couple years ago). This one just makes no sense. I doubt Boras thought he was going to get more than that
There is no personal beef with the Yankees , he is basically saying you offered a statistically lesser player to big money in the same position , What Boras tried to do was out maneuver his own movement. You see he showed the Agent world yes I can get a player signed over his value in a big market team, While jay z maxed out with Cano. He figured I got Elsbury a high end contract so I will get Choo right in the same threshold. Again your dealing with the Yankees trust
I don’t think anyone would argue that Choo is better than Ellsbury. Given the choice between the players, I think every team in the MLB would rather have Ellsbury.
I really can’t see this being 100% Boras’ fault. Even he would be happy with that contract
What are y’all crazy this is about Boras and business along with in your face competition between agents. Who is jacoby’s Agent?? Boras correct ? Boras succeeded in getting him a contract higher than his worth while his ex client Cano settled for the max deal in the seattle market , He Boras got the Yankees to sign one client then figured he will over charge for his second client thinking the Yanks were desperate. What he forgot was that Beltran was a target for the Yankees since day one and they was going to by pass them if a good deal was made. Dude turned it down they moved forward with who they originally wanted
Let me also add , most teams pick Choo over Jacoby , there was no way he was seeing this contract else where
Scott Boras is probably at least half the reason. Choo is still gonna get a pretty nice payday (but not Ellsbury money), though. That said, I almost feel bad for a guy like Kendrys Morales. Boras is selling ridiculously high on some of his clients, and it’s blowing up in their faces.
I find this difficult to believe, if only because I can’t imagine Choo doing better than that. or close to that in either years or AAV. But i guess we’ll see o_o
I know. Choo had a fantastic year, and would have loved to see him in YS, but if he regresses back to where he has been for the past 3 years he really isn’t worth anywhere close to that.
You mean his career .930 OPS against RHP leaves something to he desired? He struggles against LHP but anyone who hits .300/.400/.530 against RHP is worth a lot of money.
But is that worth $150M?
Choo is a great player, but his absolute failure to hit lhp is a real negative.
Maybe it’s not just the money.
Does Choo like BBQ?
I’ll bet New York has more Korean bbq than Houston does. Bad move to turn down the Yankees’ offer.
Choo could end up signing w/ the Dodgers to join Ryu also from South Korea if Matt Kemp is going to be traded.
Everyone’s going to say how crazy boras was for turning that down, then when choo gets more money will all say “yep, he did it again”
Boras over analyzes the market for his players every once in a while.
I find that’s usually for older guys, not big-time FAs though.
He did with Arod. Then Arod had to come crawling back to NY.
Arod gets 275m, Yankees get Aroid. Who you think did the crawling?
Arod did. He opted out thinking he could get other teams involved in a bidding war. No other teams even bothered. He came back to the Yankees without Boras’ involvement.
Crawling back with the largest contract in the history of baseball. This being after the Yankees saying they wouldn’t negoiate with him if he opted out of his contract; there was some crawling done by the Yankees too.
Arod crawled back, the Yankees backtracked. Arod restarted negotiations without Boras.
Which still worked out more than well for A-Rod…
I was talking about his clients in general although I do agree with you. He might have over played his hand with morales this year, but it seemed like that with loshe last year and he still ended up with a 3 yr. deal.
Sometimes Boras overplays his hand and it backfires
He knows how to read the market.. I’m sure he had other teams in maybe a little less, cause he clearly didn’t waste time with ellsbury, he knew he was robbing the yankees and took it immediately
Boras gets it wrong every now and then with non-superstar players, and he completely botched the A-Rod re-sign until A-Rod personally got the Yankees re-involved. He appears to have blown it with Choo. You could say he ha-chooed.
-cough- Morales
I just can’t see how Boras would have turned this down unless Choo had reasons that he didn’t want to be a Yankee. That contract really seemed to max out both in years and AAV
Wonder if the Mariners step in and offer Choo 7/150
Would have to be more like 10/200
Hes not Cano
Yeah but even Cano isnt worth that much. Mariners are desperate so i wouldnt put it down
I agree. Yankees made him a fair offer. Trout and Kershaw are worth that much and thats about it.
