At the start of the offseason, 277 players were on 40-man rosters and eligible for arbitration. That number has been pared back substantially as all 30 teams have worked to trim the fringes of their rosters. For those who remain, the non-tender deadline is this coming Monday at 8pm ET. By that point, teams must inform arbitration-eligible players whether they will receive a (non-guaranteed) contract for the 2020 season, or else become free agents. Once a player is tendered a contract, the two sides will have another roughly two months to work out salaries before arbitration hearings kick off in February. Non-tendered players immediately become free agents who can sign with another team for any amount.
As we do each year at MLBTR, we’re providing a list of players whose teams could potentially elect not to tender them a contract, thus sending them into the free-agent pool earlier than expected. It should be emphasized that we’re not indicating that each of these players is likely to be non-tendered (though that’s certainly the case with some of them). Typically, we list any player for which we can envision at least a 10-20 percent chance of a non-tender.
It should also be noted that some of these non-tender candidates will be traded in the next few days rather than simply cut loose. Some could also be claimed by another team on waivers. Orioles second baseman Jonathan Villar, for instance, is currently on outright waivers and may land with another team. Other borderline candidates may be presented with an offer that is notably lower than their projected salary and could accept the “take it or leave it” ultimatum rather than being non-tendered.
Onto the list, with salary projections (included in parentheses below) coming courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.
Position Players
Tim Beckham, INF, Mariners ($3MM — Beckham still has 32 games remaining on an 80-game PED suspension)
C.J. Cron, 1B, Twins ($7.7MM)
Charlie Culberson, INF/OF, Braves ($1.8MM)
Cheslor Cuthbert, 3B, Royals ($1.8MM)
Elias Diaz, C, Pirates ($1.4MM)
Wilmer Difo, INF, Nationals ($1.2MM)
Brandon Drury, INF/OF, Blue Jays ($2.5MM)
Maikel Franco, 3B, Phillies ($5.7MM)
Erik Gonzalez, INF, Pirates ($800K)
Cesar Hernandez, 2B, Phillies ($11.8MM)
Caleb Joseph, C, D-backs ($1.2MM)
Jake Lamb, 1B/3B, D-backs ($5MM)
Luke Maile, C, Blue Jays ($800K)
Sandy Leon, C, Red Sox ($2.8MM)
John Ryan Murphy, C, Braves ($1.2MM)
Jose Peraza, INF, Reds ($3.6MM)
Josh Phegley, C, Athletics ($2.2MM)
Chad Pinder, INF/OF, Athletics ($1.8MM)
Kevin Pillar, CF, Giants ($9.7MM)
Jurickson Profar, INF, Athletics ($5.8MM)
Joey Rickard, OF, Giants ($1.1MM)
Addison Russell, 2B/SS, Cubs ($5.1MM)
Tyler Saladino, 2B/SS, Brewers ($1MM)
Domingo Santana, OF/DH, Mariners ($4.4MM)
Travis Shaw, 3B/1B, Brewers ($4.7MM)
Steven Souza Jr., OF, D-backs ($4.125MM)
Tony Wolters, C, Rockies ($2MM)
Starters
Tyler Anderson, LHP, Giants ($2.625MM)
Kevin Gausman, RHP, Reds ($10.6MM)
Aaron Sanchez, RHP, Astros ($5.6MM — Sanchez is recovering from shoulder surgery that’ll sideline him into 2020)
Jose Urena, RHP, Marlins ($4MM)
Relievers
Scott Alexander, LHP, Dodgers ($1MM)
Adam Conley, LHP, Marlins ($1.6MM)
Chris Devenski, RHP, Astros ($2MM)
Yimi Garcia, RHP, Dodgers ($1.1MM)
Javy Guerra, RHP, Nationals ($1.3MM)
Koda Glover, RHP, Nationals ($700K)
Derek Law, RHP, Blue Jays ($1.3M)
Chaz Roe, RHP, Rays ($2.2MM)
Hunter Strickland, RHP, Nationals ($1.9MM)
Blake Treinen, RHP, Athletics ($7.8MM)
Some Brewer fans will be surprised Orlando Arcia is not mentioned. I am not one of those.
