By my count, there are currently around 40 remaining free agents who seem likely to receive Major League contracts eventually. Approximately 70 additional free agents might have been minor league deal candidates even in a normal offseason. This offseason has been decidedly abnormal in the sheer volume of quality unsigned players as spring training camps open around baseball.
As a result of MLB’s Neverending Offseason, the players’ union decided to open up a spring training camp for the many unsigned free agents. The location: IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. According to USA Today, the first workout is today. Former Astros manager Bo Porter is set to preside over the proceedings.
We knew going in that the MLBPA decided not to allow media at this camp. But I decided, “What the hell,” and sent veteran reporter Joey Johnston out to IMG this morning in an attempt to find a story. The effort was a total bust. According to Johnston, IMG is a sprawling facility, “almost Disney World-like where you can’t see anything unless you are inside.” There is a fenced-in, guarded gate. When Johnston inquired with a guard if he might wait around the perimeter, his reply was, “We were vehemently told there would be no public access. No one gets in there. No one.”
From what Johnston could tell, the players are housed on-site, so they can’t be spotted driving in or out. No other media or fans were present. Johnston concluded, “If they wanted total lockdown, they appear to have achieved that goal.” That’s also the sense that team personnel are evidently being given. As Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets, a club exec tells him that a special assistant sent to scout “was asked to leave the workout” and “escorted out” of the IMG facility. Of course, as he adds in a follow-up tweet, private workouts can be set up with individual players.
Based on Johnston’s account, the MLBPA’s free agent camp is not some kind of 31st spring training camp. In fact, the situation at IMG runs directly counter to the laid-back, relatively accessible vibes of a typical spring training facility.
Why did the MLBPA decide to conduct their camp this way? I’d have asked director of communications Greg Bouris for comment, but he resigned this week after serving in the role for 19 years. Craig Calcaterra of Hardball Talk recently posited a theory: “I suspect the union does not want its free agents being the subject of sad stories in which they’re cast as hopeless or pathetic or facing the end of their careers.”
I think Craig is on to something. It seems likely the camp itself would come off as a sad affair. We know the Boras Corporation’s clients are not attending, and that includes top free agents in J.D. Martinez, Eric Hosmer, Jake Arrieta, Mike Moustakas, and Greg Holland. I inquired with three additional major agencies with notable free agents, and have come up empty in identifying one who will be in attendance. No one seems to know which or how many players will be attending – not even Bo Porter, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
From afar, it appears that the players’ union is missing an opportunity to win over fans, whether directly by being accessible or by openly letting attending free agents talk to the media. As Meg Rowley noted for FanGraphs on Monday, the general public typically does not side with the players in a labor dispute of this nature, though one possible messaging strategy could be to hammer on the many teams that are not trying to win this year. We established our own evidence of baseball fans’ sentiments last week, when over 73% of the 23,000 respondents in an MLBTR poll said players are overpaid. As I noted in that post, there are plenty of reasons to believe otherwise, but at the moment that message does not seem to be getting through to fans.
It’s fascinating that they kicked a scout out. Kinda defeats the purpose no?
They are probably trying to avoid slow offseasons becoming the norm. If scouts are allowed in that incentivizes clubs to hold off on signing until Free Agent Camp opens to get a current look at players they might have questions about
That makes sense but a total media blackout? That might actually incentivize free agents who hate the media from signing early just so they get a spring without media distractions
Do you honestly think a player would rather have no offers at all just to avoid talking to the media for a few days during training camp?
Come on.
yup
That was my thought exactly. You’d think the PA would want the showcase for its players. Kinda says we got your back but you’re on your own.
Why though? That’s not the reason they’re having the camp. Players aren’t getting contracts because teams don’t want to pay them, not because their skills are eroding or have injury concerns, like the Lincecum showcase. They set this camp up so that the players could have a normalish Spring Training
This isn’t a showcase though. It’s essentially just spring training but without a team.
What the MLBPA and the players don’t want is a media circus. Any team or agent can schedule a time to see a workout for an individual player. They are just not allowed to roam around the grounds.
Talk to scouts later
But yeah this is a joke. For instance, arrita, jd and hosmer were given fair contract offers, but there they stand
Fair? Fair is what is fair to the player. Anything else is just an offer. If they don’t accept it then by definition it’s not a fair offer. You and I don’t get to make a decision as to what is fair because we are not a party to the offer. Period.
Fair is what is fair, but is fair what fair is?
This isn’t a mass tryout camp. They’re working out to be in shape for the season if they sign late.
