The Pirates had scouts in attendance at Yasmany Tomas’ weekend showcase, writes MLB.com’s Tom Singer, but GM Neal Huntington didn’t sound overly optimistic about the team’s chances. “We like the player,” Huntington told Singer. “We will participate in the process. As it has with most Cuban players, the market may take it above a place where we feel comfortable.”
Here’s more from the NL Central…
- Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes that while Pirates owner Bob Nutting is the one who ultimately determines payroll, Huntington is the one who distributes the funds. And while Huntington doesn’t like the idea of allocating more than 18 percent of a team’s payroll to one player, Sawchik opines that Russell Martin is the rare case in which an exemption should be made. He notes that it’s unlikely for teams to go beyond four years for Martin, and they’re also unlikely to go as high as Brian McCann’s $17MM average annual value. The Pirates can get by offering Martin something close to $60MM over four years, Sawchik writes, and given the lack of alternative options, he feels they’d be wise to do so.
- It’s best for both the Cubs and Edwin Jackson if Chicago can orchestrate a change of scenery for the beleaguered right-hander next season, writes Jesse Rogers of ESPN Chicago. Jackson, owed $22MM from 2015-16, has been a good citizen through his significant struggles in Chicago and remains positive, but both sides need to move on from a bad situation, Rogers continues. The Cubs’s best chance at moving Jackson is likely to swap him for another bad contract or to pay a large portion of his remaining salary, though as Rogers notes, it may be best to move on “no matter how they get rid of him.”
- While many Reds fans are convinced that the team needs to add a power bat to play left field, John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes that the team should instead prioritize on-base percentage in a left field upgrade. Cincinnati’s team OBP dropped from .327 in 2013 to .298 in 2014. Shin-Soo Choo, who reached base 300 times last year, was replaced by Billy Hamilton, who is on pace to reach 184 times. Joey Votto, who reached 316 times in 2013, spent most of this season on the DL, and the team’s No. 3 hitters have combined to reach just 206 times as a result. Pointing to the team’s struggles in one-run games (22-38), Fay notes how important a healthy Votto and an OBP-focused left fielder could be to the team.
Love the idea of signing Martin. I will remind people to be real about this though. We only have to look back at the last catcher we offered $60 million to, Jason Kendall. I realize this was after his injury, but Kendall never measured up to the money. He was a decent catcher, but not $60 million decent.
It’s hard to justify paying the market rate for a 32 year old catcher coming off his best two seasons of his career. The downside risk is enormous.
The Cubs should just eat the $22 million and be done with it. It’s not the end of the world. Trying to make a swap with Atlanta for Upton is just another headache they should avoid.
Unless they can somehow work Mike Minor into that deal, as has been loosely suggested.
I still wouldn’t do it. The discrepancy in years and dollars between Upton and Jackson is too much to trade for a back-end starter.
Minor being a Super-2 doesn’t help either, since it eats any potential surplus value that could “pay off” that discrepancy.
i agree. every time somebody brings up ‘bad contract swap’ the inevitable answer always seems to be “yeah, but Jackson’s owed less money for less years”.
And the only way they’re getting salary relief for him at this point is to give up a prospect to whatever team agrees to take him.
No, it’s more likely the Cubs pay most of his salary for someone to take him. Then it’s a low risk move by another team if they’re only risking, say, $4-6 mil total and giving up a non-prospect. The Cubs win because they open a roster spot while saving the $4-6 mil they would have otherwise had to pay. No prospects need to change hands from either team.
in theory, yes… but i’m not sure they’d find any takers even for that. Jackson’s been so bad, especially lately, that it may just be a situation where they have to pay someone to take him away. The man even gives up most of his runs the first time through a batting line-up, so he doesn’t have any value as a bullpen candidate.
Personally i expect him to remain on the team through the spring, then they take one last shot at trading him… but after hat he probably just gets cut.
Or they could keep him. His fip suggest this year had something else going on, he wasn’t as bad as it was. Maybe is they were contending it would be a major problem, but he is a decent enough backend starter that can still take some of the innings away from the young players. At this point they won’t get much back, and he isn’t nearly as bad as many those other contracts.
The Reds should look at trying to acquire Matt Joyce from the Rays. Edwin Jackson does have to go.
I am not sure I see a fit for pieces coming back to TB. Any ideas?