Had Arcia on the initial list, but with three years of club control and an option remaining, it seems likelier they’d find a trade for him.
2.7 million is an interesting projection for someone with negative WAR. What would a trade look like for him?
His superb glove, periodic flashes of good offensive production, age (26) and 3 years of team control make him worth the $2.7MM he is projected to earn in 2020.
Even if Urias is the Brewers starting SS, Arcia would be worth paying $2.7MM to be a late game defensive replacement/utility player who can spot start on occasion to give starters a day off.
Any lottery ticket with 2+ years of control with better on base/contact skills would be my guess. I’m really tired of every Brewer swinging for the fences. Hit it to the gap, get on base, and let Hiura and Yelich bat you around. Seems simple, but never happens anymore.
Are most of these non-tender candidates out of options?
Yes
I believe Addison Russell may be one of the few with options left
Mikey A Taylor should be added… 3.5-4M for a backup OF?
Easily at least a “10-20% chance” he’s let go
Agreed. and seems silly Koda Glover is on there. if he gets healthy, well worth 700.
Koda hasn’t been healthy or good as a professional..
It’s an easy 1M to cut if needed
I’d be pretty surprised to see MAT let go, versus just a $4M investment. He proved pretty valuable in the postseason, the CF market is pretty thin, and so is the Nats’ system.
How many WAR would a team of the best of these potential nontenders, plus declined option /waived players, achieve?
I dont think this team will be laughably bad. I guess a 60 win team. There are still holes that need to be filled. Some of these guys are probably worth between 0 to 1.5 WAR. With very limited upside, most don’t justify their 2020 salaries and a roster spot that blocks someone more promising.
Charlie Culbeeson should not be on the list. He will be on the opening day roster
I hope you’re right.
Agree. Snitker and the org love him.
I know I’d be EXTREMELY shocked if they cut him.
Yea, can we please take him off this list.
Well, it’s the Braves, so they may be looking to trim payroll to add elsewhere.
Let me be another voice echoing that Culberson should not be on this list. 1.8m is a paltry sum for a guy who can play almost every position.
Leave it to the professionals boys.
why Wolters? he is a good defensive C and hit better than an average defense-first C last year.
Wolters is one of the 10 worst hitters in baseball and less productive than some pitchers. Batting average isn’t very important … also, his D is overrated (he’s a good thrower and very accurate – so no errors – but that’s about it).
He’s VERY FAR from one of the 10 worst hitters in baseball. Lol
A 64 OPS+ is abysmal. He plays in Colorado too. The road numbers are even worse.
I think it’s his pitch framing. His bWar is 1.4, but his fWar (which includes framing) is -0.5. He has a career 63 OPS+ and if you take into account his framing his defense doesn’t seem good enough to make up for that.
But his sCHWRBR is off the charts!
Of that list I’d like to see my team try to get Blake Treinen if he’s non-tendered. Kevin Gausman would be interesting on a minor league deal to stash at AAA.
Treinen i would imagine gets traded.
Gaus probably gets a cheapo MLB deal though
I think you could be right on both. I could see a rebuilding team taking a flyer on Gaus as a starter, but he pitched better as a reliever last year. We’ll see.
I’m having a hard time understanding why Caesar’s projected salary is so high. He’s a good on-base guy and slightly better than average defensive 2B but still seems high to me.
It’s simple arbitration salaries only go up or stay the same ,never down. A player can have good counting stats his first time to arbitration and look like a star which will start his salary in the millions.. After that he could have negative war every year and his salary will still go up. It’s one of the bad things about the system.
A’s Semien is projected to make 13+million through arbitration. Sure Marcus comes from a tremendous year that landed him 3rd on the MVP voting. However, Semien wasn’t always great. Oakland was patient with him and he developed. Cesar Hernández is a tremendous player as well. His salary is as deserved as Marcus’s is…
“Semien wasn’t always great”
His age 24-27 seasons he had between 2.1 and 3.4 bWAR, and the 2.1 was in half a season. He wasn’t elite, but he was a very solid regular and it sounds like youre talking as if he was terrible, which he was defensively at age 24, and got better every year after until he reached elite this year.
