The Diamondbacks have officially announced their signing of Corbin Burnes to a six-year free agent deal. Burnes, a client of the Boras Corporation, is reportedly guaranteed $210MM and can opt out after two seasons. He’ll collect a $10MM signing bonus up front and is due $30MM salaries in the first two years. He’d need to weigh whether to leave the remaining four years and $140MM on the table after 2026. The contract reportedly includes roughly $60MM in deferred money and varying no-trade protection over the course of the deal.
The news is a shocking turn of events, as Burnes had garnered plenty of interest in free agency but had not been connected to Arizona at any point in the offseason. While some rumored suitors for the right-hander’s services such as the Yankees and Red Sox turned to alternative options for the front of their rotations by signing Max Fried and trading for Garrett Crochet respectively, a number of known interested parties remained in the mix. That included not only the incumbent Orioles but also the big-market Giants and Blue Jays, both of whom USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports offered Burnes a higher guarantee.
However, Burnes lives in Scottsdale, and playing close to home seems to have inspired the right-hander’s decision. According to Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic, Burnes was the one who approached the Diamondbacks “expressing a desire to pitch in Arizona.” John Gambadoro of 98.7FM Arizona Sports radio (multiple links to X) reports that the deal came together quickly, as talks between Burnes’ camp and the Snakes only started within the last three or four days. Diamondbacks chairman Ken Kendrick viewed signing Burnes as “too good of an opportunity to pass up,” as a source told Piecoro, and thus Kendrick okayed the biggest contract in franchise history.
Gambadoro writes that the contract contains “a significant amount of” deferred money, and a full no-trade clause covering just the 2025-26 seasons. If Burnes doesn’t opt out, Nightengale notes that Burnes’ no-trade protection is then limited to 14 teams over the final four seasons of the deal. Piecoro, meanwhile, goes into further detail regarding the deferred money. Per Piecoro, Burnes’s contract includes “a little north” of $60MM in deferred money, or between $10MM and $11MM per year deferred. Should Burnes decide to opt out following the 2026 campaign, the more than $20MM in deferred money accrued during the first two years of the deal would then need to be paid out within the following year.
Earlier this offseason, Blake Snell landed a $182MM guarantee from the Dodgers ahead of his age-32 season, and a look at MLBTR’s Contract Tracker reveals that Zack Greinke, Max Scherzer, and Jacob deGrom have all signed free agent contracts that guaranteed nine figures ahead of their age-32 campaigns or older. Burnes’ deal falls short of his previously-reported goal of matching the $245MM guarantee the Nationals offered to right-hander Stephen Strasburg during the 2019-20 offseason.
By total guarantee, Burnes’ contract lands close to the seven-year, $200MM prediction that MLBTR made at the start of the offseason as part of our annual Top 50 MLB Free Agents list, where Burnes ranked second in the class behind only Juan Soto. A closer look at the deal reveals that Burnes followed in the footsteps of virtually every other pitcher this winter, however, and landed a deal that exceeds expectations. The $35MM average annual value of the deal dwarfs the $28.57MM AAV predicted by MLBTR and even matches Strasburg, while the opt-out opportunity provides its own value in the form of flexibility.
For the Diamondbacks, it’s a massive financial outlay that beats out Greinke’s aforementioned six-year, $206.5MM deal for the largest guarantee in franchise history. Setting a club record for total guarantee in free agency would be noteworthy for any club, but it’s especially surprising coming from an Arizona team that previously indicated that they planned to run a payroll for 2025 that more or less matched their 2024 figure. As noted by RosterResource, Arizona spent just $173MM on payroll in 2024 and after signing Burnes are projected for a $194MM payroll in 2025. That hike of more than $20MM brings payroll to a completely unprecedented level for the franchise after setting a record for payroll just last year. It’s hardly a secret that the club is trying to move on from left-hander Jordan Montgomery on the trade market this winter, but even if the club manages to shed the majority of his salary they’ll have still put themselves into uncharted territory financially by signing Burnes.
That’s not to say the risk is a poor one to take, of course. Burnes established himself as among the league’s very best starters with Milwaukee during the shortened 2020 campaign, where he broke out to finish sixth in NL Cy Young award voting. He followed that performance up by going out and winning the award the following year, and the four-time All-Star has been on the shortlist for the game’s top rotation arms ever since. Over the past five seasons, Burnes ranks fifth among qualified MLB starters in innings pitched, second in fWAR, fourth in ERA, sixth in FIP, and third in strikeouts. Of course, much of that is due to a dominant 2021 season that saw Burnes lead the sport in ERA (2.43), FIP (1.69), and strikeout rate (35.6%).
Some red flags have emerged in the right-hander’s profile since then, as he’s started to go deeper into games at the expense of rate-basis dominance. His fastball velocity isn’t quite at the level it was during his Cy Young-winning campaign, and his strikeout rate has declined in each of the past five seasons until it ultimately fell to a roughly league average 23.1% this year. On the other hand, that relatively pedestrian figure started to tick back up towards the end of the season, when he struck out 27.7% of opponents faced in September. While he’s not quite matched the dominance of his otherworldly 2021 campaign in the years since, his 3.08 ERA and 3.49 FIP in 590 innings over the last three seasons ultimately still cast him as a starter who is clearly capable of fronting a playoff-caliber rotation.
He’ll be tasked with doing exactly that in Arizona this year, as the Diamondbacks appear to be all-in after narrowly missing the playoffs in 2024 despite winning more games than the 84-win 2023 club that managed to secure the NL pennant. Burnes will pair nicely with longtime club ace Zac Gallen at the front of the rotation, with veterans Merrill Kelly and Eduardo Rodríguez bringing up the middle. Brandon Pfaadt and Ryne Nelson represent intriguing options at the back of the club’s rotation, as will Montgomery if he’s not traded before the start of the season. Overall, the club’s rotation mix is among the most robust in the league at the moment on paper and should help to support an offense that lost both Joc Pederson and Christian Walker to free agency this winter. The front office swung a trade to land first baseman Josh Naylor in hopes of helping to plug that hole, but the club nonetheless seems likely to lean heavily on its internal youngsters like Corbin Carroll, Geraldo Perdomo, and top prospect Jordan Lawlar at the plate in 2025.
It’s unclear what’s in store for the Diamondbacks going forward this winter given their unprecedented current payroll commitments. The club has long been known to be pining after help at the back of its bullpen this winter, with a trade for Ryan Helsley or signing Kirby Yates among the potential options the club has reportedly considered. Another hitter would also make sense for the club after losing both Walker and Pederson to free agency, preferably a right-handed bat to complement a heavily left-handed lineup. With that being said, it’s entirely possible that the club won’t have room to make additional moves of significance without first shedding salary in the form of Montgomery or another potential trade candidate.
Because Burnes turned down the Orioles’ qualifying offer, Baltimore will receive a compensatory pick after the first round of the 2025 draft. Gaining what currently stands as the 30th overall selection isn’t a bad consolation prize for the Orioles, but since they had designs on retaining Burnes themselves, the O’s are still on the lookout to add more frontline pitching to their rotation.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post first reported the D-Backs were signing Burnes to a six-year, $210MM deal with an opt-out after year two. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported the signing bonus and the salaries for the first two seasons.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Ok!!!
Again, Padres what the heck are you doing?!
Competing with the Rockies are we?
Spending doesn’t equal winning, see padres when they spent beyond on their means.
The Padres had a winning record and barely missed the playoffs in 23′.
Also, for almost two thirds of their existence the Padres were at the bottom tier, payroll wise, and their record reflected it.
And the Padres traded some of their winning pieces to cut payroll. No wonder they didn’t sign Burnes. I think, like the Mets, they’ve made some mistakes
At 31.5 million a year, thats a lot of money for a pitcher. Whats that 1.5 million an appearance
it’s 35 million per year
Almost, Kevin.
The Padres lost on the NLCS in 22.
Spending absolutely correlates to success.
Von, be careful how you make a point. “spending absolutely correlated to success.” Absolutes are always fraught with problems – SD beat LAD and NY – both teams who had spent more than SD – to get to NLCS.
LAD and NY did not have the success of SD by spending more.
Yes, if you want to compete you have to have quality players and most likely, that means spending. It does not however absolutely equate to a successful team.
Von
Absolutely? that’s is completely wrong lol. What a bad take.
Absolutely correlates is just a fact. It doesn’t guarantee success, but correlates? Um, yeah.
Webster’s – “where one thing affects or depends on another”.
Since smaller budget teams make the playoffs and since larger budget teams don’t make playoffs or don’t go as deep, it’s hard to say definitively or “absolutely” (which means always / must) that success is dependent on spending.
“Correlates” means “tends”. In this case “absolutely” is just a way to grab attention, it doesn’t mean “absolute.”
Smaller budget teams making the playoffs is mostly a Central division phenomenon. I imagine not by design, but MLB has lucked into a situation where a few low budget teams are pretty much guaranteed to make it every year simply because there aren’t any high budget ones in those two divisions (until the Cubs wake up, that is). Couple exceptions here and there for a brief year or two when a class of prospects pops somewhere (like Baltimore last year) but generally the correlation between payroll and making the playoffs has gotten better and better as the years have gone on. The playoffs themselves remain heavily random.
Well Webster’s doesn’t say it “tends” and while they may be semantics, my original point was focused on the persons use of the word “absolutely” – if you read my first post for context of how we got here – not “correlates”.
Absolutely means there is no alternative – not “can be” or “could be” but all the time – it’s absolute.
It is not a fancy eye catcher. Also, as I stated in original, be careful of using absolutely in your argument as there are flaws in the position which is what I pointed out.
Others have decided to twist this into a correlate argument.
