The Padres reunited with Michael King this past week on a three-year deal that offers him the opportunity to opt out in each of the next two offseasons. As noted by Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union Tribune, however, negotiations between the two sides didn’t kick into gear until very recently.
Sanders notes that president of baseball operations A.J. Preller instructed manager Craig Stammen and pitching coach Ruben Niebla to message King less than two weeks ago to see if King was interested in returning to San Diego. At the outset of the offseason, the right-hander initially preferred a return to the east coast, where he pitched for years with the Yankees after growing up in Rhode Island and going to college in Boston. King indicated to reporters (including Sanders) that while some teams had “blown [him] away” with strong offers, he didn’t believe those teams had the roster and commitment to winning necessary to field a World Series contender in 2026. King added that he was prioritizing winning “for the duration of the contract,” and that he was willing to take less in order to make that happen.
It seems that ended up being what he did with San Diego, which Sanders adds was the only west coast team King had interest in playing for. While King’s $75MM guarantee came in just shy of the $80MM guarantee MLBTR predicted for the right-hander at the outset of the offseason, it’s nonetheless a strong deal given the higher average annual value and opt-out opportunities after each season. With that said, King clearly was trending towards a nine-figure contract prior to his injury woes this past season. It’s not inconceivable that there was a team willing to look past the medical concerns and offer him that sort of deal this winter, given King’s comments. The Marlins, Cubs, Orioles, Yankees, and Red Sox were among the teams known to have interest in King’s services this winter, though Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that the Yankees ultimately never made an offer to the righty.
With King in the fold alongside Nick Pivetta and Joe Musgrove, Preller indicated that he’s satisfied with the front of the club’s rotation. It seems the Padres had a strong desire to add to the front of their rotation this winter, however, as Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports that San Diego made a “competitive” offer to right-hander Merrill Kelly before landing King. Kelly ultimately landed with the Diamondbacks on a two-year, $40MM deal. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal recently reported that Kelly received a three-year offer from a west coast team that would’ve guaranteed the right-hander “more than $50MM,” and it’s not clear if the Padres were the team references in Rosenthal’s report, it certainly wouldn’t be a shock if the “competitive” offer Lin reports that San Diego made to Kelly was in that ballpark. A three-year offer in that range could theoretically have been similar to the four-year, $55MM contract the team signed Pivetta to last winter.
Perhaps Preller’s desire to add a front-of-the-rotation arm this winter in part stems from uncertainty surrounding Yu Darvish’s future. The veteran right-hander underwent UCL surgery last month that will keep him out of commission for at least the entire 2026 campaign. What’s more, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported earlier this week that Darvish is not certain if he’ll pitch again following his rehab process. The 39-year-old hurler was limited to 15 starts this past year due to injury and struggled when he did take the mound, with a 5.38 ERA in 72 innings of work. Given that he’ll celebrate his 41st birthday during the 2027 season, it’s perhaps not a shock that Darvish is uncertain about his ability to return to a major league mound after this latest health-related setback.
Of course, the possibility of Darvish stepping away from baseball is complicated by his contract situation. The veteran righty is under contract for $16MM in 2026 and is set to make $15MM per year in both 2027 and 2028. If Darvish were to retire, as Acee has reported he’s contemplating, he would stand to lose out on at least some of that money. It’s also possible that Darvish and the Padres could negotiate a buyout, not unlike the process the Angels and Anthony Rendon are reportedly in the midst of ahead of the final year of his contract with the organization. Perhaps that sort of buyout could help create financial flexibility for the budget-conscious Padres, who have had to get creative with their contracts in recent years in order to remain competitive and continue spending in free agency.
I’m waiting for the MLBTR heading “Red Sox move on former Dodger” again. They apparently signed Alec Gamboa! Who? Yes, Alec Gamboa! Ownership is spending the Devers’ money wisely…
This “budget-conscious Padres” is such a tired take.