I wonder if people that see themselves on this list are willing to take a pay cut. If I was Caser Hernandez, I should except half of that 11.8 million to stay on a team that’ll try to compete, rebuild value before I hit the FA.
You clearly don’t have any idea on how the arbitration system works.
So if he gets non-tendered, do you think he’ll get close 11.8m? Pretty hefty 2B market out there.
Hernandez should get about $7 or $8M as he is in no way even close to being worth $11.6 M.
He will get non tendered as no one would trade for him at that salary.
The law of supply and demand will then set his rightful salary.
He might not know how the system works but Cesar Hernandez certainly could agree to a contract that is significantly less than his projected arbitration number if he fears being non tendered. As he should fear being non tendered because there is no way in hell he’s getting 11 mil for a season on the open market.
That was my point. If you reach a deal with your team without going to arb then you should do it because they will non-tender or waive you before opening day if you get 11.8M or anything close to it. How does it work any different?
Does Hernandez provide more value or productivity than his likely replacement Scott Kingery? Simple answer: No.
I hear the Red Sox are considering a non-tender to Heath Hembree as well (which I think is a mistake). I believe he is projected to make under $2M and he goes on streaks where he looks like a legit setup man.
Hembree is a decent innings eater when healthy. I feel that Marcus Walden is a smidge better but why not keep as many of these guys as you can so you don’t wear out the bullpen. Apparently there’s a bit of a budget crunch at Fenway this offseason.
Sox should make one of those take it or leave it offers to Leon who is still a top defensive 2nd catcher. They started off bad last year without him and the options to replace him for less aren’t intriguing.
I don’t get the logic there. You’re saying they started poorly without him, and lack options to replace him. So if he scoffs at a “take it or leave it” offer, where does that leave the team?
He likely has limited options as he previously cleared waivers. That said, the staff loves his work behind the plate. There were many reasons why the season started (and ended lousy) with the Sweihart experiment at least a small piece of that. The only reason he’s a non- tender candidate is the system out-prices reality in his case.
I would imagine that Addy is gone, seems like it’s time for the Cubs to cut bait, especially at that price.
Padres and A’s make sense on a deal here shortly. Treinen and Profar (12.8M) to San Diego for C Austin Hedges and LHP Matt Strahm.
Padres get Profar to plug into 2B w/Urias’ departure. Treinen pairs with Yates, Pomeranz, Munoz, Castillo and Baez to form a lights out pen.
Oakland gets the best defensive catcher in the game plus a back-end rotation option or Left Hander out of the pen, for two guys who would have been outrighted.
Oakland would save about 6 million on the transaction.
i like it
Profar is an extremely terrible middle infielder, he projects as a decent 1B/LF though. Not really what you had in mind.
That’s too much talent going back for two guys the A’s will probably non tender. Not that Hedges or Strahm is particularly great but I don’t think you even need to give that up. But I’d sign Schoop to a 1 year deal instead of Profar. By 2021 the Padres should have an internal 2B option ready better than Profar or Schoop.
I also don’t believe w the Pomeranz deal that the Padres will be paying 8-9 million bucks to another reliever but maybe I’m wrong. Treinen would fit nicely there.
I don’t see talent in those players SD is giving up. Hedges can’t hit worth a lick. Strahm gave up 22 home runs in 114 innings. Defensive catcher that can’t hit above .200 is easy to pick up on waivers. Strahm needs to cut his home runs in half to be considered a good pitcher. That is more of a trade of 4 players that the other team hopes has a big turn around.
I don’t disagree completely. Strahm is a much better reliever than starter. 3 hrs in 33 innings 5 walks 37K’s 3.09 era.
I think he has value as a reliever w 3 years of control. I generally agree that Hedges is a change of scenery candidate and not worth very much. I just think it’s highly likely that the A’s don’t tender either of those guys.