Seam, see you say “generally the correlation” – no issue with that.
Read my original post where my issue was with “absolutely correlates”.
You get to the playoffs, all kinds of crazy things happen in short series. But if you look at the playoff teams, most of them spend more than others. There’s a clear and absolute correlation between spending and playoff appearances over the last decade. It doesn’t guarantee championships, but if you spend on marquee FAs, you’re likely making the playoffs.
Von, you can stick with it if you like but “absolute” does in fact mean “guarantee”. It’s like the definition of the word.
Suggested alternatives: usually, more likely than not, the majority of the time, will increase you chances, etc.
@That
Spend doesn’t mean stupidly spend. Burnes on a 5 year deal makes sense for any mid- market team.
@Vegas
I don’t even think that’s too 5 in aav.
See Yankees and dodgers…
Did you forget the Rays exist and have competed since 2008 in the largest market in the entire MLB?
40% of teams make playoffs, what are you talking about
Red, who did they trade other than Soto. Padres fans on here can speak better to that but it seemed to me that trade made their 2024 season possible.
The Padres biggest spending year was 2023 at $291 million. They missed the playoffs that year.
For mid-market teams its the AAV that matters most.
To some degree spending correlates to success. What bothers me about the Mets and Padres is they sign big contracts then trade them and rebuild, only to go back to signing big again. These execs I feel don’t have a clear plan except finding any way to win
Burnes is a 32 start per year pitcher. At $35 million that is $1.09 million per start. $410k less than $1.5 million.
Still a lot of money and getting into later years of age
7 and 10 years younger and $8 million less than Verlander and Scherzer got and Burnes is much more of a workhorse than either of them were when they signed those $43.3 million AAV deals. He had a better platform year than Verlander as well.
Verlander and Scherzer were also shorter contracts. I disagree with the workhorse though. Verlander’s had a couple bad years but when he’s on he’s a workhorse and fantastic.
People have doubted Verlander and then he’s always come back from a down year and once again been an ace. I realize it will end at some point, but short term, why not?
I have reservations about Brunes. Every pitcher hits a wall at some point. Maybe it won’t be, but I like Verlander as the better workhorse. Scherzer I’m a little more indefinite about his future, but he’s solid as well.
The point isn’t which pitcher is better. The point is Cohen traded two aces and now doesn’t have one. Has nothing to do with ability; i just find it ironic Cohen would rather have Montas in his rotation than one of the guys he traded that was pretty ace-like.
Not completely true. Milwaukee and Minnesota don’t go crazy with big contracts. They find players who fit into their systems and they are competitive every year.
Yes. He’s guaranteeing a correlation. Which there is. An absolute correlation that is. If someone were to ask me if there were a correlation between spending and winning, I may even reply with a single word “Absolutely.”
I’m with you Von, the Dodgers for example are going to be close to the w series every year, barring injuries of course. On the other end, look at the travesty that went on in Oakland for so many years, we used to joke that they were a farm team for the Yankees or RedSox.
You can’t take one word and complain about semantics. Absolutely correlates, in other words, it absolutely relates to success. You’re arguing for the sake of arguing. I never said it absolutely guarantees success, but the teams, but there’s a direct correlation between spending and playoff appearances.
Spending correlates to success. That’s what I’m saying is absolute: that relationship between spending and success.
If I said spending absolutely guarantees success, you’d have an argument, but I said spending absolutely correlates to success, and it does. We all know it does, but we’re arguing my poor choice of words.
Aj Preller took out loans north of 50 millions to pay players in September of 2023…. what are you talking about? They need to focus on paying who they have before adding 15-30 million more in payroll a season
General Managers don’t borrow money. I haven’t been here long but long enough to read multiple posts about when that loan was taken out and what it was for and payroll was not it. I will defer to Padres fans on here to cover the details of the ballpark upgrades they did.
Google it and read about it from the suntimes or whoever you’ll believe the truth about. The reports surfaced in November 2023…. Padres barrow 50 million to pay payroll
Last time I checked it was Jeff Luhnow who was telling ownership the money didn’t add up to trade for Verlander from Detroit in 17′ but tell me I’m wrong on that one too
forbes.com/sites/danepstein/2023/11/01/the-san-die…
Directly from the article
The San Diego Padres were supposed to still be playing baseball right now—at least that was the plan. The roster was built to win the World Series, but finished an underwhelming 82-80 and missed the playoffs instead. Now they must reconfigure the team while cutting payroll.
According to Evan Drellich, Dennis Lin, and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the team took out a $50 million loan in September to meet payroll obligations. This is a somewhat common practice in MLB, and the team had sufficient credit to obtain the loan after all, so it’s not concerning in a vacuum. However, it reinforces the report by Kevin Acee of the San Diego Times-Union in September that they intend to cut payroll by roughly that same amount.
Sooo unless something changed I don’t see why they gonna go spending more now all the sudden just cause everyone else is
The loan was approved by MLB in November. You are wrong about this one.
Aside from trading Suarez, Arraez, Cease and/or Cronenworth, not much they can do. Try to get the last WC spot is the goal.
Solid decision to pass on that kind of opt out, 6 year high AV guarantee in case of injury or declining performance, 2 years if he pitches well…. ugh.
towin- again, we have 4 roster spots available. How would you fill them? Wanna be patient for Sasaki?!?! Need 1 SP, 1 Tools of Ignorance dude, 1 guy for the grass and one for the dirt. That’s it. 40 Man is at 36 now. Did you really want Burnes for $35MM per or are you just trolling another fanbase again? Would you rather have Burnes at that price, or theoretically Sasaki at about a milly per?!? Your impatience gives off a real sour grapes attitude… you’re unbearably narrow-minded and it makes our fanbase seem like whiners. I would turn your phone off for a couple weeks if you seriously can’t handle the “no news yet” for our Pads. Your record is scratched and stuck on the same repeating lyric. Change it up.
Good signing, AZ! NLW is cooking with some heat!
Phx AZ is on fire, real hot…some would say it Burnes
I see what you did there.
every team wants Roki- every team can more or less make a competative offer (teams with bigger bonus pools can offer a few million more- but not a huge difference since that means the “bad” teams can offer more than the contenders).
It is insane to build your off season around something like that happening for your team. He is also not signing for another few weeks. I had reached the point for burnes in thinking he was waiting till after Roki signed for the market to move for the teams that we waiting ands eeing.
Agree with James 100%. Any team waiting on Sasaki is making a grave mistake. It’s the biggest gamble of the offseason. Everyone is potentially a suitor monetarily. If they have a rotation hole, your best bet is to fill it now. If they get Roki, too, great. Adjust it later, though! Don’t let the entire market go dry and then get rejected, too. Fans have every right to ask what are their teams doing. Dominoes are falling daily!
If you are waiting on him because you have limited resources, it just is what it is.
SD isn’t sitting there letting these guys get signed by other teams BECAUSE they are waiting on Roki. It is because of limited resources.
The decisions that they will make with resources available, are not being compromised by waiting.
LA and NY teams have money to spend and are battling each other for top tier guys. SD isn’t in on those guys this year anyway. If one of those teams are selected by Roki, they will just find a spot for him.
No one is saying SD is waiting for Roki as their preferred strategy but rather a strategy by necessity. It’s why you have read “SD is in on ____” in every FA post this year.
Yes Ltc, all things factored, SD is not “waiting on Roki” so much as (evidently) being deliberately patient with filling the “final” roster spot for a P. Unless AJ has received the word and is literally waiting on Roki… that is an entirely made up story right here, right now though! No evidence to the point, just saying…
My guess is the Preller has some trades lined up with other GMs, pending the outcome of the Roki Sasaki decision. There is much nuance to roster building, and in many ways the roster now is more complete than it was this time last year. With alot of stars already anchoring the roster, AJP is playing the long game now and Roki would certainly play into that.
The needs being a back up C, maybe a #4-5 SP, a LF (maybe Tirso Ornelas is given the chance), a DH/utility vet or two. The Pads never planned to be big players in the FA market this year and I’d be shocked and confused if they went big and brought in another sizeable multi-year contract such as Burnes.
You must be a hammer Brew cuz you nailed it. Cheers bub
Cheers to you Gwynning, may we parade soon
Don’t expect much of Sasaki to SD, just don’t put too much hope on it. Do you see from the outside that SD is handcuffed and can’t do anything to seduce him to surrender his next 6 years? I don’t think he will make the same mistake Ohtani made by joining the Angels.
Weather? More $’s (even if a little it is there), chance to play with his idol (Yu), Nomo and Matsui even, a team that was the closest to knocking out LA in 24, a great pitching coach, weather, weather, a n opportunity to make a difference as opposed to slotting in the back, sold out stadium every night, weather, no smog, no smog, no smog.
Just a few things.
The fit is there, but what have they done to improve the team this offseason ? It raises my concern about the financial health of the team even more.
Like the mythical bird…Right up there with the Orioles signing a player to a longterm deal…
Agreed. I actually predicted San Diego to sign Burnes.
But then again, I predicted the Dodgers to sign Willy Adames, instead of the Giants.
You think you have it bad . Those two guys we have in Toronto , Atkins and Shapiro are a bag of rocks. They offered Burnes more money but the tax situation in Canada would have turn their bit lower . Could these twits not offered Burnes a little more money to cover the tax difference , what a bunch of twits . Plus who wants to come here when Vlad or Bo are guarenteed to come back after this year . Besides these two this team is pure garbage
Met fans “gotta” be wondering, “why not us”? He’s only signed thru his age 30-35 season and he has an opt out?
Mets and Padres too poor
Venmo us plz & thx
Stearns doesn’t go that many years for 30-somethig y.o. pitching.