They want teams to sign guys, not scout them. If they let scouts in, every offseason would turn into a bunch of scouts watching a bunch of second tier free agents compete for jobs in a fantasy spring training.
Boras is the biggest baby of them all and his clients aren’t even attending.
I assume by biggest baby you mean best at getting his job done?
We live in a “what have you done for me lately world”. Keeping that in mind…”what has Boras exactly done for ANY of his clients this winter”?
There’s a clear message being sent that teams are unwilling to offer deals they know they will likely regret halfway thru it’s life. We can’t fault them. Name me 1 industry that commits to an employee, long-term, knowing that they will get less production in years 4, 5 and 6 rather than seeing an employee mature into their role and ascend within the organization making the company stronger with each level of professional and personal growth?
That’s the only thing I like about the nfl. They will give you a contract but it’s only promised through x amount of money and time.
What other industry pays their employees below the poverty rate for the first 3-6 years of their career, and then does everything they can to not have to pay their employees what they would earn on the open market? Fun fact: players on the NFL practice squad make in 1 week about as much as minor leaguers make for a whole season
Players in their first 3-6 years of MLB experience are not paid below the poverty rate. Rookie salary of approximately $560K is 10-12 times the wages of the average American worker. If your argument is about the shameful salaries that minor leaguers get, then focus on that rather than the team control years at the major league level.
How about a lot? I work in Silicon Valley and the low income level here is $65,800 – yet I see tons of middle-aged people working at fast food restaurants, scrubbing toilets or working other low-paying jobs. Practically every major company hires overseas workers or establishes manufacturing overseas because they make pennies on the dollar and work below the poverty line in their own countries.
I do feel bad for minor leaguers but they really are doing something they love. when they are young and money shouldn’t be as important. They make little but revenue in the minors is not a lot. Lastly, barely 10% of anyone who plays minor league ball catches a cup of coffee in the majors so why would a team invest in some average AA 2nd baseman that realistically will never step foot in a major stadium when someone would happily take their place? Minor league teams simply need to fill out a roster knowing a relative few players graduate to the next level.
Essentially You got to be hungry and earn that spot on a major league roster, because even if you’re up for a few weeks you get a bite of the $500,000 minimum yearly salary a major leaguer enjoys.
I said the first 3-6 years of their career, not the first 3-6 years of MLB. Your career starts at the Minor League level. Surprised that needs to be made clear to some people.
not even close to below the poverty line when you include the things provided for them. They may only make as little as $12K a year from MiLB but food, room and board, transpo, equipment, per diem are all paid for. That doesn’t include AFL or winter league salaries which include the same perks or any signing bonuses that come their way.
You’re absolutely right. I have a friend who is a musician and he asks for a lot on his riders and his reasoning is that when he was a nobody he was treated badly by venues so now he considers it an equalizer.
What is poverty where you’re at?
Cut it out with facts. The jobless guys on here don’t want to hear that. All they want to hear is that the players are the bad guys for not getting offers at all or for turning down offers far below what everyone projected prior to the offseason.
Minor league players are not paid for food or room and board. They get $25 per diem while on the road and one meal provided by the team. Minor league players show up to the park before 1pm for a 7pm game and get home after midnight. A typical day is 11-12 hours. They ride hours on buses for travel. You get paid nothing to play in the AFL. ZERO. It is an exhibition. Winter league pay is less than minimum wage. About $400 a month unless you are a big star from that country.
MLB players have skills far beyond the average American worker. They are literally one in a million. Does the CEO of that company the average American worker works for paid that little? A MLB player generates $16 million in revenue on average. A star player much, much more. Even a rookie generates more 10 times the revenue he is paid.
About $400 a month? I don’t know where you’re getting those numbers from. I worked for a team in the LMP (Mexican Pacific League – winter league) for over 10 years and even Mexican rookies were making ~3k USD a month. The average foreign player (mostly American) were making ~8k USD per month. Some Mexican stars were making up to 20k. In Venezuela the government subsidizes the league and they pay some players up to 25k USD a month. It’s been a few years since I was involved in the league, the dollar-peso difference has increased a lot and probably it’s affected the salaries paid in USD; but I’m pretty sure the numbers are still similar.
Football players minor league is college so your scenario doesnt quite hold up. And secondly no one puts a gun to the head of baseball players demanding they play baseball.
@jekporkins The low paying jobs you mentioned? Yeah, Minor Leaguers make even less than them on an annual basis. Roughly half. “I do feel bad for minor leaguers but they really are doing something they love. when they are young and money shouldn’t be as important.”? Seriously? That’s what you’re going with? People keep throwing this weak argument around. Just because you enjoy what you’re doing, you shouldn’t care about your pay? Seriously?