I think this site knows this and likes the responses the ‘cut and paste’ posts gets.
“look how much ‘engagement’ we get when we do this. Advertisers love it!”
I’ve wondered that as well HG23
Every team in the NL West is “budget conscious” in comparison to what the Dodgers spend.
Pretty much every team in MLB is budget conscious compared to the Dodgers. Even the mighty Yankees. I often wonder how George would have operated to counter the Dodgers.
A great reminder of why not to wade too deeply into the waters of expensive free agent contracts.
I think the Angels have put the Rendon buyout on hold. Perry mentioned last week that Rendon has been working out. IMHO I think the Angels are going to wait and see if Rendon can play in 2026. before proceeding with buy out talks.
a ‘buyout’ with one year left on his deal. he probably wont negotiate at all, so odds are it will result in a dfa if anything at this point
I would think the Angels and Rendon could get this done. Get some deferrals to reduce the luxury tax and Rendon can just do whatever he wants.
I hope if Rendon is fighting deferrals that the Angels GM does everything he can to make Rendon attend every team even he can but I probably dont know enough about what is going on or what the GM can actually do in this case.
@Salary- I’m not so sure the MLBPA will allow the Angels to buyout Rendon’s contract. We haven’t heard anything from them since the news broke about the Angels and Rendon renegotiating either.
If both parties agree to terms, why would the MLBPA have an issue, particularly if the money is the same? Really not being argumentative. If you can think of something, tell me about it.
@Salary-I could be wrong, But a buyout usually means take a lump sum now and forgo the rest.
It would be a contract agreement they make. The contract can be whatever the two sides agreeing want it to be.
I’ve seen several people suggest that the MLBPA won’t allow the Angels to buy out Rendon’s contract, and I don’t understand why people say this. It’s been done before. I’m sure the MLBPA will want to review and approve the terms, but buyouts do happen.
This is straight from my family member who works in the department of “Contracts for players’ –
A buyout clause (also called a release clause) is a contract provision that lets a player terminate their contract early if a specific fee is paid to the team. That fee is pre‑set in the contract and usually much higher than the player’s normal market value..
Now, with the fee that can be waived by the club IF the players intent is to sign with the opposite division / league where there is little to NO chance to hurt the team the player is leaving – This is why when King opted out of his Contract to “test” the free agency – the majority of the teams who made him offers was of the American League King didn’t entertain offers from the National League just to honor the stipulation to waive the fee.
If King would of signed with some other team in the same division (ex. Giants, Dodgers) the “opt out” fee would of .25% on top of the “Buyout” – This is why King played it super smart in the way things ended up.
They do happen with the use of different references names like “release clause”. The Contract is non negotiable once the player has declared that they are accepting the Buyout or release. PLUS there is NO way around the extra 25% fees on top of the money offered on the opt out. Those words coming out of the players mouth “Test the Free agent market or they are accepting the release clause in their Contract is accepted like the player actually signed off on it.
Angels are currently expected to be ~60mil under the CBT. I doubt they are interested in deferrals in order to reduce the luxury tax for 2026.
@WCI’m sure it was the Angels idea to do this.
@WC-From what I’ve read the Angels want to use that money and sign other players.
@Dolemite
It’s possible it came from either side. Rendon likely wants the money and to retire while the Angels want to save money. The Angels don’t care about the CBT or how deferrals may affect it.
The MLBPA would always like every player to take every dollar of their contract, but in the case of a buyout, that’s not what happens. The MLBPA can’t/won’t prevent a buyout if Rendon and the Angels both agree. By making it public that he’s working out, Rendon is putting pressure on the Angels to increase the amount they are willing to pay for him to walk away or risk him trying to play, using up a roster space and taking the full amount while making things awkward for everyone.
The MLBPA only steps in when there’s a trade in which a renegotiated deal, contingent upon the trade, lowers the expect value of a contract (nothing to do with the CBT). In this case they are able to block/hold-up a trade.
