Outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury plans to continue his career in 2020, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com hears. Ellsbury just went through a pair of seasons wiped out by injuries, which led the Yankees to release him Wednesday and eat the remaining $26MM on his contract. But the 36-year-old’s now “finishing up his rehab [in Arizona] with a focus on Spring Training,” a source told Feinsand. Ellsbury, an MVP candidate with the Red Sox at his peak, remained a respectable major leaguer last time he was healthy enough to play. He posted a .264/.348/.402 line with seven home runs, 22 stolen bases on 25 tries, and 1.6 fWAR over 409 plate appearances in 2017. With that in mind, someone’s likely to take a chance on Ellsbury on a minor league contract before next season.
More from around baseball…
- The Orioles have hired Eve Rosenbaum to fill a new role with the organization – director of baseball development – Dan Connolly of The Athletic reports (subscription link). Rosenbaum, a Harvard graduate and Maryland native who spent the past five seasons with the Astros and was at the helm of their international signing period this year, is familiar with Orioles general manager Mike Elias from their time working together in Houston’s front office. Now reunited with Elias, Rosenbaum will largely focus on analytics and scouting in Baltimore, Connolly relays.
- The Rockies “will look at” free-agent catchers Travis d’Arnaud, Yan Gomes, Martin Maldonado, Robinson Chirinos, Jason Castro and Alex Avila, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post writes. While the Rockies won’t spend much this offseason, nobody in that group of catchers figures to break the bank on the open market, and the club’s need behind the plate is obvious. Colorado’s backstops struggled to the majors’ 28th-ranked fWAR (minus-1.7) in 2019, when Tony Wolters, Chris Iannetta, Dom Nunez and Drew Butera all managed miserable offensive numbers.
- Vogt may not be on Colorado’s list of catcher targets, but he is among the backstops “generating early interest,” Jeff Passan of ESPN tweets. The market for catchers is moving quicker than it is at other positions, per Passan. The Athletics and Giants, two of Vogt’s previous teams, are known to have interest in the 35-year-old former All-Star. The fact that he may be in position to sign early (and land a big league contract) is a significant change from last offseason, when Vogt went without a deal until the Giants handed him a minors pact in February. It proved to be a terrific buy-low move for San Francisco, as Vogt revived his career with a .263/.314/.490 line and 10 homers across 280 trips to the plate.
Where is Ellsbury gonna end up? Any guesses? I think he will go back to Boston and do just well enough to get the Yanks to offer him another idiotic contract and then get injured all over again next season. Best retirement plan ever. He has really just been playing for the Red Sox this entire time. All a part if the plan.
Sleeper agent this whole time.
A team in need of a stopgap player for a few months until starter is healthy…
Available: cheap, oft injured, former star player, who was released before finishing his $20MM+/year contract, who can be hyped that he’s supposedly healthy and should be as good as in his glory days. Therefore no need to look for alternative (*better*) more expensive options.
What could possibly go wrong?
Now, where did I hear of this before???
Yankees sign him?
Maybe Detroit until Daz Cameron is called up?
Same logic could apply here until Adell is ready.
And where will he play in Boston. Stupid
He will play in one of the vacant outfield spots left open by Jackie Bradley Jr or Mookie Betts once the Red Sox trade them after coming to terms with the fact that their period of contention is over.
Ellsbury to AZ? Miami?
Miami. I can see that happening.
Baltimore has the better history with washups
Ellsbury to Baltimore. 7 years, $161m
Ellsbury to the Giants is my guess
Could Vogt be the catcher the Braves get to share time with Flowers. I wouldn’t mind it. Maybe get him and bring back Cervelli with the rosters being expanded to 26.
That three catcher combination might be much more of a possibility than most might have given thought.
I happen to think the NYY buried him in injuries so insurance paid some n them a little. I have no doubt he turns up somewhere, but won’t be Boston. Really he was never that good in Boston till his FA yr, n he fooled Cashman into giving him an”Panda” like contract. This is what happens when you chase the bucks. They lured Demon, aka Damon away, how’d that go after the first yr?
