The Cubs’ World Series victory triggered an escalator clause in manager Joe Maddon’s five-year, $25MM contract, reports Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports. Maddon’s annual salary will now be bumped from $5MM to $6MM in the final three years of the deal, though the skipper claims to ESPN Chicago’s Jesse Rogers that he wasn’t even aware of the clause. “I’ve never seen a paycheck,” Maddon tells Rogers.
Here are some highlights from Heyman’s latest lengthy Inside Baseball column…
- The Braves are in the market for a right-handed-hitting outfielder that can handle center field. Currently, Atlanta lacks a clear-cut fourth outfielder and is set to deploy two left-handed-hitting starters in Ender Inciarte and Nick Markakis.
- Rockies right-handers Jason Motte and Chad Qualls, each of whom disappointed in the first season of their respective two-year contracts last year, are both available in trade, per Heyman. Motte hasn’t enjoyed a strong season since 2012 and has undergone Tommy John in the interim (making the two-year deal all the more surprising). He’s owed $5MM in 2017. As for Qualls, the 38-year-old is more affordable at $3.25MM this season, but he’s also considerably older and coming off a worse year.
- Jason Hammel and the Mariners were discussing a one-year deal in the $10MM range before he switched agents this offseason. Following the change in representation, Hammel shifted course and took a larger guarantee but a lower annual value, inking a two-year deal worth $16MM with the Royals. Seattle, in turn, picked up Drew Smyly and Yovani Gallardo via the trade market.
- The Marlins’ offer to Kenley Jansen this winter was, perhaps unsurprisingly, extremely backloaded, Heyman reports. The deal would’ve paid Jansen something in the vicinity of $7MM in year one, $9MM in year two, $11MM in year three and $25MM in each of the final two years. That’d obviously be an advantageous structure for owner Jeffrey Loria, who is looking to sell the team.
- The Padres and Tigers are both still looking to add to their roster, with San Diego focusing on shortstop options while Detroit pokes around the market for center field help. Heyman notes that the Friars would prefer a shortstop who is controlled beyond the 2017 season. Currently, the only MLB-ready, in-house option that fits that bill is Luis Sardinas.
- The Twins were willing to pay Mike Napoli $11MM on a one-year deal or $16MM on a two-year pact, but Napoli instead is headed back to the Rangers on a one-year, $8.5MM deal with an option for the 2017 season that would allow him to match the $16MM total he could’ve made over two years in Minnesota. The slugger tells Heyman that he’s already made a lot of money in his career and instead prioritized winning.
- The Rangers are still hoping to talk extension with Jonathan Lucroy and Yu Darvish. Lucroy tells Heyman that he “would absolutely love to stay” in Texas, adding that he likes the culture, the coaches and his teammates. The former Brewers backstop conceded that he at one point regretted signing his initial contract — a five-year deal with a club option that will end up paying him a total of $15.5MM over the six years — though it sounds like those days are behind him. (And, obviously, he’s poised to do quite well for himself in the very near future.) As for Darvish, Heyman notes that his agents may well try to use Stephen Strasburg’s seven-year, $175MM contract as a comp in negotiations, but the Rangers aren’t willing to push it that far to retain Darvish.
@Joemaddon. Do you mind if I get 100k of that? You’re not going to miss it anyway 😉
No harm is asking right? lol
What would Braves have to give up for Trayce Thompson?
A lot, a whole. It makes no sense for the Dodgers to trade him.
Not sure about “a lot” or “a whole”. Something like a top-10 prospect and say they give Paco back.
Not really he’s there only legitimate RH bat that can play all three OF positions. It’d have to be something that could help the MLB roster in a significant way. He also has 5 years of control left. They have no need for Paco they are deep in LOOGYs and LH RP. The braves and dodgers just aren’t a good match unless it’s a major trade. Puig, Toles, and Eibner would be the more likely available. So yes it would take “a lot.” Might not be earth shattering, but Thompson most likely will be starting in RF when Puig inevitably falters.
He’s 26 and slated for AAA to open season
He’s slated for AAA solely because he’s working back from a back injury. But nice try I guess.
Sign Pagan.
Braves have been on the lookout for a right handed hitting OF that can play center for years now. Think they got Drew Stubbs during spring last year
The “I’m too cool joe maddon” routine is starting to get tiring
Someone salty because he doesn’t frown and look like he’s taking a dump all the time like Girardi? Get over it. Maddon is a great manager and just because he has personality and your team didn’t win it all, don’t pout.
I’m a Cubs fan and I think the Cubs won inspite of Maddon, not because of him.
