The Tigers have made the biggest move of the 2021-22 offseason to date, formally announcing a five-year contract with free agent starter Eduardo Rodríguez. The deal comes with a $77MM guarantee and can max out at $80MM, depending upon incentives.
The contract also affords Rodriguez the opportunity to opt out of the after the second season of the deal. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes reports that Rodriguez will earn a combined $28MM total from 2022-23 (Twitter link), meaning he’ll be faced with the decision of whether to opt out of the remaining three years and $49MM on his contract after the 2023 campaign. Rodríguez, who recently rejected a qualifying offer from the Red Sox, is represented by Mato Sports Management.
Rodríguez was seemingly in strong demand — his contract tops MLBTR’s projected five-year, $70MM estimate — drawing varying levels of interest from the Blue Jays, Angels and incumbent Red Sox. (Boston presented him with a multi-year offer in addition to the one-year qualifying offer.) Detroit will wind up topping the bidding, in the process installing a mid-rotation arm to its fairly young starting staff. That was known to be a priority for the Tigers’ front office, with general manager Al Avila frankly telling reporters after the season that adding an established starter “would be a necessity” for the club.
Detroit has also been tied to right-handers Jon Gray and Anthony DeSclafani, but it seems Rodríguez will be the Tigers’ big rotation add of the offseason. He’ll serve as the veteran anchor in a starting group that also includes young, highly-touted arms like Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal and Matt Manning. With Spencer Turnbull expected to miss most or all of 2022 after undergoing July Tommy John surgery and Matthew Boyd looking likely to be non-tendered after undergoing a flexor procedure, it’s possible Detroit looks to add additional rotation depth later in the offseason. It’s unlikely any subsequent pick-up will be as impactful or as costly as Rodríguez, whose reported contract terms are quite strong.
Not only does he beat MLBTR’s projected guarantee by $7MM, he picks up the freedom to re-test the market two years from now. The southpaw won’t turn 29 years old until April 2022, meaning he’ll only be entering his age-31 campaign over the 2023-24 offseason. If he pitches well over the next couple seasons, it’s easy to envision Rodríguez opting out and hitting free agency in search of another long-term deal during a winter without any sort of uncertainty about the collective bargaining agreement. Yet the contract’s five-year guarantee also gives him solid stability to guard against injuries or underperformance that could crop up over the next two years.
That Rodríguez generated such strong interest and landed this kind of commitment from the Tigers serves as the latest reminder of teams’ changing methods of player evaluation. On the surface, Rodríguez wouldn’t appear to be coming off a particularly impressive season. He racked up 157 2/3 innings over 32 appearances (31 starts), but he did so with a career-worst 4.74 ERA. Not long ago, a five-year guarantee for a pitcher coming off a platform season in which his ERA was pushing 5.00 would’ve been inconceivable.
Teams are going far beyond ERA to evaluate pitchers in 2021, though, and Rodríguez’s underlying numbers were very strong. He struck out 27.4% of opponents this past season, a mark that’s nearly five percentage points above the league average for starters. Rodríguez’s 11.7% swinging strike rate is also a bit north of the 10.9% league mark, his fourth consecutive healthy season generating whiffs at greater than an 11% clip.
Rodríguez also has solid control, with his walk percentages typically hovering right around the league average. He doled out free passes at just a 7% rate in 2021, the lowest mark of his career. And despite pitching in one of the game’s most hitter-friendly home parks and divisions, he’s never really had issues preventing home runs.
More than anything, Rodríguez’s poor run prevention numbers in 2021 were the result of what happened when batters put the ball into play. Opponents had a .363 batting average on balls in play this past season, the second-highest mark among the 129 pitchers with 100+ frames. It’s not as if Rodríguez was simply getting battered night in and night out, though; opposing hitters’ 86.5 MPH average exit velocity was in the bottom ten percent leaguewide, while their 33.6% hard contact rate was in the worst fifteen percent.
Between his combination of swing-and-miss stuff, control and soft contact, Rodríguez fared quite well in the eyes of ERA estimators. While his actual ERA ranked 100th of that group of 129 hurlers, his FIP (3.32) and SIERA (3.64) checked in 21st and 24th, respectively. The Tigers are clearly of the belief that those metrics better reflect Rodríguez’s true talent level, with his ghastly 2021 run prevention attributable mostly to some combination of poor luck and a Boston defense that was the league’s worst at turning balls in play into outs. In prior seasons, Rodríguez’s peripherals and ERA aligned a lot more closely, and he posted a cumulative 3.92 ERA/3.84 FIP between 2017-19.
A deeper dive into Rodríguez’s underlying numbers explains why the Tigers were willing to put forth this kind of financial outlay, but that’s not to say the move is without risk. Long-term investments in pitchers are inherently a gamble, considering the rate of pitcher injuries throughout the league. And while Rodríguez has been a durable workhorse for the bulk of his career, he didn’t pitch at all in 2020 after a scary bout with myocarditis (essentially inflammation of the heart) that arose from a case of COVID-19.
Rodríguez was open about the toll the disease took on his body, with doctors forbidding seemingly mundane tasks like walking his dog and playing video games for months — to say nothing of a strenuous activity like pitching (link via James Wagner of the New York Times). In that context, his return to the field in 2021 was remarkable, and he didn’t look worse for wear once he could return to the diamond. Detroit’s medical staff no doubt did due diligence on evaluating how likely that unfortunate circumstance would be of affecting Rodríguez over the long term.
It’s not yet clear precisely how Rodríguez will be paid over the coming seasons. If he’s paid a flat $15.4MM sum annually, that’d push Detroit’s 2022 payroll just above $125MM, in the estimation of Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. Non-tendering a few arbitration eligible players like Boyd, Niko Goodrum and Dustin Garneau could knock $10MM+ off that tally. The Tigers would still be far above the approximate $81MM payroll with which they entered the 2021 season (via Cot’s Baseball Contracts), but the franchise has spent nearly $200MM on players in seasons past.
The Tigers’ biggest spending days came during the tenure of late owner Mike Ilitch. The franchise drastically reduced payroll after he passed away and left primary control of the team to his son Christopher Ilitch. Detroit has been amidst a massive rebuild for essentially all of the latter’s ownership tenure, however, and Ilitch suggested in August that he’d be prepared to spend for “high-impact” players. Rodríguez certainly qualifies, and it’s generally expected the Tigers will be among the primary suitors in this offseason’s star-studded free agent shortstop class as well. Indeed, the Detroit front office has had at least cursory conversations with representatives for Carlos Correa, Corey Seager and Trevor Story, among others.
As for the Red Sox, they’ll now have to replace a player who’s been a valuable rotation member for the past six seasons. Rodríguez broke in with Boston in 2015 and has been a fixture on the starting staff ever since (excluding his missed 2020 campaign). He was a key member of the Sox’s World Series-winning 2018 team, finished sixth in 2019 AL Cy Young Award voting and pitched in the postseason for Boston in each of 2017, 2018 and 2021.
Because the Red Sox made him a qualifying offer, they will pick up a compensatory pick in next summer’s amateur draft. As a team that neither received revenue sharing nor exceeded the luxury tax threshold in 2021, Boston receives a pick after Competitive Balance Round B (typically in the 70-75 overall range).
The Tigers, meanwhile, will forfeit a pick as a penalty for signing away a qualified free agent. Detroit received revenue sharing in 2021, meaning they’ll only lose their third-highest draft choice next year. Were the Tigers to sign another qualified free agent this offseason, they’d surrender their fourth-highest pick as well.
Cody Stavenhagen of the Athletic first reported that Rodríguez was nearing agreement on a multi-year deal with the Tigers. Jon Heyman of the MLB Network reported Rodríguez and the Tigers were in agreement on a five-year contract. Jeff Passan of ESPN reported the guarantee to land within the $77MM – $80MM range. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported the presence of an opt-out clause. Heyman reported the guarantee to be $77MM, that Rodríguez’s opt-out possibility came after the 2023 season, and the possibility of incentives. Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press pegged those possible incentives at $3MM and reported the presence of no-trade protection.
Image courtesy of USA TODAY Sports.
This would be an excellent move by the Tigers their fans should be very excited about the direction of their team.
YES!!!!!
This is a terrific signing by Detroit. Congrats to both Rodriguez and the Tigers.
I think it is good for Detroit but I am glad the Sox saved the money and got the pick. That’s a lot of money for a #3 rotation guy. But I have nothing but love fkr Wrod and
I meant to say nothing but love for Erod and I hope him success. I think this just opened up all sorts of possibilities for the Sox with Pedey’s money and 18.4m off the books. Can’t wait to see what CB does.
I am always lukewarm about giving opt-outs. BVut with CBA uncertainty and it being Detroit, the team probably had no choice. No doubt that is he stays healthy, it makes the Tigers better.
Detroit has other stud starter, top draft picks in the minors: Jackson Jobe,
Ty Madden, Joey Wentz (from the Braves in a trade).
Of Rodriquez “opts out” in two years then it saves Detroit money and they have it covered with players on the way..
If he opts out, then they essentially signed him to a 2 year $28M contract. That’s an absolute steal any team would’ve loved to get his signature on. And the only way he will opt out is if he overperforms the next two years to make it have been more of a steal.
Trade Dalbec and Jeter Downs plus a B plus prospect for Matt Olson, Motas and Manea! Take Jonathan Villar for 2b and Raigel Iglesia the closer
Never happening. The A’s could probably get more for just Olson. Why Villar when if necessary you can re-sign Iglesias?
Iglesias only good for short time a la Holt!! Villar can hit 2 side ( play 3 and SS)
lol This is not some hack fantasy league. You should offer Garciaparra and Pedrioa in that package. Unbelievably stupid trade offer.
Lol, good luck with him
Tigers coming.
Giants and Tigers will be the most active team in FA
SP market looks to be expensive so FA SP are a hot ticket
Every year gets worse. Harder now than before with the sticky stuff issue, you’ve really got to look at how guys did second half and decide if it was their ability showing through, or just anomaly if there’s a drop off.
Erod was one of the best all around, warts and all, this offseason. Good job by Detroit.
Only thing I’d have wished if I were part of the fanbase is that there was a mechanism to buy-out the opt-out – add a year, give a raise… something to prevent its exercise. But, that said, still be grateful for the early years of the deal regardless.
He’ll be fun to watch.
He had a WAR of less than 2 and an ERA approaching 5 and $15/16 million a year with an opt out. I am far behind times it appears. I don’t get why people get so excited.
His advanced stats were very good, if you did not read the article fully it shows his advanced stats
I do understand your skeptism though
Definitely behind the times. People consider the entire body of work. If a player comes in injured, has two bad months, then plays well for the next four months, then they will consider those first two months an aberration.