Look up any Dirk Hayhurst article. That’ll give you a pretty good idea of what the minor leagues are really like.
“… turning down offers far below what everyone projected …”
Well if they’ve turned down offers that are far below what people projected, maybe the projections were wrong.
Projections are based on assumptions built into models, and if the assumptions are wrong then the projections generally are. There is an old saying – “garbage in/garbage out”. Well, the projectors assumed the MLB FA market would continue to rise. It hasn’t.
Name one free market in history that has gone up every year? Name one? The players wanted a free market and that’s what they have. They are free to ask whatever they want in salary and teams are free to refuse it and offer less.
Markets readjust when things get askew – even labor markets, yet you think MLB salaries should rise every year.
I’ve stated this before on this board – the players deserve as much as they can get – in negotiations.
But you have a strange sense of entitlement for the players. Well, if you want free markets sometimes they don’t go in the direction that you want. Ask anyone who’s ever owned a share of stock.
The reality is the players and agents are victims of their own past negotiating success.
Many guys have gotten monster contracts, but many have failed to deliver on them, and a high enough percentage of those contracts are sporting and have sported dead money (need I really name them all?) that smarter, analytically-based front offices are hesitant to hand out those kinds of deals anymore – particularly to guys on the wrong side of 30.
If all of those contracts had worked out things would be different,
They haven’t and they aren’t.
Deal with it.
“A typical day is 11-12 hours. They ride hours on buses for travel. You get paid nothing to play in the AFL. ZERO. It is an exhibition. Winter league pay is less than minimum wage. About $400 a month unless you are a big star from that country.”
So what? I know people in the arts who slept on floors for months at a time – six people in a 1 BR apartment in NY – because they were chasing their dreams too. Waiting tables – working in kitchens washing dishes – you name it.
WTF makes ballplayers any different? It sucks to have to do that but no one forces them to do so. They CHOOSE to do it.
Spare us the tears. Ballplayers aren’t the only ones.
$507K minimum salary is not anyway close to being under the poverty line. Now minor league players is a different story.
False. Room and board is NOT provided for minor leaguers – maybe for 1st year guys in rookie ball, but otherwise, they are on their own. And their meager salaries are what they have to use to pay the rent, buy their food (they don’t eat EVERY meal at the stadium) and pay to live – yes, they receive a per diem when they are on the road, but not much. Also, what most people don’t know is that they also have to pay their clubbies (they wash their uniforms, set up food, have their lockers set up). So while some stuff is provided (transportation, food before and after games, uniforms), they typically have to buy their own bats, etc. until they get onto a 40-man roster. Yes, they are playing a game that they love and you must have a strong passion and commitment to the game, but trust me…there is ZERO glamour in minor league baseball. They are paid garbage early on.
@tharrieo820 Seriously. It’s called entry level pay. They are playing because they want to get to The Show where they can make millions. Not a lot of industries offer that type of reward. If you don’t want to take the risk, don’t play the game and go work in an office. If you want to be an actor you take a huge risk going to Hollywood and going to auditions, getting bit parts, and starving yourself trying to make it. If you want to be a writer you crank out material that will likely never sell. If you want to work for a startup you take a huge pay cut with the hopes of it getting bought or going public where you make money.
This isn’t a weak argument – this is life. You can take a risk and hope you get the lottery ticket or you accept everything at its terms and take a position somewhere where you get to be comfortable but unsatisfied.
I get what you’re saying, but there is quite a difference between the industries you mentioned in comparison to minor league baseball. If an actor doesn’t feel like going to an audition, he doesn’t have to. If a writer wants to go to the beach instead of writing, he goes to the beach instead of writing. If a painter wants to travel across country to paint whatever moves him, he travels across country to paint whatever moves him. There is no such “freedom to choose” in baseball. You are literally a slave to your job. It is their choice to play…yes…but once they sign on the dotted line, they are OWNED by their baseball team and have ZERO control — sometimes no matter HOW good they are — to what happens in their careers. Like someone above said…they work 11-12 hour days in the hopes that MAYBE, just maybe, they will get their shot. It’s like being in the military. They don’t get to choose ANYTHING. No days off. No vacation. You are merely a number and unless you are a phenom superstar, you are only part of the herd. It’s a sad business, honestly, and most guys…up until opening day, they almost always don’t know where their first baseball game will be played. It is a huge sacrifice, yes, and the reward is obviously significant, but to make the comparison you did, is just wrong.