@Long
Yes, but he will commit 7/$147 mil to 3 pitchers who are 2 or 3 years older than Burnes? Burnes will be 30 by the end of the 2025 regular season and 34 at the end of the 5 year deal he just signed, that also includes an opt-out. I could understand having a the discipline to say you’re not signing 33 year old pitchers to contracts longer than 3 years but in the Mets case they signed these guys that still all be as old or older than Burnes when their deals are done. It simply makes no sense to not sign Burnes, assuming his medicals don’t show anything risky, to a 5 year deal that takes him from ages 30-34. It sounds like, had the Mets been completely engaged, they could’ve gotten the same deal with the opt-out. And if he has a great season and opt-out, then you can let him walk, but what it does is give you an incentivized ace caliber pitcher for 1 year. You just gave Soto $805 mil. Why skimp on pitching?? This was the PERFECT contract for a fiscally superior team to indulge in. 2 of the 3 guys they signed are risky but maybe they will work out. Putting Burnes at the top brings a certain amount of “known quantity” that’s missing and if Roki decides to join the Mets then you likely have a top 3-5 rotation in the NL. I just don’t get it. Why be so risk adverse when you clearly have the ability to absurd the risk of an injury?
cohen: “i have more money than god. spend whatever you like. scorch the earth and bring home a title.”
stearns: “i’d rather prove how clever i am by building a rotation on a budget.”
@dasit. Exactly.
@KnicksFanCavsFan Very interesting argument. I had just happened to be thinking of Manaea’s 3/75m deal for his age 33-35 seasons in this context, that forgetting the opt out in 2 years for the moment, we can think of Burnes’ deal as paying Burnes 3/105m for his age 30-32 seasons, then another 3/105m for his age 33-35 seasons.
Say Burnes’ decline as of the beginning of 2028 means we figure he’ll end up giving the Mets the equivalent of Manaea’s age 33-35 seasons, but in 2028-30. Therefore, since Manaea got 3/75m (putting aside the deferred money for the moment) you’ll be overpaying Burnes by 10m a year his 2028-30 years in order to get his 2025-2027 seasons for 3/105m, a deal anyone would take.
Is it worth the 30m premium you’re paying for 2028-30 to get the sparkling 3/105m deal for Burnes in 2025-2027?
I think it is—given you’re paying a 1om a year ‘tax,’ of sorts, or premium in each of 2028, 2029, and 2030 to get the prime 3 years upfront (think of it as deferred money with its own discount from NPV), and it’s definitely a different way to think about these deals than I’ve seen elsewhere. Great comment. Thanks for posting it.
@jack
thanks. I just don’t get the disconnect. they had momentum one they signed Soto but hasn’t slowed down since.
It does seem an odd time to skimp.
There’s some rationale for it, though. CW projects Montas for less than tw0 fewer WAR than Burnes in 2025, so the upgrade from bumping Montas (or Holmes) to the pen is remarkably expensive. in terms of guaranteed money. Or if you move Holmes to the pen, the lesser light of Montas sits in the #5 slot. Still, there’s an argument for that unless you’ve promised Holmes he’ll start—which I think is the case—in which case you’ll be bumping Montas’ 2/$34m to the bullpen..
Or say you go with a 6-man rotation. Now you’re getting 12 to 16 fewer starts in the overall from Burnes, Maneaa, and Peterson and giving 25 starts to Montas. That’s a lot of money (and ERA) to give away in the starts you’ve lost from #1, 3, and 4 (#2 Senga was always getting 5 days rest).
Still, this is a fine postseason rotation, where your #4 had a 2.90 ERA in 2024.—and presumably Holmes beefs up the pen.
Burnes
Senga
Manaea
Peterson
Holmes
Montas
Have you considered the guy chose AZ over everyone else because he and his family live there?
You’re right. They might not have offered the most but it appears close and he gets the opt out after two years and also gets to play at home.
Oh man, I swear I’m glad it seems like most GMs don’t use WAR as their go to for signings. That stat could kill team building if solely used. Fans use it so willy nilly to defend who is/isn’t signed. It’s a flawed stat that doesn’t really account to how the individual components actually do help teams. To me, it’s making up a number that really doesn’t add up.
The Mets needed a Burnes, period. That should have been their signing to make. The aces are now off the board. You have Flaherty out there, but he’s more of a solid number 2 and level with Senga. You can’t bank on a Sasaki signing as that’s going be a gamble with everyone having pretty equal footing monetarily. Is a trade out there for them?
If they let Pete go, too, I’m not sure what to make of their offseason. Soto is going feel like a flex by Cohen more than anything.
@rondon
Quite a possibility. But when the opt out then? Can he really determine whether the circumstances have changed in the Cali teams interest?
Salzilla – This site uses War , Fangraphs uses War, teams use War , lots of places use war. If you don’t want to use it or recognize it thats fine but don’t try to stop other people from using it . Do you have OCD?
Bingo. Good take. The cash wasn’t there so he does what’s good for the family till he gets another chance.
@PutPeteinthehall Why does no one ever appear to consider that players might welcome the chance to be largely away from home for 1/2 to 2/3 of the year?
What, like mistresses don’t have feelings?!
As for the opt out, it could easily be worth 2/7om to Burnes. That was the real carrot, here.
Pete who, btw? If Alonso, please Mute yourself. Thanks,
@Salzilla I almost hate to say it, but all 30 teams use WAR or a very similar, proprietary version when building their teams.
You have to. It’s by far the most accurate way to aggregate team wins and aim for 81, 85, 90, or however many wins you’re shooting for in the coming season.
Even Wikipedia’s crude writeup on WAR acknowledges:
“In 2009, Dave Cameron stated that fWAR does an “impressive job of projecting wins and losses”.[20] He found that a team’s projected record based on fWAR and that team’s actual record has a strong correlation (correlation coefficient of 0.83), and that every team was within two standard deviations (σ=6.4 wins).”
And fWAR has only been refined and improved since 2009.
—-Statistical analysis hasn’t improved baseball from the point of view of enjoying watching it, turning most hitters into launch angle drones and most pitchers into fast, faster, fastest arm-shattering clones. But it’s refined team building enormously and made offseasons much more interesting to analyze. Any team that didn’t use WAR in 2024-2025 would be crashing and burning compared to their compatriots.
WAR is just a way of adding up batting average, on base percentage, slugging, baserunning, and so on, into a convenient number giving overall value. I just figure it’s hardly an alien stat not having anything to do with the game.
See, the fact hat there’s different forms of it always throws me off and screams flaws. For me personally, boiling down a player’s profile into one number negates what you actually can see and read in individual statistics. I’m sorry, but no one overall number is going tell to me a player’s worth more than what I can see myself. There are intangible elements to baseball players that make team building better than just cold numbers.
It’s more of a convenient way for teams to make sense of their rosters and sell it to their fanbases, especially in smaller markets, but when these wins don’t materialize because you actually didn’t invest in the players that actually make a difference well that’s telling to me.
The Mets seem to be playing both sides of the fence so far. Cohen needs his flex guys and Stearns needs to prove his methods wwork. Time will tell if it works or not.
Mets already filled out their rotation. They still have other needs.
@Von
Move Holmes to the pen. They needed an ace.
Buffett – I totally agree, $8M less than Fried is a relative bargain in today’s market.
Yankees are probably having buyer’s remorse right now.
True, but neither pitcher is anywhere close to what they were at their peak. By fWAR Fried in 2024 was at 70% of his personal seasonal peak. Burnes was at only 50%. of his.
Jack, that’s why you don’t only rely on saberstats. Anyone watching in 24 saw Burnes having another typical Burnes year. Buyer remorse may come but not immediately.
FPG, its $7.75 million more per year than Fried with an opt-out after 2 years. It’s 28% more per year.
For that price I am disappointed the Sox did not make an offer.
Pitching is outlier today, not like Koufax, Seaver, or Gibson, not even like Maddux, Johnson, and Martinez. Starters went from throwing 300 innings to 230 to 170. The value has been reduced.
@slider32 But the prices don’t seem to have gone down. Just the opposite.
Seems more like, the value has indeed been reduced, but the number of pitchers who can give you even just that reduced value has been reduced even more. Look at the 4/72m and 4/68m given to Taijuan Walker and Jameson Taillon.
The number of starters who can pitch in a postseason rotation is even further reduced, which is why we’re seeing 6/210m given to Burnes, who projects to around put up roughly 12-14 WAR over the life of his deal. That’s around $15-18m / WAR compared with roughly $8-9m / WAR for position players, though teams are starting to pay less for that first Win Above Replacement (that win is easier to find), and more for wins 2 and upwards.
Yankees specifically targeted left-handed Fried and got a deal done. No remorse.
When any contract is signed there is no remorse. It’s after the games start. It’s always a gamble signing a pitcher long term.
@Damn Yeah I don’t think folks understand this. He’s also getting less per year than Burnes which offers more flexibility for the roster. I really like Burnes, but it clearly looked like Fried was in their plans day one.
@Sal
I think they feel that Fried is less dependent on his FB’s ability to overpower a batter Nevada he has 5 pitches he mixed well and should she better than Burnes. Kind of how Maddux, Key and Mussina were able to be effective with a 93 mph fastball as opposed to a 96 one.
@DamnYankee$ That wasn’t the worst deal. What was bizarre is how their offseason as a whole progressed. The upgrade to Fried from Cortes for 2025 was just 1.4 fWAR, using fangraphs. But to make that upgrade the Yankees shelled out an additional $ 17.5m in 2025 (the difference in their 2025 salaries) then another $190.5m for Fried’s 2026-2032 seasons.