Of course, that also depends on the injury. A rotator will call for a lot more scrutiny. I would be concerned about his heart issue, but I would completely ignore the first two months.
He has a lifetime WHIP of over 1.3. Averages only 25 starts a year. And an average WAR of 2.5. Being a Dodger fan I get spoiled. He would be no more than a 4 starter on most teams. $15/$16 million just seems nothing to get excited about. Which was my point.
Now compare him to Heaney for us.
1-I usually don’t consider WHIP. It generally penalizes high-strike out pitchers. My preference is almost always K/W over WHIP.
2-His average WAR is 2.5, only if you include his first two seasons, When I evaluate a player, I would never look back any further than three years. Since ERod missed 2020, I would focus on 2017-2019, then dissect 2021. From 2017-2019, he averaged 3.6 WAR. In 2021, I would split the season into 1st and 2nd halves. He had a 5.52 in the first half and 3.71 in the second half.
And after I finish my analysis, I look to see what the experts predict. FG predicts a 3.7 WAR. I see no reason to disagree with that.
Rodriguez is not a good fit for a lot of teams. But for Detroit…. great fit. All of those young pitchers move down a slot in the rotation, and you get a pitcher who can regain his old form in a low pressure environment in Detroit. Soft contact in Fenway can be a double for many hitters. In Detroit, its an out.
Stye you mean a one year $8m gamble? How do you compare 5 years vs one? Friedman typically knows what he is doing. Can’t say the same for Avila.
They are paying Heaney as a long reliever/#5/#6.
“He would be no more than a 4 starter on most teams.”
I calling BS on that comment. Both ESPN and Fangraph have Rodriguez listed on Detroit’s depth chart as the team’s Ace. You seriously think you can find 16 teams where he is no better than 4th? Come on.
Not sure how you define a No 4 starter, but with 15 teams in each league, the top 15 SP would be No 1, 16- 30 No 2, 31- 45 No 3 and 46- 60 No 4. That’s how I’d do it. No way there are 45 pitchers better in the AL. (I use AL to avoid adjusting for the non DH factor in the NL).
Move him from Fenway to Comerica park, give him a better defense (which he’d probably have even staying in Boston) and ERA drops significantly. He ranked 10th in the AL in fWAR and 6th in FIP among AL starters with at least 100 innings. With what SP’s cost these days, it’s a good deal for Tigers.
No, he really won’t be. Trust me on this.
Because you are looking at bWAR which uses ERA so you’re essentially just looking at the same stat twice… most of us have moved way past ERA. You are indeed behind the time. Like 10 years late lol
Denny he would be a number 4 on most Dodger teams. Which is what I said and which he would be this year too.
The poster who said no more than a 4th starter on most teams is wrong. I know my NL teams better. He is no more than a 4th starter on the Braves, Brewers and Dodgers, which were three of the best four teams in NL in 2021. The other team, the Giants, lost three SPs to free agency. He is better than a fourth starter on the remainder of the NL teams.
Advanced stats mean nothing to me because there are too many factors not considered or arbitrary. ERod has potential as any Sox fan knows and I wanted him back. Now that he’s not, let’s see ownership add the money saved and make a preemptive offer to Big Max.
Joe. I wanted him back but he has big risks between the heart and his knee. Hopefully he had no long term issues with the heart and regains his stamina. I’ll be rooting for him. We don’t know what Boston offered so we don’t know their true interest in getting him back. Now spend the money, add to it and make an offer to Max.
No response, so we can assume that he’s not excited about Heaney but then, other than his Mom, no one is excited about the Heaney acquisition.
I’m comparing 8MM per year for Heaney to $16MM per year for Rodriguez. One was dropped from the roster of a playoff team, while the other was solidly in the rotation of a playoff team. That Heaney is only worth signing for one year ain’t my fault.
Who’s Denny?
But then it becomes a meaningless response. LAD has a great rotation. Saying he would be LAD’s #4 is a pretty good compliment.
Detroit has some stud in the OF and INF for better Defense to back up the pitchers. If they sign a top SS, then their D is even better!
Detroit has some studs in the OF and INF for better Defense to back up the pitchers. If they sign a top SS, then their D is even better!
Boston had a sub par Defense.
Detroit has better Defenders especially if they sign one of the top young
shortstops.
Tigers home park is a pitching, speed and defense park.
Fenway is more of a hitters park.
Comerica Park is a pitchers park and the ERAs will be lower at home.
FormerlyCubsWin108 – The advanced stats if chosen very selectively are good. If you look at them in total he sucks for $15M a year. If you mention K rate or BB rate improving you must mention how badly the hit rate more than offset the BB rate. That gives the big picture and is an unbiased evaluation. That’s why ERA and WHIP are still the gold standard for pitching.
I love it when people use actual math to back logic, now when you factor in the average cost of 1 WAR being about 8 million dollars with a projected expectation of about 3.7 WAR next year its easy to see why people are excited about this signing. Because if the Tigers get that, they will be netting surplus value of about 11-13 million dollars in 2022
He’s a good pitcher but the thing is that he’s been inconsistent every year. This is probably the first year I’ve seen him issue less walks, so he may have turned a corner, but you just never know.
Nobody that has an ounce of baseball IQ in the year 2021 would say ERA and WHIP are gold standards..WHIP is still very useful….but ERA….christ dude….you need to update you’re DOS spreadsheet buddy….yikes.
Also take the fact that it’s a pitchers park. When teams faced him at the Fens they stacked Righties to take aim at the wall. It’s why I think it’s a great deal for Detroit. But I’m still glad we didn’t spend the money and took the pick. One mans rubbish is another mans gold. He will do better then the 3.5 war I think.
Mets will be just as active
Lol. Stay golden.
lol worry about finding a PoBo first.
I hear the circus has some great applicants you should consider
They have withdrawn their names for consideration.
Mets have problems internally that need solving first. I don’t see them being very active at all. Maybe bringing in some of their current free agents but other than that I don’t see much else happening
If the Mets aren’t very active, it will be because front office members getting hurt. Injuries are still the fallback excuse, right?
Active yes, with a purpose, wait and see.
This will make Matz and Gray’s agents pretty happy.
If I were the jays I would have QO Matz. Either way Matz’s goes with the QO is better than losing him for nothing. Teams like the jays with money to spend, that generally have a tough time getting free agents without overpaying, should be using their money to gamble on QO. I’d much rather have a guy for one year 18 million than 2 years at 13-15 million given how quickly SP assets depreciated.
Hot Stove heating up now
Take notice: AL Central. Tigers played well for most of 2021 and are gonna be making moves this year
Shame to see him go, that’s not a terrible deal for a mid-rotation starter. Inconsistent at times, but has good stuff
Alright! Got one correct for my free agent predictions!
2 now! Unless you missed the signing of the yankee trade deadline standout by the Dodgers :p
You are correct @Rbase, but I’m not technically counting that as a prediction since the signing occurred before I filled out my list
On the one hand, I’m excited I called this one. On the other, I wish it would have happened 24 hours from now so not everyone else would have it too.
Same. I was disappointed when I went to edit my form only to find out I didn’t have to.
Haha ditto
i think they changed the date actually.
scratch that
Wait, am I able to go back and change that since we haven’t reached the deadline?
Each year at this time, a foul cast descends upon this website from those claiming glory for correctly predicting free agent signings.
No one else cares. Put a halt to it.
There has been only one noteworthy achievement from a reader in recent history. It wasn’t some fake claim as a who-cares prognosticator.
Mine was the 100th upvote on a comment. It happened within the last month.
The actual post itself is irrelevant and forgotten, but how many of you have ever been up-voter number 100?
Too late, Glory Seekers. It is already mine.
Actually plenty of people care in fact they should put the results by everyone’s name. That way the most opinionated people who think they’re so smart have to look at their results before clicking send. A message should come up. “You only got 2/50 predictions right are you sure you want to be this opinionated given you don’t know what you’re talking about clearly? “
MetsFan be like “yes, even though I’m always wrong, continue posting”
So like a MLBTR social credit score?
This should be upvoted 100 times.
I thought he would accept the QO coming off that season, guess not.
@FormerlyCubsWin108
mlbtraderumors.com/2021/11/trevor-story-to-reject-…
So much for your THEORY about Trevor Story accepting the qualifying offer LOL
Signing Rodriguez will result in losing draft picks to the RSox. Will that change their panorama in terms of signing another FA attached to a QO (like Correa)?
Doubt it. They’ve said all along they’re willing to spend this off-season and were targeting a top pitcher and probably short stop too. I bet they’ll still be very active on pursuing a guy like Correa
Doubt it. If anything, the first FA is the most expensive. After that, you lose progressively worse draft picks. The Tigers are coming out of their rebuild. Now is not the time to worry about draft slots, especially with SS and offense two big areas of need for them. As a White Sox fan, if I were to be concerned about any team in the ALC this coming year, it’d be the Tigers.
It will encourage them. The second FA is always cheaper irt the draft.
Not quite, the signing team forfeits a pick to MLB while the team that loses the player is awarded a pick depending on the amount the player signed for, in this case Boston will probably gain a top 40 pick while the Tigers forfeit a 3rd rounder unless the tigers get awarded a compensatory pick.
Boston will gain a pick probably in the low or mid 70s from the E-Rod QO.
Not exactly. The Tigers lose their third highest pick, which is a supplemental second round pick, but it doesn’t go to the Red Sox. They receive compensation but not exactly the Tigers’ pick.
Sox have a supplemental pick that is protected due to not signing their 2nd round draft last year. So where we may lose a pick if we sign a QO FA, it won’t touch our 42nd pick in the draft. Fact.
Boston getting 1 pick in competitive balance round 2.
Tigers will lose their 3rd round pick.
They are gonna be spenders this off-season
Now that’s a bargain. Maybe Avila KIND OF knows what he’s doing.
No it’s not. He could very well live up to the contract but there’s no way he outperforms it enough to call it a bargain.
Here’s hoping he opts out in 2 years, which would mean the Tigers got value!
No one wants to think the worst but he signed because of that opt out and the 5 years. If he’s out due to injuries or just plain sucks, he’s got those three additional years. My guess is Boston offered more AAV on a traditional three year deal.
This is what’s wrong with the MLB. Teams like Boston just can’t afford to keep up with big market teams like The Tigers.
I like what you did there. Seems like he wanted out of Boston more than they undervalued him, no? He hated Fenway as a home park, guaranteed. Comerica half the year could take half a run (or more) off his ERA.
Not really. That defense is horrid.
You speak as if the patchwork defense rolled out by bloom was filled with GGers, or even GG finalists, all around.
Erod got a lot of things in boston, defensive support lately wasn’t one of them.