Buyouts don’t reduce the amount paid – what incentive does a player have to agree to that? They can spread the payments out over more years, perhaps with added interest. That gives the team more present cash and a spread on the tax hit.
@Dolemite
Given they are 60mil under the CBT and have only come close to the CBT once (2023) in recent years I’m skeptical that they care about it for 2026 as mentioned.
But if Rendon is willing to accept deferrals, in order for it to lower the CBT number he must first accept a lowered compensation. In this case, he could agree to take ~28mil instead of 38mil with the ~28mil being invested by the Angels in order to achieve a return of 38mil 10 years from now, at which time he would receive the 38mil (they would likely split it up, but this is for ease of understanding). So he would be accepting 28mil, with the understanding that the Angels will invest it for him and guarantee the 38mil payout – with the Angels pocketing the difference if their investment returns a higher amount. The actual CBT number and the principal won’t be exactly the same as they are calculated slightly differently, but they are close approximations.
The Angels are likely to be able to invest the money at a much higher return than Rendon and their guarantee of the payout (38mil in this case) would make the player confortable with investing with them. But if this is the actual path they are negotiating, for it to make sense for Rendon the number would have to increase significantly from 38mil for it to be worth his while. So any CBT savings from using this method would likely be only a few million.
I seem to remember something about lowering the total value of the contract being a no-no. Like paying him off $50 when he is owed $100 over two years. I imagine spreading that value over multiple years is ok. $1/year for 100 years. But if I am the player I want $1.5/year to make it worth my while. Otherwise pay me and I’ll invest it and make more over time.
Just to give an idea of how quickly the compounded interest grows: a $9 investment at 5% would reach $100 in only 49 years.
Keep in mind, if Rendon was simply to retire on his own then he doesn’t get a penny of the $38mil he’s owed, so that would lower the value of the contract completely. The issue with lowering the value of the contract is for continuing players who are offered something non-financial (usually a trade of their choosing) where the MLBPA can/will block those moves from occurring.
Often these deals will take the path of contributing to the team as a consultant/coach after playing in return for full compensation, but I don’t think the Angels & Rendon want to continue their relationship.
Okay. Probably. I doubt the Angels go and break the bank so hard that Rendons contract actually becomes a factor. I guess Im back to hoping the Angels GM forces Rendon to be present at every Angels event, though that could turn into a distraction for the other players.
Luxury tax is one of the worst kind of tax for any business or organizations HAVE to accept. I had a business doing ALL types of Taxes. until I was hired by IRS to do Audits on big businesses and international money, and one of the absolute worse type of audits I would have to do was on proper payments of DUE luxury taxes. More times than NOT organizations would under report the amount to be subjected just so that they could be at some kind of advantage. Pedophile Trump thought that he would never be caught doing this but he was. then on top of that he still owes the Government well of 500 million in Luxury taxes a lone.
I was part of the “Verification” team where I was responsible to check all physical assets, NOT bank accounts (thank goodness). My team caught so many discrepancies’ where without a doubt this Pedophile was going to lose this so called “Empire” he built.
It’s not a real luxury tax, just a self imposed way the owners balance the wealth distribution while limiting the success of the wealthier ball clubs.
It’s not even called a ‘luxury tax’, that’s what the similar NBA program is called.
Pete Alonso’s wife is from Massachusetts. Michael King is from Rhode Island and went to school in Boston. John Henry and Breslow probably knew none of this.
Why do fans assume players want to play for a team in the area they or a family member is from? Did it ever occur they din’t like the area they grew up in?
I suspect that the vast majority of persons in this country would prefer the climate of the San Diego area over the climate of the New England area. And that vast majority would include persons who were born and raised in New England.
I was fortunate to grow up in San Diego and have been allover the country and the world. There is no place I’d rather be, climate and vibe wise, than San Diego.
San Diego is a favorite destination for many international students because of the weather and social climate.
It’s a wonderful area.