Like I said before I wouldn’t be surprised if the A’s work out a lesser pay but incentive deal with either of them. Doesn’t look like either are being sought after by other teas so they might take a lesser deal with incentive to stay with the A’s.
Overpay by SD. Which means Preller probably does it.
Not really, the what if’s are equal on both sides. Profar has displayed pop for a 2B but hasn’t gotten on base nor played good defense, Hedges has no pop but plays a phenomenal backstop.
Treinen and Strahm wash, Re-inventing Treinen is worth the 3 years of control on Strahm.
Scott Schebler, reds outfielder. No way he’s tendered.
Hes not arb eligible yet
Every year at least a few pre-arb guys get non-tendered so it’s at least possible
Scott Schebler was just below the Super 2 cutoff last year with 2 years plus 132 days of service after the 2018 season. mlbtraderumors.com/2018/10/super-two-cutoff-mlb-20….
Schebler played in 30 games with the Reds in 2019. How would he not be arbitration eligible now?
He’s at 2.170 days of service. not quite 3 years
Ok, so he’s way over the line for Super 2 service time, but I guess he’s not Super 2 because he didn’t spend enough time on an MLB roster in 2019.
The yearly collection of guys that have one issue or another, or guys that have “arc-ed” into an unreasonable payment platform. Caesar Hernandez isn’t a bad player at all; he’s just not 11M good.
Some interesting moves this weekend….
The A’s are stupid cheap idiots if they get rid of Treinen just because he had an injury-plagued season where he clearly was working without his best stuff. If that injury is career-defining then yes, they should move on, but it doesn’t seem like it is and it does seem we will see a few more staggeringly-elite years from him.
A’s are probably negotiating a incentive base contract with him or he gets released. That is way to much money to give a pitcher that has been inconsistent. If they get a trade offer worth taking he is gone. Other teams are probably only offering players that are non-factors at this point.
Jays should non-tender all 3. I am sure there are better players available on the waiver wire/rule 5.
Jays might hold Maile if they can leverage a trade with McGuire. Doubtful that will happen. Maile should have been shopped and traded before the 2019 All Star game. No substantial return necessary.
who wouldve wanted Maile?
Only in an injury depleted emergency situation.
The Diamondbacks almost always seem to carry three catchers so I guess they could be a hypothetical fit if they get rid of Caleb Joseph
Adam duvall? Although I hope not
He will be kept! At least until spring training. He is slated to platoon LF with Markakis.
I’m one of the few that like Markakis. Although he should only start 3 or 4 games a week and only against right handed pitchers. Also he should bat in the 6 or 7th hole
Albert Almora
He is still super cheap, Cubs will keep him and hopes he bounces back
I know this is a 10-20 perfect chance type thing, but I think Culberson is too much of a fan favorite to be non tendered at that low of a salary
Where is Jake Marisnick?
Hunter Strickland non tenders. Signs with philly. He has to want play with his best friend Bryce
angels should pick up caleb joseph now.
It’s hard to fathom in this age of 100 million plus yearly budgets how saving a million or two on arbitration players would be a big deal but I guess after a few million here and a few million there it all starts adding up to real money!
The Cubs should take the money from Russell + $5MM and get Villar to have a leadoff man WITH SPEED that they have lacked for a VERY long time.
Umm, no. His speed is negated by his marginal OBP and boatloads of Ks. Just what the Cubs don’t need.
Way too many strike outs for a lead off hitter.
Yeah Villar isn’t a prototypical leadoff hitter. He has the speed but that’s really it. I would also note that 16 of his 24 homeruns came in OPACY last season. That’s a known hitters park and the ball was obviously flying out at unprecedented rates last year. It’s more likely that you get the Jonathan Villar of 2018.
Which is why I believe you saw every team pass in baseball pass on him at his arb salary.
I agree. If the Cubs take a flyer on Jonathan Villar (baseball-reference.com/players/v/villajo01.shtml) his offensive numbers could profile very similar to Dexter Fowler’s (baseball-reference.com/players/f/fowlede01.shtml) when he was age 29 and 30 in 2015 and 2016.