Well if they had one, the M’s would probably still be under it even after signing Choo. They are at about 80M right now.
Now that the Yankees are out of the bidding it doesn’t
This is why i still think MLB needs a salary cap.
Well if they had one, the M’s would still be underneath it even after signing Choo. Their payroll stands at about 80M right now. I think instituting a 125-150M cap would be fair.
I think it would help the competitiveness of the came too.
what competitiveness. if a cap comes it would be the death of baseball
I think it would help the competitiveness of the came too.
Capitalism is a beautiful thing. I don’t think it needs to have a cap at all. Many of these big market teams end up handcuffing themselves for a few years because of the large contracts. I think that in itself provides as much justice as a salary cap would
Why would the Mariners off more than the Yankees after the Yankees pulled their offer? If the other team pulls their offer, then you offer less, not more.
b/c as of right now Boras still thinks he can get more. Its not important the yankees pulled the offer, its important he didn’t think 7/140 was enough. Dodged a huge bullet there! And u know what? Boras always finds a sucker. Best agent in sports probably. How does Prince go from not wanted to over $200 million in Feburary? Mr Boras.
Maybe he didn’t like the spotlight that NY would bring? I mean, the Yankees are a big jump from the Indians and Reds. But for 20 million a year, that’s hard to turn down.
Sounds like fun times for Scott ahead.
Wish the Mets would go after him but I guess the Outfield its set already.
Gardner and Pineda for Murphy.
Gardner for Murphy straight up
How many years of control does Murphy have left anyway?
I dont know. I would just love that trade. Only way im trading Gardner is for Murph or Homer Bailey package
Only way I’m trading Murph is….hell no! Not trading Murph. Well, Alderson might…
As much as I like Murphy, it is the right move to trade him. They have depth at 2B. The way I look at it, I would rather have EY Jr/ Wilmer Flores and whoever they get than Murphy. Like (hypothetically) Gardner+EY Jr > Murphy. It depends what they get, but if they can upgrade somewhere, I am ok trading from depth, which they have at 2B
Don’t forget to through in Ellsbury, Robertson, and Brian McCann
This just sounds like complete nonsense – something that Boras would “leak”
lol Why would Boras leak this?? It makes him look bad
To try to make what he’s asking for sound more reasonable.
But it doesn’t have that effect.
6/120 sounds like a bargain now.
I see what you’re saying, but if Boras “leaked” something that wasn’t true — especially something to the tune of 7/140 — then the Yankees should/would/could just come out and call him a liar. You can’t leak a lie that big and not get found out and made to look untrustworthy. I suspect doing something like that would get an agent in pretty big trouble with the league and the players association.
In fact whoever “leaked” it, I’m guessing it was probably the Yankees or someone close to them, not Boras.
In fact whoever “leaked” it, I’m guessing it was probably the Yankees or someone close to them, not Boras.
maybe something another team would leak to bring Choo’s perceived value down and play hardball. the Rangers? the Mariners? even the Yankees might be behind this.
They had no money for cano!
Ten years???
It wasn’t the money for Cano. It was the years
It was the money and the years. It’s almost always the money.
It’s never the money when it comes to the Yankees.
They offered him more money per year than the Mariners. So obviously it’s not about the money. It’s the years.
They didn’t have 10 years for Cano who “didn’t want to play for Girardi” and “didn’t feel at home with family”.
Has George Steinbrenner been resurrected? What happened to the luxury tax hoopla?
The Red Sox won the World Series, that is what ended the Yankees caring about the luxury tax.
nope, they never once intended to get under, but why let agents have an open checkbook from them? Might as well throw like 5% of doubt into that, maybe if they never said that Ellsbury might have gotten 200 million from them.
Ever see Futurama? I bet they got George in one of those head domes like Nixon was in.
how many outfielders do they need?
Apparently 6 is not enough
pitching is overrated anyways
i wouldn’t mind if the yanks would take back mr untuck. not a fan of him in DC
Headline in may.. “Yankees confused “you can never have too much pitching depth” with “you can never have to much outfield depth”, Girardi pulling hair trying to make it all work”
Wells and Ichiro should not even be counted.