He received good run support. Past that, go on B-R and check his career H/A splits. His K/W is identical, and his OPSa is identical, as well as the components are almost identical.
“could take half a run (or more) off his era.”
MLB Park Factors
Fenway Park — Runs – 1.103, HR – .934
Comerica — Runs – 1.005, HR – .938
The run factor is a minute .098 more runs at Fenway. With higher chance of HRs in Comerica. There is almost no benefit moving to Detroit.
Unless they bring in a top SS and possibly more. Bringing in a top SS alone would greatly lift that defense
He moves away from facing offensive powerhouses like NYY, TOR, and TB in the East to facing weaker hitting Central teams. That should make a nice dent in E-Rod’s numbers going forward.
What makes you say he wanted out of Boston? It’s almost certain that this contract is significantly better than the best deal Boston was willing to offer. That length, AAV, and the early opt out. Great deal for him! He’s now covered either way, kudos to him and his agent. Pretty reasonable assumption that if Boston had made the best offer he would have stuck around.
When a guy signs this early, its because the offer surpassed expectations he/his agent had for him.
Comerica and the Tigers rabbits in the OF and a new SS will take 1.0-1..5 off his home ERA
Very funny! Boston has done quite well this past decade
especially when they win titles and then tank the next few years for high draft picks.
We haven’t exactly tanked… ERod was great but we obviously weren’t going to overpay like the Tigers did. If you notice, Bloom doesn’t overpay guys. He finds players like Pivetta who aren’t special but keep us relevant.
Good move by the Tigers getting a guy with E Rods’ upside. Pitching in a big park in Detroit should help him out a lot
Tigers are going to be one of the most fascinating teams the rest of this offseason and going into 2022. Still need some more power though. Wonder if they’ll go after someone like Baez at SS, since I can’t imagine they’d want to sign two players who were issued qualifying offers.
Baez isn’t worth anything close to Correa/Semien/Story.
No, he’s not, but he has the benefit of costing less money and not costing the draft pick. Those extra resources could be utilized elsewhere.
I’d much rather have Baez over Correa, at the predicted prices. In 5 years, Baez will be gone, while whoever gets Correa will start to regret it.
Actually, I think Baez will pursue some crazy amount of money that is very close to whoever gets paid the highest, which I believe will be Correa.
@PutPete, He can pursue it all he wants. At the end of the day, that level is just not there for him.
As a Mets fan I’d rather Baez than story. But you’re right about the other two
You’d rather have a streaky hitting, sub .300 OBP guy with strong defense than a .350 OBP platinum glove winning SS? I would love to know the reasoning behind this.
When Baez’ power numbers decrease in a few years he will be an offensive liability. Correa’s skillset will age much better. In regards to attitude, they are both hot heads with questionable behavior.
So other than saving some money, I can’t see why you would choose one over the other. Correa is the superior player, trash cans or not.
I think part of the reason could be that he’s more fun to watch. I would say he’s a lot more fun to watch than Seager or Story.
Baez sucks man
Thumbs down all the way on that kid
Baez is definitely not on the same level as Correa, Seager, or Story. I just don’t know if the Tigers will want to sign a second player who was issued a qualifying offer. But, maybe they’re going all in and don’t mind that kind of sacrifice right now.
They don’t care. Shortstop seems to be the only thing they have not been able to figure out with the farm, and with this year’s bounty of quality short stops, you’re almost guaranteed they’re going to drop another big contract. There’s just nothing in the farm, and there’s nothing in the near future coming to free agency. I fully expect them to be in hard after Correa.
Basically, all indications from the front brass are it is one of the big three or bust for a short stop.
If they have that in place after free agency, they can compete next year, and they have everything they need to just add a few pieces the following free agency to see which one of the prospects do or don’t pan out at any given position
While the free agent class is stacked this year, it drops off incredibly after the top guys. You have Correa, Story, Seager, Semien if you move him back to SS. Then Baez. And then no one substantial. If the Tigers want to go all in, I agree. They take one of those top 3 (I had Correa going to them).
I agree.
Which is why it’s one of the big 3 or bust. As a Tigers fan, I would love to see them go after Correa and sign him. But I think it’s safe to assume they wont end up with less then Story, so if that’s the case, how could I complain?
You will see them sign one of the big three. It’s the last piece they need and Avila knows it. His job and future as a GM rides on him putting together the last of this rebuild and shortstop was the only thing he truly needs to address after all this time rebuilding so he has got to make one of these deals happen.
Last piece they need? I think they need a little bit more help then just a allstar caliber SS to compete for the division next year..
I wouldn’t offer any 10 year contract. I’d rather they go with Kreidler before they do that. Look into trading for DeJong.
Tigers needs- SP, check
SS- both offense and defense
Second base, which is solved if Schoop moves back where he belongs
First base, if Schoop moves to second. Enter Torkelson at some point.
Two or three middle of the order bats. Could be the SS, Torkelson, and Riley Greene, or another player could break out.
The Tigers had above league average production at 1B, 3B, C, and the OF positions. The SS would give them seven. The SS could be the last piece if the kids are alright in 2022, but closing the gap on the White Sox in one season is a big ask. They’re coming though!
I would disagree, the Tigers could easily play for their division and signing Correa could be the difference.
I expect their young pitchers to progress and along with this signing they could be dangerous in the central. I do not expect the sox to walk away with it.
Like what? MAYBE a CF, but that’s it.
This is of course contingent on the prospect they have just about to come up panning out to be at least league average, but we have better than that with Green and Tork.
The Tigers really aren’t that far away from contention, my guy. A SP(filled) and a SS like Correa and they are immediately a contender in the central.
@pawsdeep
How many CF does one team need? Hill, Cameron, Baddoo, Reyes, Greene.
Tigers need depth. One of those CFs could be traded for other needs.
Greene will play RF Hill and Baddoo play CF.
If Cameron “breaks out” offensively, then Hill and/or Reyes could be traded.
Lots of clubs looking for help in CF.
@ stymeedone I don’t think badoo is the every day guy for CF, and Hill has a pretty below average hit tool. Albeit, he will give gold glove defense in center. So that’s the ‘maybe?’ Part of it. And kind of my point. If they sign a SS, they’re rolling out a pretty damn good roster, with a better bat in CF being the only real problem I see with the lineup.
Understood, but they only need one of them to come thru. With 5 in-house options and the 2nd best FA arguably Jacobs Jones, I will stay in house, and even consider Goodrum, and Harold as options
They would for a premier SS. They are losing their 3rd and 4th highest picks so this would be the year to give up picks.
They need two impact bats one on which is a SS, Baez would be 4th on my list behind Correa, Seager and Simeon. The 2nd bat I would prefer Schwarber but would settle for someone who can play multiple positions. I’m not fully sold on Grossman or Candalerio being consistent numbers and I would like more HR pop than 15-20 from 3b.
Candelario led the league in doubles last year and is entering the typical prime ages. I could see a lot of those doubles turning into homers soon. 25 homer power isnt out of the question.
Holy overpay batman. But I guess that’s what you gotta do if you’re a mid market team coming back from the rebuild wilderness.
Over-pay? Mid-market? Are you new to sports in America? Detroit is, by far, one of the 10 biggest markets in baseball. Also, this contract is the exact opposite of an “overpay” when he’s been in the AL East his entire career. Watch some baseball.
This is a little aggressive. Bleacher Report shows Detroit as MLB’s 12th largest market. Out of 30 teams, twelfth is almost exactly in the middle.
Above, MLBTR shows Rodriguez aligned for $7M above their projections indicating a possible overpay.
Please be kinder to people.
I wouldn’t call it an overpay. Most numbers I’ve seen have Rodriguez at 4 years, $60 mill. The Tigers added a year but pretty much kept the same AAV. It may turn out to be a bargain once we see more pieces come off the board, and the prices they command. I think it was a good deal for both sides.
MLBTR had him a 5 and $70M, and others projected more than that. So maybe a slight overpay, but nothing to worry about. I agree a good deal
Off by $7MM over a 5 year contract. Not much of an overpay. And 12th largest is much closer to 10 than (right in the middle) 15. But just battling perspectives. Is the glass half empty?
Overpay to induce one to settle down in the cosmopolitous that is Detwa
The Jays better nab Ray or Kershaw before is too late !
Kershaw is not coming to Toronto lol. What even makes you say that? Did you want Rodriguez? Have you not watched him against the Jays for 5 or so years? He’s pretty inconsistent lol.
Ray will probably come back to Toronto. Kershaw isn’t going anywhere.
Kershaw will not be anywhere near Toronto. The way I see it, the only way for him to leave LA is for the Rangers, just because that is closer to home for him. I think LA bites the bullet and signs Kershaw a one maybe two year deal to send him off
He got more than TradeRumors was predicting, but even so, I almost want to take the QO for him and bank on a bigger contract next offseason. But look, great deal for him. Like, can’t complain about that sort of money. Generational money for sure
His opt out will give him the chance to try again in 2 years
I agree. At the predicted 5/70 I couldn’t see him giving up almost 1/19 just for the extra years.
If the deal is front loaded though, and add the opt out if he either has good years or the tigers don’t emerge for whatever reason, he can reenter FA at 31 instead of 34. That makes a difference.
Welp, I’m 0-1.
Not sure which is worse—being 0-1 or not going in and editing so you are 1-1.
Should be 2-2 after this. Heaney was another early signing.
Who else signed that he was wrong on?
Bloom likes being the smartest guy in the room – always uphill. Letting Rodriguez walk is a mistake.
1.19-run gap between his ERA and xERA was the 7th largest in MLB…Tigers got a technical bargain.
The only real knock on Erod in my opinion is the tendency to nibble a bit too much. His pitch count baloons because he gets ahead then doesn’t put a guy away, often trying too long to get a chase. Sometimes it let’s him get stuck with too long an inning and makes a mistake, others he just leave a game too early despite favorable box score and strong performance.
If you put a good defense behind him, and have a long bullpen to back up shorter outings (say 5+IP, not looking for 6+ or 7) he should shine.
Agreed, GA – Rodriguez has Dice-K tendencies that need to go. Frustrating, but he’s got untapped potential.
in the D, he’s got Fetter to make him better. Chris’s mantra is win the battle to two strikes. no nibbling allowed.
I’ve never understood the silly tendency of some people to speak for public figures without any real evidence to go on. Bloom, to me, reflects the same TB style of front office work that we’ve seen from a few folks. That isn’t about “being the smartest” but about taking advantage of a process that has worked wonders for a disadvantaged franchise. Hard to argue with the results!
571, you never understand the “silly” habit of “speaking for public figures,” then you proceed to speak for a public figure. Right on. I’ll never understand the “silly” nature of 571 misunderstanding the nature of people sharing opinions. The same “evidence” you mention is the same evidence I used – perspective. Glass half full, glass half empty.