Just let it go, goodness
Then you clearly haven’t been paying attention the last 2 years. Forget the 200 wins in the regular season, and World Series win. What makes players want to win for each other, and the manager, when bad things, or bad strategy, happen? Culture. The culture Theo and Joe set is what won the World Series. Unfortunately numbers guys can’t see past a certain game, or the pile of made up statistical categories to realize that.
Amen. Culture is more important than leadership. True in baseball, true at any company.
Iceman gets it. Amishthunderak is clueless. Joe Maddon is worth his weight in gold.
not a cubs fan but what a perfect description of girardi
Not tiring at all; it’s actually refreshing. And he gives tons to charities. Not nearly as tiring as “Yankee Dominance”.
So I can’t count on you to buy one of the “I’ve never seen a paycheck” t-shirts?
As a lifetime Angels fan, I will say Maddon is one of my favorite guys in the game.
I remember the first time the Angels played the Rays after Maddon took over as manager, and the whole Angels team came out on the field wearing black frame eyeglasses. He was loved by the players here, and apparently in Tampa and Chicago as well.
The Dodgers are the team to talk to for a RH hitting outfielder. Might also think about Ian Desmond, Marcel Ozuna or Carlos Gomez. What about that guy Melvin Upton? And that song writer at Tampa, Souza. Lawrie could probably handle the outfield.
We could also settle for Adam Walker or Mel Rojas, Jr.
Haha not really they have to many LH OFs. But the actual RH OF supply that can handle CF is really just Thompson and Eibner. It makes no sense for them to trade Thompson. Eibner is probably available though, assuming Thompson continues to progress throughout the spring.
Eibner would be great and has ties in Atlanta, provided he cost LITTLE.
You can look at Desmond, but as he just signed, he can’t be traded.
So now we know that the Marlins’ offer to Jansen wasn’t really even that close to what he got from the Dodgers (which is also pretty heavily backloaded and includes an opt-out). Not that backloading really helps Loria sell the team. A liability is still a liability. It’s on the books whether you owe it today or later.
Not designed to help him sell the team. Designed to help him not have to pay it himself. He pays the cheap years, sells, buyer pays the expensive years. Just Loria looking out for Loria.
That’s what the article is implying, but again, contracts are liabilities a new owner is obligated to pay. I’m pretty sure someone buying a ball club will be fully informed on the team’s future payroll obligations. From that perspective sticking the new owner with high ticket out years on a contract does not make it any more appealing. A lot less, I should think. It’s like selling someone a house along with your balloon mortgage.
Teams are worth billions. Potential owners aren’t worried about millions.
With how little any of the CF candidates are performing for Detroit, I could see the Iglesias for Jankowski talk starting up again.
Haha, looks like Loria has been planning his escape with the cloth bags with $$ on the side for a while now. All the big deals are bargains UNTIL he’s made his getaway and the sucker he’s sold to gets to pay the big bucks for the old years. What a miserable human being.
I won’t defend Loria. However, I’m quite certain any buyer will model payroll commitments in future years. A stupid, backloaded contract would not be a surprise for a new owner.
Darvish can be a beast when he is healthy. But his track record with injuries makes a huge contract risky for a team. If he is going to sign for $175 million, I think that will end up biting a club over time. Part of me hopes the Rangers falter the first half of the year so that they can trade him to help restock the farm.
Maddon’s easily the most media-friendly manager ever.
Joe Maddon with the lie. He implied similar when he tripped his escape clause with the Rays to sign with the Cubs: I didn’t know I had that. Well now that you kind media members have informed me, I guess I’ll go use it to sign a multimillion dollar contract with the Cubs. I don’t know nothin’ about birthin’ babies or paychecks, but gotta run. Have a 2012 Merryvale Cabernet decanting at the beach home. Great deal at $700 a bottle.
Yeah, Joe. You keep spinning.
You have no evidence he lied at all. None. The fact remains, had Tampas GM not left, he’s still there, not in Chicago. He did not seek the Chicago job as soon as Tampa’s season was over, Theo and Jed came to him.
You got ripped off on that Cabernet, Mr. Oracle.
Just like the correspondence school ripped you off for that “Show “Em You Know It All” course.
Oh please….agents handle contracts. A guy like Joe isn’t a greedy s.o.b., like a lot of these guys.
He just wants to go out there, coach baseball, and have fun. He trusts his agent, and knows he’s getting him a good deal.
The agent probably slipped that benefit in their for his client.
Maybe the braves can go after puig. But I honestly like what we have in our system. Adam walker comes to mind. The guy has freak power, although he does strike out a lot. tough call.
Oh Kemp and Puig on the same team. That sounds like a fun reality show lol.
In three years they gotta extend maddon and Theo again. If they win again in that time frame or even more than I once they should get life time deals. Maddon is up there in age he may only want to manage for 10 more years. It’s gonna be hard to replace him and his style. My vote would go to Grandpa Rossy.