Some stray items from around the baseball world…
- It still isn’t clear if the Dodgers will call up infield prospect Gavin Lux this season, as FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (video link) said the team is “not ruling out” the possibility that Lux could yet make his big league debut. The potential upside is obvious, as Lux is hitting .407/.493/.747 with 12 homers over 213 Triple-A plate appearances and clearly has nothing left to prove in the minors. If Lux was called up and installed at second base, however, that would leave L.A. with a logjam of A.J. Pollock, Chris Taylor, Enrique Hernandez, and Joc Pederson between two outfield positions, as Max Muncy would then become the regular first baseman and Cody Bellinger would play every day in either center or (more likely) right field. And that’s not even counting other bench options like Matt Beaty, Jedd Gyorko, or how currently-injured players like Alex Verdugo or David Freese would fit back into the roster. Further developments (injuries, slumps, etc.) could change the situation in the coming weeks, of course, so there’s still time for the Dodgers to decide whether not to make Lux a part of their late-season and postseason plans.
- Coming off an injury-shortened 2018 season, Logan Morrison went through a quiet offseason of offers before taking a minor league deal with the Yankees in April, and then opting out on July 1 and then catching on with the Phillies on another minors contract. This has led to appearing in seven MLB games for the Phils, though Morrison tells Fangraphs’ David Laurila that he is considering playing in Japan or South Korea due to both interest in a new cultural experience for he and his family, as well as recognizing his limited future opportunities in North American baseball. “You look at rosters and know that you’re better than guys, but at the end of the day it doesn’t matter because of the economic situation,” the 32-year-old Morrison said. “Having someone under control for six years is more important than them actually being good. The game has turned into where being young is a tool. If you ask baseball people, and fans who want their teams to win, that shouldn’t be the case. Unfortunately it is.” While a lack of contractual interest wasn’t surprising following Morrison’s rough 2018 campaign, he also faced a cool market in the aftermath of a 2017 season that saw him hit .246/.353/.516 and 38 homers for the Rays. That big year only led to a one-year, $6.5MM guarantee from the Twins, with a club/vesting option that could have added another season and $10MM to the contract.
- Xander Bogaerts (and his twin brother Jair) signed with the Red Sox on August 23, 2009, and in commemoration of a decade passing since that key signing, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe looked back at the circumstances that led the Sox to the superstar shortstop. The team was only starting to expand its developmental base in the Caribbean, and it was when scout Mike Lord held Boston’s first workout in Aruba that Lord met Jair, only to learn that this impressive young prospect’s brother was an even better player. Since Xander was absent from the tryout due to chicken pox, Lord arranged for a later private workout, and a film of Xander’s session quickly impressed Boston’s front office. A handshake deal was reached to sign both twins within the week, and though teams like the Yankees, Mariners, Braves, Astros, and Reds all tried to top Boston’s offer, the Bogaerts brothers stuck to their initial agreement with the Red Sox. The rest is history, as Xander has emerged as one of the game’s best players.
The X man has a good soul, evident from his first signing to his recent extension. Not once did you ever hear X man talk about FA like another teammate does. I think when it’s all done he’s going to be the team leader, leading by example.
Maybe some of that is because when he signed his extension prior to the 2019 season he still would have been under team control for 2 seasons 2019 & 2020 before he could become a FA.
Xander was due for free agency after 2018, iirc
Sorry but you are wrong. after the 2018 season he only had 5.04 years on MLB service. He wasn’t scheduled to become a FA until AFTER the 2019 season.
He was eligible to be a FA after this season, not the 2020 season like you stated above
Point is the Red Sox still controlled him for this year without having to extend him. His options were very limited.
Lmao that statement is both factually incorrect in the sense that he definitely would not have had limited options (since he would’ve had a handful of suitors when he hit free agency after this season) AND that it was not the point you were trying to make, as he was only controlled for this season and not also 2020.
Pinball did you say that Xander’s options were limited. All Xander had to do was wait for free agency at the end of the season and not sign an extension. He wanted to stay with Boston end of story. You are getting confused with other signings where they buy out the pre-arb and arb years that didn’t happen here. Just let this one go you are wrong.