It’s because the simpletons for years think you gotta spend big money always outbidding everyone to win. They’ve been completely duped by Scott Boras. Yeah let’s disagree with Bloom who was part of the most successful franchises who have a bottom 5 payroll…
It’s an interesting world we live in. About a week ago, Bloom was being called an idiot for offering ERod a QO. Of course, those people know nothing about how free agency works, but there will be just as many people calling it a mistake for allowing ERod to leave.
Joe
Let’s just say it Bloom is not an idiot he is a smart calculated guy. Giving the QO was always a no brainer especially when before the QO’s I knew that Detroit was on this guy and I guarantee you if I know that then Bloom knows that. Despite what some think Eddie is a good pitcher and now we have to watch him blossom in Detroit.
Bruin1012
Let’s just say it Bloom is not an idiot he is a smart calculated guy. Giving the QO was always a no brainer
===================================
And that is the obvious, as well as obvious, answer.
I have absolutely no objection to fans saying that we should’ve kept him, or should’ve let him go. I’d have had no problem keeping him, at a cheaper price, but i also have no problem looking at guys like Castillo or Syndergaard.
The entire point of my exercise was a QO was absolutely a no-brainer. He was always going to reject it. The QO was a free draft pick. It was almost impossible to come to any other conclusion, except for those posters who would prefer to sound like idiots, rather than accept that Bloom was right. Even though 99% of the world would’ve made the same decision.
If giving ERod a QO was a “no-brainer”. Why did 34% click ‘No’ on Erod survey, before he got the offer.
Because 100% of the survey takers weren’t GMs/POBOs for a MLB team….
@denny – because a share of the respondants –
* didn’t watch him actually pitch?
* didn’t look at or have no belief in advance metrics?
* aren’t as knowledgeable as they want to think they are?
People say and do things all the time contrary to what the “no-brainer” decision is, but that doesn’t change the status of said option.
It was a no brainer period end of story. I guarantee you Bloom knew about the Tigers interest and it was t just the Tigers they were just the most interested the bottom line based on the information available before the QO deadline that made it a no brainer. He was going to decline because his agent told him that there were better offers then the QO thus making it a no brainer
dennyd
If giving ERod a QO was a “no-brainer”. Why did 34% click ‘No’ on Erod survey, before he got the offer.
=================================
I would have no problem suggesting that 34% of the posters don’t understand the market. Even in this article, where he’s already signed for $77M, how many people reference his 2021 ERA, and ignore his previous years from 2017-2019, and ignore his second half of 2021?
This doesn’t mean they know nothing about baseball, but GMs calculate a players WAR for 2022, based on a lot of different factors. But there would not be a single person in all 30 FOs that think ERod will have a 4.74 ERA next year.
* didn’t look at or have no belief in advance metrics?
================================
I’d bet at least half of the 34% have no idea what his 1st half/2nd half splits are.
I’d bet half have no idea that FG is predicting a 3.7 WAR next year.
34% of respondents lacked brains?
The Sox should have re-signed him. They have the money. A definite loss for them.
Bloom had to choose between letting Rodro walk or chew gum. He chose
Angels miss again!!!
Don’t worry – LAA will get their men. They’re waiting for SPs to emerge with red flags in one pocket and iffy results in the other.
They’re waiting until all the good ones are gone and will sign the 3 remaining AAAA pitchers.
For once I’m relieved they missed out on a pitcher. Detroit will regret this signing.
For the free agent contest, how do you go and edit your predictions? Ive already submitted mine so there might not be a way.
You should’ve gotten an email with the info.
First domino to fall. 5 years at $77mm seems a little light to me, but what do I know?!
It’s not a bad deal, and for E-Rod getting to make a ton of starts against KC, CLE & MIN vs. TOR, NY & TB is a decent bonus on the stats page.
That opt-out is a huge value, 5Y/$77M is just the floor. If he’s dealing over the next couple years he can parlay this into something more.
It depends on how he’s being valued. The opt-out reduces the total dollar value. Im not really sure the value of the opt out but guessing he left a chunk on the table to get that. It also makes you wonder what other teams were offering.
Does anyone know what kind of draft pick is headed to the Sox?
It’ll be lumped after competitive balance rd b. Where they fall in that grouping depends on which other QO players decline their offers.
See above in the article for the answer.
Random thought – but I’d love to see a list of players who were drafted using a draft pick that was issued as compensation for a player who was issued a qualifying offer, and see where they rank in terms of output so far.
A few notables:
*Mike Trout was drafted with a comp pick acquired for the NYY signing Mark Texiera.
*Josh Donaldson was drafted with a comp pick acquired for the LAD signing Juan Pierre.
*Matt Olson was drafted with a comp pick acquired for the Cubs signing David DeJesus.
*Aaron Judge was drafted with a comp pick acquired for CLE signing Nick Swisher.
*Joey Gallo was drafted with a comp pick acquired for the LAA signing CJ Wilson.
*Trevor Story was drafted with a comp pick acquired for TOR signing Octavio Dotel.
My favorite is the supplemental pick that wasn’t made.
The Giants got a supplemental pick in 2007 for losing reliever Mike Stanton. They had a chance to – but passed on – an opportunity to use that pick take a slugging high school OF from SoCal also named Mike Stanton. He was selected not long thereafter by the Marlins and eventually told everyone he preferred to go by the name “Giancarlo” rather than Mike.
Nice list!
Something to consider though… Trout and a few others were actual top 30 1st rd comp picks, not Competitive round B picks which are around 70th-80th overall.
The compensation for losing a free agent used to be a first round pick. Only took a few years for teams to figure out it was better to lose the expense soon to be past prime player for another first round pick and get the extra slot money.
@5tool- Thanks! And that’s a fair argument about Trout but I didn’t isolate them because they were all technically comp picks.
I am not sure about the accuracy of your post but Mike Trout was drafted 24th or 25th and that is not a compensatory pick.
Trout was drafted 25th, and he’s listed just about everywhere as a comp pick- even on the MLB website itself.
E-Rod is damaged goods. Glad to see him off the Sox.
1. A solid signing for the Tigers at a very decent price.
2. Red Sox down another reliable starter
3. ERod should do pretty well in Comerica Park compared to Fenway
4. The 2 yr. opt out is good for both sides. ERod can pitch great through ’23 when the Tigers should be a playoff quality squad…and the Tiger farm can grow another starter by ’24 that could replace ERod if he should choose to move on
5. A rotation of ERod, Mize, Manning, Skubal is a good start for ’22. Do the Tigers bring back Peralta as the 5th starter for next year? They could do worse.
I think there’s another FA starter in the works.
I think they’d go with Alexander before they do Peralta again tbh. They might resign him and use him as depth though.
Wohoo, I got a pick right!
Pretty much every move Al Avila has made since becoming the Tigers GM suggested he was way over his head until last offseason (Baddoo, Grossman, extending Schoop). This year has started off with gusto. t was brilliant to grab Tucker Barnhardt before other GMs realized there was going to be a big game of musical chairs leaving some teams without a competent catcher. Now another excellent move making the first big splash in free agency with an underrated pitcher (by some) at an affordable price! Well played, Mr. Avila. I may have underestimated you…
I agree well said on all points. Those signings were odd, but now I see what they are doing. Bringing in solid baseball players and club house leaders or non conflict type of guys to go with their young talents. Those deals look solid now and the price tag for Ed looks good. The key was Tucker. Only Gomes available this year I believe and the Mets paying out for McCann last year was a joke
Blue Jays and their catchers say hi
Slimmycitos mama says hi
Right in line with the MLBTR prediction. Fair market value. Man pitching is at a real premium. If Comerica really is that cavernous and what would be home run level hits in a park like Fenway would be warning track fly outs at Comerica, Eduardo Rodriguez’s ERA must be ridiculously inflated as a fly ball pitcher from Boston being his home team.
And with that opt out, EdRod and the Tigers must believe playing at Comerica could improve his ERA by up to 1 full ERA or better. Like 3.65 ERA or something thanks to the new home park.
Intriguing logic. I hope it works out for both sides of this deal.
Right in line? They were off 10%?? You must be the same guy working at the fed that said inflation would be transitory all those months ago yet it keep accelerating right?
I saw predictions of 4 years, $60 mill. (AAV $15 mill.). The contract is 5 years, $77 mill. (AAV $15.4 mill.). Sounds pretty much in line.
Mlbtr was calling for 5/70m last I saw. Right on the years, but off on the money.
GASoxFan must be fun at parties
That’s a thumbs up
I wonder about that logic. HRs aren’t really an issue for him. It’s the really high BABIP for a guy who is great at limiting hard contact that seems the biggest culprit for his inflated ERA last year. That seems part luck and part fielding. More space for the fielders to cover might even hurt the BABIP in his case.
My guess was 4/80. Close
Dang, I guess Sox want Matz instead.
Gray out of COL.
Wow I love this move.
Chris Fetter will work wonders with this guy butttt this sounds like the end of Matthew Boyd in Detroit. Especially considering he’s hurt again and Rodríguez is a lefty.
Wow I love this move. Chris Fetter will work wonders with this guy. Buttttt it sounds like this is the end of Boyd in Detroit. Especially because he’s hurt again and E-rod is a lefty.
People keep saying he will do better in Comerica. Ballpark wise, maybe so, but that Tiger defense is HORRID
not when we sign semien:)
Need more upgrading , Miggy’s deal ends next year, maybe some contracts could be a lil backloaded so keep signing players (Correa,Conforto and another SP).
I had him going to the angels, now I will at least get two predictions right
Should’ve ponied up when they had the chance (red sox)
there are other fish in the sea
Ah, but we must consider, how much more expensive is it to catch a difference species?
Will another fish have more bones, leaving you more likely to choke when eating the deal?
Will the other fish keep you well fed for as long?
How long before the other fish spoils?
And, I suppose, we need to ask if captain bloom has the necessary knowledge to successfully land any decent fish, or, will he need to buy some cheap, somewhat spoilt low quality cast-off at the dock to bring home instead?
It’s a bit late to be questioning Bloom’s knowledge. It would be a fairy tale to suggest that every move works out. But it would be as much of a fairy tale to suggest that his body of work hasn’t been really good.
I’m disappointed to not match this.
Fish Called Wanda callout. Noice
Would love them to add JV at 2 years $40 million…and Correa at 10 years $325 million
In this market it is a good contract for the Tigers. For the Red Sox it is tough but E-Rod, Sale and Eovaldi all have arm issues and money tied to them. This is the first time E-Rod pitched 30+ games and had 200 innings. The risk reward is worth it for the Tigers but not the Sox. The Tigers have young arms and E-Rod is a decent veteran to add at that price, even if he gets in 25 – 30 starts. He is more a #3 starter now.
