Here's a quick look in at the American League East:
- With Red Sox outfielder Grady Sizemore progressing towards cracking the team's Opening Day roster, WEEI.com's Rob Bradford provides the details of his incentive-heavy contract. If Sizemore breaks camp, he would earn a $250K bonus and draw a $750K base salary. He can, as previously reported, boost the total value to $6MM if he were to hit all incentives. Here's how: $250K each for reaching 60, 90, 120, and 150 days in the big leagues; $250K for each increment of 25 plate appearances from 225 to 500; and a slate of award bonuses (including $50K for being named AL Comeback Player of the Year).
- Orioles third baseman Manny Machado says that his $519K contract for 2014 is "disappointing," reports Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Of course, with less than two years of service, Machado had little choice in the matter. The two sides have yet to discuss the possibility of an extension, though Connolly says there are "indications" that talks could take place once the health of the 21-year-old's left knee is more certain. Machado maintains that he would "love to be an Oriole forever," noting that his only wish is "to be treated fairly."
- The Yankees have drawn significant trade interest in backstop Francisco Cervelli, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com. Among the teams giving the catcher a look is the White Sox. Though the out-of-options, 28-year-old Cervelli figures to have the inside track on the reserve role for New York, the club has several other viable options to back up Brian McCann (as MLBTR's Steve Adams recently explained).
You going to give the O’s a deal when your FA years come? Didn’t think so. Play now paid later. Or go the Moore/Longo right and trade some future bucks for security.
Can’t really expect the Yankees to get much for Cervelli if they were to trade him.
I’ve been thinking about what the Yankees could get for Cervelli. I bet they could persuade the Cardinals to fork up Descalso for Cervelli, especially if the Yankees would send a bit of cash too. The Cardinals can spare Descalso. Their starters up the middle are Peralta and Wong, and would be backed up by Kozma and Ellis respectively without Descalso. In the meantime, Cervelli would provide a marked upgrade over their current backup catcher, Tony Cruz. For the Yankees, Descalso would present a better option to start at second base, especially for certain matchups, and he could work from SS and possibly 3B as well. I think both sides would get good present value and upside while solving immediate needs.
The Yankees have enough Daniel Descalsos.
The Cards would be willing to fork up a negative WAR player if the Yankees forked over cash too?
I’m sorry, but I don’t see why Yankees would do that. Yankees have plenty 2b/3b in Sizemore/Nunez/Roberts/Johnson/Anna/Ryan, they just don’t have any really strong players there. Don’t see why acquiring another scrub for a valuable team would make sense.
Which is why I think it makes sense to trade Murphy.
Machado has got to be kidding. $519,000 is abundantly fair for a pre-arb player who has put up one pretty good and one mediocre season. And especially considering he is not arb eligible until 2016. Mike Trout put up two full seasons with a stat line in each season that was arguably the best in the major leagues. With only slightly more service time than Machado currently has. And he just signed a one year one million dollar deal for 2014. So here’s the real question: who does Manny Machado think he is? In my opinion he should shelf his ego and try to put up his first really good season.
Which really begs the question. For the 2014 season, is Machado worth more than half of what Trout is worth? Machado should be thanking his lucky stars for the Collective Bargaining Agreement and should gladly pocket the $519,000 until he shows himself to be truly worthy of more money than has been bargained for by his union.
Not to mention that he got a $5.25M signing bonus. He got guaranteed money before he did anything, and now he has to pay it back.
It’s frustrating as a fan to see pre-arb players speaking out about their salaries. Especially guys who got massive signing bonuses.
These guys are “underpaid” making at least a quarter of a million bucks in each of their first three seasons, paid handsomely and set up for life through arbitration, and then drastically overpaid in their first shot at free agency.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the system. And as an Oriole fan, it pains me to see that Manny has an issue with it.
Lets look at Machado. Assuming 4 WAR(Average of predictions) at age 22 in 2014 and .2 increase every year to 26 (when he hits FA)
2013-15 Provides 14.2 WAR makes 1.5 million
2016-18 provides 13.8 WAR Makes 36 million
Then say Machado has a 2nd drastic knee injury can never play again. Hes made 42 million sure that’s great for him.
But the question is as a fan you love Machado, you buy his jersey, you get season tickets, they make the playoffs, the O’s owner makes 125 million off of him for the price of 42. Is that fair?
That is the question. Machado isn’t saying 519,000 isn’t enough to feed my family. He is saying the system isn’t fair and he might have a point considering injury risk, performance drop offs, and teams using strategies to limit player earnings while team revenues increase.
I find this type of argument to be a little on the ridiculous side of things. Does Machado have the business acumen to raise the capital to buy a MLB team? Not in a million years. So its perfectly fair that the owners of the team get to make this wild $125M figure that you’re throwing out there.
On top of that… who is to say that Machado is the one generating that income at all? Fans will still buy tickets, jerseys and everything else, it’d just have a different name on it.
Manny Machado should thank his lucky stars that he’s dedicated and talented enough to have the opportunity to make $519k in a single year. There are millions of people in this country who work much harder and earn far less.
Anyone know what Machado’s stats were after the all-star break? It seems to me that he was on a record-setting pace for doubles and was hitting well above .300, then although he didn’t exactly fall off the table, he certainly mellowed. Did pitchers start catching on? Did he tire out? Inquiring minds like mine want to know.
He really tailed off after the ASB (baseball-reference.com/players/split.cgi?id=macham…)
His worst months last year were July and Sept, but it wasn’t just after the all-star break. In the final 101 games, from June 1 through the end of the season, he hit .257/.287/.386/.672 with a 3.7 BB%.