They have Ellsbury, Beltran, Soriano and Gardner. One will DH (mostly Beltran/Soriano).
beltran over ichiro?
Ummm…yes. Not sure why you’d think otherwise.
hitting wise yeah.
Well it was before they signed Beltran.
Even if he does end up getting 150 mil or so from a team like the ‘Stros is the extra ten million worth playing for a non-contender rather than the most historic franchise of all time?
Hey 10 mil is 10 mil. That’s nothing to sneeze at. I’m not sure how that converts to yen but I’m sure it’s alot.
Maybe it would matter if he was from Japan.
okay, then Korean currency, you get the message.
…dollars, most likely.
“Won” is the currency used in South Korea. Not being mean, just saying.
To add to your post, in Won, 10 million US dollars equates to10512500000.00 Won approximately. I served there some years ago. 😉 Just a fun fact. That said, honestly I think that if Luhnow can get it done, he should. Choo would bring in good revenue. Don’t the ‘Stros have enough good prospects to offset possibly missing out on Rodon?
thank you Kevo. I learned something new today.
Well Boras and Jeff Luhnow have had an excellent relationship with his clients so far. The Astros signing Choo would only help keep it that way going forward with negotiations with Rodon. Also the Astros won’t contend this year sure, but in 2 years they could be one of the top contenders with Springer, Singleton, Maybe Correa, Rodon,Appel, Folty and so forth coming up. With the Yankees lackluster pitching I am not sure they will even contend against the AL East
I would have loved to have Choo, but how could he really turn down that much?
I’m trying to look at a lot of this logically considering the amount of overpay the yanks have been willing to do this offseason and all I can really come up with is it must have been the 10 year demand from Cano rather than the dollar amount that made the yanks cut bait.
The 2008-2017 Rodriguez and 2012-2021 Pujols contracts will tell you that there’s really no way those 10 year deals work out after 3-4 years. One player taking up potentially 10-20% of a teams payroll for 10 years in a row is just ludicrous.
Don’t get me wrong, I agree a 10 year deal for someone entering their 30s is a bad move for a team. Diminishing returns will set in within a few years and best case scenario is the contract will be an albatross for the last third of the deal. However it’s likely you’ll see the same with Ells and Choo in their last 2-3 years. I’m surprised the yanks would want to be so agressive now and take that risk.
That’s true, the Yanks are already seeing the effects with the 7 year deals given to Teix and CC. Hopefully Ells and Choo can age and still play the game like Torii Hunter, it’d be an overpay at that point still but they still would be rather valuable.
EDIT: Not to mention all the draft picks they’ve given up this offseason. With a middle of the pack(at best) farm system, the Yankees and fans, myself included, will have to prepare for a long stretch of rebuilding. Besides Gardner, Nunez, Jeter, and maybe Almonte, their will only be 4 Yankees on the opening day lineup and bench who are homegrown(not including the pitching staff and bullpen).
Don’t see a long stretch of rebuilding. If they add another top pitcher I fully expect them to be in it next year.
I’m reading that Boras asked for Ellsbury money…did Choo even have a chance to accept the offer or is Boras calling the shots?
Could Scott Boras be losing his touch? First he advises Kendrys Morales to turn down a QO, now only a desperate team will sign him. Now he advises Choo to turn down “Carl Crawford Money” because it’s not “Ellsbury Money”? I’m sorry, but I think that’s the best deal he could’ve landed, in years and AAV.
He still got a good deal for Lohse last winter after all of it. If he can get Morales $36M/3 then I would call that a win.
Teams are always hurting for pitching though. Morales is a DH/Borderline Serviceable 1B. I’m not sure that the Pirates, a team looking for 1B help, is willing to surrender a draft pick for Morales.
Actually the Astros would not lose their 2nd round pick. They would lose their supplemental pick they got in the Bud Norris trade. Which is better and worse both. Worse because that pick is higher then the 2nd rounder but better because it was really just a bonus pick for them anyways and they keep all their original picks
Wow. He’s crazy.