No, the comparison is valid. No one forces them to play baseball. They can walk away at any time.
Best at getting his job done? You were joking right? He has not obtained a contract for any of his clients. Not one. And all of them now are starting to mis spring training.
He has not done his job at all!
That is exactly what he means. If he had the 1 in 10 million skills to be a FA in baseball, he would absolutely want Boras as his agent or someone else just as good.
Boras is greedy and encourages his clients to be greedy. Teams should just stop dealing with Boras.
Greedy? His job is to get as much money for his players as possible. I don’t necessarily love player’s holding out for tons of money, but these owners are billionaires. Let’s not act like players and Boras are the bad guys here, they have every right to get as much money as they can.
And the teams have every right to wait them out. Regardless what Boras says his clients are worth it’s only as good as a team is willing to pay them. Holding out for more is holding his clients back from going into spring training with their team.
His job is to get what the market can bear, except that what he thinks the market is and what the OWNERS of the business think, are too far off. At some point you have to look after your “employers” ie the players, and get them a job
His job is to find the best fit for his clients. It’s not all about getting the most money unless they tell him that’s all they care about.. Other agents don’t play his game because it compromises their principles. There would be much more turmoil in the game if every agent operated like Boras.
Boras has a fiduciary responsibility to also relate to his clients the temperature of the market. Is he really serving a guy like J.D. to continue to hold out despite the fact that the clarity of his market is evident? At this point is it realistic to think his market exists beyond the Red Sox and Diamondbacks? Boras is used to finding one over zealous owner to do something foolish. I think those days are coming to a close. If I’m the Sox I don’t budge. Owners can find other players to play his position. They may not produce at JD’s level but they also don’t cost over $150 mil. and can be replaced by another player if they become available.
Market dictates value
Teams market dictates what they can spend no matter what they have. They could have billions of dollars but if their payroll sits around 120 mil a year and they revenue sits around 140 mil a year.. how much can they really bend? This is a business
Well lets not act like the owners are the bad guys. They have the right to NOT give out these 7-10 year deals
Agreed. I’ve been a successful high school teacher and coach for almost 30 years and have yet to crack $60k a year. I once played in the low minors, because I loved the game. I have no regrets at all. It’s a game, and the market sets the prices, and one day, I had to make a decision that I wanted a family, and I wasn’t going to be able to do that on a minor league salary. Priorities like any job, and life…
Boras is greedy. His job is to get the most money for this clients, thus enhancing his bottom line but hes taking stats from 1 year or 3 years ago saying the player will perform at that level for years to come, i.e. arietta’s case.
If the teams, plural, have the right to wait the players out, then they made a collective decision to do so. That is restraint of trade, better known as collusion.
That would mean the players have every right to strike.
It is not just a game, its entertainment. Just like movies. Just like TV.
In other words, you didn’t have the 1 in 10 million skills to become a major league FA. That you have not cracked 60k is your own decision, not an indictment of the FA players getting paid for committing 10 plus years to becoming a FA.
What they don’t have the right to do is completely freeze out 99 FA that ended last year on major league rosters. That is restraint of trade, better known as collusion.
OMG. It is astounding how many of you are ignorant enough to think that any one agent controls the market. He has 7 guys that are still on the market. There are 99 FA that were on MLB rosters at the end of the season.
The smallest revenue in baseball was $205 million in 2017. All teams revenue will go up in 2018. If you are going to use numbers, at least know what you are talking about.
While I generally agree with the notion that it’s ridiculous to suggest Boras alone is holding up the market (or even that he’s among the top two to three primary factors), he has far more than seven players on the market.
I count 19, currently, though that includes Trevor Rosenthal, who reportedly isn’t planning to sign until the 2018-19 offseason (Greg Holland style). A lot of those guys are obvious Minor League deal candidates (e.g. Desmond Jennings), but he has quite a bit more than seven.
Its probably the Russians right? Everbody should know by now that the big dominos fall 1st, set the market, then the lower tier guys sign. And then your 99 frozen guys will sign.
So its back to Boars. It’s not hard.
“What they don’t have the right to do is completely freeze out 99 FA that ended last year on major league rosters. That is restraint of trade, better known as collusion.”
I’ve challenged you before to do this:
GO through the list of FAs that MLBTR provides on this site and provide an analysis, that includes their ages and the aging curve, of how many of those 99 guys are going to be guaranteed or even project to be able to produce more than an early/mid-20’s guy who makes the team out of ST.
The fact that you’ve ignored the challenge speaks volumes.
