With less than eight weeks remaining until Opening Day, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. Hernandez DFA comes due:
Lefty reliever Darwinzon Hernandez was designated for assignment by the Orioles last week, and the conclusion to that is expected sometime today. Hernandez was DFA’d to make room for Cole Irvin on the 40-man roster following his acquisition by Baltimore from the A’s. Hernandez was a rather successful reliever for the Red Sox from 2019-2021, posting a 3.66 ERA (131 ERA+) and 3.85 FIP over 78 2/3 innings, despite walking 17% of his opponents along the way. The lack of command caught up to him in 2022, however, as he walked 18% of his opponents, yielded four long balls and served up 16 runs in just 6 2/3 innings (21.60 ERA).
Those struggles led to the Red Sox DFA Hernandez earlier this offseason, at which point he was claimed off waivers by the Orioles, who now hope to pass Hernandez through waivers themselves. If Hernandez makes it through waivers, Baltimore will be able to assign him outright to Triple-A, where he can serve as bullpen depth for them in 2023.
2. Arbitration for Mariners, Hernandez looms:
Yesterday, the Mariners sorted out two of their three outstanding arbitration cases, with the club winning its arbitration case against righty reliever Diego Castillo in the afternoon before going on to ink utilityman Dylan Moore to a three-year extension in the evening. That leaves one unresolved arbitration case for Seattle, and it’s perhaps the most important one: right fielder Teoscar Hernandez, whom the Mariners acquired from the Blue Jays via trade earlier this offseason. Of players and clubs who exchanged arbitration figures this offseason, Hernandez and Seattle have the largest gap between their asks: $2MM, with Hernandez filing for $16MM and the Mariners countering at $14MM. Hernandez is set to become a free agent following the 2023 season.
3. MLBTR Player Chat today:
MLBTR is excited to continue our player live chat series by welcoming right-hander Scott Feldman, who pitched in 13 MLB seasons. The best years of his career came from 2013-2015, when he pitched to a 3.83 ERA (4.13 FIP) across 77 starts and 470 1/3 innings for the Cubs, Orioles, and Astros. In swapping uniforms from the Cubs to the Orioles ahead of the 2013 trade deadline, Feldman was packaged with Steve Clevenger in exchange for Pedro Strop and future NL Cy Young award winner Jake Arrieta. Overall, Feldman pitched to a 4.43 ERA with an identical 4.43 FIP across 1386 1/3 innings and suited up for the Rangers, Cubs, Orioles, Astros, and Reds throughout his time in the big leagues. Be sure to tune in at noon CST** today for Feldman’s live chat, where he will field questions from MLBTR readers!
**We initially mistakenly listed Scott’s chat at 10am CST. It will be held at noon CST. Apologies for the error.
I hate this whole arbitration process.
I love Hernandez, but I will always maintain that players make too much money
Yogi and those guys had to sell suits or appliances in the off seasons.
Still, whatever the outcome on this one, “it is what it is”, as the online cop-outs say.
Whatever, we will have to live with it I guess.
I agree. My dad was a cop for 37 years and didn’t make a million total in his career but a backup who can barely squeak over the Mendoza line or a reliever who has a 7.00 ERA in baseball can make that in a year. I love baseball but the business side bugs me. Scary thing is other sports are worse!
Franchise and TV value have increased ($2.5M to $2.9B) and ($640K to $19M) since the winter job days. Should the owners just keep that, or should the players (the reason we watch) reap their share of the rewards?
I despise arb process also, but until they change the dynamics of the “we draft you, we own you for nearly 10 years”, it won’t change. It’s the only way the players have a shot at getting close to what they are worth. And the best of those players won’t, until they hit the FA market.
I’d personally like to see the cost of attending a game come back down and for games on tv to be easily accessible again. The cable packages necessary to watch home team games can be ridiculous and with the stupid black out restrictions on mlb tv there’s no other leagal way to watch them. Put baseball back on the rabbit ears if you want it to be America’s game.
Exactly, elmedius.
I’d personally like to see the cost of attending a game come back down
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Ticket prices will come down whenever long-term demand comes down. That’s the same for every business in America.
Ticket prices and player salaries have a weak correlation, at best. For ticket prices to fall, demand would have to fall. It’s basic economics.
In an $11B industry, players are doing everything they can to get the biggest cut possible. Good for them.
I was talking about Teoscar Hernandez.
I didn’t notice there were two guys in The Opener with the same last name.
I don’t know enough about the other guy to even have an opinion.
I never understood why fans get mad at what athletes make. It takes a lot of hard work to get to the point they are at because they are the best of the best. I’ve never heard anyone complain about any actors or actresses making 20 million for a crappy film.