I always enjoy hearing when good players (Beltran, Cano, Teixera, Arod, Guthrie, Edwin Jackson, etc.) drop Boras and switch to a new agent. He may be the best but sometimes his concern of money over the players desire to stay with a certain team can backfire.
Jay-Z would be a great agent for Shin Soo Choo as he can deal w/ both clients wearing Seattle Mariners uniforms. Choo, like Cano, can help the Mariners on offense struggles as he can provides some leadership in the outfield as Ibanez signed w/ the Angels.
Seattle spend another 150m? I think the Choo-choo’s left that station.
Or spend half of that for few years before re-signing Choo in 2016 or 2017.
Don’t think Choo turned down 140m with Yankees to go on lay-away with Seattle.
Totally agree as the Dodgers can sign him if Kemp gets traded somewhere.
Because I’m sure Choo said no to 140m from Yankees, so that he could go on lay-away with the M’s.
Even funnier the second time
The Mariners w/ pitching help besides signing Choo on top of off season moves made, the team may be last season’s version of the Cleveland Indians/Pittsburgh Pirates as one of the wild card teams in 2014.
The problem is they usually don’t switch until after he’s gotten them the largest free agent deal they will get in their career. So he is still in line for the commission on those deals.
Anyone want to make a guess on how much money Masahiro Tanaka will sign for, Could he become to first 300 Mil man?
no way.
For an unproven commodity.
No Kershaw and/or Trout will be. Tanaka wont even come close to passing the 200 Mil line
“Yankees To Sign Tanaka to 10 year/$200MM Pact” 😉
Tanaka turned it down on Boras’ advice
Hahaha.
I’d guess the Yankees are the highest bidder with a 6 year/120MM deal. At least a deal where Tanaka’s getting 18MM+ AAV.
Everyone is counting out the Phillies yet they have only 159M payroll committed thus far they could make a big splash and go after this kid.
Could be why they want to dump Papelbon, Rollins, Lee and Hamels. I could be wrong, but I think I read somewhere that the Phillies were done spending (or spending heavily)
They could, yes, but I think I read an article here saying that they were operating at or near their payroll limit. That 159MM i’d figure would go up a few million after arb’s are finalized.
Yes I read that also I don’t really believe it, Under raj the Phillies have a history to go after pitching and Tanaka is a game changer for who ever picks him up.
I am thinking Yankees or Cubs. Cubs have a lot of money to spend, not that I think they are going to sign him to an overpay. Tanaka sounds pretty legit, and Cubs are wanting to build pitching up a lot, so may be willing to top any other deal to get him.
It seems like the Cubs could sign em and maybe trade him a few years down the line if they still aren’t contending by say 2016. Though I’m with DerekJeterDan on the Tanaka to Yankees Bandwagon
I could definitely see that happening. As of now, I feel as though they are pretty close to keeping up with the ‘contending by 2015’ like I have heard, and predicted myself. They could definitely lock him up for 6/125 (which if you think about it sounds like an overpay for someone who is not proven in MLB) and if he is legit and they arent competing by then, maybe flip him. Although I think that if they aren’t contending by 2015, they should be very close still, so would be worth keeping aorund if he is a stud.
Boras is loosing it this year. He missed the boat on Choo’s 7 year deal and gave Morales the horrid advice to turn down the QO.
He did a heck of a job with Ellsbury. When you look at Ellsbury’s numbers, it makes the contract even that much more puzzling for a team to agree to.
But Boras manages several players. It’s not a question of whether he attains a good deal for one or two of them, but whether he attains outstanding deals for most of them. In that sense, it’s a chess match, and the Yankees are always the most resourceful team on the board. It’s Boras’ job to try to get the Yankees to select from his stable and overpay for all of his guys. He had an opportunity to net big paydays for Ellsbury *and* Choo, and he overplayed his hand. Now with this leak, he needs to exceed the $140M mark with any team he works with to save face.
Did anyone except the qualifying offer? Turning it down is not a Boras thing. That rule was instituted with the hopes that every offer would be turned down by the player, otherwise the threshold would have been higher.