They also got one year of Devin Williams for around $10.5, but the cost to NYY for years 2026-2032 is huge, given about 1/4 of Fried’s overall value across those 8 years will tend to come in his first season with the Yankees.
@Fevers
Yanks don’t have any remote whatsoever. They identified that they wanted Fried, knew they’re was competition from other teams and worked decisively to secure him and the rotation knowing that once they did that then they could use at least one of the surplus pitchers to fill other needs. In this case it was Cortez to get Williams. I think they were locked into Burnes if they felt he was the better option. That’s a perfect example of how you use your financial strength. Of course it comes with risk and of course you have to use discretion as to whom you pay up for (Fried in 2024 vs Stroman last winter).
I’m so happy he’s out of the AL East. I think this sets Baltimore back a bit.
Understated how huge this is. Also, MLBTR hasn’t picked up on it yet, but SI reporting that the Jay’s made a bigger offer to Burnes. So doubly dodged that bullet.
Why did all the insiders claim it was down to the Giants and blue jays? No one even mentioned the Diamondbacks as a possibility of even being in on him.
That’s how snakes get their catch. They lie and wait and strike out of nowhere.
This reminds me of Zack greinke in 2016 where literally no one expected the dbacks
It happened again!
Baumgarner too.
Glad to have him out of the AL East the next two seasons (opt out). Sox have many wild cards but if they hit, this actually could be a rebound year to remember.One or two moves remaining. Trade Yoshida and sign Bregman/trade for Arenado. Such allows for Devers to become the DH on most nights. He has to understand his moving off third improves the infield which automatically improves the pitching.
How did greinke and bumgarner surprise signings work out for them?
3.40 ERA over 3 2/3 seasons then they got 3 of the Astros top 5 prospects for him. Pretty damned good.
Greinke brought back Corbin Martin and Seth Beer…..
Fingers crossed that the Sox do exactly that. I would have liked to see them go after Burnes since his price ended up not being outrageous, but as you said get rid of Yoshida and get Bregman. That should make us much more competitive.
Pretty great in Greinke’s case.
Dewey- none of that is remotely happening
I wouldn’t brag about getting Baumgarner. His best days were long gone and AZ waa the only ones signing hom anyway..
and to think at the time- Corbin was the lesser name of the .3.
Your really comparing those signings with Burnes? Lmao, ok. Just a wee-bit different there chief.
People seem to like living there, sounds awful during the summer but I’ll take their word for it.
Its brutal here in the summer. Those who can afford to leave are out of here by Memorial Day. The neighborhood in Scottsdale where we spend our winters is a ghost town in June-Sept. A whole bunch of empty multi-million $$ homes.
Makes sense, easy to pack up and go when your kids are on summer break.
So true. But then, poor Flagstaff, it used to be a quaint lil’ mountain town.
but a player is traveling during half the season either way-
Player is traveling but his family isn’t. Home life stability (or living where mom wants to live) is really big factor when you are quibbling over the difference of 210 mil or 220 mil!
Wherever you live – not everyone wants to live there.
@Baseball
No AC? I live in South Beach and if I don’t have to go outside I’m in hibernation
But the walk from my house to my car, my car to the office are the only time I expose myself to the heat.
There is no escaping going outside in the summer unless all food is delivered and you never go workout or get a haircut or visit friends or do anything. Being a hermit is no fun.
You have to remember that for 3 months it’s 100 degrees at midnight here.
But it’s a “dry heat”, right – LOL!
They strike out lol
It might be they were in 3rd place on the money, but were the only ones who offered that particular opt-out, and they only offered it in the last 24 or 48 hours.
That opt-out has to be very enticing to the player and could well be worth $70m to Burnes, if he has two seasons at say 4.2 fWAR each, a tick up from 2023-2024, and would probably mean he can get the same $35m AAV for six years beginning in 2027.
Jays were just used as leverage. Why would anyone sign for 6 years in Toronto when they have no farm system and Vlad and Bichette on expiring deals.
“League sources” means “Heard it at a bar”.
Make it stop!
How does he get away for $210M!! in the division!!!
Say hello to California Taxes
Snell seemed to like them.
Or maybe burnes should have deferred too and just move out of CA before he gets his money. Works for Ohtani.
Burnes lives in Arizona and the Dbacks are also much closer to contention than the Giants. Plus they gave him an opt out after year two
It’s a unique advantage that Arizona carries over other teams. Landed them Eduardo Rodriguez last year. Gave him the chance to live around his young family year-round and watch them grow up instead of spending 6 months a season away from them. I believe he took a leave of absence from the Tigers one season due to family problems.
While it’s not a thing that makes or breaks a deal, it’s the type of thing that gives them a tiebreaker over other clubs if the money was close. That appears to be the case.
Doesn’t work for Ohtani, CA will go after that money… he EARNED that money while in CA and a deferred payment doesn’t get you OFF the Hook… CA will Sue him for said Taxes… I’ve seen it happen…
I bet it was more the opt out. Even over the life of the contract, the difference in taxes is less than $20 Million. Any good accountant can save you $20M out of $210M
Taxes are paid where the games are played, so the difference is much less. Maybe 1%.
Arizona has a flat tax rate with no deductions. Everyone pays the same rate. In California we have a 12.3% tax rate in the highest bracket, but few in that tax bracket pay it. According to FTB.ca, the average paid is about 3.15% for those of us in that bracket
dont forget that he would probably need somewhere to stay in california and property taxes / rent aint cheap in california. Is it 20 Mil worth probably not, but probably would be a couple mil over the life of the contract plus more if you add in transportation for him and the family to come up from arizona for lengthy homestands.
As CALifornia resident for 40+ years, I will tell you, the internet rates you googled are incorrect. Check where you got that info from. It’s 13.3% top rate. And that doesn’t include Obama tax which will raise it past 14%. We pay alot of taxes to live in perfect weather year round.
taxfoundation.org/data/state-tax/
He is right
ftb.ca.gov/
ftb.ca.gov/forms/2023/2023-540-tax-rate-schedules.…
Federal doesn’t impact state taxes.
Say hello to an idiot named Jay.
Maybe Giants are smarter with Buster. Just bid him up and dropped him on Arizona.
Dude. Ease up on the fantasy baseball.
You think getting the Giants fans fired up to maximise disappointment is a smart move ? You don’t think that carries more weight than some childish “let’s stitch up Arizona” mentality ?
Cmon man. Get outside more.
@jaysmooth2121 It’s so adorable that you think the rich pay taxes. Never change, America.
They pay lawyers to get them out of paying taxes.
@Jack
You can make all the side comments you want but the facts are that the top earners in America pay the majority of the taxes in America.
@Patriot12992 Oh, son. The ‘top earners’ (they’re not earners in the main—they’re thieves and parasites) own the government and get vastly more benefits from our 40 trillion dollar, commonly-built, commonly-held national and international infrastructure than they pay for in taxes.
All you have to do is look at the condition of that infrastructure to realize the rich barely begin to pay for everything they use.
Hey, why is that no one claiming ‘we should run government like a business’ ever demands that the government charges every big business owner the maximum dollars it can, for the use of roads, ports, etc. etc. etc?
Based on their profiteering off that infrastructure they pay nothing like their fair share of the cost of building and maintaining airports, roads, ports, shipping lanes, police, military, treasury, a national currency, etc. etc. etc.
In fact tax cuts on the rich since 1964 account for every dollar of the 36 trillion dollar national debt. Why doesn’t that thievery have you crying out for justice?
In 1955, the year so many people seem to hanker for getting back to, the effective tax rate on the rich was 54% on a nominal rate of 91%. Today the effective tax rate on the rich is 9% on a nominal rate of 36%. Meanwhile taxes on people who actually work for a living has only increased. Where’s your outrage?
So Social Security, Medicare and pensions are now “welfare”? That will come as a surprise to the people that paid into them their whole lives. But Medicaid is welfare, as are food stamps and the entire illegal alien and homeless support systems.
why is that no one claiming ‘we should run government like a business’ ever demands that the government charges every big business owner the maximum dollars it can, for the use of roads, ports, etc. etc. etc?
==========================
Why can’t we do both? And we already have a federal and state tax on gasoline. Are you suggesting that we increase the tax?
I pay a lower percentage of CA state taxes than most of my employees do and my guys make good money for construction workers. Other than a new laborers they are all making at least $34-40 per hour. Project managers 20-25% more.
can any of them hit a hard slider?
@Joe Brady – NYC is starting to charge for using their roads as of next week! I believe it is $9 per day for ‘peak’ hours (5am-9pm) just to drive on NYC roads. A little less than $3 per day for off peak (9pm-5am) driving. I believe they are calling it “congestion tax”. It is unbelievable! These roads have been paid for already by excise tax & property tax and yet NYC is gouging their residents once again just to use the roads.. This off course will hurt the delivery folks the most (Uber Eats, etc..) so expect prices to go up in NYC to help cover this $45+ per week charge just to drive on the main roads in the city.
What’s next, a sidewalk tax? A usage fee for Central Park?
AZ has a flat 2.5% tax rate. CA max tax rate is 13.3%. That is about $3.5 million/year. And AZ has functioning roads.
Arizona has a flat rate with no deductions. I hate it. At just over $1 million earned per year in Arizona per year I pay more than I do in Massachusetts where I can write off large chunks of my income.
Did a check on the California Franchise Tax Board website and California is now 12.3% in the highest tax bracket. I don’t live there so can’t say exactly what the deductions amount to but the website shows an effective tax rate of 3.15%. That is the amount taxpayers are actually having to pay after write offs.
I live in Arizona half the year and you must not if you think the roads are good here.
This guy conveniently lives anywhere needed when in an internet argument
It would be hard for any roads to be worse than CA!
