Email a copy of 'Quick Hits: Girardi, Naquin, Feldman, Biddle, Free Agents' to a friend
Loading ...
By Mark Polishuk | at
Email a copy of 'Quick Hits: Girardi, Naquin, Feldman, Biddle, Free Agents' to a friend
MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com
hide arrows scroll to top
MB923
Maybe it’s just me , but I’d rank Kershaw over Machado and Harper as of now. I’d also put Donaldson ahead of Harper.
Brixton
FA rankings are usually done based on earning power, and Machado will earn more than Harper, Donaldson and Kershaw (because hes a pitcher)
MB923
Ok. That makes sense then. Though Machado/Harper is a toss up I’d say.
SamFuldsFive
Hardly. Manny has always produced, Harper has had one dominate year.
SuperSinker
Through 5 seasons:
Player A: 118 wRC , 23 WAR
Player B: 139 wRC , 22.9 WAR
I’d say they have pretty similar earning potentials given that they’re the same age and pretty well equally productive. A lot can change in 2 years however.
MB923
As SuperSinker said, a lot can changein 2 years. Heck, a lot can change in 1 year. If Jason Heyward was a free agent this offseason as opposed to to last year, he wouldn’t get anything close to the $180 million he got.
ChiSoxCity
I still don’t understand how Heyward got that much money from the Cubs. I’ve never heard of any player getting a premium contract for their defense. Crazy.
crashdavis
Epstein is bad with contracts. Look at all the bad contracts he gave in Boston. Crawford, Gonzalez, Beckett. He’s good but overrated.
Dookie Howser, MD
I don’t know if I’d lump the Gonzalez contract in with Crawford and Beckett, I think that is still a pretty good deal, but I’ve always liked him. There are plenty of other bad, well-documented FA signings by Theo, however -Renteria, Julio Lugo, Dice-K all from the Boston years come to mind.
But all in all, this guy has ended 2/3 longest World Series droughts in history and has three rings so far and has built a team that is universally regarded to be competitive for several years to come. I think he is rated just right.
Mikel Grady
Cubs are a unique team that can afford it and such a murders row offense that can absorb his plate struggles. Most teams it would have killed them. He is a class act person who is a clubhouse asset. Hope He turns it around.
brandons-3
To be fair, it’s not like everyone else offered 100 million and Theo just outbid everyone by 184. If memory serves, St. Louis and another team (Washington?) offered over 200 million for him. The market dictates the earning power.
jakem59
Gonzalez wasn’t a bad contract by any stretch of the imagination. He was killing it in Boston, he just happened to be what LAD wanted to take on all those bad contracts. It’s a shame, that swing was beautiful and built for Fenway.
yadimoiina
Brixon a bandwagon
Kayrall
Helping verbs hard.
Brixton
How am i a bandwagon? Im a Phillies fan.. lol. Nothing to bandwagon there
asdavila
I don’t want the NYY to sign ANY player who requires a long term deal and a huge amount of money… trades? I welcome those any day of the week…
But I am sick and tired of “those” contracts
stryk3istrukuout
Yeah, but “those” contracts were of players whom were either 30 or older or late twenties. Plus, Ellsbury had legitimate concerns before his contract. Yankees will be ALL over Machado. #1 he fills a need at 3rd with Headley soon gone. #2 he plays the infield and no longer really steals bases which means way less injuries than a guy like Ellsbury. #3 he’s not a juicer. Shoot, you should be jumping with joy at the fact that your team could get a player like Machado. Other than that, Yanks won’t go after any of those other guys as they all have age and/or injury question marks and they ain’t paying Britton.
Priggs89
“#3 he’s not a juicer”
You really want to go all in on that statement?
ripcookies
I agree with your thinking for right now. But I think kershaw and Donaldson are not ranked as high as machado and Harper for their age. Donaldson will be 33-34 and kershaw will be 31 when they become free agents.
On that note, I think it’s blasphemy to say you’d pick a 34 year old Donaldson over what, a 25-26 year old Harper/machado. If kershaw keeps dominating I’d keep him number 1 regardless of age. We’re witnessing one of the GOATs, atleast of my generation.
Travis’ Wood
Almonte is a switch hitter not a righty.
ottomatic
Not exactly a ringing endorsement of Girardi by Cashman. He’s not the wrong voice for them “at this stage”
pjmcnu
I was more surprised at the subtle swipe at Torre. Unnecessary to make his point. Must have ended badly between them.
Cuso
Agreed
Mattimeo09
Anyone else think Kershaw might not opt out? I know that’s a rarity in baseball, especially with a player of Kershaw’s caliber, but I wouldn’t be that surprised if he decided to stick out the rest of his contract with LAD. Also LAD probably would try to extend him by now if they thought he would take the opt out but it sounds like the Dodgers haven’t even had those discussions with Kershaw
stymeedone
If he slumps or gets injured, sure he stays. If he wins the Cy Young, he’ll want more money.
stryk3istrukuout
I think he’ll seek a new contract if only because of his age. I don’t think it’s all due to money. With his possible injury concerns especially, I’m sure he would rather lock up a 7 year deal at age 29 rather than age 31.
stryk3istrukuout
Plus, teams would be less willing to give him that contract 2 years later. It then gives the team the chance to extend him at the end of the deal if he’s still cruising
Mattimeo09
Hopefully Naquin is alright. He’ll probably regress this year for his sophomore slump, but I think he showed a lot of potential last year. They might need to move him over to left after Brantley leaves since he’s not the best fielder in center
stymeedone
After Brantley leaves, or just gets put on the DL?
Priggs89
I still can’t believe the overall numbers he put up last year. In the playoffs, I have NEVER seen somebody so bad at hitting a fastball, especially a player at the major league level – small sample size, I know. But if he was that bad at it during the regular season (I don’t know, I didn’t see enough of him), his .886 OPS was truly unbelievable.
sufferforsnakes
I just returned from Spring Training, and Naquin looked even better than last season.
therealryan
It’s crazy to think, but during that 18-19 FA class there is a possibility that 3 players will end up combining for $1+ billion. Kershaw could be looking at a $200+ million contract and is probably going to be only the third highest earner.
astros_fan_84
Those players could depress the market next winter if teams decide to save. It happened in the NBA.
therealryan
I absolutely think some teams will be artificially limiting their budgets next year with an eye on 18-19. Looking at the list there could legitimately be 15-20 players with an argument for $50+ million and 5-7 with an argument for $100+ million. I don’t think that will all come to fruition, but the talent will be out there.
On a slightly different note, the amount of traffic on MLBTR will be crazy from Nov-Feb of that offseason. If this site has an IPO sometime between now and then I’m going to buy as much as I can just to sit on it until Feb 2019.
rit2940
As a Yankees fan all I want is Machado!!!