I think every QO that was offered was turned down this year.
Correct (though I still don’t know why Morales did. Unless Boras is his agent)
Everyone should join Jay Z
or CAA the brains/agent behind Jay-Z
Insane.
Is there any site that tracks these “insiders” and the veracity of their claims?? It seems like Passan is usually fairly well plugged in, but this seems hard to believe. Not that someone told him that necessarily, but I would like to know what camp his “source” is in.
I think we are on that site now….*points to the banner*
Thats kinda what I figured
$20 million a year for Choo!!? Does anyone else find this absurd? I’m pretty sure all MLB front offices have officially gone crazy. Does anybody remember the Jayson Werth deal???
That’s valuing him like about a 3.5 WAR player for each year of the deal. Seems about right for Choo based on his history. My problem is that he’s likely a DH for the last three or four years of the deal. His defense has declined the last two years. I’d probably stop at six years so I can see why the Yanks balked.
I don’t think 3.5 WAR a year is a realistic estimate. He’s had peaks well above that figure, but he’s gone (just) below it two out of the last three years while in what should have been some of his peak seasons. Even if he played the whole 2011 season, I don’t think he gets there. So, there’s no guarantee he produces even that value for the first 2-3 years of the deal, let alone during his age 34-37 seasons, when he could be a disaster. Some of his comps on Baseball Reference were literally out of baseball by that point. It seems like for that money, he should be an easy bet to put up 5-6 WAR for the next three years. Just my $0.02.
Well done Cashman. Gave it a try – good job moving on quickly.
Two strikes on Cashman after not bringing back Cano and now not signing Choo (may be joining Cano in Seattle). Jack Z may survive longer in Seattle than Cashman w/ the Yankees as he ought to be on the hot seat if the Yankees struggle after signing Beltran/Ellsbury/Johnson/Roberts.
Beltran at $15 million per over three years makes far more sense than Choo at $20 million per over seven years. I’m sure Cashman’s job is safe…
Forgot about Beltran, Kelly Johnson, and Roberts besides Ellsbury on off season moves by the Yankees.
Soon the headlines will read…”Yankees Agree to Sign Shin-Soo Choo” 😉
El oh el
Some people just can’t handle the bright lights of New York I suppose
How will Scott Boras be able to feed his family this winter?
Made me laugh out loud
There’s a chance Boras went to make rounds with other teams on offers and the yankees pulled the rug from under him with the beltran signing.
We also dont know for sure whether that was an official offer.
Updated Market for Shin-Soo Choo:
KC – Alex Gordon
BOS – Daniel Nava/Gomes/Carp
NYY – Beltran/Gardner/Soriano/Vernon W
TAM – Matt Joyce/Desmond Jennings/David DeJesus
CLE – David Murphy/Michael Brantley/Raburn
OAK – Yoenis Cespedes/Craig Gentry
CWS – Viciedo/De Aza
HOU – JD Martinez/Chris Carter
DET – Andy Dirks/Rajai Davis
LAA – JB Shuck/Kole Kalhoun
SEA – Corey Hart/Logan Morrison/Michael Saunders
MIN – Josh Willingham/Oswaldo Arcia
TOR – Melky Cabrera
BAL – ???
TEX – ??? Cruz?
STL – Matt Holliday
PHI – Dom. Brown
ATL – Justin Upton/Evan Gattis
ARI – Mark Trumbo/Martin Prado/Parra/Cody Ross
COL – Carlos Gonzalez/Corey Dickerson
PIT – Starling Marte
SD – Carlos Quentin/Chris Denorfia/Will Venable/Seth Smith
NYM – Curtis Granderson
WSH – Bryce Harper/Nate McLouth
LAD -Yasiel Puig/Carl Crawford
MIA – Yelich/LoMo/Ruggiano
MIL – Ryan Braun/Khris Davis
CHC – Junior Lake
CIN – Ryan Ludwick
SF – Gregor Blanco
Orioles needs:
» Left Fielder
» Left-Handed Hitter
» OBP
» Speed
» Runs
Hmm…
You forgot Ellsbury.