Ive driven in 11 different states the past few years and California has the worst roads and its not close. While also paying over $1 a gallon in fuel tax.
Come to Arizona. Especially during construction season, also known as winter.
I only drive in a few. Arizona in the winter and spring and Massachusetts and a few in New England in the summer and fall. Arizona is by far the worst especially this time of year. Nothing but orange all over the roads as they try to fix them. 110 plus does a number on asphalt.
Roads should be a local issue for the most part. The first day I heard about infrastructure/road improvements, I was driving from Westchester to Montauk. That’s a long-ish haul, and I didn’t encounter a single pothole.
Extreme heat wrecks roads almost as bad as ice and snow. We have the same issues in California out in the Mojave. Roads in SE California deserts are terrible.
Little to do with taxes and everything to do with the opt out. Giants weren’t willing to give an opt out and am sure it was the same for the Jays. Good for the Dbacks.
@Balk: Yes, it’s all about the opt out. A lot of news sources were quick to jump on the tax thing, but I think that was before it was revealed that there was an opt out.
Is it possible that as far as Toronto, he didn’t wish to live in a foreign country that has significant infrastructure issues respective to provinces and significant tax issues….and as far as San Fran…he didn’t wish to live in that particular CA urban environment as far as family is concerned….if he opts out, he’ll be 32 going on 33 and no team in the right mind is going to offer him the contract years or total salary he’s getting right now with the D-Backs 2 seasons from now…..most likely, given his “horse” mentality, he’ll be in somewhat of a decline as the years roll on……just saying its plausible……..
Could be right…not a bad place to live considering spring training days and home games. He’ll be home a lot.
For those counting at home, I thought he was going to get/offered $240M/7 years from SFG
I’m glad we didn’t bite and make an offer with an opt out. Either you’re in or not.
I would have liked him on board. Webb was very excited at the possibility. Good enough for me.
However, I also understand Buster can’t be caving in at this early stage of his career. There might be a bit of “we are no longer the go to opt out” team for you.
Opt outs aren’t ‘caving in.’ They’re just one more cost of doing business.
Teams show little loyalty to players, which is why typically only the best players get no-trade clauses. Why shouldn’t players bargain for opt outs when that’s in their interest? Refuse to give them and you only hamstring your team.
Early opt out on a long deal, it’s such an advantage for a pitcher financially.
Jays offered $250M and didn’t even have a chance…
That came out of nowhere.
No, it didn’t come out of nowhere. It came out of the desert.
That’s nice.
“It Came Out of the Desert”
Sounds like a horror movie.
Wow! It’s like when they signed Greinke in 15. Totally out of the blue. Great news! Go Diamondbacks!
My sentiments exactly. Nice deal for the DBacks. The NL will continue to be very competitive!
Dodgers, Dodgers, Dodgers!
What about the Dodgers?
They will win the West, and right now everyone is playing for second place!
slider32: So what?
The D-Backs better find some offense quickly……..the NL West is stacked given the Dodgers and Padres better balanced teams….
Woah.. didn’t see him going to the House of Slytherin. The mystery team gets the win.
WHAT
Great move by Arizona. That is a stacked pitching rotation. Nobody will want to see them in the playoffs.
Diamondbacks stepping up to the podium.
Thank you!!!! Finally have to do this cause the way the dodgers are spending. Montgomery will be gone in 2 days lol
Nice pick up by Snakes.
None at all. Montgomery was a #1B or #2 starter in 2022-2023 and a 2-3 in 2021, who had a funky 2023-24 offseason thanks to greed and ignorance.
If he’s not hurt there should be offers of a halfway decent prospect (say in a team’s low teens) to take on that pitcher at 1/22m, particularly from a team willing to gamble and that needs a 1-2 starter if things go well, but can’t or doesn’t want to afford that guy on the 5, 6, 7 year deal he’d otherwise require.
Detroit, maybe? Or the Mets, for different reasons.
Jack. Many clubs would at this point need financial relief to add Monte. Even the Mets when adding in the tax penalty might not pay the full freight since they still need a hitter or two if Alonso signs elsewhere.
100% Detroit should be making that call about Monty!
Congrats to Dbacks fans on this signing. That’s gotta put them up there with the Dodgers at the top of the Division.
I think the Diamondbacks should keep him . 2 lefties in rotation will help.
Or Baltimore?
Or West Sacramento to meet the revenue sharing payroll goal?
@deweybelongsinthehall Maybe so, Dewey, but surely there are a few teams in the .500-.530 median range who won’t crack the LT threshold with Monty, but want what might be a significant upgrade to their rotation including a real upgrade to their postseason rotation. Detroit, KC, Cubs, Texas…… He’d even let Seattle deal Castillo’s 2026-27 24mAAV away with less pain AND pick up a nice prospect or two in the process.
At 1/22m this also wouldn’t hamstring the Mets. We saw them go well over $300m in 2024 just on one-year deals. I think they might go for Monty given they’re probably light a postseason starter and he’d solidify their hypothetical 6-man rotation. I can see AZ wanting to pick up $$$ to increase the prospect return but given the Mets averagish-farm they’d probably want the opposite.
How much of Montgomery’s salary do you think the Diamondbacks will have to eat to trade him?
Probably close to half. There were metrics in Montgomery’s good years, that implied ’24 was coming. Moving Montgomery will be a $ dump around 50%, with not a ton more than a lower level prospect return at best.
Why not keep him . He has had some solid seasons
@outleftfield. Don’t think they would. He’s only had one bad year, and 22 million isn’t terrible. Not sure if there’s many teams still wanting to spend. Maybe they could dump him to Sacramento.
Rex, Montgomery’s FIP last season and his HR, SO, and BB percentages all moving in the wrong direction the last 3 seasons point to more of the same in 2025.
He did have a bit of bad luck as we see from his BABIP and LOB% but only enough to see an improvement to around a 5.00 ERA, not anything in the 3’s.
I don’t think anyone will take him without the D’backs eating a large percentage of his contract. The only question I have had is how much? 25% and get no good prospects back? 50% and get at least one prospect that is in the top 10-15 range for that team?
@baseball. He didn’t have a full camp, and got injured probably because of that. You look at alot of the pitchers that got signed this year, and it doesn’t look bad. The landing spots are probably thin now so that’s going to drive his price down. That’s why I said a’s they might need to spend more.
Arenado + Hesley vs Montgomery and prospects…
Would have to be amazing prospects …
Not trading Helsley for Montgomery. I do want STL to go after Montgomery. We can do better in a return deal for Helsley.
High way robbery
? when the big boys don’t go after a free agent star!
Please send Montgomery to STL with AZ eating money.
This makes zero sense to me.. Noe what I think will happen is trade Monty with a package of either Lawlar/Jones and Ryne Nelson for a solid bat.
He’s an ace. You can’t have too many aces. Not sure why this makes zero sense to you.
You must be a soccer fan.
you don’t know ball
Dude, put down the pipe.
One for one. Monte for Yoshida. No extra cash involved.
Idk now, I was thinking Castillo to dbacks, Casas to Seattle, Yoshida to dbacks, Monty to Boston, and Emerson to Boston. But it wouldn’t make sense now.
Zach, too many teams but I personally don’t want Devers at first. If he really could play it, they would have experimented last year when Casas was hurt.
dewey- that’s a move I’d get behind. dunno if the snakes will, however…. but the Sox would because it would involve not spending much, if any, money, which seems to be their MO nowadays ($40 million this season for Chapman, Sandoval- who has $9 m or so for the 2nd year, and Buehler- his signing is the most intriguing one the Sox have made. will he return to form? and will he promptly bolt? will the Sox even try to extend him should he give them reason to?)
Sox will not extend Bueler as if he stays healthy, he should dominate and go back to LA who will pay him. I’m shocked the deal didn’t have a player’s option in case he needs more time to revert to form. If they could trade Yoshida, I’d be for trading Casas and bringing in right-handed hitters at both corners (Alonso and either Bregman or Arenado). Then the lineup is balanced.
The Sox are a joke now. Breslow saying we are are going to raise the ceiling of our rotation and that they are looking to sign two of the front end starters. They sign none of the front end starters, but we are supposed to be excited by Buehler who could be washed (the Dodgers who don’t care about spending money didn’t even offer him a QO, that says something) or get excited about a injury prone pitcher with no track record of putting together a full season. Henry needs to sell the team to someone who actually wants to spend like a team that brings in the 4th highest revenue. Also we need a GM that knows what they are doing, because Breslow sure doesn’t.
@dewey. Buehler has had enough time. It’s been two years. Him taking the one year deal shows me, that’s he confident he can bounce back.
Didn’t they pull off a trade for some lefty starter who was kinda good?
If they trade Pfaadt/Nelson, they’re not going to dilute the return by adding Montgomery. Same if they decide to move Gallen a year ahead of FA. Monty will almost certainly be a salary dump.
I don’t disagree. Monty needs to go but I’d rather trade some good prospects and Monty for a solid bat
Hazen has been pretty firm on not dealing Lawlar and Jones. Lawlar for sure isn’t getting moved because he’s an injury away from being an everyday SS in MLB. Jones they won’t move because that’s selling low on a high-ceiling prospect who did OK in 2024.
It’s much more likely they’ll have to deal Nelson’ or Pfaadt to get that bat if they want more than 1-2 years of control.
I would be surprised if Hazen traded Pfaadt or Nelson. For long stretches of ’24, they were the Dbacks best SP. They are the Dbacks future. Maybe Hazen shocks MLB again by trading Gallen or Kelly who have one year of control. Would they return the type of bat your looking for?