Pinball you are wrong on this one Xander signed the extension and it starts next year. He would of been a free agent this offseason so he signed 100/5 extension before hitting free agency. His contract extension starts next year so your argument is incorrect sir. Xander’s extension kicks in on the first year of when he could of been a free agent. He wanted to be a Red Sox and he overruled Boras who almost certainly wanted him to test free agency. It is looking like a great deal for Boston.
So what?? The point is that Xander WANTED to stay in Boston. Who CARES about the other arguments. He is loyal and happy in Boston and was not interested in leaving for more $$. Mookie could take a lesson and JD too.
Or maybe he wanted the security knowing he’d still hit free agency with a big contract ahead of him.
Maybe Mookie is happy playing in Boston but isn’t happy living in Boston. Maybe he wants to live closer to family. Maybe money is the most important thing to him. Maybe he just wants to try something new. Or maybe it’s a ploy to try and secure the best contract and stay in Boston.
We don’t know and every player’s experience and motivation is a little different. Any way you look at it it’s never wrong to want to be paid market value for your services after he’s put his time in.
You are so right Randy! I am sick to death listening to Mookie yap about FA. I say trade him n see how good he really is. He needs a strong lineup around him. And if JD goes, so be it. Boston was the only team after him in 2018, I’m sure Boris isn’t happy with the X man’s signing. JD is not a Harper., n he was missing most of season till now, affecting Mookie’s production. I would sign Devers long term, I saw Ortiz in him with his future.
@coachbrad, sure, Mookie has different priorities. That’s why he’s declined an extension where Xander took one. But as fans, we appreciate players who prioritize our town, and our team. Mookie seems to have priorities other than Boston, which is his prerogative, but Sox fans don’t have to like it.
Some players play to win and are happy with the enormous amounts of money that they make in the process. Other players play to be great to see how much money they can make because they are great. I believe excellence is a worthy goal. Fame, wealth and power are trivial matters that just about anyone can possess. Achieving excellence has the potential to lead to those other three categories but they are only goals for the truly shallow person. Xander is achieving excellence and is a winning player and not concerned with trivialities. In short, he gets it.
A team player who wants team success. Nothing against others but how many $25m – $30+m players can a team have? His taking less will be reinvested for sure but if tried to get every last $$, the team would have to bring back Daniel Bard to close.
Freese, Hill, and Verdugo won’t come off the IL until after September 1. Urias won’t be eligible for reinstatement until then either. Aren’t September rosters always a logjam?
If they need another 40-man slot for Lux or anybody else, Tyler White is an obvious DFA candidate, along with a few useless relievers being carried currently.
Alvarez and Ruiz to 60 day DL is two 40 man spots right there. And as you said Jamie Shultz, Tyler White can get be DFA or get a phantom 60 day injury
Yup and another thing, October isn’t about having the best 40-man roster, it’s about having the best 25. Depth that might have mattered for the previous six months is no longer a factor. This weekend told everybody who cared to notice that the Dodgers do not have the best 25-man roster right now. Making that selection has to be done wisely and they now have only a few weeks left to do it. Calling up Lux or not makes for an interesting sideshow, but it really doesn’t have much if anything to do with the critical task of constructing the postseason roster.
With the way the offense has been down the past few weeks getting a look at Lux should happen.
They are being coy about Lux but I think they bring him up on Sept. 1 just to get a look at him at this level, and not because they believe he’d make the postseason 25-man. Notice, it is not about winning the division at this point. It’s about getting the postseason roster right.
Logan Morrison is in no position to criticize MLB for going with younger players. If he had performed even half-way decently last year he would have had a job this year. (Please don’t blame it on injury, because there was never a mention of a season-long injury until he was put on the then-DL).
Morrison is correct.
Youth isn’t a tool. It’s an asset.
Just like durability. And consistency.
Unfortunately for him he’s a one or two year contract type of player who came to free agency at exactly the wrong time.
