Yankees left-hander C.C. Sabathia’s right knee was in so much pain during an unsuccessful Aug. 8 start against the Blue Jays that the 37-year-old feared he wouldn’t take the ball again, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post reports. “I know that he was pretty emotional that night, because I think he thought he was probably headed for surgery,” manager Joe Girardi said. A clean MRI and a painkilling injection enabled Sabathia to avoid surgery, though, and he returned from the 10-day disabled list Saturday to throw six innings of two-earned run ball in an upset win over Chris Sale and the Red Sox. Sabathia is due to become a free agent in the offseason, when he’ll have to decide whether to pursue another deal or call it a career. His performance this year would certainly warrant a contract – the former ace has ridden a 50 percent ground-ball rate to a 3.99 ERA over 108 1/3 innings.
More from the East Coast:
- Home run-hitting machine Giancarlo Stanton is among the game’s absolute best players at the moment, but the Marlins right fielder’s contract and injury history combine to make him a very tough sell around the majors, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. Stanton, who’s due $295MM from 2018-28 and has both full no-trade rights and a 2020 opt-out clause, went through revocable trade waivers unclaimed earlier this month. The executives Sherman spoke with aren’t surprised. “This is the problem if you make emotional decisions in the moment. Stanton is playing great now, but three months ago you would have thought he was at least a $100 million liability and three months from now you might feel the same,” one exec said of Stanton, who will create a dilemma for the Marlins’ new ownership group when it takes the reins. On one hand, Stanton’s contract is the biggest contributor to the franchise’s financial woes – the Marlins will lose $70MM-plus this year, per Sherman – so trading him would benefit Derek Jeter & Co. from a payroll standpoint. On the other, Stanton’s contract means Miami likely wouldn’t get the type of return for him that you’d expect for someone of his immense ability and star power. That means trading the 27-year-old would probably send the wrong message to a fan base that outgoing owner Jeffrey Loria has alienated over the years.
- Yankees vice president of player development Gary Denbo is an early front-runner to become the Marlins’ general manager once the Jeter group assumes control of the franchise, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (Twitter links). Denbo has worked in various capacities with the Yankees since the 1990s, the decade in which Jeter’s professional career began, and was a mentor to the the now-retired shortstop during his Hall of Fame-caliber playing days. The two remain “close,” Feinsand notes.
- Injuries have ravaged the Nationals’ outfield throughout the season, but here’s some positive news for the first-place club: Left fielder Jayson Werth is “feeling good” and set to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Syracuse on Monday, tweets FanRag’s Jon Heyman. Werth has had a tough road back since he landed on the disabled list June 5 with a fractured left foot and a bone bruise. The 38-year-old free agent-to-be was in the midst of a nice season prior to the injury, as he slashed .262/.367/.446 with eight home runs over 196 plate appearances.
Isnt Stantons contract covered by insurance? Big market clubs in need of a bat should feel protected by that, no?
But yes, the return would be less then desired, like when they traded Miggy.
insurance protects a team if a player needs to retire early, like prince fielder. It does nothing for someone who misses a bunch of games each year
That’s wrong the Mets have insurance with David wright if he misses a certain amount of games each season.
Insurance only covers a player if they miss the whole season and is still on the 40 man roster. There is no mid season insurance coverage.
Even though Prince is covered he still is on the 40 man roster until the contract is up. Same with Wright and Albert Belle back in the day.
The coverage was set up for pitchers that would need surgery that would make them miss a whole year. But when handing out that much money teams get it for position players as well.
Wrong
Stantons injury list has given him a bum rap. The guys an amazing player. A small market team had no business making such a contract.
I’ll take him!!
“Isn’t Stanton’s contract covered by insurance?”
Insurance can protect a team against a player’s lost time due to injury. It does not help the team if a player is underperforming, overpaid and under long term contract.
Not suggesting that Stanton is either of the first two yet. But the fear with Stanton’s contract isn’t that he will become like David Wright but that he will become like Mark Reynolds, but locked in at a guaranteed $30M per annum for the foreseeable future.
You’ve already seen how his contract drastically reduces his trade value, and he is still (relatively) young and productive. Now imagine him on the wrong side of 30, struggling to keep his OBP above .300. Please note before flaming, I am not predicting this. Just pointing out the potential hazard ahead that many teams see when they think about acquiring Stanton.
Yes, I’m sure there is insurance on the contract, but likely not for the full amount. And that only comes into factor if Stanton is injured, not if he just ages out of production.
Insurance in player’s contracts is like any other insurance policy…you pay for the coverage you want, and the riskier the coverage—longer/later years, more dollars, injury history, etc.—drives up the cost, and teams often weigh the costs of the policy versus absorbing the contract IF it falters. While the Mets have some coverage on Wright—and likely would prefer, from a financial standpoint that he retire (he’d get no fight from the insurance company on his ability to continue playing)—it’s doubtful it’s a dollar for dollar return. For instance, when the Mets signed Johan Santana to his big deal it was pretty well known that no insurance company would touch him, and the Mets ended up paying out all of the money on his contract themselves, despite his inability to pitch.
“…in an upset win over Chris Sale and the Red Sox.”