Thank you for your service
re:”I suspect that the vast majority of persons in this country would prefer the climate of the San Diego area ”
Speaking as a former Californian (almost lifetime), I believe that Californians can’t quite grasp why folks in 4-season states might prefer their home state, over the sea and sun in California. I’ve also lived in the Northeast (Boston), Southeast, Midwest (born in Michigan), and now find myself in the Pacific Northwest. Bottom line: Weather doesn’t bother most folks that make their homes in 4-season climates. Home is home, and marrying, raising a family in, being around family, brothers, sisters, cousins, and so forth matters to them more than San Diego tacos and sunshine. In fact, a lot of folks in the New Hampshire and Boston areas had 6, 8, 10 generations of family history, right in the towns they live.
All of which is to say, if King (or other MLB players) prefer working close to home, don’t discount the attraction of “home” over San Diego. (Then again, during the 9 month season, home is mostly a hotel room for all of ’em anyways, so there’s that, too.) 😏
@dolemiteismyname
The article stressed that King wanted to go back to the northeast. Alonso also stayed in the general region.
In most cases players want to stay close to where they are from as their extended families, and often their immediate families (wife & kids), live in the area; and we see this happen time and again. However it’s rare that they sacrifice significant income in order to do this. The Yankees and Red Sox weren’t that interested in King as they have other needs/wants and it seems he would rather wait a year with the Pades than play with the Orioles.
Alonso is from Florida and signed in Maryland which is not near NYC.
No New England discounts. Remember, Henry puts our money where he believes the return will be greater.
Yu stated when he signed this contract that he wasn’t sure if he would play it out. Without the injury, he likley pitches in 2026 and then decides about 27/28 based on how that goes. With this injury, he just may shock everyone with walking away from the money – or part of it in a buyout / transition to a consulting role in front office / in charge of foreign scouting.
He stated recently he is talking to Preller about his future.
Also was in the room with Preller while negotiating with Kings agent.
Darvish lives in San Diego full time. His son just signed with a college in San Diego to pitch.
He is fully commit to San Diego. May take a job in the front office/coaching role for a year. Then decide what he wants to do next season.
Darvish isn’t retiring early. He isn’t forfeiting one cent of that contract.
If yu reegotiates his contract into retirement, can Pads gain room in salary to sign some players that will help this season? If so, padres should offer him a special asst role and help with recruiting Japanese players and his salary space can go to Imai and/or Munetaka/Okamoto to take down the empire.
Maybe, it could just provide some relief this year for future payment.
Who really knows what they are talking about.
It’s all up to darvish. He can just sit out the season and get paid if he wants to.
No reason not to do that. He played for below market value for his first 6 year in MLB plus however many years in Japan.
CHP – depends on how it happens. Straight retire and no money – yes. Salary relief and CBT room. If the re work same $$ over more time – has to be approved so anything crazy won’t likely he approved.
Retire and take a job in org for a lot $$ – might work for both sides as mlb doesn’t approve employee contracts.
So when’s the retraction portion of padres looking to shed finances gonna come?
Apparently mlbtr can pat themselves on the back being “close” to King’s contract
“ While King’s $75MM guarantee came in just shy of the $80MM guarantee MLBTR predicted for the right-hander at the outset of the offseason”
Though you were all wrong guessing 4 years, Orioles, Tigers, Yankees
But can’t be bothered to admit them constantly posting about padres looking to shed salary from Tatis Jr to Pivetta to Cronenworth was a false rumor they spread like wild fire since Schildt stepped down and the Padres ownership sent out the letter to fans, despite the current ownership promising to keep spending levels near the same.
Even a broken analog clock is correct twice per day.
I do agree with you that many writers wrongly speculated that the Padres will lower payroll and base it solely on turbulence among Peter’s spouse and brothers.
Padres were a big spending luxury tax team.