Yupper
Boras is actually a pretty easy going and generous guy….he’s good at his job and his job is to get his clients the most money possible.
Boras doesn’t want his clients engaging with other fa’s, swapping info and possibly losing his clients. Players talk and compare
Players can talk and compare all year … why would talking in this camp be any different?
His players can be at IMG as well. He only has 7 that are still on the market and since we don’t know who is there, you have no way of knowing if they are there or not.
Let’s be 100% honest here about Scott Boras … I’d say the majority of people that bash him would either hire him or at least give it serious consideration if they were professional athletes about to potentially get paid handsomely … because honestly the man gets his job done … and done well
Why is it called secretive?
Um…the reasons laid out in the article?
Hey what’s up Tim nice info hope all is well buddy!
The whole part where they’re keeping everything secret
perhaps because it’s…secretive…
Very good point. Seems players are still losing the PR war. Regular working people have a hard time connecting to professional athletes “problems” (not enough zeros and commas in my check) as it is. Secluding themselves off somewhere until a “suitable offer” is made just proves the point.
If you have a hard time connecting to millions, how about ZERO for 99 six year FA still on the market? How about billions? Like the $12 billion MLB brought in for 2017, 20% higher than 2016, for the entertainment the players provided us? Can you relate with that better?
That there are nearly 100 FA still on the market that were on MLB rosters at seasons end shows that the owners made a collective decision not to sign FA. Can you relate with that? Probably not since it has never happened before, not even in the year that owners were found guilty of collusion.
Market correction. Young players are increasingly impacting the game and are cheap so why pay post-arb guys crazy money? Increase salarys of the arbitration guys and maybe FA’s will get higher offers due to cost-benefit ratios.
How is it secretive?
How is it not?
You know, I see the appeal in commenting and waiting for somebody to tell you why. But, personally, I prefer to just read the article.
Double secret probation.
The Pirates need to sign Jarrod Dyson today.
I don’t like the idea of Dyson, because he would likely want a 2 year deal. The pirates are likely only going to have a hole in the outfield until June or July, so why get a 2 year replacement? For a team tight on money like the pirates, it doesn’t seem smart.
Why not use him as a 4th outfielder once Meadows is ready? Good weapon to have on the bench.
He’s gonna want 6-8 mil a year. The pirates aren’t spending that for a fourth outfielder.
You should be able to rent a plane & pilot from a local flight school and fly a thousand feet overhead for hours, perfectly legally. The proximity to Sarasota’s airport means you’d need to coordinate with their tower to be there, but they’d likely grant permission (and should not be accomodating IMG’s requests to the contrary). Would make for a nice MLBTR scoop!
I immediately thought of drones upon reading this.
that pretty much sums this up…..Bo Porter
Helicopter?
Drone?
Where there’s a will there’s a way.
quickly get trevor Bauer on this!
Fishy. Let’s point out Matt Kemp. A guy being paid by 3 different organizations. He is single handily impeding the Dodgers from bettering their team, and even to little effect other teams stuck with dead money.
This also is keeping them from signing and what Boras wants as “overpaying” for free agents on the market. So it’s these contracts itself stoping teams from signing free agents even if they want to. So you can blame these deals directly on the lack of deals this offseason.
Indirectly, this has caused apprehension to make a mistake like that again. And Matt Kemp is just one of a long list that have hurt teams and their fans from watching/fielding a winning team.
You complain about the small markets. But a small market team had situations like Kemp,Pujols,Cabrera,Hayward,Chen,Choo,Feilder to name a few they would be set back for years. That would be bad for the fans that want to see their team compete.
Finally, many fans generally enjoy watching a team rebuild and watch a group of kids grow and succeed in the majors like the Royals,Cubs,Astros. Why can’t people understand this??
the dodgers can spend on other free agents, they won’t because they don’t want to exceed the luxury tax line.
If you think I’m wrong and you think Hosmer deserves a 9 year deal and JD deserves a 8 year deal please let me know. I’m genuinely curious why people would downvote that since 73% of people on this site agree with my opinion. So to the 27% please I’m genuinely curious about your opinion?
I don’t believe that Hosmer or J.D deserve those lengths.
To me that is saying the Dodgers can’t spend. They have already spent $150M in luxury tax overages in 5 years. If they don’t reset after this year then they basically kiss Kershaw goodbye after this year. There is also that little think with the debt service rule as well which they have to worry about otherwise they get even more penalized. I would call this a “can’t”.
