Here are three things we’ll be paying attention to around baseball this Thursday:
1. Arbitration filing deadline:
By noon CT this afternoon, all arbitration-eligible players must either agree on a contract for the 2025 season or both player and team must file for arbitration. The deadline for both sides to submit arbitration figures is later this evening at 7:00 PM CT. That means you can expect a significant number of players to sign their deals for the upcoming season today. While teams and players can continue negotiations after the filing deadline, many teams take what is known as a “file-and-trial” approach. In other words, they shut down contract discussions after the filing deadline and take all undecided cases to arbitration hearings.
You can find every arbitration-eligible player’s projected salary (from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz) here.
2. Brent Rooker press conference:
After officially announcing Brent Rooker’s five-year, $60MM contract extension on Wednesday, the Athletics will hold a press conference to discuss the move today in Sacramento (per Martín Gallegos of MLB.com). Rooker, 30, is coming off of a phenomenal year for the A’s. He ranked fifth in the American League in home runs, third in RBIs, and sixth among qualified AL batters in OPS and wRC+. At season’s end, he was awarded the AL Silver Slugger at DH and finished 10th in AL MVP voting. With the A’s forced to increase payroll this winter, it makes perfect sense they chose to extend their best hitter on a deal that buys out all three of his arbitration seasons and at least two free agent years.
3. Another 40-man move incoming from the White Sox:
The White Sox have already made a handful of 40-man roster moves in the past few weeks, such as DFAing Corey Julks, Braden Shewmake, and Jacob Amaya to make room for Cam Booser, Tyler Gilbert, and Josh Rojas, respectively. Soon, Chicago will have to make another transaction before finalizing the team’s biggest (relatively speaking) offseason addition yet: Martín Pérez.
The veteran starting pitcher agreed to a one-year, $5MM contract with the White Sox on Wednesday. Before officially announcing the deal, the club must open a space for Pérez on the 40-man roster. The last several players the White Sox have DFA’d have all been position players, making it increasingly likely they will part with a pitcher to add the southpaw Pérez.
Lots of people are upset with the whitesox, obviously being the worst team ever will do that. With that in mind I’m perfectly okay with the same strategy as last year. Signing prove it players to one year deals and trading them. Give the pipe more time to “hopefully” develop. Really we just need guys to start getting some big league experience.
I mean, what else could they do? They could’ve signed all most all the top 10 free agents and probably wouldn’t even get to .500. It’s a BAD team. Mike Tauchman is probably their second best position player.
The only people upset are White Sox fans….
As a life long South Sider and fan, I’d agree except the WSox are probably last in developing minor leaguers into starters and future all stars. Chris Getz shoulders alot of that blame in overseeing the minor leagues for years.
5th worst team in MLB history.
Top 15 is being very generous. I disagree. As a DH, he’d need to have an Ohtani or Yordan Alvarez track record to sniff Top 15.
You’re basing player rankings off their MVP voting status…what about the NL MVP voting status how does that factor into your rankings? Very curious
Since MVP voting is by league, that would put him maybe 20th in the game, falling a little short of top 15.
Cal Raleigh finish 12th in mvp voting last year, guess that makes him a top 25 player in all of baseball by your logic. Am I interpreting you correctly?
By your MVP voting criteria, we could say the 9 guys who finished above Rooker in AL voting plus roughly the top 9 in NL MVP voting. That would be 18.
If you’d said top 25 I think you’d be getting less disagreement.
Judge, Witt, Soto, Henderson, ramirez, Guerrero, skubal, alavarez, Duran, ohtani, lindor, marte, ozuna, William contreas, bryce harper, sale, de la cruz, Merrill, adames all had more mvp votes than him so he’s not top 15 according to your logic
Trade secret. Can’t tell you
I would take all those players over Rooker, plus many more. Dude had one good year as a DH. If he does it consistently for next 2-3 years I’ll reconsider. There’s reason he’s bounced around organizations in the past. I hope for his sake he’s legit but too say he’s a top 15 in all mlb based on one great year is a stretch especially as a DH.
He’s played 50 plus games in outfield in 2023. Had a forearm injury and off-season surgery this year which limited him to DH. I expect he’ll play majority of games at DH but also more outfield depending on their planned platoon in LF of brown, andujar.
Stats do lie—-but they are really convenient to use when you have an agenda.
Lifetime WAR:
Harold Baines 38.8
Placido Polanco 41.9
One is in the Hall of Fame.
Whole different argument there…
In the American League? Yes. In MLB? Then you get into argument territory. It is all semantics though.
I think the argument becomes why would either be in the hall?
“Noon CT this afternoon”?
I guess it’s always afternoon somewhere.