My daily nitpick:
Baseball parlance doesn’t use the term “upset” in regard to one game. “Odds-defying,” “unexpected,” “underdog,” sure; but one of baseball’s lasting tenets is that it’s unpredictable at so many levels. That’s why they play the games.
Your nitpick is spot on but it has made me upset.
Usually when the underdog wins they call it an upset.
Who cares
Bradley jrs + Owen + Swihart and Castillo for Stanton and 30millons
That’s woefully short for Stanton….you need to keep going if you actually wish to propose something that we can all endlessly debate.
Outside of Bradley, who only would be considered because of his defense, quantity over quality wouldn’t cause Jeter and his management team to even respond to a trade request such as yours.
Me thinks the days of pulling the wool over the Marlins eyes because of the owner are coming to a quick end.
If Puig,, Walker Buehler and Jeren Kendall are offered, I can see Stanton as a Dodger next season. Adrian Gonzalez’ shrinking power production has to be a concern in Tinseltown.
The only player with any value in that deal is Bradley.
Hahaha
It would still take a multi-player mega package to get Stanton.
Red Sox would have to give up 5+ players to do so. Owens and Swihart are take-a-flyer former prospects but would not be the core players needed to pull off this deal.
Core Players / Top Prospects
Jay Groome, Sam Travis, Michael Chavis, Tanner Houck.
Current Roster / Younger Players
Matt Barnes, Christian Vazquez.
Former Prospects but Still Young & Controllable Players
Brian Johnson, Henry Owens, Blake Swihart, Deven Marrero, Tzu-Wei Lin, Bryce Brentz, Rusney Castillo.
In my opinion, it would take 2-3 top prospects & 2-3 current roster or former prospects to land him.
If offered Groome, Chavis, Travis, Vazquez & Owens, Marlins might be tempted.
Scotty, you can stack as many players and prospects on the pile as you choose but Stanton with his no trade is only going where he wants to go. It will be a very small market of teams in the bidding. It’s geography, not trade value, at play here.
If the Sox offered that they should run D. D out of town!! Stanton will be a payroll anchor to anyone who gets him. He has 10 more years on that contract, at least 5 of which will be crap. That’s statistically not just him.
I think Stanton is going to end up on the Phillies.
1. They will be willing to assume the entire contract, without cash coming.
2. They might end take another unwieldy contract off Florida’s hands, to bring bigger savings (Gordon)?
3. While they might not even need to trade this much, they could theoretically offer Scott Kingery, Nick Williams and Adam Haseley as a starting core of a deal. Depending on the Marlins’ needs, they could add more B-level minor-leaguers or warm, cheap bodies for the majors (Joseph? Rupp?)
4. If the Marlins suddenly had a lot of suitors, the Phillies’ ace-in-the-hole could be swapping out Kingery for Crawford, but I’m not sure they’d have to do that.
5. The Phillies are rolling in minor-league outfielders, so while I put Williams & Haseley in this version, they could theoretically package anyone from the list of Williams, Haseley, Altherr, Moniak, Tocci, Randolph… Mix and match. Phillies will only need 1 more OF if 2/3 of their OF becomes Stanton/Herrera
So, at that point, the only remaining hurdle would be Stanton waiving his no trade for the Phillies. A hurdle, for sure, but not the biggest hurdle if the Phillies are the only team making a legit offer for Stanton. There are plenty of ways to talk him into it, but I think he will also see the reality that a Phillies team willing to spend money is going to be in a better position to contend than a cost-cutting Marlins franchise.
If Stanton won’t waive his no-trade, his buddy Yelich will probably be shipped out, which won’t make him inclined to want to stay.
Look, I’m a Phillies fan but you’re sadly deluding yourself. Stanton’s made clear that to waive his no trade clause, he would need to go to a contender and he wants to be in California. Last time I checked (5 minutes ago), there is only 1 team that fills that bill.
Do the Dodgers have the money? Does the pope wear white robes? So if he waives his no trade and agrees not to opt out of his contract in 2020, you can begin the discussion about a fair return. Because Stanton won’t go elsewhere, there won’t be a bidding war.
I get it that the media likes stirring up interest by suggesting there are various destinations in play. That’s not reality.
If the Dodgers want Stanton, they’ll make an offer this off-season that the Marlins will accept. They’re not committed to Puig who might find a happy environment in S. Florida. Adrian Gonzalez cannot be counted on as the cornerstone bat going forward so Stanton makes sense on every level.
There’s nothing the Phils can do to intervene so it’s not worth your losing sleep over it. And what does or doesn’t happen to Yelich is totally irrelevant. If Stanton cared, he might have signed for less but he knew what he was doing and what his priorities were.
Fighterflea to say that the Dodgers are the only contender in California is being nearsighted. Yes the Angels have no chance to win the division. But it isn’t usually a division winner who makes it to the World Series. So to completely ignore what the Angels are doing. Would be a mistake. And as for Stanton, you don’t think he would want to play with Mike Trout?
What on gods green earth could the Angels offer?
The Angels have refused to add payroll recently. Really doubt they add stantons huge deal
Yes, the Angels are currently leading the wildcard. No, the Angels franchise cannot afford his contract. End of discussion.