Bull. The Dodgers will have over $500 million in revenue in 2018 and more in 2019. They can sign Kershaw no matter what. They can spend $300 million on payroll and CBT and still be profitable. The only thing that is stopping them from going over the CBT is an agreement between the owners not to.
“The only thing that is stopping them from going over the CBT is an agreement between the owners not to.”
OK, I can be convinced. Prove it.
At least Pujols actually puts in effort. Sure it was too long of a contract but I’d say the Angels got held back more by the Josh Hamilton fiasco. So glad that is behind them now. CJ Wilson’s last couple years weren’t much better.
This year is looking much better and it didn’t involve any huge overpriced contracts.
Yeah I agree that was my point. Bad contracts shattered Angels fans dreams for years. Am I wrong? I would love for someone to debate me on this I’m always looking to learn and understand. I respect everyone’s opinions.
The Angels had horrible production out of left field for years largely because they were paying Hamilton $25 million to NOT play left field. Didn’t leave a lot of money for guys who actually attempted to play left field.
The Dodgers chose to trade for Kemp.
IMG must stand for I’M Greedy academy… oh wait, Boras clients aren’t attending…
The point is because of bad contracts like Kemp.
I don’t understand how some fans can call players greedy yet these billionaire owners are making way much more money and ripping off cities with these stadiums?
one calling a player greedy doesnt necessarily mean owners arent greedy too.
Your comment suggests that the owner should overpay for the declining years of their players “just cause” they can. That’s really the argument isn’t it? If JD was offered 5 years @ $20-$25 mil that sounds fair for a guy who is currently 30 years old, has missed about 80 games to injuries the last two years, is a major liability in the field and best suited for the most non-skilled positions in baseball, the DH. That’s his market. Boras routinely thinks that a “compromise” is finding the literal middle-ground between whatever crazy offer he initially floats out there (in JD’s case $200 mil) and whatever the teams are offering. For Boras, a victory is if he can get an offer for $150 mil total value. But if there’s no competing offers about $100 mil (for argument sake) then why should they give in and bid against themselves? For the benefit of the agent and their client?
Another dumas that doesn’t realize that the camp and the players ire is not about the handful of top players that are not signed. It is about the nearly 100 FA players that were good enough to be on MLB season ending rosters last season that are still unsigned. Keep your eyes on the ball.
Couldn’t some of those FA’s been on ML teams because of injuries to some players, who are healthy going into this yr?
Local area blackout in Spring Training. That’s new.
A Free Agent can be any player who no longer is under contract with a team and has cleared waivers……right? My guess is there might be 2 or 3 players out of 70 players that are potential or experienced MLB-level players at this camp but the rest are likely just minor leaguers who couldn’t catch on anywhere. I would think MLB-caliber players wouldn’t want to attend for fear of diminishing their value by playing with “perceived” lesser players and possibly risking injury in the process. This type of camp doesn’t seem be of value to anyone other than players who have no where else to go………..and IMG ain’t free so who is footing the bill?
My thoughts too. Tim wrote this:
“This offseason has been decidedly abnormal in the sheer volume of quality unsigned players…”
If we are discussing the guys in the top 50, yes, maybe.
But the problem for the marginal “quality” player is that teams have figured out that a 23-25 year old callup can provide that same quality off the bench for a lot less money.
Take some of the pitchers and a team like the Phillies.
With all of the young arms they have, what is the guarantee that one of the marginal FA SP can outperform them?
In years past teams would have signed more of these guys but those days appear to be over.
There are 31 FA still available that had a 2.0 WAR or greater. That is not marginal players. That is everyday starters.
what have they averaged the last 3 – 5 seasons, and how old are they?
You continually try to mislead people on this site with the proposition that what a player did last season is what they’ll do going forward. (Like trying to sell Hosmer as a 4 WAR player because he’s done it for one season out of a 7 year career)
That is at best simply wishful thinking, and at worst odious deception –
and you know it.
Try being honest and balanced FCOL.
According to Ken Rosenthal, as of 8 am eastern today there were 99 six year players that were on season-ending active rosters that are still unsigned. Nearly 100 to start the day.
IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. According to USA Today, the first workout is today. Former Astros manager Bo Porter is set to preside over the proceedings.
I wonder if they can play exhibition games with other teams like Colleges do and other Countries
Plus, Bradenton is centrally located for the Orioles and Pirates to pick the low hanging fruit because of the convenience. Although, I do wonder if you have to know the ‘secret’ handshake to get in to this camp?
Is there just too much talent in the game now for 30 teams? I’ve been saying that for at least 2 years now about fantasy baseball but my friends don’t agree of bumping it from 10 to 12 lol
uh, no.