He didn’t fool Cashman, Boras his agent did. Damon was also a Boras client. Two examples of why teams need to stop buying that he is cooking. Not many of the famous Boras 7 year $100+ million contracts, that go to 30+ year old players work out well for many teams.
National, Cashman is sharp enuff not to buy Boras’s hogwash. So ultimately it’s on Cashman. Personally I can’t stand Boras, n he didn’t stop the X man from signing an extension way ahead of FA which is very UNLIKE Boras. I think it was Xander’s call IMO.
Don’t forget that chubby Ruth kid the Sox saddled the Yankees with, since we’re going back
Ha ha like that Ax.
Damon suspiciously lost a ton of weight after he left the Sawx and signed with the Yankee as he lost a ton of weight and eventually became a fan favorite that help bring #27.
Damons 3rd and 4th years were very good for the Yankees, better than his first year. He had one slight down year in 2007 other than that his contract was a complete success. Not sure what drugs you’re on?
Joshhosh, yeah I was going to say. Damon provided the yanks with an .821 ops and 14.4 bwar over the life of his 4 year deal. Pretty solid return that helped net the 09 series. In no way a strong comparison to the disastrous Ellsbury deal.
He’s gonna prove to be like Cespedes and others who are escaping my tired mind, but guys that perform in contract years and then get and stay injured or under perform the rest of the time.
I could see Ellsbury as a Giant as others have said or maybe on the Dodgers as a cheap high upside bench player or possibly the Rockies. Somewhere where his star power would be interesting and he could try to reframe his career a bit by being okay… I dunno…
Do people think he intends to keep playing for the money or to prove something? Hard to believe he wanted to play for the Yankees or in baseball that badly.
I believed Aaron Hicks was frustrated. I believed Giambi had health issues and injuries derail his contract and he wanted to prove himself to baseball. I think a guy like Ellsbury after a couple forgettable seasons and an injury and being supplanted by stars like Judge or say being injured and on an irrelevant team like the Mets it becomes easy to give up and just collect the $1.8M paycheck every two weeks to get massages and baths, do light Physical Therapy and some T-Ball or whatever then go home every day.
Why keep playing? I guess some guys only know baseball? Can’t bekieve they’d still love the game.
I can see Cespedes roaring back for a new deal of some considerable value (can the Mets give him a QO? I bet he would take $17-19M for 2021 after collecting $58M to basically just hang out on his ranch, whipping his Porsche and riding his horse but honestly he ain’t been up off that porch) because he’ll bop like 30 dingers in 115 games or something… they’ll rest him a bunch, no matter what…
Harrumph. Why do these sucker contracts not get remembered if players suddenly come back after those soured deals expire?
Age is the difference between Ellsbury and Cespedes. Either he proves he’s healthy and can still offer something or he’s forced into retirement or to play elsewhere. Even he has another career year, his age and injury history will prevent at most a low base with incentives for both 2020 and 2021 on consecutive one year deals.
Haha yeah. They’ll see if Cespedes is injured or just playing hooky by giving him a deal like this: We will give you $32.4M a season. BUT. You have to show up for Spring Training without any injuries or physical fitness issues related to your ranch or even training….Or you don’t collect that money. BUT. You can still participate and if you do and we clear you or prove your injuries weren’t sustained doing dumb stuff [implying life more concentrated without baseball than within] you can stay on the team until we reach Spring Training games. Then you receive another bonus. Opening Day Roster? Another Bonus. But basically he would literally have to play and show up and participate and suit up etc. just to collect the kind of paycheck he’s accustomed to and probably thinks he still deserves if he was to play.
I know it does not work like that and cannot work like that. I know that’s kind of how the NFL works. I’m not saying that that kind of contract is necessary. But, just like when some guys have contract clauses that offer the team a cheaper option if a known potential or historic injury pops up and they wind up on the DL/IL for too long, etc. the team gets a cheaper option if the player fails to perform due to, well, themselves.
I just think it’d be interesting to see what might happen instead, if say, players like Cespedes or Ellsbury or someone else with long injury histories on a massive long term dealswere to trigger a clause in that contract, which converted their remaining salaries to incentives that basically forced them to make more of an effort to return from the IL and be productive team members of the team, would they suddenly return?