I find the talk about him to be very premature. He hasn’t proven anything to me on the diamond except that he’s good with a glove. Hope he gets better for the Orioles sake.
Sizemore’s not going to make the team. Who does he make it over?
First and foremost he could make it over Jackie Bradley Jr. Some would argue that JBJ needs more seasoning in the minors before becoming a full-time starter for the Red Sox. And sitting him on the bench wouldn’t make any sense. I know that if JBJ was penciled in as the starting center fielder for my major league team right now, I’d be praying that Grady Sizemore would displace him.
If not JBJ, the Red Sox need to look at their priorities. Sizemore could slot into the reserve role currently held by Carp. Since Carp’s only real defensive use on this team is as a third 1B, Sizemore might provide more utility. Gomes could also be on the block depending on his spring performance compared to Sizemore’s. They could also go with one less bullpen arm and roster all of Sizemore, Carp, and Gomes.
I don’t see Gomes, his 5 million dollar salary, and his massive 2013 Red Sox championship themed abdominal tattoo getting traded any time soon. But Carp, and to a somewhat lesser degree, Nava and Lavarnway are all conceivably tradable for sure.
Gomes won’t be on the block. Part of bringing him in last year was about changing the clubhouse atmosphere which made him arguably one of the best signings last year. He’d have to have an injury to fall off the opening day roster.
The problem is that the Sox won’t want to have both Sizemore and JBJ on the team at once since they won’t want to wreck JBJ’s growth by having him on the bench but they don’t have a true backup capable on playing CF. If Sizemore makes the team, he’d get his fair share of off days to keep him healthy. It boils down to whether or not the club feels comfortable moving Victorino over every once in awhile.
As it stands now I expect JBJ to begin the season at Pawtucket. He could use more offensive seasoning and the club likely feels more comfortable with their inexperienced left side of the infield if they have a veteran outfield.
If Sizemore can ramp up his on the field activities to play the last week of spring training without a break I’m totally on board. Gives the team the best chance to win early in the season.
Almost works out perfectly, tip of the hat to Cherington. Sizemore is likely to struggle playing a full season coming back like he is, but having JBJ waiting in the wings when he goes out for a couple weeks at a time with strains and soreness gives the rookie a chance to hone his plate skills in Pawtucket for another half season and join the big league club for the second half push.
Cervelli’s been tearing the cover off the ball this spring. I have no desire to see him dealt, especially for not for a 25th roster type guy. On the other hand, John Ryan Murphy could be a starting catcher for a team a year or two from and is blocked by McCann. Move him for a promising middle infield prospect.
I’m not adverse to trading Cervelli, but I wouldn’t trade him for a scrub. He is a decent backup catcher, not someone that you should just dumb.
Agreed. I just don’t think any other team is going to ante up anything better than scrubs for him. I think he has more value to the Yankees than to any one else or any other bench player any other team might offer would hypothetically, realistically, to the Yankees.
How about a 3-way trade:
Yankees get Franklin for 2B, White Sox get either Murphy or Romine & Seattle gets Viciedo? A couple prospects might be tossed in that deal for it to work. All 3 teams get what they need. And all three players ( Franklin, Viciedo & any Yankees catcher other than McCann or Sanchez) are all rumored for trade.
As a Sox fan, I would do that for Murphy, but not for Cervelli (age and little upside). But I would trade you a healthy Keppinger for Cervelli, and I’d give you Gordon Beckham for Cervelli if you throw in a decent prospect. Or I’d give you Beckham and an A-baller for Murphy. I don’t see Romine being any different than Tyler Flowers, who we already have.
Why would the Mariners trade Franklin for a guy who has 0.5 WAR in 1,235 at bats? No-field bats come a lot cheaper than Franklin…
Machado’s money is more than fair for someone who just finished his sophomore year. Now we know where his priorities lie. Just a matter of time before he jumps ship to a team with bigger pockets.
Machado needs to sit down and think about life for a few minutes if he thinks he’s being treated unfairly after making ~$6.5MM before his 22nd birthday.
It blows my mind that some of these kids can’t a grasp on the process that’s been in place since before they were born.
You get your signing bonus, you play for way less than you’re worth for the first three years of your MLB career, you get rewarded and set up for life through arbitration, and then you’re massively overpaid and your kids, grandkids and great-grandkids are set up for life through your first FA contract.
was there any rumors about the yankees looking into rickey weeks
There was a report at the beginning of the Spring Training that the Yankees “are watching” Rickie Weeks which means almost nothing. It doesn’t cost much of anything to send a scout or two to “watch” a player. Personally, I’m not sure Rickie Weeks is an up-grade over Brian Roberts and that’s saying something. This would be a salary dump move for the Brewers with little to nothing in terms of a prospect going the other way. The Brewers want to dump Weeks to make room for Scooter Gennett so there’s no reason for the Yankees to pony up a good prospect for a player who might be cut loose in a few weeks or months. Hopefully, Roberts can stay off the DL for at least a few weeks.
I’m disappointed that Machado has anything to say about his salary
Manny, playing your heart out and producing as you did in 2013 will ensure that you get paid well in the future. Complaining in the court of public opinion will ensure that you get no sympathy and, perhaps, alienate some fans along the way.
This is your first media-related brain cramp about salaries and you’re still pretty young so this isn’t a pattern…yet. Hopefully you don’t do this anymore as you mature.
Machado sounds like a future yankee š