The similarities don’t end their either. Both are fleet switch-hitting leadoff men. Fowler might have a slight edge in OBP while Villar is a far more proficient base stealer. They both strike out at a clip not normally seen with a #1 hitter. Each also played premium up-the middle defensive positions at that age with Fowler in CF and Villar a 2B/SS. Villar is no Gold Glove candidate but his dWAR far exceeds that of Fowler.
Let’s face it. The Cubs have had a black hole at the leadoff spot ever since Fowler departed following the Cubs 2016 World Series championship. I’d prefer the Cubs pursue a trade for Whit Merrifield but that seems very unlikely for a number of reasons. Villar would be a more realistic option that would not require the Cubs to trade off their few remaining top prospects which the rebuilding Royals would demand in any deal for Merrifield.
Jonathan Villar was good for -11 DRS at 2B last season. He doesn’t have a good glove. It’s certainly not better than Fowler’s was. If you want traditional stats Villar committed 20 errors last season. He’s a passable 2B if he hits like he did last year. If he regresses back to 2018, he’s a bench player. I don’t see lead off hitter at all for him. You’re obviously welcome to have that opinion but I don’t see it at all.
baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/jonathan-vill…
.335 WOBA last year with a .312 XWOBA. Essentially All his hitting stats outpace the expected stats last year. I don’t see anyway in hell he can improve and I think it’s highly likely what he did last year doesn’t continue.
The cubs may be able to use him but I wouldn’t put all my eggs in his basket. I think he’s best used a super utility guy and not an everyday player.
Reds should jump on Villar, ok def but has bat, Gausman is good pickup but not for $10m, prob will resign w/ reds pos 5th starter or out of pen, still need OF bats
Addison Russell needs a new team…..new atmosphere……new beginning……..
he will end up with the Marlins or a West Coast team !
I think he is a prime bounce back guy that would truly benefit from a new start somewhere else… but it’s not gonna happen in Chicago.
Villar will have his choice of teams…….and will make more than the min. ……..has another big payday coming his way !………I think only top tier teams that needs a second baseman should call his agent.
What’s the deal with Jake Lamb? Had very good ’16 and ’17 and woeful last 2 years. Injuries? Or just fell off the cliff? Left hand hitting 1B/3B….bounce back possibilities. Tigers? Minor league deal with invite to ST? Thought anyone?
Seems hitting’s lost importance to Lamb personally. Can’t improve when you’re not in baseball shape & working hard at craft. He’s taken AZ $$ and fallen off the cliff.
That’s not fair. He’s been recovering from some pretty serious injuries.
I believe Devenski has options remaining…I would stick him in AAA and hope he figures it out
I would love to see Culberson in Philly. I seriously doubt Atlanta will not get something worked out with him, but if not…
If the Yankees let Romine walk, as I expect. He will get 2 years for 8 million, I would pursue John Ryan Murphy. Don’t know what happened to his bat but he would be a good back up to Sanchez and relatively cheap at 28 years old.
John Ryan Murphy must have killed someone famous, or maybe will some day. Who else goes by three names?
Oakland may be smart to look to add Blake to a two year deal the same way the Rays did Zunino.
Maybe Theo can find a way to non-tender Jason Heyward
I’d add Carlos Rodon to that list. He will miss half the season, has already regressed, and only has another year of control after this season. And he’s never stayed healthy or effective for an entire season.
No way the White Sox non-tender Carlos Rodon. He won’t be prohibitively expensive in arbitration and still has a couple more years of team control available to him. If the White Sox cut him loose Rodon will attract a ton of suitors as a former #3 overall pick who still has awesome stuff.
Besides, as we post the White Sox have zero left-handed starters on their 2020 depth chart. Rodon should be back to full health by midsummer. If the White Sox are in contention for a playoff spot getting Rodon back might be a better outcome than having to trade for an additional SP by the July 31st deadline.