Let me throw it back to you. Since you’ve self-identified as an Angel fan for life, do you think the Angels would get in on the bidding for Stanton? Really? What would you offer in trade except everything in the system that would make the Angels a semi-plausible contender?
You’d be kissing Trout goodbye after the 2020 season since the Angels, if they could still afford him, would be spending all their money on Trout, Stanton and Pujols. Not a blueprint for a contender. I think the expression ‘ c’mon man’ says it all.
The angels are in 1st for wildcard but they are not a good team. They have a weak farm system and bad payroll liabilities. Try being serious
Correct
The Angels have 80 million coming off the books, after this season. The question isn’t who has the most prospects to trade for Stanton. Because he won’t be going to a Phillies team, that is worse than the Marlins. Then you look at the teams that can afford to take on his salary, the Yankees, Dodgers, Roid Sox, Cardinals and Angels. The Cardinals stay away from long-term deals. Dodgers ownership is trying to get below the luxury tax. The Yankees and Roid Sox are geographically not located in the area of the country that Stanton wants to be at. Now I’m not saying the Angels will get him. All I said is, you can’t completely count them out. Because Stanton has a full no trade clause. And can block any trade to a team he doesn’t want to play for. And saying the Angels are not a good team? The Angels have had pitchers spend more time on the dl than any other team. Lost there best player for six weeks. And are still leading the wild card. So what does that say about the other teams? If the Angels do suck. Have fun
The Yankees sit atop the Wild Card standings!
No First in WC belongs to the Yanks…
And the Angels are tied for the second wildcard. Two teams from each league win a wildcard spot. Then play to see who moves on
I was stating the Yanks are the team leading the WC…and yes I know about the two teams. The Yanks would be hosting whoever gets the second spot which the Angels are currently not leading..they are tied with the Twins with one more loss.
And I stated the Angels are tied. Yes the Twins have one less loss. The Angels also have one more win.
Your original posting was “the Angels have had pitchers spend more time on the DL then any other team”…”lost their best player for six weeks”…”and are still leading the wildcard” that is what I originally responded to.
The Angels would have to offer Trout. Lol
I did not say the angels suck.
My team sucks. I clearly know the difference. I said they are not a good team and meant not good enough team to win.
Quit composing about injuries boohoo. Every team has them. Nats, cubs, dodgers yanks and the. Lesser teams too
No. That simply cannot happen. I think Trout and Stanton on one team would rip a hole in the fabric of space-time and destroy the world.
Marlins could try to scare him by saying they will trade away others to save $ because he won’t approve a trade. But I don’t think that gets him to philly.
To the new marlins ownership group-
It will be unpopular but you have to seriously consider trading Stanton (will have to include up to $100+mil over time if he doesnt opt out. If he stays beyond his opt out clause you agree to pay half his salary to the acquiring team) to get some value back in a trade. This team doesn’t need to have a $300+mil player on the books that might have more unproductive seasons than productive ones. Better to free up $$$ to put towards multiple players. You are losing with him & with pitching becoming more expensive this team needs more effective pitching. Free up some $$$ & acquire some pitching talent for him in that trade.
Correct !
If he continues to play like this he won’t be hard to move. I don’t think Jeters group needs to worry about the fan base. If they make smart baseball moves & build a winner South Florida fans will come around.
Miami is a outstanding baseball city.
He is a great talent but won’t keep this pace. Your comments about fan base and Miami as a baseball city are far off. You can cheer for the rays when they move into Miami in 2020. Marlins will be in vegas
I think we will all be surprised by how little the marlins will get for Stanton in terms of players. I too am a Phillies fan but Stanton and his agent will drive this bus and they know it. He will say he is open to any of the 5-6 teams that could afford him, but he won’t be. The dodgers mgmt/ ownership is smart and will not bid against themselves. They will offer puig(for obvious reasons)/ a top pitching prospect and a high A position player nothing more. Especially if the dodgers win 105+ games and go deep in playoffs.
Jeter will have to take the deal because the marlins have a good team but need pitching and New owners want to win but they don’t want to stare at a KNOWN negative cash flow.
I also think By 2020 the marlins will be in Las Vegas.
They just built a new stadium I highly doubt they’re the ones staring at LV. I don’t think LV has a sustainable baseball fan base either. It’s one thing for a football game that only plays 8 a year there but not for 81 baseball games. They’ll get the A’s or even the Rays first.
Good point about 8 vs 81 games. But how many home hockey games are there 40? NHL said ok
That’s because the NHL run is run by Bettman who is absolute dogshit as a commissioner
All the Marlins gotta do is bring back a couple Cuban players and they will be ok in that market until they can build a competitive team.
Stanton to the Dodgers, Yelich to the Cards, Gordon to the & Realmuto to the Braves would significantly improve the farm and future of the team.
The Yankees better put the smack down on Jeter if he thinks he’s going to poach the Yankees for front office talent.
I think if the marlins get creative enough they could move Stanton and get a return. in order to do that that’d either need to take a bad contract back plus prospects or eat money. I guess we’ll find out if they really are motivated to rid the contract though