It’s possible the Red Sox will open contract extension talks with superstar left-hander Chris Sale during the upcoming offseason, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Sale has two more option years remaining at a combined $26MM, which is an absolute bargain relative to his production, but Cafardo wonders if the Red Sox should give the 28-year-old a raise in an act of good faith. While Sale certainly belongs in the elite tier of pitchers in terms of salary, the Red Sox may be reluctant to hand out a second David Price-type blockbuster deal that takes a pitcher through his 30s, Cafardo suggests. Ultimately, the Sox may choose to wait another year and then override the 2019 option with an extension if Sale is his typical self next season, notes Cafardo.
More from the American League:
- Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy sees the writing on the wall in Baltimore after it acquired his likely replacement, Tim Beckham, at last month’s non-waiver trade deadline, details Rich Dubroff of PressBoxOnline. But Hardy, who has been on the disabled list with a broken wrist since June 18, has still served as a mentor to Beckham. Asked if having Beckham around has been awkward, Hardy replied: “To be honest, no. I’m really, really aware of what’s going on around me, maybe to a fault. I’ve seen it. I know what’s going on. There’s really nothing that I can do. You just have to remember the business part of it.” Hardy struggled mightily this season before the injury, and the O’s are sure to decline his $14MM club option for 2018 in favor of a $2MM buyout, but the soon-to-be 35-year-old isn’t ready to retire. “I’m not saying that I’m done playing. I just know what’s going on in this organization,” said Hardy, who has been an Oriole since 2011.
- Unlike Hardy, fellow Orioles shortstop Paul Janish is seemingly on the verge of ending his playing career. Janish is likely to join Rice University’s coaching staff next season, reports Mark Berman of FOX 26 (on Twitter). The defensively gifted Janish played at Rice before the Reds chose him in the fifth round of the 2004 draft. The 34-year-old has been with the Baltimore organization since 2015 and has worked almost exclusively at the Triple-A level with the franchise. Janish has only amassed 99 plate appearances with the Orioles, including 28 this year.
- The Twins’ first-year front office heads, chief baseball officer Derek Falvey and general manager Thad Levine, continue their organizational shakeup, per Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press (all Twitter links). After firing several scouts last week, Minnesota has now let go of pro scout Greg Orr, who had just joined the team in January, and major league scout Wayne Krivsky. Changes to the Twins’ international scouting department are next on the docket, according to Berardino.
Is Chris having a stroke in photo?
Lmao it appears so
Yeah like that was the best picture they had of him haha
It looks kinda cool though.
It looks like the Mr.Krabs on meth meme
Exactly what I came in here to say
Cameraman is drunk.
Maybe he’s so good because his arm has superhuman powers and can be in multiple places at the same time. That’s why they couldn’t find a better picture, he does everything he can to make sure people don’t find out his secret.
Come on Cafardo part of Sales value was the insane team friendly contract. Good faith is not going to happen.
Which is why the article said the good faith deal has a higher chance of happening when Sale is in his walk year.. and honestly don’t blame them do you really want to dissapoint your star pitcher in a walk year..
But, Will he get David Price money 2 years from now? That’s what I’m dying to know.
I say it has a much lower chance of happening in his walk year. Sale will have all the leverage to get paid a record-breaking deal.
Sale will be a Red Sox for the forseable future. They have handed out huge contracts to many players not nearly as good as sale. They will pay him at least 200 million
I don’t think it’s really a “good faith deal” when it’s in his walk year; that’s just called an extension… The point of a “good faith deal” would be to pay him more over the next 2 years while he’s being ridiculously underpaid. But as dodgerfan said, that defeats part of the purpose of trading so much to get him.
I think extension and “good faith” should be synonymous with one other. What says more “good faith” than signing an extension in your walk year, to bylass a chance to become in all likelyhood, the best FA SP and have 29 other teams a chance to bid on your services, especially if it’s last year of contract. It would be good faith on Sale’s part, because as Baine said,Sale holds all the levwrage. (if he keeps up pitching this way)
Crazy part? Wouldn’t surprise me if Sale stays dominant for 4 years in a row. Sale’s a beast.
leverage*
You’re looking at it from the team’s side, not the player’s side. Signing a below market value extension would be good faith on Sale’s part, but that’s the exact opposite of what this article is talking about. Cafardo is saying that the team is the one that should be showing Sale good faith to get him to sign a long-term extension without ever testing the open market.
The thinking is that if they show him “good faith” and give him a hefty raise over the next 2 years (well deserved), they’ll be able to get him to agree to the extension without having to get into a bidding war, which means that in all likelihood, the total amount of money on that extension would be much less than he’d get on the open market, where all the loaded teams (Yankees, Dodgers, Cubs, etc.) can bid on his services. All you have to do is look at the contract that Greinke received once he hit the open market. If Sale can stay healthy and continue to pitch like he has throughout his career, he’s a lock for that much money EASILY.
The bottom line is that showing him good faith and giving him a nice raise when it isn’t necessary is just a way for the team to try to lock him up before getting into a Greinke-like situation. They aren’t doing it just because they feel like being nice guys. It’s a calculated risk by the front office.