Why do the Dodgers need to defer billions of dollars and avoid paying taxes on 500-600 million payroll instead paying taxes on half that at 300 mill?
Hey how much deferred money did padres have in 2023? 0? Oh so they can actually pay their tax bill and don’t need to dodge tax bills like the LA Tax Dodging Deferrals do. Got it.
They can spend 7-8 billion dollars since 2000 but suddenly need financial help on their tax bills lmao. Poverty franchise
@ Huh Umm because the Dodgers owners know how to work the system and use it to there advantage Maybe they want to use some of that money (Which they have) and use it to renovate Dodger Stadium. among other things. They’re just using the “tools” that are available to them.
I set up a go fund me to help cover the dodgers 2026 tax bill. Wanna donate?
@Huh, Curious, Who is your favorite MLB team and why does it bother you so much that Dodgers do this? Like I said before They are using the tools available.. THE MLBPA is okay with it.Any team can do this.
Undermining the cbt shouldn’t be allowed
What’s the point of having the cbt if teams can use deferrals to lower tax bills set by the competitive balance tax?
If dodgers were taxed at 100% payroll I wouldn’t care how much they spent long as their tax bill reflected how much they’re spending
But to run a 500-600 mill payroll, use deferrals to lower than to 300 mill, and then use the tax savings to buy more players it makes the whole reason mlb opted to use cbt instead of a hard cap pointless.
For instance, Ohtani agreed to a 10 year 700 mill contract and have 8 out of 17 most deferrals on contracts. When you can lower an aav hit from 70 to 46 using deferrals to push money into the future and avoid paying taxes it makes the cbt irrelevant which other teams abide by.
Again idc about deferrals or their payroll I care about undermining the cbt which is suppose to be in place so teams with more money can’t monopolize the game. Obviously that system has failed and will inevitably lead to a lock out soon.
Thanks Dodgers
@Huh- But any team can do it. They are not doing something thats not available to the other 29 teams. If it’s there, why not use it?
“Any team can do it”
You have to have money to do it. Not all teams have the same financial resources Dodgers do which is the point of the cbt lol. You can spend but you’re gonna pay premium taxes and penalties to do so.
Dodgers are also backed by 357 billion dollar corporation Guggenheim and a lucrative tv deal
Wanna guess how many other teams are backed by billion dollar cooperations themselves like that? I’d wager like 5. I’d guess Mets Yankees Red Sox Blue Jays so 4. If that.
Maybe Braves. Not sure about their ownership situation, at present with John Malone and Liberty.
The key in deferrals is the players willingness to accept – or in case of Shohei, him making so much on endorsements he can afford it – in fact he suggested it. Has nothing to do with Dodgers “know(ing)how to work the system”.
It doesn’t matter who his favourite team is, MLB allowing the Dodgers to defer as much money as they are is bad for every other team and baseball in general. They should be able to defer the payments to the players, but the AAV should still count in full against the luxury tax and they should have to pay the full penalty, not a prorated portion. Would be interesting to see how much the Dodgers would spend then?
The same, they just wouldn’t defer
beersy: But the CBA isn’t written that way. It could be come next year though right?
I agree, the CBA is not written that way and the Dodgers found the loophole. MLB and the MLBPA have to close that loophole, all be it from the point of the next CBA, to make things “fairer” for everyone.
The Dodgers had plenty of advantages, huge city, huge TV contract, great weather and a giant payroll. So foolish to focus on deferrals like complaining that a billionaire still got a home mortgage. I am fine with limiting deferrals not because they are unfair but only to avoid hearing no sense from those who cannot grasp simple tenets of economics and finance.
If you don’t see an issue with using deferrals to lower your tax bill from 500-600 mill to 300 mill which undermines the cbt, competitive balance tax in case you were unaware what it stood for, that’s a you issue and there isn’t enough crayons or paper in the world that’ll help you.