I understand that: A) the MLBPA would never stand for such a contract. They have rules about incentive structures, yes? and B) Insurance covers the bulk of these deals and I know there are cases like Prince Fielder where injuries, mobility if not life threatening injuries at that, legitimately take careers like Fielder’s and kibosh those contracts’ value. I also understand some teams sign guys to like 6, 7, 8, years knowing the contracts might represent dead weight and be flipped by the last few seasons or if the team implodes that it’ll get flipped somehow within just a few seasons. I know that happens. I even know some guys try their hardest and cannot for the life of them get past some nagging injuries and the team releases them begrudgingly and it’s a mutually painful but understood parting.
That said, I don’t understand the iron clad payments to players that seemingly abandon their jobs, unless it’s an unwritten rule that as part of managing baseball clubs, you’re just gonna have some contracts that are very expensive and utterly useless and that’s why Draft Picks are so valuable and Draftee bonuses are becoming so hefty…? For mitigation?
When Dave Chappelle bailed on The Chappelle Show for I suppose legitimate mental health issues, he didn’t get to keep collecting and cashing the checks that would total that $50M deal he signed, which was only for two *seasons* and so in these terms lets think of individual episodes delivered or not as games played or on the active roster, etc. anyway! He had to deliver episodes to receive his paychecks. No episodes, no paychecks… Only seems fair, right?
Adam Wainwright just finished up a year with only 2 mil guaranteed but ended up making 10 mil because he kicked in 8 mil of incentives by making enough starts. They are absolutely allowed to have an incentive-laden contract as long as both sides agree to it, but Cespedes may be enough of a high-upside risk that he may not have to.
No ones reading all that
Yogineely You are the Red Grim ‘Ain’t nobody got time for that’ Grumble of replying to comments in MLBTR comment sections.
Haha yeah and a million words later you still have said nothing worth reading. Stop posting. Thanks!
Concise? No…shorten up the posts. Thanks!
I was waiting for the blockbuster Ellsbury for Pedroia swap too…. 🙁
In a serious sense, if he is healthy, I’d like to see the Red Sox take a shot on Greg Bird. Given the cesspool of FA 2B and the Red Sox “payroll restrictions“, Chavis is most likely going to start at 2B, leaving 1B open. The 1B market is just as bad.
I mean, either you sign a guy like Justin Smoak(who I love mind you) or roll the dice on Bird.
I could totally see Bird sign with the Red Sox on the cheap and pepper that wall and the Yankees. Wouldn’t shock me in the least, but remember, he will get a hang nail and be out for 6 months.
You could always trade for Josh Bell too. I think that would be a mistake, but if the Pirates do a full tear down like they should, they could pry him away.
Ellsbury is Baltimore bound. It’s a perfect match.
Dumb comment of the day award! Congrats!
I wouldnt say Wolters had a “miserable” season for a catcher.
Orioles might be suitors for Ellsbury on a one year minor league deal.
I think Ellsbury is hanging it up. There’s no reason for the Yankees to cut him if there’s a redeeming chance he can contribute in ’20. At least the team can recognize a sunk cost. Greg Bird is a minor league invitee for another team.
I could see the Cubs and Theo take a chance on Ellsberg. Could be the CF / Leadoff man they are looking for.
Ellsbury to the Marlins.
Mariners could take a stab at Ellsbury, who is a native.
Ellsbury hasn’t played in two years. No one has any idea what he can or cannot do, anymore. I still bet someone invites him to ST to find out.
He’ll probably get injured by signing the contract,
LOL! I was just about to post the same thing. This is not like he missed the last three months, where you can rely on what you had seen the previous three months. He hasn’t played since September, 2017. It’ll be 2.5 years by the time the 2020 season opens. I can see a minor league deal maybe.
At best. Not much money involved, since even if he pulls a miracle and plays in the majors, the Yankees are on the hook for this year’s paychecks. When there’s pretty much zero risk, somebody might as well roll the dice. It’s not that tough to release him in June and say, “Yup. Everybody was right.”
Hoping Giants resign Vogt, a valuable addition last season, well-loved by teammates and fans (a future mgr.!). He resurrected his catching career while showing power and a surprising bat when pinch-hitting. Hoping he stays!!