As for Sale’s side – he has no reason to be the one showing good faith. Boston needs Sale a lot more than Sale needs Boston. If he hits the open market, every team in the league will be interested. He really only has 2 reasons to take an extension: 1) He wants a ton of guaranteed money right now 2) He might really like Boston (though this gets trumped by #1 99+% of the time).
I think 7/$175 starting next year would be a reasonable extension for Sale. He’s def worth $30 mm a year but if you decline his two $13mm options he’d probably be happy with the total package. Then just hope Price opts out next year.
I know people think he won’t but he hates Boston enough that I think it’s possible
Price must really regret taking the extra 17 million to go to boston. He should have gone to the cardinals.
I don’t think Price hates Boston. I think he dislikes aspects of the Boston media and possibly the fairweather fans who will jump on any highly paid player on the team who is underperforming only to love that player again once they start playing well.
I’m not sure if this is how Price is feeling but this sums up in good part what happens to a lot of players in Boston. You couldn’t go to the park last year in April without seeing thousands of Price jerseys before he had even thrown a pitch. Now he’s the enemy. Not saying everything the guy does is justified, just that half the fan base doesn’t even know why they like him or hate him.
Greinke got 6/$206 going into his age 32 season. Sale is set to become a free agent going into his age 31 season, assuming they don’t try to extend him sooner. Assuming he stays healthy and pitches like his normal, ridiculously good self, he’ll get well over 7/$175.
I wonder if all the health concerns because of his delivery knocks him down to 6, but yeah he’ll get over $175 million even if it’s a 6 year deal.
Yes. He would def get more then $175mm in the open market. My assertion is if the Sox tore up the 2/$26 left on his current contract and started a 7/$175 next year he would be paid more like what he deserves in 2018 and ’19 as incentive to signing an extension with them now.
Unless he experiences some sort of significant injury before signing his next contract, that won’t be the reason he doesn’t get 7 years. Say what you want about his delivery, but he has been one of the most durable pitchers in baseball since he was drafted.
The fact remains the same – nobody knows exactly why pitchers get injured. Everybody says mechanics until a guy with “perfect” mechanics goes down. Then they say “too many breaking balls” and blah blah blah. Personally, I think throwing with max effort on every single pitch has more to do with it than mechanics. If that’s the case, Chris has nothing to worry about. He very rarely tries to throw with maximum effort. He only reaches back for those extra mph’s when he needs them a handful of times per game. Outside of that, he does an excellent job of actually PITCHING (as opposed to just throwing as hard as he can every pitch, like way too many guys do).
Yeah I guess that’s true, I just think over the next couple years teams are going to be more wary of handing out that kind of cash over a 7 year term to players over 30. I think you’ll start to see more 5 or 6 year deals with a higher AAV. But I see what you mean about the potential injury risk or lack thereof. Also, it would probably be more beneficial to give a 7 year extension going into effect next year for both sides. Boston wants him here for years to come, and he gets paid sooner, but they also get out of the contract when he is 35 or 36 compared to 37 or 38.
JJ is a good guy. He’d be a good guy to keep around Baltimore but he really couldn’t fill a utility role for us. Maybe he’ll get into coaching one day
agreed- I think if Buck has his way (and Hardy agrees) he be around in some capacity
who was the last player/coach in MLB anyway? Is that even a thing anymore?
I remember Pete Rose never officially retired even after he’d managed the Reds for a few years. He’d put himself into the lineup when he had a few bucks on the game
(the last part’s a joke……………I hope)
Agreed. JJ is definitely the leader of the INF, but I feel like even that’s not enough to overcome the slash line he put up. I’m glad he’s taking the Beckham situation in stride, like he said it’s all business and I hope to see JJ back in the future in a broadcasting role.
Hopefully they handle it better than the Jon Lester negotiations/contract.
Although he was amazing in the postseason for Boston, Lester was never a true shutdown ace. Boston made a competitive offer. I watched Lester pitch for many years in Boston and I never felt absolutely confident when he was pitching. There was always that thought in the back of my mind that he would pitch a “meh” game. He also had a few “meh” season. When Sale takes the mound I’m 95% confident he will pitch a gem. Love Lester, but Sale is on a different level.
I’m not comparing the 2. Sale is putting up Randy Johnson the stats. But we still low balled a guy that did a lot for us. 2013 Postseason he was lights out.
I’d say Lester has been more than satisfactory in a Cubs uniform.
What good faith are they even talking about? Chris Sale has played for the Red Sox for like 2 seconds. Why would they reward him for what he did with another team?
Fake news!
To get him to agree to a long-term contract without ever testing the open market…
Also, you have seen what he’s done with THIS team, right?
Nobody here talking about the Twins? Well, I will.
I like what Falvey and levine are doing. Reviewing the MiLB prospects, scouts and front office. and, basically, culling the heard.
Don’t really care how long it takes, but don’t believe it will take all that long to turn this team around.