Same rules apply. I can wait for that film to show up on cable and watch it for less money just like I can watch a sporting event on tv instead of live. Or I can choose to pay for overpriced tickets and food and attend a movie or sporting event.
IMO, I’m glad athletes make the money they do, because I believe if you work hard you should be rewarded If the owners are willing to spend that money, it’s their money. I choose what I want to do with their decisions
They get mad because this is supposed to be a game. I think it’s pretty fair that regular folks who go and do the daily grind of work for a fair wage get a little upset when people who play a game for their job and make Monopoly money doing it.
Of course they work at staying in shape and learning their craft – just like the rest of us do within our careers. Don’t conflate the two arguments- fans also are outraged at CEO pay and the wealth gap in this country.
So where’s the anger for Hollywood? Should they make $20 million while putting in six months of work by reading off scripts? Aren’t movies supposed to be fun?
Most athletes workout year round and spend countless hours in the gym, with their coaches, and anything else that will keep them a their best performance. They work hard. So regardless of whether it’s a game or not, their work should be rewarded.
I watch my high school son wake up five days a week at 5:00am to go to the gym. He goes to a trainer. He goes to a hitting and pitching coach He watches what he eats. All this work that he puts in is just for him to have a chance to play in college. I think that’s admirable. And yet, it’s just a game. Why does that matter?
There is anger with Hollywood. Again, stop conflating the argument. These are forms of entertainment. The pandemic showed us that seemingly every role or job people play in this society is important for us to function somewhat “normally”. Is it really that difficult to imagine more wage equitableness?
And if you really want your kid to go to college, you should’ve saved your money to send him – I mean college is there to give you tools to become a more well-rounded citizen, not just to send jocks to play a game. Sport should be a secondary reason for attending college. Again, college sports is a different argument.
Is it really that difficult to imagine more wage equitableness?
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It’s equitable by definition. I get paid what a guy of my skills is supposed to get paid. Weaker accountants with less experience get paid less. Better accountants with more experience get paid more.
If we all got paid the same, all motivation to improve would disappear.
I never said my son doesn’t work hard on academics, so spare me the lecture and stop projecting things on me. He’s a good student and he has a bright future.
My point is there is a lot of hard work that goes into playing at high levels. Yes, it’s a game. But it’s also work that requires dedication and hard work, something I’m proud that he learns.
Personally, I’m not for “equaling” pay rates. That’s the definition of socialism. I don’t want to turn this into a political argument , but I’m all for those that work the hardest get the best rewards. People are different and can choose what lifestyle or career they go into. Sometimes there less opportunity for others, and it’s harder for some to get to where they want to be. But there’s a chance, imo. Sports magnifies that chance. If you go to Puerto Rico or the Dominican, kids works are the clock. Women’s gymnastics is the same.
We differ in our opinions. That’s fine. But I don’t have any animosity for those that work hard and get rewarded
100% agree
Absolutely. I am not for socialism either.
Nor fascism.
Nor communism.
If all things were equal as kids come up, I’d go along with that. But it’s now gotten to the point where the higher class kids who can afford getting on club teams or have the ability to hire personal trainers push others off the high school varsity teams – you either get on the club teams or face the realization that sports are now out of your reach too. It’s the greedy, ugly underbelly of capitalism that clearly has its pros for the haves, and cons for the have-nots, regardless the effort level. That’s not a negative judgment of what you or your family have worked towards – you’re just playing by the rules. It’s just that the rules suck. And we all pay the price by not seeing the potential of all of the kids who want a shot; only the ones who can pay to play.
But all things will never be equal. In a socialist or communist system, the ones in power are extremely wealthy (Putin, Kim jong) while the rest of the country is not. At least in capitalism, there’s a chance
I understand what you are saying about club ball. However, I’ve been a big part of club ball for over a decade. I’ve seen kids play for free. I’ve seen families agree to allow their son to assist at the faculty in exchange for free lessons. Nothing is or can be entirely equal, but there are ways to advance in any situation.
There have always been “haves” and “have nots”. It’s just that things are a lot worse now.
When I was a kid, late 1940s and early 1950s, I couldn’t go out for baseball or football because I couldn’t afford a $5 glove, nor a $5 pair of cleats for football.
But when I was a Junior in high school I bought a glove. The one in my avatar here, a $5 Monkey Ward Joe Gordon 2nd baseman’s glove.
So then I could play some organized baseball and I got to know Harmon Killebrew (HOF) and not just hear about him.
I ended up bucking onions with Harmon in the summers for slave wages.
But the unlucky kids nowadays have no way to ever make up the disparity.
The disparity is worse now, and that includes for everyone the ability to even buy tickets to a game.
In 1955 I was in the Navy near Chicago, and I could go to a Cubs game with $5 in my pocket and have enough left for a bottle of Coke.
