Outfielder Mike Tauchman has signed with the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization, reports Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News. Tauchman will receive a signing bonus of $300K and a salary of $700K for a total guarantee of $1MM. As noted by Yoo, that is the maximum for first-year foreign players.
Tauchman was selected by the Rockies in the 10th round of the 2013 draft. Though he often hit well in the minors, he struggled in his first couple of tastes of MLB action with Colorado. Over 2017 and 2018, Tauchman got 69 plate appearances in 52 games, hitting .153/.265/.203. Prior to the 2019 campaign, the Yankees acquired him in a trade which, one year later, seemed like an absolute heist. Tauchman erupted that year and hit .277/.361/.504, producing a wRC+ of 128 and 2.6 fWAR.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t carry that forward into 2020, as his line dipped to .242/.342/.305 over 43 games in the pandemic-shortened season. Early in 2021, the Yankees sent Tauchman to the Giants, but the change of scenery didn’t help much. In 64 games for San Fran, he hit .178/.286/.283 and was designated for assignment at the end of July.
By agreeing to head overseas, the 31-year-old has avoided the uncertainty of the ongoing lockout while also securing a larger salary than he was likely to receive in North America. If he can get back into a groove and have a season similar to 2019, there’s a possibility of him being offered a contract to return to MLB, following a similar path to players like Eric Thames and Darin Ruf.
Best of luck! I will never forget your amazing OF plays in a Giants uni. WOW.
Well, apparently he is not the next Brett Gardner. Peralta looks pretty good though.
Best of luck. Thanks for 2019.
I think that 2019 would have ended better had he not gotten hurt and missed the end of the season and the postseason…
When the Yankees acquires Tauchman, Yankee fans complained. Then he gave them a good year. Then when they traded him for Peralta, fans complained. Peralta was good. In both cases, Cashman was correct.
Last thing anyone should consider is fan’s opinion. In fact there’s lots of money to be made off of going against what most fans think is smart. Ask fans who they think won the offseason. Bet the under for that team.
You are right on that.
You nailed it iverbure
Morale of the story: Yankee fans complain, @l99.
I was firmly convinced that Tauchman’s break out was real, but Urshela’s was not. Had that one all mixed up.
But something physical happened to Tauch. In ’20 his sprint speed dropped alarmingly (which impacted his defense too) & his power completely evaporated (less home runs than Tyler Wade: ooof). Neither of those have returned either. No idea what exactly transpired there but it has to be an injury or something.
It was such a small sample breakout that it was probably just a combination of some AAAA talent, a lucky stretch for a guess hitter, maybe helped by better pitcher intelligence than he got from Rockies coaches, and a friendly short porch. He was always a good fielder.
I think he hasn’t been the same player since he got hurt in 2019.
You know, I would really like to see a turnaround in the KBO. Hope after that he might be able to get a second chance in the MLB.
Depending on how the next cba goes and the anti tanking rules he may have a better opportunity next year even if he doesn’t put up monster numbers. Guys like him used to be signed by the orioles and diamondbacks now teams just go with young guys from their own system even if tauchman is a better player.
That’s not going to change until teams compete for revenue sharing money whether its 20% of the revenue or 25%. When a game between two last place teams in September means a million for the owner in revenue sharing you think the Orioles aren’t putting out there best lineup?
I’m not trying to be harsh, but adding Tauchman to your team isn’t exactly a sign of not tanking. He doesn’t really cost more than whatever young guy a team plays instead so I don’t really agree with your point. At least the young guy might have a brighter future.
He costs a 40 man spot (which is more valuable than money) Cosmo and I think that’s the Og posters point-
But plenty of teams, even the great ones have to make these sacrifices to make the 40 work. Its a balancing act
I see. Still, I don’t think Tauchman is noticeably better than whatever AAAA fodder last place teams run out there. He basically IS that.
Talkin’ the TAUCH, now Walkin’ the WOK!
Tauchman is fairly obvious KBO candidate. He has some talent, but at age 30, he wasn’t going to get many more serious MLB shots. He could be a big star in the KBO like Aaron Altherr, who I think would be crazy to leave his $1M+ KBO salaries behind to play in a better playing league likely to expose the holes in his swing.
Congratulations to Sock Man.
Loved his attitude and wish him the best.
If this lockout doesn’t end soon; I’m gonna have to get a zanex refill soon.