See if DJT or EM tax dodge you all throw hissy fits
Same with JRB and whatever R or D politician you hate
They all do it
But rich Dodger owner wants to pay less in taxes and suddenly it’s ok rich guy doesn’t pay as much in taxes lmao. Can’t make this up.
“I don’t see a problem using deferrals to help us pay less in taxes according to the competitive balance tax system. We don’t need a hard card the systems fine where we can lower our tax bill using deferrals and avoid paying 100% taxes on payroll only 60% of our payroll in taxes”- dodger fans and people who think they’re educated
We get it. You’ve made your point abundantly clear.
You don’t understand deferrals or basic economics.
Why do the dodgers need to defer 680 mill of 700 mill? What’s the benefit for them? Your refusal to answer that speaks volume about your worth as both a man and commenter.
It’s been explained to you multiple times. You just don’t like the answer. At this point I have to assume that your ignorance is intentional.
My inability to make you understand is not a knock on my worth as a man. On your middle school economics teacher, well that’s another story.
I’ve asked you plenty of questions. You refuse to answer every time. That’s what cowards do when they’re wrong. They also try to change criteria of questions asked to avoid answering the actual questions, you’ve been guilty of that too. You’d make a fine cowardly lion in the next wizard of oz remake.
Here’s your chance.
Why defer 680 mill on Ohtani?
Why defer on Betts Freeman Smith Diaz Scott Snell and I’m missing one?
What benefit do the dodger gain deferring a billion dollars off payroll?
Bonus question: if dodgers didn’t defer money like Juan Sotos contract would their aavs for players be higher or lower?
I can’t seem to make you understand that teams pay taxes and penalties on the value of the contract. The value of Ohtani’s contract when he signed it is $460M. If you can’t accept this premise then the rest is WAY over your head.
Acknowledge that the value of his contract is $460M and we can go on.
Ohtani agreed to a 10 year 700 mill contract. Thats been reported and is fact. Using deferrals they lowered it to a 10 year 460 mill contract.
So again. Using deferrals dodgers lowered the aav hit. Undermined the cbt. And pay less in taxes.
And I’m saying. Don’t let them pay less in taxes. It’s not some unreasonable opinion or request here. Make them pay their fair share in taxes. Not use deferrals to lower tax bills.
Dodgers could run a 0 dollar payroll for all I care.
Long as they’re taxed at 500-600 mill which is their actual payroll idc what they do or how they structure contracts.
The contract is only worth $460M.
Period. That’s all the Dodgers pay. They don’t pay $700M.
It’s paid into an account. The value of the account grows. Ohtani collects the increased value when the money is distributed.
$460M. Total. Paid every year for the next 9 years. When Ohtani retires in 9 years, the account will have been fully funded. No additional payments. He then gets the money disbursed over the next ten years. $68M per year, because that’s how much the money will have grown.
Would ohtani’s contract have a higher aav, same aav, or lower aav without deferrals?
“ They don’t pay $700M.”
“ It’s paid into an account.” an account owned by……..
“ $460M. Total. Paid every year for the next 9 years. When Ohtani retires in 9 years, the account will have been fully funded. No additional payments. He then gets the money disbursed over the next ten years. $68M per year,”
460 mill TOTAL……Plus the 680 mill owed after the contract that’s not included in cbt calculations those 10 years. TOTAL
So again. Would ohtani’s contract have a higher aav, same aav, or lower aav without deferrals?
It would’ve been a $460M contract, so same.
Incorrect but A for effort. Answer is higher cause it was a 10 year 700 mill agreement.
“ Shohei Ohtani, the transcendent two-way talent who spent the past three years redefining what was possible at his sport’s highest level, agreed to a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday, announcing his decision on his Instagram page” – ESPN
Good try. It’s a $460M contract that pays out $700M because of the deferrals. The value doesn’t change. Still $460M
$700M in future dollars is only worth $460M in today dollars.