I’m not sure Logan Morrison’s argument holds much water in his case. I think teams are showing that if you perform, you can at least find short term deals, they just aren’t doling out long term contract for guys with questionable track records who are on the wrong side of 30. LoMo is a role player and someone who has never been able to stay on the field. There are certainly guys who fall into the category that he mentions, but they still find short term deals or minor league deals and I’m sure his situation will be a major topic in the next CBA. Players should be looking to get more money earlier in their careers, but I’m sure they will screw that up and try to encourage teams to bring back long term deals to fading veteran players.
Logan, Gluck in Korea…doesn’t mean you still have a job in 2 yrs….ask the brewers
Call up Lux for a taste of big league action if he absolutely goes nuts them make it work…most likely he gets the call to get some time around the big club but is left off postseason roster
LA has quite a luxury on their hands and a tough decision to make after this season. They’re a great team right now and they could be even better next season.
i can understand LoMo’s distaste for the current direction of the league and believe his points are somewhat founded, though he really has no legs to stand on claiming anyone should have wanted him over x random young player coming into this season.
LoMo is a money ho.
Yes, Logan, teams will take a mediocre young player who MIGHT be good one day over a mediocre older player who will likely always be mediocre.
And, in fact, almost any consumer choosing between two similar products will choose the cheaper version.
Sayonara.
The entitlement of veteran MLB players, in general, is kind of vulgar.
Yes, a decade ago, guys like them got overpaid at the end of their careers. Just like auto workers used to make very good livings. Now, they either make far less or their jobs are gone and have been moved. to other countries.
But…we and they should boo hoo because Logan Morrison doesn’t have an MLB job for life?
Remember when pro players needed an off season second job (I.e. Richie Hebner as a grave digger). Guaranteed contracts, free agency and huge bonuses are great for the player but hurts the sport. As a fan growing up in the 70s I rooted for “my guys on my team”. Catfish, McNally and Messersmith changed things. Boy was I excited when Boston inked Bill Campbell, their first signing but then I was crushed a few years later when a stupid front office goofed, allowing Fisk to leave and forcing the team to trade Lynn and Burleson. They actually got Carney Langford back only to double down on stupidity by flipping him after winning a batting title for Tony Armas.
Morrison is correct, but that’s smart of teams. Truth be told, that very reasoning is probably why he’s appeared in the majors during all or parts of every season since 2010.
Morrison is right–at least mostly right. Teams want the maximum performance for the dollar, but for too many of them, the dollar becomes more important than the performance. They would actually prefer to have a replacement-value player for MLB minimum rather than a 2.5WAR player for $5M. The logic is irrefutable–if you are going to lose anyway, and a lot of your revenue is essentially guaranteed, why spend money on players? But Morrison is the wrong guy to be making this case–he’s not good enough.
I think you did a better job explaining LoMo’s point than he did, assuming that is what he meant. Certainly teams intentionally not being competitive is going to effect fringe guys like LoMo since if you’re going to lose, no reason to spend a lot of money doing it.
He’s wrong if he thinks that logic extends to multi year deals. A 22 year old with 5 years of control might not be worth as much as a 32 year old in the first season of a 5 year deal, but as the seasons progress the younger player will be worth much more.
I’m sure he’d find work if he was willing to accept one year deals commensurate with his production. The problem is he wants to be paid the next three years for the production he generated two years ago, and that ain’t happening.
the Royals still have uncertainty at first base for next year….Perhaps LoMo would like to return to his hometown & play for them?
Teams don’t just use lots of younger players because they are cheaper…. Many are out performing veterans. It would be fun to see a stat comparison between players 25 younger and 26 and older to see the difference.
If the Dodgers don’t call up Gavin Lux, they won’t win it all. .407? Come on.
Come on, it’s in the PCL.
Really??? You’re not going to tell us what happened to Jair?
Yeah, was thinking the same thing.
Click the link where it says his name. It tells you everything you need to know.
Not really. BBR says he had a .791 OPS in 186 PA in the DSL in 2011, then disappeared.