I still think the Sox need to focus on adding a stabilizing starter to the rotation over a hitter. Bloom is going to have a microscopic offseason with the Red Sox setting unrealistic expectations during their rebuild. It was a miracle that team was in first and made the playoffs with a rotation that included Perez, Richards and Pivetta.
Well said Goose.
Spoiler alert: Goose goes down. Meg Ryan sad. Maverick remorseful.
Was only a flesh wound!!!!
Agree on a starter now that they didn’t resign ERod. Had they brought him back the rotation was in good shape with a healthier Sale, Eovaldi, healthier ERod, Houck without a chain, and Pivetta. Sure a big contract bat could look good but isn’t needed on a top 5 offense, especially when considering who their top prospects are. Last year wasn’t really miraculous, they aren’t destined for a big dropoff by any means.
Well Eddie doesn’t have arm issues that has never been the issue.
He did have a knee problem and the well publicized Myocarditis but since he has been in the majors no arm trouble at all.
Damn, was kind of hoping he ended up in Toronto. More money for Ray I guess.
This is a bad signing. Way too much for a guy with major fitness and mechanics issues
Better off putting the $80 million into something else and passing on Rodriguez
Basically getting a weak, overweight, injury prone type rather than the talented and balanced
Actually he has a value of $19 mil per season in his career according to FanGraphs. This was a steal.
Per Fangraphs! A steal!
its a good thing the game is played on the Fangraphs site.
The Detroit Statue of Liberty: “Bring us your weak, overweight, and injury prone”
I guess you should have traded Boyd away . Since you have so many top 5 pitchers but still have to sign this pos for $75 when you didn’t get a single prospect back for Boyd. Nice.
y u mad tho
No one ever made a decent offer for Boyd
What did the RS offer?
I admit I thought he was going back to Boston. From a Yankee fan perspective it is a good thing. He will not be in Boston or Toronto and the odds just increased that Correa is coming to The Bronx. Why? I cannot see Detroit spending around $400m on two free agents ( Rodríguez and Correa). Besides the Red Sox, the other big loser is the Angels who are as always desperate for pitching.
Minasian 0-1
His average value on FanGraphs was $19 mil per season, and he got $15 per season. Absolute steal for the Tigers.
Because Fangraphs says so or Rhyde1990 says so?
I thought it was because Stone Cold said so.
Give you a hell yeah
Is this where all the RS ‘fans’, that said Bloom was an idiot for offering him a QO, and that he was only worth $8M/1, come in and admit they know nothing?
But that said, I like ERod, and his stats suggest a solid #2. But the heart thing would worry me over 5 years. Past that, solid move by Avila.
IRT the RS, I’m going to miss him, especially his ability to shut down the Yankees. But it opens the gate for two guys I like as much or more; Syndergaard and Castillo. Time to call up the Reds and relieve them of their payroll problem. I can see either Duran or Downs moving over.
I’m guessing Bloom offered something like $65-70 mil over 5, and the Tigers beat him out. I’ll miss ERod, but I personally don’t think he was a great fit when you factor in the Red Sox defense and Fenway.
His max exit velocity is 18th percentile. Meaning, they unload on his weak pitching
And the only way you can get avg exit velocity and hard hit % in the 90 percentile with low fastball velocity is deception, nibbling, and massive strain on the arm
You can easily see this just from watching a few pitches but the stat cast data does point out his major problems and injury risk
The Tigers just dealed out $77 million for weak pitching. It’s as simple as that
“massive strain on the arm”
Much more strain on arm by throwing Fastballs.
No, not at all. It’s the cutters, sliders, and sinkers that will strain the arm
His survival depends on them too. He can’t rely on the 93 fastball as an out pitch
That means strain strain strain. 48% of his pitches were not fastball. That’s a lot of strain on the arm
Actually, no, he is in the bottom quartiles last year in exit velocity, %barrels and %hard hit. That is one reason so many where high on him. Good K and W rates, low percent of hard contact and an abnormally high BABIP.
There is no way to refer to ERod as a weak pitcher.
The first issue is the fact that all the experts regarded ERod as about an $80M pitcher, including MLB-R, Fangraphs, crowd-sourcing, etc.
Secondly, given that the Tigers were willing to pay him $77M, even if it is an overpay, probably means he in the neighborhood of $77M.
Thirdly, except for ~ two months, after having missed an entire season, he has been roughly a #2 pitcher. His ERA/FIP from 2017-2020 was 3.92/3.84, with an OPS+ of 118. His ERA/FIP after 6/15 was 3.66/3.09.
There is virtually nothing you can point to that suggests that he has not been a good pitcher.
Interesting, could be setting up a busy off season for Detroit. Maybe a strong run at Correa too
And now I’m 1 for 2 in the FA contest. And my one was a gimme with Andrew Heaney, since he had already signed, and, let’s face it, predicting the past is a lot easier than predicting the future.
Yippee!
Not much to be unhappy about as a Tiger fan.
Really?
Alright! 2 for 2 in the contest!
(said no one)
Clearly, the Tigers learned nothing from the Jordan Zimmermann signing.
Big difference between 5 years 110 mil in 2016 and 5 years 77 mil in 2021.
AL central is wide open, why not push the envelope. With continued development from their young core and a few veterans there is no reason to believe they won’t be fighting for the division in September.
Good for them
I agree 100%. The Tigers played .527 after 5/7, which equates to 85.4 wins. Just the natural development of their rotation, plus Tork and Greene, should push them to 90 wins. I’d be shocked if they were in contention for a WC spot, and would not be at all surprised if they take the division.
Plus I think they have a chance to sign Correa. The Tigers can be pretty next year.
** I’d be shocked if they were *NOT* in contention for a WC spot, **
=====================================
I make up for my master-level typing, by making my typos in the worst possible spot.
Let’s not forget that the Tigers have a LOT of money, and the rebuilding motif is getting old in Detroit. They needed to make this move (or a similar one) not to turn their fan base, which is strong, into Orioles Part Deux.
That said, it might be a slight over-pay, but not an egregious one. E-Rod’s a t least a #3, and a #2 in a good year. The peripherals outpace the normal stats, and, MOST significantly, he gets out of the AL East into a much softer division.
Bottom line; a good move.
Ewww, did Eduardos agent tell him the Tiggers play in Detroit?
Wow, you’re just a bitter, angry hater, aren’t you?
did Eduardos agent tell him the Tiggers play in Detroit?
============================
IMVHO, Detroit is a buy. ERod will likely live in one of the extremely rich suburbs, so you point is moot, but if I was buying, I’d be looking at a Detroit renaissance.
If the agent did, it probably could have been a factor.
Detroit fans show up and offer full support of their team like Boston fans.
The difference is they have a much bigger park and a chance to make the FIP closer to the ERA.
@DDTheo
No, but he did assure him they didn’t play home games in Chicago.
And so, the rebuild begins…
Good sign for Detroit and Al Avilia
Nothing new free agents are most always overpaid.
The money is there. No one was forced to sign him.
I still don’t get why the Angels lose out on starters they covet year-in-year-out in the free agent pool. This time, to the Tigers of all teams. In Detroit of all places.
Because, as many jokes as you can make about Detroit being a bad place to work or live, California will always be worse.
?????
Stick to baseball and stop the nonsense!
Maybe he’s happy to be in middle America with real people rather than coastal snobs who look down on everyday Americans.
Sure, there are no “true” baseball fans on the coasts. Nor any “everyday Americans”
Ugh
Interesting that you bothered to reply to my post rather than the snob who thumbs his nose at middle America. Presumably that is because you agree with him?
And I never said there weren’t “true” baseball fans on the coasts.
I don’t care for generalizations. There are any number of great places to live in this country, and I don’t think one region has a monopoly on either kindness or being jerks.
Not hard to understand:
When good (or even when not good, but with star players) Detroit has fans that are passionate about the team.
Anaheim does not.
Ridiculous generalization.
Tigers believe in FIP, not ERA.
For all those people calling Rodriquez a 4th or 5th starter — Both ESPN and Fangraph list ERod as Detroit’s Ace:
Rodriguez
Mize
Skubal
Manning
Alexander
You can make an argument he fits somewhere in the top 3, you can not make an argument he’s a fourth or fifth starter.
In raw talent at least a couple of those guys could be an ace. However, they are all young.
“could be an ace” but they’re not. Maturity is part of being the ‘Ace’.
Denny there is no question that Eddie is better then most people think and I believe he will pitch very well in Detroit. As a Red Sox fan I am going to miss Eddie it is going to suck watching him put it all together with another team.
That’s a lot of money. He’s a good pitcher, but it’s still, this is a guy who has had just one really standout season. The opt-out indicates he had leverage in the talks. Interesting. Wonder who the other bidders were.
The younger Ilich said he would spend money like his dad. Now he is backing it up.
Wow the Tigers pounce and make the first big strike! Must feel great to be a Tigers fan right now. A shortstop next? Very solid starter pitching in the AL East which had a 100 win team, and 3 91+ win teams. Guys like him are underrated IMO
If he is he really a 3-4 WAR pitcher like fangraphs/steamer thinks this is a good contract even with the opt-out.
I’m skeptical of that valuation and least by a little bit, and guessing the teams thinks so too this is more likely a going rate contract once the opt out is considered.
Kind of a side note but hopefully this starts a flurry of signings and points towards management and the players avoiding a lock out/walk out. Fingers crossed but…..
Goose, I was thinking the same thing. I think they’ll be a number of guys in the middle, like ERod, that aren’t going to gamble on the next CBA to put 5% more money in their pockets.
And, if there are enough guys that do so, the motivation to go on strike, for players that have all signed, is non-existent. And the owners cry of poverty, after having the money to sign everyone, kind of disappears as well.
Sorry, Goose, but I don’t think these moves have any effect on that. Some players and owners just want security that comes with getting a deal done under the old CBA, while others are waiting to see what the new environment will be like. I have a slight hope that we won’t miss time next year, but the proposals that I’ve heard from both sides have absolutely 0% chance of being accepted. They’re just laughably far apart right now and only have about two weeks before the CBA expires.
Nice move Detroit. Strike early; get it done.
Running tally…Angels: 0-for-1
I’m not that fond of the contract structure for the Tigers. I know they want to make the opt out a hard decision, but in 3 years they will have some higher arbitration salaries and probably more big $ players on their roster than this year, so why not increase his salary in the first 2 years and have a lower number later?
The Tigers are very likely to have Miggy’s contract off the books following 2023, so they’ll have plenty of relief then.
First this now Correa? How long until MLBTR posts the news?