It’s hard to find fits for a lot of guys. There isn’t a ton of need. Granted I guess that would be different if about 10 teams weren’t rebuilding.
IMG = Insert More Green Academy
sounds like it’s secretive!
Owners collusion
I think I understand the secrecy. Agents don’t want their clients competing against one another in front one team’s scout at a time. They want multiple teams competing for their clients one player at a time. They don’t want the camp to turn into an outlet mall. Rather, they want their clients to train and then audition in front of a bunch of executives.
You would think they would want to be seen.
Tony C worried about his job. These unsigned guys are his secret shame. Keep them in the closet/basement.
MLBPA ran a ST for unsigned FA in 1995. It was open and one benefit was players could showcase their talents to scouts.
Double Secret Probation….ssshhhh…..
The Orioles haven’t tried to win since 1992.
They’re like going to see the Ice Follies or Circus. It’s just a show.
Over a 6 year period ending in 2016 the Orioles had the best record in baseball.
Over a 6 year period ending in 2016 (2010-2016), the Orioles were far from having the best record in baseball… totally untrue and far from accurate. Stick to facts please.
If your going to use stats, please use them. From 2010 to 2016, the 6 years you quoted, he Orioles were far from the best record.
STL 637 wins
NYY 627 wins
TEX 620 wins
LAD 617 wins
SFG 607 wins
DET 607 wins
LAA 590 wins
BOS 587 wins
****BAL 579 wins***
9 teams with better records…
“Keep your eyes on the ball!”
Fly the Flag!
Donald Trump or Outinleftfield post?
“Over a 6year period ending in 2016 the Orioles has the best record in baseball.”
Whaaaaaaat?
The last thing they want are stories (or even whispers) getting out that “____ looked a little slow” or “____ lost a bit off their fastball” and hurting what little leverage these players have left.
They’ve already failed their members enough.
The guys I have heard attending are guys who weren’t playing in the big leagues last year. If you don’t let anyone see them at camp there is really no reason for those players to attend. Players who are going to get multi year contracts for big dollars aren’t going to attend because if they get injured they will be throwing millions of dollars away.
You and I have no idea who is attending. All we know is that FA players are allowed to work out there. There were 99 six year players that were on MLB rosters that were still FA as of 8 am eastern today.
Any team or scout can request to see the workout of any individual player in the FA camp.
Have you heard of insurance?
Maybe it’s secretive because the players are there to workout at their leisure? If clubs want to scout they can set it up like mentioned, but for media to be there they had to decide whether it would be a distraction or not especially considering these guys are looking for jobs they probably erred in the side of caution.
Solution: drone or helicopter
Counter solution: Shotgun/lawsuit. It’s private property and “booked” for a private function. in FL “It is not legal to take pictures from the air of a person or their property without permission”
(The shotgun was tongue in cheek although for a drone I wouldn’t mind)
In Fl you can use a shotgun to shoot down a drone legally if it is over your property.
Didn’t look it up…as I said…that was tongue in cheek although I wish it was law everywhere when they are used for snooping.
Dump the over rated slug NOW!
The reason why fans don’t side with the players in this issue is because the fans can’t fathom turning down millions of dollars because they think they’re worth more.
What fans don’t realize is that the people that are running the teams are making even more money off of those players than they’re giving out to them.
Also, the people that voted in that poll are ignorant. Players are NOT overpaid. The entire reason people go to professional sports games is to see the players. Nobody would pay to see the Yankees if they just threw a high school team out there in Yankees uniforms.
Guys who sign with Boras do so because they want to get PAID MAX $, period end of story. MLBPA has been behind the curve for the last few years with the changes in the marketplace and have been trying to catch up and are doing so poorly. This closed camp seems like a short term decision and another example of “poorly”.
MLBPA’s view of the 1-3yr class as apprentices to veterans is the root of the problem they now find themselves in. In addition to minimum wage/service time increases, next round of negotiations they need to have a component of 1-3yr wage that is performance based . Some agreed upon version of WAR multiplied by some dollar figure that’s paid out as bonus.. A rookie turns in a 2.0 WAR season, the bonus factor for Yr 1 players is $75K (2.0 x $75K = $150K extra pay. It shouldn’t be subject to CBT, either putting a team in the tax or increase a team’s tax.
I can agree with the general concept of performance pay. That will end the standard player contract in the CBA, and from now on contracts based on performance can be negotiated with players. No performance, no pay. Also, walkaway contracts can be introduced. Somehow, I don’t think the one-sided pro-player advocates are going to accept that.