I’m not that savvy as to who the Reds have on the farm. I was just thinking that Joyce is in the last year of his contract, and it’s pretty team-friendly but the Rays have Mahtook ready. His obp is pretty high, he has occasional pop, and he’s not going to hurt you in the field. According to Jocketty, what the Reds are looking for. How they stack up with the Rays, can’t really say.
walt jocketty will add another cardinal has been this off season and say he did all he could with the payroll the way it is!! and he will be retained for another year for it
A four year, sixty million dollar contract for Russell Martin would come with an extraordinary amount of fiscal risk for a small-market franchise. Martin’s age (32) and the demands of his position further detract from the value of such a deal for the Pirates. Would it not be a better plan to extend a QO for next season ($15.1 M) than to place club in a position unable to take lesser financial risks elsewhere in the free-agent marketplace (like signing a couple of veteran pitchers coming off poor seasons)?
I get how important Martin has been but I agree 4/60 is to much of a risk for the Pirates. He’s an excellent defender, works well with pitchers and his framing skills grade out really good. Some of his value has been tied to his .850 OPS which is unsustainable. He will not have a .409 on base percentage again as his BABIP is 50 points higher than his career mark. If Martin stays somewhat healthy he will be worth 4/60 and he might get more somewhere else. The Pirates have limited funds though and can’t afford any risk Martin may bring. Not without selling out other parts of the roster anyway.
I agree, 8 million per year sounds right. 32 million 4 years he should be happy with. That is a over pay but that would be the max for him.I would prefer a 3 year deal or 2 with a option but Baseball GM’s love to overpay for ballplayers
I still don’t see the Cubs cutting Jackson this offseason. Maybe they will let him attempt to regain some value by a strong start next season, but Jackson had a 3.79 FIP and 3.86 xFIP in 2013 compared to a 4.98 ERA and a 4.44 FIP and 4.09 xFIP compared to a 6.38 ERA in 2014. This is the kind of guy that we see Hoyer sign each year. I understand that he is not worth the money, but to say that the Cubs should just straight up cut him does not fit with the front office’s strategy of unlucky pitchers.
They’ve got to figure out how to at least get innings out of him, then. It’s one thing to have a guy throwing 190 innings of 4.5 ERA ball and at least stabilizing part of your rotation. It’s another to have a starter give you 139 innings over 27 starts (less than 5 1/3 per start) and have to burn the bullpen repeatedly. He’s got significant negative value… cut your losses and move on.
If you’re evaluating his performance by ERA, then yes.
He isn’t. He is evaluating by the toll it is taking on the bullpen due to early exits.
I understand what FIP attempts to do and its predictive value. But EJAX has a career FIP of 4.23 and a career ERA of 4.64 over 1500+ innings. We can look at FIP and say he’s pitched better than ERA indicates all day, but the reality is he gives up a lot of runs, a lot of hits, and a lot of walks, so he only gives you 5 mediocre innings per start on average. I’m not counting on his 4.44 FIP turning into a 4.44 ERA next year — I’d guess 4.8 is more likely and in today’s game that’s pretty bad.
His fastball velocity is down, and his secondary pitches have not dipped. That’s the problem.
Edwin for Ubaldo?
Jimenez has more upside and more years. Hard to see it happening.
How about Jackson for Dickey? Cubs will have to throw in $$ and/ or a player but Dickey may be worth a gamble… problem is no real reason for toronto to do this but I can dream lol
No there’s no reason for them to do this at all. Why not Trout for Jackson?
Steve Trout would do better.
Dickey is not really a “gamble” — he’s a serviceable AL East pitcher who can reasonably be expected to pitch for a few more years and give you 210+ innings of 3.8 ERA ball good for 2+ WAR. Jackson has negative value at this point in his career and would not even make Toronto’s rotation next year.
Edwin Jackson for Jaime Navarro.
Cuddyer for the Reds’ OF?
The buccos are too cheap to sign Tomas. They will never sign him anyway. Whatever the news is, I do not see them even offer a $60M/4y deal to a Cuban player. They are just drawing some news and then saving ever bucks into their bank.
Viciedo, C. Sanchez, J. Danks for Latos
Go home sir you might be drunk. the reds are hand cuffed financially. Which is why they cant afford to keep all three starters. Now if you talking about JOHN Danks his contract is to much for the reds to take on. If your talking about JORDEN Danks he is only a 4th/5th outfielder and im sure the reds have in house options better then him.. Viciedo he does fit the bat but not the on base or defense in left field. Sanchez I dont know about so ill leave him alone.
Long story short no way that deal gets latos not enough upside for the reds to pull the trigger.
Tomas with bucs won’t happen but if it did 1b
$15 mil per year or more for Russell Martin just seems outrageous, although so many other guys are making similar money these days. It’s incredible how salaries have exploded.
And salaries have exploded because TV money is exploding. That is why you are starting to see decent guys getting 10+ million for contracts