NYY – Ellsbury, Beltran, Soriano, Gardner
You can drop Wells he’s not doing anything.
Oh is he a candidate to play LF?
(I should have specified this list is for my estimation of each teams LF)
Oh you’re only listing corner OF?
Doesn’t matter, the Yankees’ OF is full no matter how you arrange it.
But please take Wells off. 😉
Orioles needs: CHEAP PLAYERS Hmm…
Those are not needs, it’s just what they end up with because the O’s have to fund the Angelos Christmas Vacation each year.
Seattle Mariners can use Choo by packaging Nick Franklin & Ackley or Saunders to a team needing a second baseman & backup outfield help for a pitcher (starter or bullpen).
Sounds like the Blue Jays (aside from the need for outfield help).
Any reliable pitchers like Brandon Morrow, J.A. Happ, or Casey Janssen available for the trade w/ the Mariners & possibly the Pirates in a three team trade sending Smoak & prospect from the Jays for a player AA needs to build the team?
If I’m JD, I’d roll with Choice/Moreland, Martin, Rios as my outfield, Cruz as my DH, and go after Tanaka. Choo would be great to have, but not at that price.
agreed, that would be perfect
Looks like Jay Z is a better sports agent than Scott Boras. What team is left that will pay Choo that money? The Rangers, Dodgers? Red Sox? These teams would have to make trades in order to pay Choo. The Cubs might do it and should sign Choo, but not for that kind of money!!
Rangers have an open OF spot they just want Choo for 5 years not 7. Boston could easily open up an OF spot for him but he’s too pricy for them as well. Your right that he probably wont get 140 Mil but then again I didn’t think Boras was going to get Fielder 200+ Million either.
Mariners can trade Justin Smoak, Nick Franklin, and Ackley or Saunders like to the Reds and/or another in a three team trade that may need a first & second base help, plus backup outfielder that can pinch hit for someone in the bottom of the lineup late in the games after signing Choo.
Mariners can trade Justin Smoak, Nick Franklin, and Ackley or Saunders like to the Reds and/or another in a three team trade that may need a first & second base help, plus backup outfielder that can pinch hit for someone in the bottom of the lineup late in the games after signing Choo.
Twenty million a year just doesn’t get you what it used to. Choo’s a nice ballplayer, but hardly a superstar. He could also be in serious decline just 2-3 years into that deal. Do the Yankees not feel comfortable unless they have a bunch of old guys on their roster getting paid much more than they are worth? This off-season it just seems like they’re making sure they have an old core of players not just now, but through the next decade as well.
I thought the projection was $100–at which people scoffed. now he’s turning down 140$??????
Most of the projection (which we did scoff at) have been blown out of the water. See: Peralta, Beltran, Hughes, Vargas, Pence, Logan, Colon Lincecum, Hudson, Ellsbury (to a lesser extent)
Really? Is Boras that thick-headed? Now, I like Choo, but NO WAY is he worth $20M per year.
Regrets………………………………….
Boras is an absolute joke. I wish he’d take his “talents” to Japan or something.
what choo talking about?
Yikes – 5 years puts him at a disadvantage having to hit the FA market again in what, his late 30’s?
Choo ought to change agent by restructuring his free agency outlook unless one of Boras’s clients is on the Seattle Mariners team. He would fit in w/ the Mariners trying to get back into the playoffs giving Jack Z lots of support to re-sign the GM after the season. Jay-Z & Boras ought to work together like Will Smith & Tommy Lee Jones in Men In Black series (Jay-Z/Boras combo as Mariners in Black if the team can unveil the new alternate black uniforms, lol).
If seven years was on the table for Choo, not sure why the Yanks didn’t offer Cano 8 or 9 years. I would have settled with giving Cano the years instead of offering Choo a 7 year deal. I think this information is inaccurate. Doesn’t make sense.
Boras: “Shin-Soo, I turned down Crawford Money from the Yanks, because I think you can get Ellsbury Money from the Rangers”
Shin-Soo: “What choo talkin bout, Boras?!”