There is absolutely no way that the D’Backs are including Lawlar in a trade.
Knew it
How did you know it ? Burnes with Diamondbacks were not connected by anybody, anywhere.
No you definitely did not
Nice call @just_ thinkin
Interesting to see where Arizona goes from here with their rotation. They have 7 quality starters now. Are they able to offload some of Montgomery’s contract? Do they flip Gallen elsewhere since they likely won’t be able to resign him now? Nelson or Kelly could be moved as well. Seems like at least one (if not 2) of their starters have to be moved now, and they’re in a good position to capitalize on the sellers market for pitching.
Montgomery is gone for sure. That leaves you with 6 and you definitely need it with the way injuries to kelly and erod go
Burnes, Gallen, Kelly and Rodriguez is a legit playoff rotation i don’t think they trade any of those 4. Montgomery is almost guaranteed to be dealt.
Why sell low on Montgomery? His value has never been lower than right now. Just keep him and let him bounce back. There’s no pressure on him
Why can’t they sign Gallen, they just signed Burns!
Can ERod be counted on?
To be a number 4 starter? Yeah I think he can. And if he doesn’t perform they have Pfaadt and others to count on.
D backs are really going to be motivated to move Monty now.
Monty is a hold in my book! He should be much better this year.
slider, He should be better in 2025 with an ERA between 4.50 and 5.00. That is a humongous improvement and he will still only be a 5th starter while being paid #2 money.
Montgomery for Jon Gray next D backs save 6-9 million
I would think if and when the D Backs move Montgomery it would be for a hitter and not another starter.
Seems fair but not sure the Diamondbacks want a starter back if they deal Montgomery.
This makes zero sense for the Rangers. 1 for 1 deal where the Rangers get the worse and most expensive (money $ length) player back???
Montgomery is better than Gray he just wasn’t in 2024.
Not according to WAR (yes – can be subjective). But there is still no way TEX takes on that contract at the expense of Jon Gray at this point.
Well as I said already the Diamondbacks don’t really need a starter back for Montgomery. They could use a hitter.
Agreed. That being said, half the rotation missed significant time last year. So the depth could be nice. But I still have a hard time seeing Jordan back with the Snakes for another year.
Didn’t see that coming. And it’s not an insane price in dollars or years either.
Snakes really need Helsley to close games now.
He’s not available dude. I would trade him for Jones but he’s not available.
Everyone is available
No they are not. I think Helsley gets dealt in July but the Cardinals want to give themselves a shot to compete.
Cardinals are spreading rumors that he isn’t available through the press to drive up the asking price. He is very available if the right deal is presented to them.
Probably a bigger return than what Arizona gave up for Paul Sewald. Although St. Louis is in a weird position where they’re a .500 club but don’t have the upper echelon talent that can push them into true contender status.
This is why I stay up late.
Was a D’Backs deal ever a rumor? Stunned at the lower than hyped contract price & SFG losing out to a division rival.
I think the Giants are done with the opt outs. Its been a rough few years in that regard.
The Giants didn’t lose at all. This would’ve been a terrible deal with the opt out. Posey isn’t Farhan. No more opt outs!
Good agents and GM’s are flexible!
Just popped in to see who’s pissed off. Good for Arizona though.
Yankees are pissed. They could have gotten Burnes for what they paid Fried.
Probably not getting Burnes for Fried money in NY. Burnes another wrote lives in AZ so that was likely a huge factor.
Yankees got 2 extra years of fried for a 8million more, why would they be pissed.
Still, those two years aren’t likely to be worth much of anything. Fried’s already had one TJS; blisters in parts of three seasons, a hamstring injury, a forearm strain that cost him significant time.
Burnes had the much higher peak, has the better health record, the better recent track record, and he’s a year younger.
No one wouldn’t prefer Burnes at their respective prices, just as no one is going to want Fried at 37 and 38, making his last two years only useful for how it lowers his AAV.
Everything you said was false. Max had the higher peak, max had the best season between the 2 and over the last 3 years max has been better.
Yankees 2 more years. Lefty. Better. Way Burnes K rate is dropping he will be at 1.7 per 9 by end of contract.
Burnes has five straight declining K/9 rate and four straight seasons of an increasing WHIP. Too many red flags for this investment.
Ditto I’ll take Fried any day
Maybe they wanted Fried over Burns or Burns didn’t want them.
@unpaidobserver I only get pissed once every offseason and that was losing Soto for a hot minute until they signed Fried. I prefer a lefty SP.
It’s de ja vu to 2015 and Zach Greinke all over again. Huge get for the D’backs and the NL west just got a whole lot tighter
Second place in the NL West just got tighter.
Don’t sleep on what is a very good rotation in the desert right now
I’m not I’m telling you what a very good rotation who’s lost offense gets you. I’m a Mariner fan I’m experienced in this lol
The Greinke signing all over again. I like it D Backs!
Greinke good comp
Luis Castillo is still available
Yep, Baltimore give us a Call we can give you a deal… might not like it but a deal we can make…
I hate the Giants
Me too, You should join our club, it’s called season ticket holders.
Giants would not agree to an opt out. especially a 2 year opt out. It’s a Boras special and I’m very happy Posey didn’t budge. Posey showed his cajones and that’s great.
The Giants have handed opt outs to players like candy in recent years.
Those have been opt-outs Farhan offered though, not Posey.
Well Posey just started he hasn’t had a chance to offer or not offer guys anything yet. You don’t know what Posey is thinking yet.
Huh? We DO know what Posey is thinking. He’s thinking “NO OPT OUTS”. Holy hell BITA!
Because he signed how many guys since he’s been in charge? 2 or 3? So we know that now????
Uh no……
@bita. Farhan didn’t sign anyone passed a year for the most part until last year. The ones he did haniger, desclafani, soler he traded away shortly after
Yes, glad Buster stood firm and didn’t give the opt out.
He addressed the biggest need and got Adames. An Ace would have been great. It’s time for one or more of the many young arms to step up. Birdsong could be that guy or Roupp.
Ring around the rosy, Buster got Posed!
Yup. He stood his ground and missed out on what they really needed.
A manly dolt.
Really ?? You don’t want the guy for 2 years at 70 million!?! That’s ridiculous
Yeah. Disappointed but I’m on board, Claude. A man has to set down his marker.
I believe last year this site did an article about how much each division spent over the offseason. I hope they do that again. The Central division teams aren’t spending squat everyone else is spending like crazy.
Cardinals are rebuilding, the cubs are cheap, the pirates are super cheap, the brewers are at their usually spending, and the reds are waiting for bargain bin shipping in February
No small market has ever spent over 130m. Can’t. Won’t. I dunno. But they don’t. Cubs spend to non embarrassing level at least. Cards usually take advantage of their market. Twins light for their market. I mean they have 2 cities and entire state to themselves. Sox no idea.
Twins also lost their TV contract.
Diamondbacks lost their TV contract too.
Cardinals are not rebuilding.
Look at the AL central same thing. Only teams that are spending even a little are the Cubs and Tigers. The other 8 teams haven’t spent barely anything.
I mean, the Cardinals ARE rebuilding, regardless of how competitive the Central is. They’re not going to pour money into the roster and mayyyyyybe squeak into winning a bad division while simultaneously trying to restructure their minor league development system. And it’s probably even worse for the Cards if they can’t get rid of Arenado. It makes the timeline of their rebuild longer
Cardinals are rebuilding they just can’t say it out loud.
Arenado doesn’t really move the needle on the rebuild at all. They won’t get anything back for him and he’s only tying up 3 years of payroll.
They have a lot of bad cash coming off the books in the next year. Better for them if they could dump a large chunk of that off before no one wants him but it’s not crippling.
He doesn’t move the needle as far as getting anything of great value for him but he is taking up a spot in the lineup and on the field that a younger player who is part of their future could be gaining MLB experience at.
Need my dbacks to now go resign Grichuk for cheap. Most likely get a 1 year rental closer or trade for one. We definitely need one more veteran off the bench as well.
Why do you think Martinez can’t effectively close?
Personally, because he gets worked up on the mound still. If the window wasn’t wide open currently, I’d let him take his tries and deal with the blow ups (Perdomo is a whisperer in those situations which is great!), but the window is open, so taking 1-15 blown saves for him to learn isn’t ideal if they might be in pivotal games. I’d give it to Puk right away though with JMart in the mix to be his backup alongside Ginkel, JMart and maybe Drey Jameson.
Looking forward to seeing Drey Jameson in the mix in the bullpen. Could maybe wind up being a closer perhaps.
With 210M for 6 years, the Padres surely can afford this. Oh wait, lets give 280M to Xander and 350M to Manny
If Red Forman saw this he probably gonna say…
Those deals happened before Burnes was even a free agent
After those 2 contracts they eliminated all future mega contracts.
The issue with Bogie is they bid against themselves. Boston might have increased their last offer but not to anywhere close to what he received.
I’m guessing it was about $100M over Boston’s final offer.
But some Padres fans think it was a great signing.
The 350m to Manny was surreal.
The Bogaerts contract was bad enough, but with Machado that was …. I don’t know what it was. Manny did them a favor the same was Cespedes did the Mets a favor by opting out, but they, too, gave the player unconsciously doing them a favor an even bigger deal.
Working off the vintage 2007 moron blueprint drawn up by Cashman and Arod
Good for Burnes!
…but it has the feel of “settling”, based on overpays elsewhere.
As for the Blue Jays’ “interest”: $35 million per had to have Shapkins turning and running in the opposite direction like they were trying to escape a cloud of pepper spray ….
It was the opt-out.
“Settling”?. Nothing settlng about this. He’s betting on himself so that in 2 years he can be making more than 35 mil AAV. No better way to prove yourself than to knock heads more often than not with that LA beast … and SD.