It’s possible and maybe even likely that Rick Hahn will add a veteran southpaw among the two starters he is expected to acquire this offseason but that likely won’t happen before Monday’s contract tender deadline. Besides, the top three FA pitchers are all right-handed with the White Sox closely attached to Zack Wheeler. If they are successful in landing Wheeler to an expected 5 yrs./$100MM+ contract their other veteran acquisition would likely be a #5 on a one year minimal deal, a pitcher with far less ability or potential than what Rodon possesses.
If the White Sox fail to land Wheeler they will turn to the next tier of FA starters which include southpaws Dallas Keuchel and Madison Bumgarner who have impressive resumes but no longer possess the stuff or potential that Rodon still holds.
I could find a better way to spend 17M for the Phillies, so Klentak should be able to as well. Kingery goes to 2B automatically if they don’t bring in a 2B or SS. Bohm is called up from day 1 if they don’t sign a 3B. If they signed Moose you can mess with service time.on Bohm. Then move Moose to 2B/3B with Kingery.
I can see the Braves taking a flyer on Shaw or Lamb if they miss out on Donaldson.
Would like the Buccos to go for Beckham at 3B , wanted him last year.
Also Souza might be good replacement for Marte if traded.
This list contains the main targets for a team like the Pirates, so don’t hate
.So what you are saying is because they are the cheapest players the Pirates will want them because they do not want to get any any better.Do you really think that the three new guys would have signed on for that type of rationale?
Did the Pirates even do that last year?
I guess I’m confused by your question..
So let me explain my stance … Tim Beckham at 3B would’ve been (sadly), hands-down, their best signing last off-season (PED suspension and all)
Cherington is going to tare down and rebuild, starting with Marte.
So don’t expect anything great. Will be targeting buy-lows like Souza to dump midseason.
I also think Souza and Beckham could help the team, so not sure what your point is?
The Pirates May trade several good players this year so the main targets would be those young players in return not non tendered players.We do not know what Ben C will do and hopefully will not trade anyone unless he gets excess quality in return.
The free agents that you mention below all made sense at the time last year but were not non tenders.Hindsight is always 20-20 Freddy.
You make it seem by your last statement in your post that the Pirates shop in the non tender product aisle.It does not seem to me that they do so any more than anyone else.
Beckham would be out for obvious reasons but Souza could be a buy low free agent for the Pirates or any other team including the better and richer teams.
NH did not generally sign anyone with the hopes of getting good players back at the deadline.Do not know whether Ben C will do so.
Your statement of the two worst trades of all time is in itself pathetic.You also seem to be good at looking at things in hindsight when GM’s have to deal in the real time world.
Well you can’t just build a team with prospects.
Need stopgaps to fill in for a year or two.
As for Huntingdumb, I’ve followed baseball my whole life and never seen anything like those trade blunders, not even from a fundamental stance. Neither of those trades ever had any chance of working out from the drop of the hat, and you’re just as big a joke fanboy if you couldn’t see it at the time as well.
Even the Teixera trade made fundamental sense for a playoff run.
BUT not only selling LOW on Cole with 2 years left but also OPTING for ML-ready “talent” (Moran/Musgrove) instead of better rated young actual prospects (*no conspiracy theory here, teams absolutely made offers on a top half innings eater like Cole /ace or not).
And inexplicably making most agressive move of his career for Archer in a non-contending year .. 2 worst trades in history.
Freddy-You continue to amaze with your ignorance of baseball.
Have you ever heard of Babe Ruth?
Have you ever heard of Frank Robinson?
Knowledgeable Pirate fans know the truth about the Cole trade and that Houston woul not give up Whitley who evidently may not be as good as advertised.Prospects often are not.
The only criticism for NH on that one is that he could have waited until the trade deadline,but what happens if Cole has a serious injury,or the Pirates are in contention,which they were,hence the Archer trade.If you are so knowledgeable who would have given more than what he got for Cole Freddy?
Your hindsight is brilliant Freddy.
Typical Yinzer or Yinzer want to be.
Pretty sad when you have to go back 30-60 years to find a comparably worse trade.