You see, the problem is you can’t have it both ways. You can’t claim that younger players should be rewarded for performance, while older players should be shielded from lack of performance. Cuts both ways.
Something I haven’t read a whole lot about with this FA freeze is the draft pick compensation attached to some of these “top tier” players. Granted this argument isn’t relevant for a player like JDM but his journey and reasons for not signing to this point is well documented. For players like Hosmer or Moose, however, why would a “rebuilding” team that has no intentions of contending sacrifice the very draft picks they require to rebuild to plug in a high priced veteran on an otherwise losing season? Likewise, with the value placed on younger talent pretty much universally these days, why should a contender give up both huge dollars AND draft picks for what is more likely than not only half of a good contract.?
I don’t have a solution, but it seems to me that (one of) the biggest contributors to this boring offseason is the current CBA. Specifically the luxury tax and QO systems. Much moreso than just the “greed” of the players and/or owners.
The Real camps opened today for the 30 MLB teams, and MLBTR runs a feature article today on this “fake news” camp? Who cares about the players at this camp? They aren’t good enough to get a major league team to offer them even a minor league deal. And/or they are over the hill, washed up players at the end of their careers, who have been replaced by very affordable young guys who will produce as well as, or better than these over-priced has beens. I don’t fault any owner for choosing to give the young guys a shot rather than shell out million of risky money for bad production. This isn’t a news item. This is a retirement home.
Yes, because guys who might be attending like Alex Cobb, Carlos Gomez, Tony Watson, Lance Lynn, Andrew Cashner, Neil Walker etc. Haven’t even received a minor league deal much less a multimillion dollar deal…
Doesn’t make any sense to me why they wouldn’t want scouts or media there.
Media are the only ones that can give the MLBPA and Players some press time.
Scouts and Clubs are the ones that will get them jobs.
Sure the private work outs are a nice bone to throw but doesn’t make sense.. you’d think the Union would want they’re players to be seen.
Most secretive spring training since
si.com/mlb/2014/10/15/curious-case-sidd-finch
Wonder how much “training” will be going on … just imagine if one of the players tears an ACL or breaks a foot/hand … wonder also who is running all the drills … probably going to be pitchers throwing one pitch and saying that’s all for today just like Charlie Sheen did in Major League II and then heading for the nearest golf course or strip club.
Insurance.
“Here are a few additional details that the union has provided in an email that Rosenthal obtained:
•Bo Porter will lead the proceedings; no personal trainers will be allowed
•the union is arranging travel, housing, per diems, and insurance
•camp will open next Wednesday and run through at least March 4th”
mlbtraderumors.com/2018/02/mlbpa-preparing-spring-…
The difference between this and spring training is games played and the MLBPA is footing the bill not the teams
According to Ken Rosenthal, as of 8 am eastern there were 99 six year players still on the market. 99 FA players that ended last season on a major league roster. All 99 should be expected to sign a deal somewhere. There are another 40 players that have more than 6 years of service time that are also FA. There were 162 players that have played in the majors at some point in their careers, but did not end the season on a 40 man roster that are also FA. The last 2 groups are the guys that typically sign the majority of minor league deals.
This is a mistake. All this does is scream we are not on the same page. The cream of the crop are not there.
This is as funny as it gets. Older players, failing to adjust to the new market, pretending that by hanging out at a secret camp they are somehow ready for the brass ring to be extended to them.
unmanned aerial drones
Manned double barrel shotguns followed by lawsuits. It is illegal to take a photo from the air without consent in Florida and its legal to shoot down a drone over your property.
With the altitude you can take photos from now a shotgun would never do it. I doubt you could be accurate enough with a real gun either. Besides, what kind of fun hating person would shoot a drone?
MLBPA needs to figure out to win this PR war. A secret camp just sounds bad. I get that they don’t want negative reviews, but there ought to be a way to send some MLB writers to write some puff pieces. Also, the players are men and baseball is a game of overcoming failure. It’s just feels weak and overprotective.
I don’t know why the players don’t sign a non roster deal with a free agency opt out. If I was a player, I’d rather be in a real camp.
I wonder if the Major League Free Agents are rooting for the Olympic Athletes from Russia?
I’m willing to bet that most of the guys are from cold weather areas where they can’t really get the outdoor work in. Hitting outside and pitching to live hitters is much more conducive than cages and indoor facilities in cold weather area.
Its probably the Russians right? Everbody should know by now that the big dominos fall 1st, set the market, then the lower tier guys sign. And then your 99 frozen guys will sign.
So its back to Boars. It’s not hard.