Obviously, he got what he wanted. He’s a big, strong guy. If the road isn’t too bumpy, I expect you will be right.
Maybe front-loading the salary covers it anyway but, with his track record as a load-bearer (Very few starters get the chance to go 7+ anymore. Fewer still do that more than 1/4 of the time. He’s one.), I thought he would do better getting paid now.
…and then they add to the article that the Jays and Giants offered more so he had that choice, too.
From what I read, he is getting paid $70 million for 1st 2 years with no deferrals. $10 million signing bonus and $30 million salary the 1st two years. If he opts out, he gets all of that. If he opts in, $60 million of the remaining $140 million is deferred.
After seeing what Fried got at age 31 and Snell got at age 32, he probably believes he can get more than $140 million in free agency and his twins will be past the infant and toddler stage before he would start playing in a different city in 2027.
As someone else said, Burnes is getting $8 million more than Fried on in AAV and for the 1st two seasons he has a higher AAV than Snell when you account for deferrals.
IIRC, 10MM a year is deferred but if he opts out after year two, the Dbacks have to pay that 20MM by the end of offseason. (somewhere in January I believe)
What
He’s younger than Fried, I didn’t expect him to get less than the $218MM that Max got from the Yankees.
@brocnessmonster,
We can speculate why – Going home to pitch for AZ, and he may not age as well as Fried, His high velo could lead to TJ surgery or when his velo begins to decline with no rebound, he wont be as dominant.
Plus, lower taxes as long as he stays in AZ.
The AAV is $7.75 million higher for Burnes and the opt out is huge.
Less taxes. Less cost of living. Less lefty. Less years. More opt outs.
Can always tell the guys that are in low tax brackets as opposed to people like Burnes that are in high tax brackets. The low tax bracket guys worry about a 1-1.5% difference in effective tax rates and high tax bracket guys just hire more accountants to make sure they keep the money they earn no matter where they live.
Oh man. My friends are going to be so upset. Instead of moving to Florida Tennessee all they had to do was hire more accountants. Dum dums. Someone send Snell a text. It’s safe to leave Washington bro. You just write it off!
You could be right. I have an accountant. I don’t know it about taxes. Go to Florida and set up shop. So many north east people and they ain’t there to retire.
Dude you’re one of those low tax bracket guys compared to Corbin. You sound ridiculous
all they had to do was hire more accountants.
=========================
We aren’t the rain makers some believe us to be. We can save you nickels and dimes, but the overall rate dominates the discussion.
@websurfer, please check your math again. CA top rate 13.3 versus AZ top rate of 2.5%. You might have missed an extra zero in calculating the difference.
taxfoundation.org/data/state-tax/
If I had to do my taxes myself, I would start by going to https://www.ftb.ca.gov or downloading the rate schedule at ftb.ca.gov/forms/2023/2023-540-tax-rate-schedules.….
That is the CA Franchise Tax Board. The government organization you file your taxes to here in California. The 2nd link is the actual rate schedule for filing your 2023 taxes, the last one you would have filed.
If you are quoting a website outside the state site, you are getting it wrong.
I have a tax law firm that works for me that hires CPAs to make sure that I pay the right amount of taxes and not one penny more.
Last year I paid 3.75% in California state tax after deductions. I am not particularly wealthy by the standards of a ballplayer and I don’t get paid in 10 or 15 states like they do, but I use a Schedule Y and my tax bracket is on the bottom line of that section of the form, same as Burnes would have been in California.
Snell is playing right here in LA. Guess where he pays most of his state taxes at? California. The rest are paid where the dodgers will play their road games. You pay taxes where you earn the money, not where you live.
The tax law firm I have been using since 2015 saved me 8% in state taxes off the base rate for my tax bracket for 2023. Good ones are worth their weight in gold and they charge like it too. They are worth every penny.
Joe, if mine were not rain makers in terms of how much they were protecting my income, I would not be paying them so much.
I read somewhere that the average CPA makes $90k a year in California. I pay the annual salary of one CPA to the firm I use to shelter my money. Most of that goes towards work on taxes for federal and other states than California, but if it was just California it would still be well worth it.
It has to be a lot higher than $90k in CA.
I was thinking it had to be higher in CA too and it is by a little bit, but not much.
calcpa.org/become-a-cpa/cpa-salary-guide
Per that article:
“The average salary for a CPA based in the United States is $119,000”
So the average CPA in CA makes 20% less than the average CPA in the US? Despite apartments in CA costing $95,000 a year? I looked up Nebraska at random, and their CPAs get $88k, and you can buy a small farm for that type of money.
Suddenly, I don’t feel as underpaid anymore.
CPA’s in San Francisco or LA undoubtedly make more money, but California has a lot of rural and farming areas that still have CPAs.
Glad to hear you are at the higher end of the scale.
Still the opt out.
Broc, $8 million in AAV, an opt out after 2 years,, and 2 less years makes it a better deal for Burnes.
As a Dodgers fan, IMO, if someone asked would you like sign Burnes for 210M/6yrs or Snell for 182M/5yrs, i probably would choose Burnes.
Burnes is 2 yrs younger, and IMO more consistent than Snell. It just my oppinion though. What do you all guys think?
Burnes is interesting with how much his strikeouts have gone down the past 3 years. I mean what if the trend continues? He went from one of the best in that department to league average.
Snell has been about a top 5 pitcher in the game in the second half for seemingly ever, think he’s the bigger get of the two for the Dodgers.
Have to wonder if Burnes decrease in SO and velo are tied to his increase in IP? Is he deliberately holding back to go longer into games?
His velocity didn’t decrease. He stopped throwing a 4-seam fastball. The velocity of the cutter he is throwing instead of the 4-seam now and his sinker actually increased from 2023 to 2024. fangraphs.com/players/corbin-burnes/19361/stats?po…
@niel,
Snell is left hander. Much harder to find.
Niel
I would sign Snell if I am the Dodgers and Burnes if the Dbacks. The Dodgers have Yamamoto, Glasnow, Kershaw, Gonsolin, May and Miller plus good young arms. They are getting g the best guy for five innings for October. Dbacks get someone more reliable for the whole season to ensure they make the playoffs. Right call for both teams.
Pretty sure the Dodgers chose Snell over Burnes.
I want more than 8 k per 9 for 210m. Give me the high k lefty and 50m.
Burnes decided to go more cutters than Roger Beshens Football Sliders. That’s why the K’s are down. It’s not hard to figure out.
If Ryne Nelson keeps throwing the cutter more than the Football Slider he’s going to be 7.5 k’s again.
Let’s see if the Dbacks front office and analysts are going to try to be the pitching coach again and fail miserably.
I’d just hire Roger. Save $ on pitching and load up on bats.
Don’t waste 200 million on a pitcher when Roger Beshens can train pitchers in your minor league leagues to throw the same slider Corbin Burnes throws, the Roger Beshens Football Slider.
Are the Dbacks not actually teaching how to throw this football slider right now? Why is it taking a long time to train these pitchers? The Dbacks are currently 6 years behind schedule.
@niel.marshal Great question. If I’m the Dodgers my problem is, can I get even a couple of my aces to the postseason? And since that’s uncertain, I’d definitely take the much greater certainty that comes with Burnes.
In a bad year even more of my pitching might break down. I’d rather bet on 180-190 innings with a 3.10 ERA than 115 innings of 2.90 ERA, particularly when the former is much more likely to be available in the postseason.
If you’re looking to repeat WS crowns, Snell is the guy since he has the highest ceiling. I would take Snell’s over Burnes’ and Fried’s deals even for the Yankees. It was the right move.
Burnes was better last season and as a starter over his career. He is also far more durable. Comparing both of their careers, they have the same exact ERA and Burnes’ FIP is better.
Since the Dodgers rotation is heavily right-handed….
Burnes AAV is 35 mill. Fried’s is 27.25 mill.
Math much?
Plus Burnes has an opt out after two years. Fried is in for the long haul.
i called it!!!
*i didn’t call it
Montgomery to Detroit for Tork?
I was thinking the same.
A contract no one wants for a player no one wants. Hmmm I like Montgomery chances to rebound much better.
Announcing your arrival again?
In a package. Hell yeah! I’d be surprised if Monty didn’t rebound and a change of scenery would be good for Tork.
NL West be a byatch! Sorry Giants.
Wow he actually signed for less money than Max Fried albeit less years too. I’d be curious to know what the orioles offered. All this talk from new ownership and the front office about increasing payroll is feeling more and more like bs with every free agent off the board.
Hopefully nothing other than the QO. Get your draft pick and make it a long winning stretch.
Well this comes as a surprise. What a well kept secret!
NL East and West will be highly competitive, and the wild card races as well.
Hopefully the next big signing involves the Mets – One of Alonso or Bregman. Both are Boras clients.
I don’t think the mets sign either. I see Bregman in Boston. Alonso to the cubs or Giants
???
Kelly, Gallen, Pfaadt, Nelson? Lmao, Monty was a rental. Comparing black stone to a wealthy couple who’s has 3 air bnbs lol
I wonder if they salary dump Montgomery
O’s aren’t being serious about their star arb winning window.
Well done D’Backs.
Orioles fan grateful that he’s out of the AL East. Scary hot stove talk about signing with Blue Jays or Red Sox put to rest.
Hazen did a fantastic job of waiting out Burnes’ market to limit the contract length and total dollar commitment.
A lot has been made of the declining K rate but the walk rate is plummeting in tandem. That tells me he has the savvy to reinvent himself as a control artist.
Don’t be fooled by last year’s struggles. The Dbacks rotation is looking potentially dominant right now.