Nice pick up……the annual dollars seems right given pat performance, it must have been the years that no one was willing to match. Someone like the Cardinals or Angels should have been in the finals for him.
Paying 77 mil for someone that would be the Mets 5th starter at best after the offseason is complete lol. And yes I do know how to solve things I’ve been there done that.. nothing completes me like the apple pie If you know what I mean. (Only smart people will)
Ha, the Mets rotation is filled with question marks. Btw, why are you still posting? At the start of the season, I predicted the Mets would finish with their usual record of 77-85, which is exactly how it ended. You said you would stop posting if that happened. Yet here you are still trolling.
Don’t try to chase away the comic relief.
Let’s go Mets 🙂
Yaaawwwwwwwnnnnning.
As a Tiger Fan I’m probably in the minority when I say this, but this has Jordon Zimmerman all over again …. overpaying for a mediocre pitcher and having to give up a 2nd round pick on top of it. Gausman or Gray would have been much cheaper alternatives financially and wouldnt have cost you the draft pick. Avilia has no clue how to approach free agency with money to spend. It’s like he blew is roll on the first dancer he saw at the strip club and didn’t wait for the hot ones to come on stage … smh …
At least you team is making a move to try and get better. The Twins once again will be looking to pick up the scraps that are left over once MLB and MLBPA get their act together and agree on a new plan.
Why are you choosing to be negative? You’ve already determined that Rodriguez will fail, probably because of a built-in dislike for Avila. Meanwhile, most Tiger fans are rejoicing over the team’s commitment to fielding a winner.
Best of luck at the strip club. Regardless of how much money you spend there, you’re still going home alone.
Rodriguez for 77 million ? His ERA was 4.76 … u dont give a guy that much money for mediocre performance. And, they would be better of signing Simien or Baez for the half of what Correa will get, but Big Al will spend the 300 million just to get a player … dumb baseball economics …. And Cey Hey I will be taking your mom home just so you know.
If you think Gausman is going to sign for less, youre not paying attention. Gausman will top $100MM easily, and likely for 4 years.
Most of these Tiger fans p blue from all the damn Kool Aid. Most of these posers, I mean posters, urging Correa, urging the blind spending of money……never have seen them before…..yeah.
Saber tooth gets a thumbs up for posting a picture of his hamster buddy on his avatar. Safe recreation there
Well at least they are nice to me. They knno I have no one, no gf, not fooling around on my wife or gf, not a gay- no matter what, I am nice guy who will never have one because POS LIKE YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN PICKING ONE MY WHOLE LIFE! Now I am old and screwed up because of it.
So…yeah,.they ARE nice to.me.
Stay celibate, those girls can tell and they are really.cool if you are not a jerk….yeah….going home alone and satisfied.
Great one Cey, he will go home alone!
Cey Hey, TigerFan 12 wants you to think that every pitcher the Tigers sign to a multiyear contract will turn out like Jordan Zimmermann because, because, because it just will, okay?!?!
I dont want to see the Tigers strapped with bad long term contracts, I would rather they continue to build pitching through the draft unless you can get a top of rotation guy that other teams fear. Tigers have 2 or 3 more young pitchers coming off injury I would have rather seen have a chance to start ( Wentz and Faedo) and epect Jobe to be in rotation in 2 years …
I think Eduardo Rodriguez is a good acquisition but I also thought Jordan Zimmermann was a good acquisition as well (but overpriced). I would be OK with Dylan Bundy.
Increased BB rate didn’t seem to effect E-Rod’s outcome. The Tigers just need higher quality starts than they got from previous SPs.
Too bad we couldn’t see what Julio Teheran and Matt Moore could do in a full season. They were both on their way for comeback seasons.
Will miss ERod in Boston but obviously he was not getting that deal with the Red Sox. The Tigers get a pitcher who is still young enough but can also serve as a veteran stabilizer on the staff.
Buh Bye
Overpay for a guy with a bum knee and a cranky heart.
I thought for sure he would be back with the Sox. Good for him though
I am sure E-Rod is a fine pitcher, baseball player and human being.
But do Tiger fans realize Al Avila just got his balls handed to him? (AGAIN!)
Opt outs, no trade clause…..holy mother of Pearl! NO SURETY FOR THE TIGERS, NO ADVANTAGES FOR THE TIGERS. No guarantees for the Tigers. Only more open issues in the Tigers future. Once again, Al let’s a player showcase on the MLB level with NOTHING for the Tigers future. So he pitches well, then leaves. We don’t even get to trade him. If he stinks, we are stuck for 5 years!
Mr. Illich, is this the type of arrangement you would make with a supplier? The ONLY guarantee you have now is that I WILL BE discussing things with my portfolio manager when the time comes.
Yeah.
Al Avila just got his balls handed to him. (AGAIN!)
Relax Francis, if he opts out in 2 years the only thing that will tell us is that this was a steal of a signing.
Now put your crystal ball away and quit being such a downer.
Big loss for Boston. He’ll be hard to replace.
But good luck to him. So long as he’s not pitching against my Sox, I’ll be rooting for him to succeed.
If the Tigers had just played 500 ball in April, then they would have been in the playoffs hunt in 2021. They had one bad month. the Tigers had winning months I think most all of the other months. Tigers won Series against many playoff teams including the Astros, Yankees, Red Sox and also playoff teams in the NL…
Tigers were basically a Wild Card Contender this past year “but for April”.
Sign a few more free agents and the Tigers could challenge the White Sox
for the Division with their great, young pitching.
Rose colored glasses. Contenders resting up against a perceived lesser foe. Played against teams that ‘were sellers’. Many other teams.improving this year as well. Each game is anew game.
Being a WC team or challenging nthe WSx for division is not the goal. Winning the World Series many, many times is! Dynasty. Please, learn how to spell it.
Long live Mike ILLICH!
I like Chris Taylor as a Tigers SS signing.
Tigers have shortstops in the minors including Ryan Kreidler (UCLA) who hit 22 home runs this past year in AA and is a great defender @ SS.
Taylor could keep the seat warm for Kreidler and then move to 2nd base or OF..
I can’t see blowing 300M+ on Correa,,,
Correa is a great player, but the Tigers are just getting rid of a lot of bad veteran contracts
with Cabrera coming of the books after 2023.
Tigers should learn their lesson and spend smarter than in the past.
BOSTON DODGES A BULLET. CONGRATS TO BLOOM!!
FINALLY DID SOMETHING RIGHT!
While the draft pick is fairly insignificant it’s better than nothing but not by much. Making the fan base sweat out the fact that they could have had E-Rod at double his worth is not to be commended except for the draft pick.
E-Rod is a perfect fit for Detroit. It’s like a DIV III school stole a bad SP from a DIV I school. He’s now a big fish in a small pond which fits his ego perfectly. Maybe now that the expectations are severely lowered he won’t choke every other game. Congrats to E-Rod for stealing over $50M from Detroit by signing such a ridiculous contract.
Lets count his starts in the next five years, lets count the number of times his ERA is 3.5 or lower and his WHIP is 1.25 or lower. Those thresholds are for #3 SPs and people consider him the #1 in Detroit? hahaha Tell that to Mize!! Should give him a huge chuckle. Matthew Boyd might get a kick out of the comment too. Heck, even Matt Manning has the upside potential to outperform E-Rod in 2022. They may start him opening day but they will learn soon enough that $15M is double his value.
The great news is now $18.4M is back in the coffers for the Red Sox.
So, once again, here are the latest 2022 luxury cap numbers
Chris Sale 25,600,000
Xander Bogaerts 20,000,000
J.D. Martinez 22,000,000
Nathan Eovaldi 17,000,000
David Price 16,000,000 (wasted money helping LAD not Boston)
Rafael Devers 10,750,000
Matt Barnes 9,375,000
Hunter Renfroe 7,500,000
Enrique Hernandez 7,000,000
Christian Vazquez 7,000,000
Nick Pivetta3,000,000
Alex Verdugo 3,000,000
Kevin Plawecki 2,000,000
Ryan Brasier1,750,000
Hirokazu Sawamura 1,500,000
Christian Arroyo 1,000,000
Tim Locastro 750,000
That’s $155.225M so far. Add another $9.775M for 17 controllable players making roughly $0.575M in 2022 and $18.25M for benefits and minor league contracts in 2022 and the current total is now $183.25M. The CAP is $210M leaving $26.75M under the cap.
The problem is Devers. If you play him on defense all the pitching numbers take a huge hit and if you move him to DH then JD must play the field or be traded. Since the moving of Devers to DH is the MOST CRITICAL off season move for Bloom, that means Bloom needs to target teams like Seattle and Toronto who need JD’s bat in the middle of their line-up.
As of today, most of the Red Sox positions have adequate starters. Vazquez and Plawecki, Dalbec at 1B, Kiki at 2B, Bogaerts at SS, TBD at 3B, Verdugo in LF, Renfroe in RF, TBD in CF and Devers at DH. Bloom would need to move JD and use the remaining money to get a 3B and CF.
Starting pitching has Sale, Eovaldi, Houck, Whitlock and Pivetta so a SP for depth or that pushes Pivetta to be the depth is needed. A true closer is needed because the returning set-up relievers are adequate. Trading Barnes’ relatively big salary would allow for Ottavino to return.
If Bloom could pull off a blockbuster that brought Jose Ramirez to play 3B that would be OUTSTANDING!! Unfortunately, other than Red Sox fans, nobody thinks much of the crap we got from LAD. We could throw in Potts, Seabold and even Verdugo to make the deal more attractive and Bloom could then claim that the Mookie deal led to getting Jose Ramirez. That would be quite the coup for him.. I know it won’t happen but it’s a hope just like everyone has that Boston won’t drop off dramatically in 2022.
Do you get paid per zero
LOL have a like
Just be happy he didn’t throw in decimal places.
Sorry but your delusional. Martinez didn’t opt out because he and his agent probably know that he isn’t gonna get a better deal than the one he currently has. So if there isn’t a good enough market for him to take his chances in free agency then why would a team take his contract unless your suggesting the Sox eat a chunk of his salary or attach something else of value to his trade. Losing E-Rod sucks…. And it really, really sucks when your big league pitching is this sketchy. Aside from Sale there isn’t a lot of confidence to be had with all the pitchers you’ve listed. They may have been clutch in the postseason but they were inconsistent all year. We’re stuck with Barnes, nobody wants him for the money they’d have to fork out and Ottavino is a nice arm to have but not as one of your go to relievers. Sox fans need to get over the Bloom hype he was brought in to fix Bostons previous payroll issues and development the farm system. Everyone needs to stop expecting Bloom to deliver presents in the form trades and free agents. If he ever spends money, he isn’t going to start until that system is pumping talent like TB does and I personally hate that but that’s why he was hired. This team surprised everyone and played well in 2021 but nobody can make the argument that they’re getting better by losing E-Rod today.