And I never said Whitley.. could be ANY offer any team any prospects, YET Huntington chose the two bust 25 year olds so he could plug them in right away…
You’re demented if you don’t see something wrong with that. Infact you’d agree if you understood what I was saying.
Its just clear you think you know more than you do because you’ve had success arguing with Yinzers over the same concepts but not over the same rationale.
Also, along with Huntington making (not arguably) the 2 worst MLB trades of all time,
Last off-season might be worst ever too.. Lyle’s, ChisenDL, Kang, Erick Gonzalez..
Pathetic additions to team that desperately needed help
∆ how could anyone say that’s an acceptable off-season for a team that made an All-in trade for Archer 4 months earlier?
Yet the apologists still would rather still praise Huntington , than accept that the Pirates needed to make smarter moves, and still can even with a limited budget.
Freddy,you only listen to your own voice
I never said anything about an acceptable off season.In fact,I criticized NH last spring fairly strongly on this site for not signing anyone as deph for the pitching staff
I also said that he had had a fairly bad year or two,and I think that that is one of the reasons why he was fired.
NH haters like you do not give him credit, though,that he deserves for the numerous things that he did right in the middle of his career in Pittsburgh.
When I see phrases like “ worst trades in history” I know that the poster either has an axe to grind about somebody or knows very little about baseball.
There is no rationale in your thought Freddy because you clearly do not have inside information on anything.You do not even make educated guesses.We have no idea what offers,if any,NH rejected for Cole.Yet you continue to expound as if you,and only you,do.
You need to be less of a fanboy of Freddy and listen to what others are saying.
Glad you liked his trades. Glad you think we got any value out of either one.
Really pulled a nice haul for Jason Bay too.
What he did right? Right place, right time with AJ Burnett trade, and lucky Cutch was already on his team. He was also lucky to have the top dominacan recruiter at the time Rene Gayo who was actually finding players unlike Neals lackluster drafts.
Otherr than tha, this guy did very little, thus why we saw bare minimum wildcard spots instead of pennants and a world series appearance while handling the top prime core of arb eligible rosters in the MLB at the time.
Freddy you are a true Yinzer whether you admit it or not.
Talk about the way back machine-Jason Bay trade was one of his first and how did Jason turn out with the Mets?
His list of trades after his first few years is second to none.Check them out Freddy.
Then again,don’t,because you would have to get out of your dream world and face facts.
NH did a generally good job with the Pirates.Nutting did a really stupid thing giving him and Hurdle four year extensions after two mediocre years though.
Hopefully Cherington will be much better at drafting and developing pitchers than NH was.
But we will have to disagree on the general job that NH did in the middle six years of his tenure.
And I say good luck with getting a pennant for any small market team let alone a WS victory.
In the NLC pre-theo Cubs .. it was wide open, just needed smarter moves than Wandy Rodriguez and Travis Snider and it could’ve been something special ..
People say small budget, but over and over he spent the money he had on the wrong guys and was never able to add much true value around the core he was gifted.
NH was gifted no one.He basically had to start from scratch.
His early trades were below average.His later ones were very good
Travis Snider is a perfect example of a very good trade in that he got a very serviceable year from him and flipped him for two pitchers ,one still on the roster,and one flipped for a closer.
It is important to look at these baseball employees in an honest and unbiased manner.That is the only way that anyone should be judged.
Snider’s lack of offense in a batter-built RF spot was arguably the #1 reason we couldn’t get over the hump.
If you remember the year prior we had Byrd added (to the heart of the order),
and made it to the NLDS because our lineup was actually feared, unlike the no-show versions against Arrieta and Bum the following years (featuring Snider in RF)
Freddy the reason why they did not beat Arrieta and Madbum was that they were the two best pitchers in baseball at the time.
You are saying that the reason was Travis Snider.Babe Ruth in right field may not have made a difference.
You clearly have dug yourself a deep hole in your arguement Freddy.
You are resorting to making the “facts” fit your arguement.
This is not unlike other posters,who,like you,cannot see the forest for the trees.
Consider the facts in advance and then base an arguement around them Freddy.Or admit the other person’s position has a lot of merit.