Cool story Fred. We’re only a little over 2 generations away from when these players had to have “real” jobs in the offseasons to make a living. The shift has been dramatic, and the gap has followed exponentially. It is untenable. If you get too caught up in the race and don’t stick your head up out of the fray from time-to-time, you lose perspective and often find out you’re still in a group that has been left in the dust.
You got it right, kripes-brewers.
I myself won’t be here too much longer, but I am sad for the present and future generations.
When the players had to have “real” jobs in the offseason, the owners kept the vast majority of the money for themselves. I’m happy with the players get a much bigger cut.
My comments above apply equally to actors
Even the 780th best player in the Major Leagues has a skill that very few people have. The back-up that can’t hit .200, or the reliever that has a 7.00 ERA still has an ability that most of us only dream of having. Anyone with the resources can go to school and learn to become a nurse or doctor. Anyone can go into the police academy and protect the community. I guarentee most of us in this thread couldn’t catch-up to an 85 MPH fastball, let alone one going 95+ with spin and movement. It’s a moral dilema I don’t like, but the world is full of those kind of dilemas.
It’s a moral dilema I don’t like,
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I see no dilemma at all. Paul McCartney makes multi-millions because he brings joy and happiness.
But more importantly, he makes this money because people gladly and voluntarily give him their money. That’s a transaction between him and me. If I want to pay $125 a ticket, how is that any type of moral dilemma?
But the dilemma is that Paul McCartney doesn’t protect people like most police officers, doesn’t perform a life-saving operation like a doctor or surgeon, or save people from a burning building like a firefighter. He makes music, which in the end, isn’t as life-saving as one of the other professions I listed. Same thing with baseball players.
In the end, the dilemma is “Should you earn more money because entertainment is more profitable than an essential job like doctor/surgeon/nurse/firefighter/police?”
That’s up for you to decide.
Once again, 100% agree
My mother in law worked in a European, socialist country for 3 years and 15 years ago. During her time there, one of her co-workers bought a bicycle for their child. A few days later there was a knock at the door. The cops confiscated the bike because it “wasn’t fair to the neighbors”.
One of many reasons why I’m not in favor of “evening out” wages
There’s only 600 of these athletes that can play baseball at this level. Fans don’t go to the game to see the owners.They deserve whatever they can get from the owners who btw are not going to be applying for government assistance anytime soon.
Hopefully no one claims him, so the RS can re-sign him.
That way, all the RS fans that castigated Bloom for letting him go can castigate Bloom for re-acquiring him. The conversation will switch from “but he has a 14.0 K/9 rate” to “but he has a 7.7 BB9 rate”.
Ah. good times!
But if no one claims him he goes straight into Baltimore’s AAA bullpen.
He doesn’t have the service time to refuse the assignment
Very troubled by the gap between the Mariners and Hernandez. Doesn’t seem smart to start this relationship and season with this disagreement. It can’t help if they expect to resign him after this season, or sign him to an extension. TH is the big pick up this off-season, and I’d feel better if he was in a good spot. Is he a Boras guy?
It may be they don’t attempt to re-sign him, and are willing to roll the dice for $2M. If he has a good year, they QO him. If not, maybe they just let him walk.
I remember Feldman. Definitely will check it out.
Mariners fan here and honestly I’m hugely disappointed in Mariners ownership group lack of spending. Now going to arbitration with a player you’ve watched have great success against you and not throwing in the extra 2mil that he is asking just seems silly. Now you’ve uprooted Teo from his happy place and putting him into awkward arbitration hearings before he ever steps foot on your field. The Mariners have often been in top 10 payrolls in years before and I believe their market is one of the largest in baseball geographically speaking so I just don’t get why they try to pretend they have no money to spend. On top of that you have a team that is on the cusp of greatness and I’d be surprised to NOT see M’s in World Series in the next 3-4 years. Give Teo the 2mil or better yet just sign the guy for 5-6 years deal at 20+ million.
I just want to add that the Mariners (as teams do) have already been profiting monetarily from the Teoscar Hernandez trade via social media and such. So a players value should not just be based on what he can do for you on the field but off the field as well. Everyone already knows Teo is likeable by both fans and players. Mariners need to make this right.
Curious how you are able to quantify what the Ms are making off of social media and “such.” Most casual M’s fans didn’t know much about Teo before the deal and still don’t. They aren’t rushing out to buy jerseys. How do you think the Mariners are already profiting off of him?
He has made multiple public appearances on behalf of Mariners and have multiple posts of him on their YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Twitch, Reddit and Pinterest.
Is his photo on the 1st Ave side of Tmobile park yet? I haven’t been by the stadium since they acquired him so I’m not sure but that sells tickets for sure. Don’t forget how many Blue Jays fans frequent Tmo and are likely fans of Teo 😉