Eovaldi says hi.
Bosox2013 = JD didn’t opt out because there is no news yet on the Universal DH. His numbers are top 20 in baseball. Not sure what sport you are following but JD is still a top player offensively.
Losing E-Rod is awesome. He should have been non-tendered due to his illness and 5 years of mediocre performance prior to the 2021 season but Bloom screwed-up. Bloom made up for it by guessing right on the OU. Kudos to him finally.
Your ignorance about pitching came through when you said there was nobody but Sale to be confident in. Houck did unbelievably well for a first year pitcher. Whitlock shows great promise too. Pivetta needs to keep fine tuning his control and he’s better than E-Rod too. Boston’s pitching is it’s new found strength. They need depth in the form of a stud Left Handed pitcher to slide in behind Eovaldi. That’s it!! They need a closer on the relief side.
Also, since the hitting is still recovering from losing Mookie and the defense still sucks thanks to Devers, Boston is years away from winning the division. The young SPs can struggle in 2022 since Bloom won’t spend the money to replace Mookie’s skills leaving Boston a likely 4th place finisher in the division.
They traded Workman so don’t tell me they can’t trade Barnes. They might not get much but lots of teams need a former closer who isn’t over $10M a year. Small market teams should be the target group for moving Barnes.
The system pumping talent like TB does? Are you serious? Wander Franco is the TB wonder boy. Arozarena was gotten in a trade along with Meadows and Glasnow. TB’s history of success at graduating home grown prospects sucks compared to Boston’s in the 2010s.
The Red Sox haven’t recovered from the Bloom mistakes in 2020. The good year was a minor miracle and likely will not be repeated without Bloom finding talent other than at K=Mart. Mookie’s numbers have yet to be replaced. Renfroe was a nice surprise lets see if he can repeat it. Verdugo has been an over-hyped player since he was first listed as a top prospect over half a decade ago. Kiki Hernandez is a .250 hitter who got hot at the right time but for the year was mediocre, especially when you consider the alternatives that were passed up to get him. I’m really happy that Cora used to take care of him as an 8 year old kid but that’s not a good enough reason to pass on Semien to get Hernandez.
Losing E-Rod does make them better because EVERY player needs to have a cost benefit analysis done on them and E-Rod is far more cost than value. Players who earned their money in 2021 were Plawecki, Devers, Bogaerts, JD, Dalbec, Renfroe, Eovaldi, Houck, Pivetta, Whitlock, Sawamura and a few other minor contributors that are under team control.
E-Rod was a waste of $8.3M. The prospect and the lower overall payroll make Boston much better off without E-Rod. It’s not hard to replace an inconsistent mediocre starting pitcher. I’d rather have Sale, Eovaldi, Houck, Whitlock and Pivetta than E-Rod.
Then why did they offer him $18.4 mill. if he was a waste of $8.3 mill.? I know, you’ll say it was to get the draft pick. But if it was obvious E-Rod wasn’t worth $8.3 mill., wouldn’t other clubs come to the same conclusion and sign him for a few million a year? Your “logic” makes no sense, but you make up for it in volume!
“He should have been non-tendered”
======================================
So non-tendering is better than getting a #70-75 draft pick?
“Your “logic” makes no sense, but you make up for it in volume!”
=================================
It’s cognitive dissonance.
MLB-R said ERod was worth $70M/5.
The Tigers said he was worth $77M/5.
Fangraphs says he is worth 3.5 WAR.
KD blasted Bloom for offering him a QO, and rather than admit he was wrong, again, he launches another 500-word diatribe.
2xThat’s alot of words for saying you’re a Boston homer and know absolutely crap about baseball and analyzing data…..
For Love of the Game – You need to recognize the difference between what a player is paid and what he’s worth. The $8.3M was more cost to Boston than value. If other GMs choose to make the same mistake that doesn’t make the numbers wrong, it makes the GMs wrong. My logic is fine.
When Bloom came to Boston he was supposed to have this great cost/benefit model that helped him find the value players. Apparently, he left it in TB. Let me draw you a few comparisons so you can comprehend the concept. Stanton got hugely overpaid because his production doesn’t support his salary. E-Rod’s historical production is far, far below $15M a year. In fact, it’s closer to $5M a year. The numbers don’t lie it’s what GMs do with the historical numbers that creates the mistakes.
Pearce came to Boston and Cora like the dbag he is put him in JD #3 slot. That slot was the most RBI rich spot in baseball that year. As a result, Pearce jumped up significantly from his normal numbers. That put pressure on the GM to sign him for more than his true worth. The real Pearce showed up a year later and everyone screamed about the huge mistake made after the fact. Those who do cost/benefit analysis screamed before the fact just like I’m screaming now that E-Rod is a huge over pay.
Statistical trending doesn’t guarantee a result that matches the historical curve but from a probability perspective it’s far more likely to happen then someone rationalizing why a guy like E-Rod should do much better than he has in his first six years.
Further proof? Martin Perez in 2021 had the following numbers:
4.74 ERA 1.509 WHIP in 2020 he had a 4.50 ERA and 1.339 WHIP
Those are the numbers of a journeyman SP who at best is a #5 SP pitching with the same crap defense (thanks to Devers!!.
E-ROD in 2021 put up the following numbers
4.74 ERA (identical to Perez) 1.389 WHIP. In 2020 E-Rod didn’t pitch. In 2019 E-Rod had an ERA of 3.81 and a 1.328 WHIP (and that was his BEST year!!!)
There is very little difference in performance from these two pitchers while pitching for the Boston Red Sox in a similar time=frame. Would you pay Perez $15M a year for 5 years or $18.4M for 1 year or even $8.3M for one year? Absolutely NOT.
Why not? Because his performance does not justify that level of pay. The same is true for E-Rod.
Value versus Cost. It should be a standard measurement calculated by a GM to figure out what a player should be paid based on his historical norms and any upside potential that is quantifiable.
There is absolutely NO JUSTIFICATION for paying E-Rod $8.3M in 2021 or $18.4M in 2022. Also, there is NO JUSTIFICATION for paying him $15M a year for the next 5 years. Detroit made a huge overpay and can only hope he can help younger pitchers improve so his value rises because his numbers will fall woefully short of $15M a year.
utrranega – Nice insult. Most people make a point and support it by providing proof. I guess you’re just a troll looking for attention. Next time, open your mind and say something meaningful about baseball rather than being another gutless wonder hiding behind the anonymity of the internet.
but nobody can make the argument that they’re getting better by losing E-Rod today.
========================================
Yes and no. I like ERod, and I’d have been glad to have him back at $45M/3. With the rapidity in which the Detroit deal deal came around, I’m betting Bloom never intended on keeping ERod.
Until we see what Bloom does to replace him in the rotation, I don’t think we know whether we got better or worse.
Imagine saying Detroit and it’s sports market is Div 3 and a small pond and then thinking anyone took your east coast biased dissertation seriously….
Utrramega – Truth hurts!!! The Tigers may rise again but right now they are a DIV III equivalent. The stats say so and all I’m doing is pointing it out. Maybe they should win some games to get reclassified in the future.
I also gave Boston credit for being DIV I to make the point. In fact, they are more of a DIV II team with Bloom and Cora. Talent is down but wins were up thanks to a miracle season.
For what it’s worth, Detroit should be the better team in a few years if Bloom and Cora stay in Boston.
Ulrramega9 hours ago
Imagine saying Detroit and it’s sports market is Div 3
===================================
Detroit has done really well with their rebuild. Should easily be .500+, even better if they land Correa.
Devers is the Third Baseman for the Boston Red Sox. There are no free agents or trades coming to change that.
The Guardians are not going to trade Jose Ramirez in a deal centered around Alex Verdugo or Hudson Potts or Connor Seabold. More likely Tristan Casas and Bryan Mata would have to be part of the deal with at least a couple more pieces.
They definitely need to add a starter or two to help push Houck/Whitlock. Barnes value is at an all time low so you will get nothing in return while also having to eat a sizeable chunk of his salary
Rsox – THANK YOU. I was hoping someone would point out how worthless the LAD acquisitions for Mookie are and most of Bloom’s other acquisitions!! I agree completely that guys from prior to Bloom would need to be traded or someone like Yorke..
For me, I say give them what they want and get Ramirez. He solves so many problems. A Switch Hitting bat, an excellent defender at 3B, a speedster to steal bases and a guy to be the new face of the franchise. He’s like Mookie in so many ways except he switch hits, has slightly more power and steals more. He may be the best all around player in baseball since Trout is not Trout any more and Acuna and Tatis haven’t done it enough to prove it’s their future. Ramirez is the real deal and would help Boston tremendously. He’s also the only ELITE player soon to be a free agent so take a page out of the LAD playbook and grab him now and sign him long term.
Barnes had a bad second half but if the team gets a real closer he could establish his slightly above league average abilities and be worth something to a team with shallow pockets needing a closer. Losing his salary is more important than any return for him.
Dude, Mookie Betts is a Dodger. Get over it, you keep saying “replace Mookie”. There is no replacing generational talent like that, it’s like chasing four leaf clovers. Jose Ramirez would be an awesome acquisition but it’s so unlikely given what Cleveland would want a haul of prospects that we don’t have and even if… really can’t afford to lose.
Bosox2013 – Betts is a Dodger. OK I didn’t say he wasn’t.
Mookie, Price, Benny, JBJ and even Chavis represented a talent level that existed in Boston prior to Bloom. The reason I bring up Mookie most often is that his talent level hasn’t been replaced and needs to be. Whether it was racism or cheapness, the ownership still needs to have Bloom replace the talent lost in the bad deals made in 2020. That’s the point.
Jose Ramirez would replace the talent. Since the prospects are never going to be as great as Ramirez, the point is to give Cleveland what they want. Ramirez is worth it and the only real superstar type player getting near free agency. There is a small window for finding generational talent like Mookie and since Bloom and ownership pissed it away they need to replace it at any cost if they want to win another ring and Ramirez is another generational talent. He’s better than Lindor, he’s better than Mookie!!
Fourth best talent in the division won’t cut it. When DD arrived in Boston he went out and got talent and suddenly the team won 3 divisions titles in a row. The ownership group profits are extraordinary so money should NEVER be an issue because if you only make $300M in a year versus $330M in a year is it worth a ring? It was for 20 years but apparently their goal is no longer winning rings.
Cleveland can’t afford Ramirez and he’s a few years away so NOW is the time to steal him at any cost. Like I said, I guarantee that not ONE prospect in the Red Sox system will ever be as good as Ramirez so back up the truck and unload whatever they want so Boston can be a legitimate threat to win a ring again.