Never though Id see the day this type player got this type money. In my world, I see him as a 5 for 75 kinda guy, max. I guess I’m not of this world any longer, eh?
How much are the Mariners will be able to sign Choo if the team can pull off the trade sending Ackley or Saunders, Smoak, and Franklin for pitching help? There should be some teams interested on those players in desperate need to fill those positions.
I get your point. Can’t hit lefties, his defense has degraded over the last two years, he’s 31 years old and banged up, and doesn’t have the speed he had before his injuries. But I think dollar inflation is a bigger issue than in previous years. And it’s probably calculated into these bigger contracts more so than ever.
Blessing in disguise for the Yankees. Beltran a much better fit for the Yankees with him being a switch hitter and Choo’s inability to hit lefties in a heavily left handed hitting lineup of the Yankees.
Rinso Blue got his payday and Boras blew it!
I don’t believe for a minute that the yankees offered 7/140M.
You’re right. They’re the Yankees. They offered 7/240
They gave Tex 180M, A-Rod 275M, Offered Cano 190M, Ellsbury 150M, Beltran 50M, CC 170M, AJ Burnett 60M, McCann 85M, I believe it. 140M for Choo is crazy. Let alone him declining it. Hes a 5/80M tops for most GMs.
Why did the Yankees sign Carlos Beltran, a breaking down 36 year old to a 3 year $45 million contract to end at the age of 39 when they could have given Shin Soo Choo whos in his prime, an Ellsbury contract for $26 more million to end at the age of 38? Seems to me like it made more sense to get Choo. Common Cashman!!!!
huh? 26 more million than what?
Choo would have been signed until he was 38 as well and wanted the same money as Ellsbury.
Choo wants an Ellsbury contract which is $26 million more than what they offered. I am saying they should not have signed Beltran and went with the younger, more healthy player. Give the money Beltran is gunna make ($45 mill for three years) to Choo.
If Choo returns to Seattle by signing a contract w/ the Mariners on top of getting Logan Morrison, Corey Hart, Wiilie Bloomquist, and Robinson Cano, they may be a dangerous team that can contend w/ the Angels/Athletics/Rangers in the division as a second or third place team (possibly can win the division w/ Ervin Santana signing if he decides to join the team as a third or fourth starting pitcher). Angels/Rangers/Yankees are interested signing Tanaka.
Choo and Tanaka? I think the Yankees and Rangers will manage to grab one if not both of Seattle’s targets.
The Mariners or Rangers as Choo turned down the Yankees offer signing.
You missed the boat there, I was stating as a pair the Yankees (Tanaka front-runners) and Rangers (Choo front runners, heavy reported interest in Tanaka) will combine to sign at least one of the two Seattle targets.
But if your confidence is too great, I’d be better prepared for a Cruz signing.
Okay. Is the Mariners second or third option on Choo as Los Angeles teams/Rangers/Yankees also interested in Tanaka?
I think Seattle should be all-in and Jack Z may have only bought himself a year with the Cano signing. That being said, I agree on Choo with roots to the Mariners and a short(er) flight to S. Korea may be enough and absolutely makes them a top 3 contender to land the RF.
Tanaka would be a luxury with Felix, Iwakuma as your horses and Walker, Hultzen and Paxton in the system.
Even if Tanaka goes to the Rangers, Yankees, or one of two LA teams and the Mariners signs Choo & Ervin Santana, the team can still be battling for the final wild card race in 2014 playing a one game playoff on the road (similar to the Indians/Rays). Hultzen may not pitch till 2015 or may retire due to a serious injury.
That’s a fair outlook. I mean Cano (5-6 WAR), Choo (3-5 WAR) and Santana (2-3 WAR) would be a big step forward.
With the Angels in perpetual disarray and the A’s yawn inducing but consistent grinding, I feel the M’s best hopes to compete immediately would be Tanaka going to the Yanks or NL team, Cruz to the O’s and signing Choo + one of Santana/Garza/Jimenez. But even if in such a scenario Cruz lands back in Texas, Seattle should give their fans a reason to be excited again.