NL teams are straight dominating this offseason.
A+ NYY. HOU not bad. BOS Crochet. Love CLE salary dump and pitching depth trades. Santana.
No they haven’t.
The Yankees are a fourth place team. You signed an over the hill first baseman. A has been center fielder. You vastly overpayed for a pitcher and gave up a really good starting pitcher for a reliever. The Yankees in a heart beat would take Soto back and you can lie all day about the Yankees being better with out him but they are not.
The other 29 team front offices must feel snakebit.
And they will try to trade him during year 2
NL west is going to be tough as hell
I would really like to see this team win, but I sure hope this signing goes better than E-Rod, Montgomery, and Mad Bum. Track record is a bit ugly.
Certainly, there were red flags everywhere around Eduardo Rodriguez. The Snakes will be luck to get 15 games from him.
I was very glad Harris/Greenberg moved on front him.
Why not spend money on keeping Walker instead of adding additional pitching
The NL West is going to be nails…Snell to the Dodgers, Burnes to the DBacks and soon…Sasaki to the Padres
Rockies signed a couple guys with invites to big league camp !
Brewers fans are celebrating that Burnes did not join the Cubs by Brewers fans toasting with Blatz Light and Milwaukee’s Best Light’s..
Assuming this is confirmed, my O’s need to get their act together. The off season is a complete failure if you don’t replace Burnes with another ace level pitcher. You’re competitive window is currently wide open, you should be doing everything you can to win while it stays open.
Winning makes players cost more in arbitration. This allows the O’s to keep the payroll affordable longer.
But, as it stands, Baltimore is currently a worse team today than they were on the last day of the season.
That’s a problem. Because they were not a good team on the last day of the season.
Right ! O’s can’t do 225 over 6 years ??
Absolutely correct.
Santander to O’Neill is a bit of a decrease in offense with a huge injury risk. But cheaper.
The other “big signing” is a backup catcher, and they are losing one of those already.
Even with expected progress from the young hitters (and I have no hope of them holding onto when its time to pay them), this is a .500 or so team, tops.
Can’t do it without pitching. I don’t give a F about a draft pick that may or may not help in 5 years.
@ tikia
I’m no fan of the Snakes or Phoenix but do you realize how dumb you sound?
Wow. OK. Good luck, Arizona. Adios, Burnes. It was fun.
I guarantee you, that there is no way on God’s green EARTH that the Arizona Diamondbacks can afford $35 million a year for the next few years to ANYONE. This is a small market team that all of the haters say can’t keep up with the big money teams…. I can’t wait to hear about the deferred money. And when they announced a whole bunch of money has been deferred, all of you whiners can start demanding that your OWNERS do the same thing! If you want to keep up, you have to fork it up. That’s just how it is nowadays. If a small market team like the Arizona Diamondbacks can do it, so can anybody else…. The Diamondbacks owners want to compete, or at least make the effort! Not just sit back and be the fancy rich guy amongst his friends…..
Exactly this! There’s no excuse most of these greedy owners can’t do the same deferment deals to sign big free agents.
That’s ridiculous! They have thrown away a fortune on pitchers. Bum was a terrible contract ! Erod and Monty. It’s what they do !
AZ isn’t a small market though; AZ has one of the largest media markets in the US
Phoenix is the 12th largest media market.
D for Dbacks. I thought their stadium was falling apart and they were broke. Whatever it’s a lot of $ to spend on a pitcher. This ain’t NY LA. They need extensions. Position players. Won’t even mention the declining k rate. If they get it back to double digits great. Back to 13 it’s a fleece.
A+ for Burnes. Set for life and if he does well he can opt out. What’s not to like.
Socialism for billionaires will build the stadium. Taxpayers are fools and the politicians are paid off.
Whoa ! Didn’t see that 1 coming. Just reinforces NL West is the toughest n best thing going. Wait till Roki becomes newest Dodger. Hopefully, w/Teo n Burnes off market it’ll open up the logjam of FAs.
Tiki
Snakes and Yankees both recently lost a WS. Tells me nothing about Burnes and a lot about you.
Yankees didn’t want him.
tells me you didn’t watch the only playoff game he pitched. He pitched great, the O’s put up a zippy.
When was the LAST time the Yankees won a Championship? Have you been asleep Princess? And LA is better than New York currently by a Long shot…
Is this typical?
-ute now?
Should I just pull the cord on the ‘ch
@tikiagedola,
Sounds like you wanted Burnes to sign with your team and you’re licking your wounds by bashing Burnes with nonsense.
Burnes signed where he wanted and with the team who in 2023 lost in the World Series just like the Yankees in 2024.
Perhaps you should try dealing with your disappointment head on rather than deflecting outward.
@tikia
Best fans? Ha. Second only to Phils fans in animal behavior.
Lol thinking the Stanks fans are “the best.”
The best at being classless trash, but nothing else.
Holy Moly. I didn’t expect this.
Giants lose out on another big free agent, what’s new
Btw, this is a terrible deal for AZ. If he’s even halfway still decent in two years, he opts out. If he’s terrible, you have an albatross on your roster for 4 years.
He’ll still be young, rebound candidate at least
Haters gonna hate
Jays are snakebit
Jays might need to look at a reset and consider trading off Vlad and Bichette if they can’t get anything going.
As a Rays fan, I should think that the Jays’ inability to acquire FAs is hilarious, but I actually feel sorry for them. It’s just sad at this point. I mean what will it take for FAs to go there if the Jays offering more than the competition won’t do it?
The issue is taxes. And, some notable FAs have come to Toronto – Springer, Gausman, Bassitt, but with the immediate future unclear after this season it makes sense players are reluctant to commit to the Jays
So only the players on your team want to win? Great comment.
I thought you were a Tigers fan? Why are the Yankees fans suddenly the best fans?
Well, that was not on my bingo card. Had him going to the Giants.
Burnes does live in Scottsdale and has a new baby in the house, so maybe that was a consideration for him. The opt out after year two was also probably a consideration.
Giants swing and miss on another top FA.
Braves needed him more than the Diamondbacks but I knew they would pay 35 million a year. Now Arizona will try harder to trade Jordan Montgomery.
They can just give him a way to at least 4 teams.
Heck of a guy
Orioles fans have to be upset. They have a clear shot at a World Series with their impactful younger players, but are too cheap to surround them with quality veterans. New owner. Same M.O.
Exactly, that championship window isn’t open for very long, u gota be all in n go 4 it ! Wasting Adley n Gunnar’s youth w/tires stuck in mud. Feel 4 u Orioles fans.
Open longer now with draft picks for Burnes and hopefully soon Santander. No need for silly windows. Time for always contend model.
Getting bounced in the wild card is hardly competing. Any chance those draft picks get called up before Henderson, Rutschman, Cowser, or Westburg all leave in free agency? I’m guessing no.
Not when u keep trading away young talent like the O’s do
@YourDreamGM: “Time for always contend model.” Braves fans approve this message.
The Braves have locked up a lot of their young talent on affordable, long-term deals. The Orioles haven’t even done that. I’m starting to wonder if they’re going to trade them all when they reach arbitration like the Rays.
The Orioles lack of aggression when they have such a great core is truly baffling.
That age is coming to an end, locking up young talent. Acuna cost himself 9 figures signing that terrible contract and a lot of these guys now are just going to wait it out with these insane FA contracts being handed out
At the time Acuna signed that contract, it was the largest contract ever signed in MLB for a player of his age and service time. He guaranteed financial security for himself and his family for the rest of his life. He’ll also be able to get another contract by the time he’s 30. There was nothing “terrible” about his contract at the time it was signed.
lol. Braves fans always trying to justify this contract smh. He capped is arb number ! Which would be as record setting as Soto ! Then instead of making 50 mil plus on the open market, he’s making 25 mil. Then instead of being able to use age 26-29 to leverage a 700 million dollar deal – he’s locked into this contract.
It’s literally the worst player signed contract in mlb history and cost the guy 9 figures
Braves fans are nice. And correct. I would sign you for as cheap as possible. That’s how you run a business. Give me players who have zero desire to take risk. Enjoy his prime years. Give him the QO and say thanks see ya later. If he stunk he would still take your $. It’s a risk for both parties. He could have took the risk and waited for free agency. That’s a long stressful wait. Maybe he had a bad agent. Who cares. They would have signed him even cheaper if they could. That’s what your supposed to do. With anything.
You’re assuming Acuna continues to produce his 2023 numbers and his career isn’t hampered by injuries and ineffectiveness like it was last year and in years past.
We also don’t know what underlying medical issues Acuna may have. Everyone expected Correa to set records leading up to his FA, but we saw what happened there.
I love it! The little guy comes out of nowhere and leaves the rich teams holding the bag. Lol
It’s a smaller bag with the rich teams scared off by the declining k rate.
opt outs were a deal breaker for the rich teams Negotiator Man. K rate wasn’t. Trust me, I read it on the internet or a book from school.
Mets Montas opt out. Yankees preferred Fried but Cole famously opted out. Giants not nearly as rich but Snell opt out. Bogaerts red sox opt out. Seems they aren’t afraid to do opt outs. But sure it may have been a turn off. Draft picks as well. But k rate was the biggie.
You want more strikeouts and success with the Roger Beshens Football Slider or less strikeout and less success with the cutter?
If the Dbacks management and analysts repeat what they did in 2024 they will likely go with the cutter.
David Price threw cutters left and right his last couple of seasons in Tampa Bay and got lit right up. Hated when he would throw that pitch.
Flat cutters tend to travel very far. Giant meatball.
NL west going to be the hardest division
“The new boss is NOT the same as the old boss. We won’t get fooled again” says Who