Eric Chavez disappeared for 3 years and came back from the dead. Get a MiLB invite with Boston. Greg Bird too.
Chavez played in all three of his injured years. Not a lot, but my guess is that is a whole lot different than missing two seasons entirely, especially at Ellsbury’s age.
But on a MiLB, sure, and a definite yes on Bird.
Figure of speech. Chavez didn’t have hip problems either, and if he did, as you pointed out, they definitely weren’t as severe. Maybe he doesn’t hit for any power next year, but it’s hard to forget how to hit a baseball at that elite level, even after 2 years.
Ellsbury hit better in 2018-2019 than JBJ did. It’s an improvement.
Butthurt big market fans kinda crack me up. Yep, Ellsbury faked his stats in his contract year just so he could dupe Cashman into giving him a lot of money to play for the Yankees thus angering all Red Sox fans, then got injured on purpose just to be as useless as he could possibly be, thus angering all Yankees fans. That was his grand plan all along.
faked his stats in his contract year
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You make it sound like that’s unreasonable. There are a dozen FAs every year that have a career year in their final year, signe a big contract, and then disappear..
I wanted him to re-sign with Boston because at the time he was a quality CF. I saw the Yankees threw $153 million(?) at him, laughed, and said “Okay. I don’t know about that now.” My hubris at that contract came back to bite me with Dustin Pedroia’s contract.
As a RS fan, I’d love to Bird come north.
1-He has enough of a minor league record to suggest he was supposed to be good.
2-His MLB stats aren’t bad, in context. He has 611 ABs, approximately one full season. He has 32 HRs in those 611 ABs. That’s a lot, even in YS. The average is low, but his BABIP is only .244. If the BABIP trends back towards .300, Bird’s average becomes very acceptable.
3-The injuries are a concern, but the injuries could also be the reason he hasn’t performed offensively.
4-And we have no candidates for 1B. Bird doesn’t have to be any better than mediocre for him to be valuable to us.
My only question would be, how is it that he wasn’t traded? There’s a few teams with openings on their 40-man roster. It’s surprising that no one stepped forward.
Lots of FA 1B types available this year would be my guess.
btw, it’s pretty clear that whatever is going on with the Astros is having no impact on these front-office guys’ ability to keep climbing the ladder
I don’t see how that’s relevant. Teams’ analytics departments are continuing to expand with younger, skilled minds. Guys that thrive and are able to communicate well and manage people graduate to bigger roles. Old school, traditionalists are getting pushed out. Not unlike the tech industry. There’s a great supply of new qualified college grads willing to take below market salaries to work for an MLB ballclub.
A Bird in Boston might help sell tix.
The Dumpster Divers (The Mets) will sign Ellsbury.
We’ll I’d compare this very bad contract to tulo’s first they got paid to sit on their butts over 60 million
We will I would compare…failure post, please try again. Thanks!
Ellsbury hasn’t played in three years, think he is age 36. What do you guys really think you can get out of him, even with the league minimum? I’d rather go with a minor leaguer.
If the Yankees said they were giving him a shot in the spring, you anti yankee fans would have ripped them, saying he hasn’t played in years, always injured, etc. Now people have him possibly contributing to a big league team. I don’t see it.
He reminds me of the guy who played for the Indians that the Red Sox took a flyer in a couple years back, Grady Sizemore.
Yankee hater #1: “What a bum! Hahaha Yankees paying all that money for nothing.”
Yankee hater #2: “Hope he wins Comeback Player of the Year and shows the Yankees what a huge mistake they’ve made.”
Yankee hater #3: “It’s about time he’s gone. Should’ve been done years ago when he was off PEDs.”
Louiebeans: “I’d rather them give Ellsbury a shot than resign Brett Garbage.”
Has a ellsbury really been injured the last 3 years I think he would be a good addition to a team still has 3-4 productive years left just not with the Sox I hope
Has a ellsbury? What about a pair of ellsburies? Proof read your post please. Thanks!
He’s 36. It’s more likely that he has -0- productive years left.
Atkins will sign him lol