Yup, just like the Pirates of this past season trying to save Clint Hurdle and the GM’s jobs as both are secured after making the playoffs the same way what Jack Z is going through in the upcoming season. What teams will offer top relief pitching help in exchange for Smoak, Ackley or Saunders, Franklin or Romero (third baseman), and pitcher Pike (might be couple or few of those players)?
Well Papelbon is available, but you mine as well keep the prospects and spend on Rodney with that sort of money involved. Cishek seems to be available, but unless you feel Ackley’s value will stay low, I wouldn’t part with either Franklin or Ackley for him.
I would wait and see how much money is left after the FA targets are off the board as bullpens can pieced together internally much easier for a prospect wealthy organization.
Thanks for the chat johnrhee, I’m off for the evening.
yw as Clippard may also be available as you never know.
yea they would be but thats not the point I am trying to make
it’s only 13 million more than Ellsbury though…
I think the Yankees lucked out to be honest. With Beltran you figure to get 1 and hopefully 2 of the possible 3 years of middle of the order pop, so you’re at most if you’re the Yankees eating 30 million. If Choo even fades 2 years (which would be a best case scenario of sorts) before his 7 year hypothetical pact ends the Yanks would be on the hook for 40 million.
Beltran’s bat won’t be an issue, his defense sure, but Ichiro and Gardner can cover a lot of ground.
What am I missing about this guy? Yankees dodged a bullet here. He had one really good year in 2010. Cleveland wisely (and these two words are seldom used together) let him go. He does ok in Cincinatti (not OK just ok ). Average power for an OF, reasonable speed . I thought either power or blazing speed gets you the money. Someone explain 20 million per year for him please.
While 20M is a big big overpay, i see him more in the 14-18M (15-16M sounds fair), he is great at getting onbase, adn thats oe of his best skills. OBP is highly undervalued but choo having a very high OBP makes him tempting
Honestly, Texas should just sign Cruz to a three year deal and go hard after Tanaka.
Rotation:
Darvish, Holland, Harrison, Perez, Tanaka
Bullpen:
Ogando, Feliz, Ross, Frasor, Soria, Cotts, Scheppers
Lineup:
Martin cf, Andrus ss, Rios rf, Beltre 3b, Fielder 1b, Cruz dh, Choice/Moreland lf, Soto c, Profar 2b
Strong team right there.
Can the Dodgers sign him for the bench?
If the Dodgers should sign Tanaka, either Kershaw or Beckett would be traded w/ Matt Kemp to the Mariners (if Choo signs w/ the Rangers or elsewhere) for James Paxton or Erasmo Ramirez, Dustin Ackley or Michael Saunders, Tyler Pike, Nick Franklin, and Justin Smoak. Then, Smoak and either Franklin or Dee Gordon gets traded to the Pirates for couple or few minor leaguers if the GMs are interested making the move.
What?? You’re crazy if you think the Dodgers let Kershaw out of the building as a FA for more than 1 second.
With the LAD spending liberally to re-establish themselves, why in the world would they send Kershaw elsewhere? He’s one of the top 2 or 3 pitchers in MLB, if not THE top pitcher…
With all of these crazy contracts this year. It still boggles my minds that Andrew McCutchen will be making 7 million this year. And well, Mike Trout…..enough said. Wonder what these two guys would get on the open market in their primes?
Trout will make a fortune once he becomes a free agent
He’ll just get a blank check from whichever F.O. signs him.
Moneyball’s worst nightmare… high OBP guy getting 20MM +
In a world where $140 million isnt enough
I can just imagine it:
NYY: We’re prepared to offer $100MM for 5 years.
SB: What about $140MM over 7 years.
NYY: Okay, we can do that.
SB: Then let’s get him into Jacoby country. What’s another $2MM or so per year over the next 7 years for the New York Yankees?
NYY (aside: to flunky #4): Get me Beltran’s agent…
This is one of those times where I’m left scratching my head for both sides. Bad offer, even worse rejection.
Wow, I was surprised that Choo turned that deal down!
Probable wanted the same as Ellsbury