The biggest part of the Rodriguez signing is this: What will be the effect on free agents and teams? It was projected by some no one would sign ( except those who choose to accept a QO), now with him signing early, you should expect more signed before December 1st.
I guess I missed the part where he was a good pitcher. The Tigers are still far behind from being a postseason team even if they acquire Correa.
Correa will jump-start teams like the Marlins and Phillies.
Guess you missed the class on how to analyze pitching data. Also Detroit has the best young trio of starters in league with Mize/Skubal/Manning and 2 top 5 hitting prospects in baseball joining them next spring. Add that to Baddoo and some solid players like Grossman and Candelario an addition of Correa and say another so like Jon Gray or Descalafini will most def catapult the Tigers…..
Good luck with that Tigers. You’re getting a #4 starter, if you’re lucky a #3. I won’t miss the frustration of watching him pitch every five days that’s for sure.
Those sure are some sour grapes.
Red Sox are going to sink faster than the titanic with a boatload of fat people on it.
You mean like you guys did?
Butch, nearly every Yankee underperformed last year and we are still going to add Chapman Seager and Marte.
We get back Severino too.
Forgetaboutit.
Red Sox play spoilers next year.
Hey, we finally found the Yankee version of NYM22fan. I’d like to see the NYY pick up those guys. That’ll get you pretty close to $300M. I think that makes it more fun that way.
That said, Severino is definitely on my fantasy team radar.
there is no comparative Yankee version of any Mets and a pox upon anyone who makes such a statement,
Mets fans are Jake from Statefarm riding the city bus looking out the window as the Yankee fan limo filled with hot babes and champagne passes on by and wondering why he wasn’t born to that kind of life.
300 million pfft, peanuts for the Yankee organization, and a small price to pay to crush the spirits of fans from third-world cities.
“300 million pfft, peanuts for the Yankee organization, and a small price to pay to crush the spirits of fans from third-world cities”
Well, at least we know for sure that you are not Hal Steinbrenner
If there had been enough fat people on the Titanic, it would have stayed afloat. Buoyancy 101.
Losing your third overall draft pick on this type of signing is pathetic. I can not wait for a new cba. You shouldn’t have to give up your third overall pick on a contract where the total value equals to $77mil ($80mil with incentives), thats not why the rule was put in place.
On a $77M contract, the cost of a 3rd round pick is worth about 1% of the total package. There is usually 1, maybe 2, guys 3rd round draftees that become serious players. You don’t want to give the pick away, but if I were signing someone like ERod, I wouldn’t let the pick affect me at all.
One the most maddening pitchers the sox have had in recent memory. Won’t miss watching his inconsistent game. I’m sure getting out of a loaded AL East played a part in his decision. Adios muchcho.
Heads are exploding all over Boston today.
Yes exactly Rocky. 2/3 or more say they should have kept Erod and 1/3 are like me and say goodbye, wish you well.
To be honest, I don’t give a rip how hard or softly a guy hits his pitches. ONE RUN CROSSES THE PLATE EVERY OTHER INNING on this guy’s watch.
It’s like having Martin Perez on the hill. You’re hoping the Red Sox score 6 runs so they have a chance to win. Don’t need that for almost 20 million dollars a year.
In all fairness, in no other cities do heads explode quicker than in Boston. Books got written about our acquisition of Robles. Our resident Tolstoy would write 500-line epics about pickups like Davis. AAA depth pieces will have folks lining up at the Tobin.
ERod is a good pitcher, a good #2 in the first two years, maybe, and a #3 in the other three years. And $77M is probably in the ballpark. People get way too excited, both ways, over free agents.
Tigers paid double for what E-Rod is really worth. Wishing him well in Michigan!
ERod is a LH SP who will replace the loss of Spencer Turnbull to recovery from TJS this season, and possibly for some/much ’23 as well, since it is common for pitchers to need another season to return to their previous form. ERod is NOT and was never intended to be the Tigers’ #1 SP. going forward. At the start of last season, Turnbull was the closest SP to being the Tigers’ #1 until after he pitched that early no hitter, which was the most pitches/innings that he ever tossed in the pros, Would rather that he pitched all season, instead of going for theMLB record books for the no-hitter b/c of the extra strain that he put on his arm which likely contributed to his going on the IL soon after, then later needing TJS.
So this fact makes the signing of ERod that much more of a shrewd move by the Tigers’ brass, b/c if he opts out i two years, that would mean he pitched well and Turnbull would replace him for the ’24 season.
Yeah, I am old school. I look at Rodriguez’s W-L record and like that part of his history. He knows how to out pitch the other guy and go deep enough to qualify for a win. Pitchers W-L isn’t the be all, end all, but it separates him from the comparables in this years FAs. Can’t rationally compare him to Martin Perez, as he was recovering this year and rebuilding stamina. Plus the factor of being able to pitch as a lefty in Fenway, always under appreciated.
The Tigers have a RH heavy pitching staff, and that is another reason why they went hard after Rodriguez.. Had their roto not been short of LH SP due to the oft-injury and the yearly inconsistency of LHP Matt Boyd (who may not be receiving an arb offer now) then its likely the Tigers would not have pursued ERod. They only had last season’s rookie LHP Tarik Skubal regularly in the rotation and his innings were being limited Their only other LH SP was RP Tyler Alexander, who was used sparingly for spot-starts.
I could understand the sour grapes trolling of this signing by the Tigers….IF ERod was a RH SP for that contract but decent lefty SPs are very coveted by ballclubs….even the washed-up ones ala Dontrelle Willis who the Tigers acquired from the Marlins, along with Miggy Cabrera in December ’07. The Tigers’ GM Dombrowski even gave him a 2 year extension before DTrain had thown a single pitch off a mound in ST. He became one of the worst LH SPs in a trade that the Tigers ever transacted until several years later when they got LH SP Jarrod Washburn from the Mariners.
DTrain got the “YIPS” and was effectively wild from the get-go. BUT he managed to hang on in MLB after his stint with the Tigers for several more years with a half-dozen or so ballclubs…all who tried and failed to rehab him. I always thought that the Tigers should have used him as a PH lefty and PT DH, b/c he could hit with some power when with the Marlins.
Red Sox should build a 40ft wall outside their stadium to block it from view.
There are going to be some ugly games played there in 2022
You must have read the headline wrong…
They’re letting the guy with an almost 5 ERA walk. They’re not signing him, they’re letting him go. See it now?
and he was their best pitcher
I’m going to disagree with you. He’s way too inconsistent and he’s already going to be 29 years old. When does the potential and upside that everyone here mentions go away? When a guy hits 30? 32?
I’d rather see him walk than sign him for 5 years. Go get another guy. Either a veteran for one or two years or a young stud to build on.
they are giving Eduardo 5 years, what better pitcher is going to settle for a one or two year contract?
Otherwise, you have to gamble and overpay for injury prone players like the Angels did for Thor.
Young studs come at a premium these days, unless they are in your organization, do the Sox have any?
Good point, the Sox just have hopeful young studs not any legitimate young studs.
Yankeesniper – Houck fits the bill. Better than any young Yankee SP. As a Yankee fan are you seriously bad mouthing ANY other team with respect to starting pitching? No rings in over a decade thanks to a philosophy of building expensive depth at relieving and weak starting pitching?
What’s the old saying about glass houses?
The Sox were widely panned for offering Eovaldi $68/4 after 2018. Most viewed it as an overpay in the afterglow of his postseason performance. At the time, he had a reputation for injury shortened seasons. And while he had short stretches of dominance, over a season he was league average.
Eduardo got $77/5, a slightly higher AAV, plus an additional year. He’s had some injury related setbacks both recently and early in his career. When on the field, he has stretches of excellence, but over the long term he has hovered around league average.
Today, I think most Boston fans are happy with the Eovaldi contract, and I think Detroit got it just about right for Erod. If the Sox offered Erod anything less, I’d think it was a slap in the face. I know that management changed, and Bloom is not Dombrowski. But there’s value in loyalty to your team.
Eovaldi came over in a mid-season trade; Erod has been a mainstay of the team for seven years. Eovaldi had never proven himself able to last a season; Erod has, and more.
An AAV of $14-16, over 3-5 years for a 29-year-old mid-rotation starter with an upside as high as #2 seems right on target. And since he’s our guy, the Sox should have come in high on that range.
bcjd – E-Rod will be the Detroit #1 SP to open the season and quickly fall to the #5 SP when they see just how incredibly inconsistent he is and that’s assuming he stays healthy which is highly questionable with COVID still present in the world.
Detroit paid way too much money for a journeyman starting pitcher. His numbers will pale compared to the current hurt and healthy SPs in Detroit. He’ll be at best the #5 SP when the staff is fully healthy. Mize, Turnbull, Skubal, Boyd and Manning all have more talent and will prove it over the next year. This was a huge mistake by the GM and makes no sense compared to getting a stop gap SP while the young guns develop. Verlander, Scherzer and Gausman all would have made more sense for $10M more for a much shorter time period until all the young guns are primed to be the starting rotation.
If you are trying to spin a positive note from a very negative move it didn’t work!!
I like it. The Tigers are a team coming out of a rebuild. Might as well grab one of the youngest reliable starters on the market and see if he can grow with the team. His peripherals have always been consistent, proportional BB/K numbers and induces a ton of ground balls. He’s not running up your yearly payroll too obscenely at less than $20 million a year. For a top 15 free agent on the market (and the 5th best starting pitcher), that’s a great deal!
_Mob_Ranfred – Did you call E-Rod one of the youngest reliable starters on the market? Reliable from the viewpoint he pitches lots of innings and sucks in roughly half of them?
His peripherals, you mean he has a good printer, mouse and keyboard? Those are the only peripherals that could possibly be considered good.
HIS WHIP sucks which includes all those valuable peripherals except Ks/9. His ERA sucks which addresses his inability to not give up runs. Then, go to his month by month performance and examine his consistent inconsistency. Yes, every other game is decent and the others are bad. Each month could be a hot month or an incredibly cold month which all accumulates to very very mediocre set of season totals.
He induces ground balls for a team that can’t field. Brilliant approach to the game!! His value is between $5M and $7M based on his performance so yes he costs less than $20M as he should but the over pay for each of the 5 years is roughly $10M or $50M for the length of the contract.
If that’s not enough, he has a heart condition triggered by COVID. COVID still exists in the world and impacts all sports on a regular basis. You might as well have taken Stanton from an expectation of playing time perspective. In 5 years at that much money one would expect 160 starts (32 per year). The over/under on his projected starts for this contract are closer to 120 at an ERA of 3.80 and WHIP of 1.30. Explain how that’s a good deal for Detroit!!