Biff, I almost got a giant bottle of Jack at Costco. This is killing us.
You can just watch Tauch in Korea, maybe on ESPN if the lockout doesn’t end!
Good idea
Apparently we need to see if our service providers will carry the KBO. Ha.
Good luck to you Mike Tauchman. I hope you bust out in the KBO. You’re a cool guy and were a good Giant with a fantastic attitude and work ethic. Go find your groove!!!
I’m surprised Cashman wasn’t investigate by the SEC for the Tauchman trades. It seemed like a classic pump and dump. Acquired for pennies on the dollar and sold off at top value before the bottom dropped out.
I figured at least one MLB team would want him standing at their outfield wall in late innings pulling home runs back. There’s got to be a market for that.
Great AAA player.
Most KBO teams looking to finish above the Yanks in the AL East
Ah, the 2019 Yankees, 103 wins.
C – Gary Sanchez – 2nd best season, above his average by a moderate amount
1B – Luke Voit – only season above 100 games, actually slightly below his average
2B – DJ LaMahieu – best full season of his career, well above his average
SS – Didi Gregorius – below average season coming off his best season in 2018
3B – Gio Urshela – far and away his best season, substantially above his average
LF – Mike Tauchman – only season with over 200 at bats, substantially above his average
CF – Brett Gardner – best season of his career, well above his average
RF – Aaron Judge – slightly below average year, less than 400 at bats
MI – Gleyber Torres – best season of his career, well above his average
OF – Cameron Maybin – best year of his career, substantially above his average
A number of players who are actually below average offensively had career years, they led the league in runs and were second in home runs.
It appears to have been smoke and mirrors. This is not a list of players that anyone would expect to win 103 games. Maybe Boone did a better job than he gets credit for?
I don’t think he’s a great manager but I think he gets a bit of a bad rap. Myself included but I more criticize his empty statements about injuries, not his actual managing.
Disagree.
Evidence;
In 2017 & ’18, the Yanks finished 2nd in runs/game. In ’20 they wound up 4th. As a matter of fact, from 2017-’20 the Yankees made it home more than any other team in MLB. True, Cash put together a RH leaning lineup of TTO guys. Yet, this was done in accordance with the hopped up ball. Cash targeted specific *types* of hitters, & in terms of sheer, bottom line numbers, it worked.
No matter what, that level of production is hardly “smoke & mirrors”. Yes – ’19 was the zenith. However, it was part of a sustained run which lasted 4 consecutive seasons.
So: smoke that mirror.
& Boone is not a manager. He is an administrator.
“appears” is not the same as “is”.
Likewise, I wouldn’t look at the Red Sox 2018 lineup and predict 108 wins. Some guys had career years (Betts, Benetendi, JD), some guys had mediocre years (Moorland, Devers, Bradley, Nunez, Vazquez) and some in between (Bogarts). Kind of similar. Is that a better talent pool? Maybe a little? Maybe not.
Maybe Cora is a better “administrator” than Boone. I’m pretty sure people are “telling” Cora what to do as much as they are with Boone.
Baseball is not about GPA, it’s about acing the Final. From 2017-2020, Boston 1, New York 0.
Well, it certainly wasn’t. Nor does it “appear” to have been either. It was the high water mark of an extremely easy to identify trend. & that is it.
You can slide the goal posts all over the field, & crank out as many HOTTAKEs as you are able, but it does not change the fact that 2019 was hardly some type of anomaly for the NYY offense. All I was addressing.
And I was pointing out that maybe Boone gets some of the credit for that but maybe not. In my opinion, that particular group was not as much of an expected offensive force as the results. For example, DJLM was a below average hitter for the Rockies save for one year. Some of those other guys were below average hitters as well and they have in fact regressed to their mean level or (as you surmise with Tauchman) maybe gotten injured.
That’s a stretch for me.
Boone doesn’t even make out the lineup, for example. So giving him any kind of credit for success (or failure!) is unwarranted. He “handles the media & helps integrate data”, per Brian Cashman. & – I dunno – gives pep talks?
That is why a lot of us wanted to see an old school, actual, on-field manager as opposed to a guy who is “allowed input”. (Again, per Brian Caspian.)
Tauchman should do very well in KBO.
At this point, any minor leaguer or semi-productive major league FA should consider going overseas for the year. I don’t see baseball coming back until May/June
San Francisco. SF. The City. NEVER San Fran.