Ah so he does get 700 mill TOTAL Good to know. Tax them at 70 aav a year then. You just admitted he’s getting 700 mill TOTAL. Hook. Line. Sinker
He is getting $700M. Dodgers don’t pay taxes and penalties on what Ohtani receives, only what they pay, which is $460M.
You’re gonna have to trust me on this. Me and MLB and Ohtani and his agent and the Players Association and the owners of all MLB teams and the 800 or so MLB players across the league and their agents and the 7.8 billion other people on the planet that get it.
If he’s paid 700 mill total tax then at 700 mill. Done
The Dodgers pay taxes and penalties on every cent they pay into the account.
You just said they are gonna pay him 68 mill next 10 years after he’s done playing that doesn’t get calculated into cbt calculations
“ He then gets the money disbursed over the next ten years. $68M per year, because that’s how much the money will have grown.” droppedthirdstrike
You’re all over the place
No, I said that the money in the account will be disbursed at that time. And it will have been fully funded by the Dodgers at that point, to the tune of $46M/per year.
The value that they were taxed on.
So he was suppose to get 460 mill total which becomes 700 mill total
And they’re taxed on 460 mill total but he’s paid 680 mill not taxed
Yeah tax the 700 mill over 10 years at 70 aav
Ooh, you almost had it there for a second.
Dodgers pay $460M. They’re taxed on this.
Completely separate, Ohtani will receives $700M. He will then be taxed on this.
People like him constantly whine about the Dodgers as if these free agents have a gun to their heads when signing with Los Angeles.
I never cried watching players constantly go to the Yankees and Red Sox even as Dodger stadium surpassed the 3-million attendance mark. Jason Phillips as your cleanup hitter, Scott Erickson in the rotation and Jason Repko as an everyday outfielder was brutal.
Salary caps don’t change the landscape in the NFL too much. Finally we don’t have to see the Chiefs again.
Not by mlb
Doesn’t have any effect but NFL has the most turn over year in year out of playoff teams participating. Sure it doesn’t lmao. NFL averages about 6 new playoff teams per season, teams that didn’t make it the year prior.
Correct, because what Ohtani receives is of no concern to the CBT, only what the Dodgers pay. And that number is $460M.
I knew you could do it!
And it should be taxed by mlb cause it’s paid out by dodgers. Awesome I did it.
Anyways simplify the process 700 mill / 10 years is 70 aav. Everything else is tax evasion with extra steps
Drooled on yourself again? Sure did.
You’ve tied your identity to this indefensible position you’ve adopted and married yourself to.
Change your name, drop this idiotic idea about deferrals being bad or one-side or whatever, and never mention them again.
We will forgive you.
@Huh Taxes if for no other reason.
Was the money in the account generated while he was playing under contract with the dodgers or was it generated while he was not under contract?
What does cbt stand for?
1. Who put the money into the account?
2. Who does the account belong to, aka access?
3. Was the money put in there during playing days or post playing days?
The money paid into the account was generated from the value of the contract when signed. The additional value that brings the total to $700M was generated by time.
So an account owned by the dodgers, created to put aside money owed to Ohtani during his playing days for the next 10 years, accumulates tax free interest during the 10 years, and gets tax free disbursements. Hmmmmm. Tax evasion.
Seems like the very least the interest gained should be taxed after it’s disbursed and counted against the Dodgers cbt the next 10 years it’s paid out.
DROPPED: I disagree with your semantics though your argument is correct. It is a $700m contract that is only worth $460m. I think the real meat of the discussion is how much of that money is supposed to be deposited into the account for holding. I think it is all of the deferred money, at the start of the contract. I think that the Dodgers get to collect interest on that money however so it is essentially just an investment fund they will pay out from.
Please stop with this “I’m so smart crap”. Everybody understands the meaning of deferred value. Does the player not ultimately receive the dollars in the contract? Yes they do. Why isn’t the team taxed on those dollars when paid out – meaning the tax is also deferred. If that were so teams wouldn’t take on such a future debt load.
Is it within the rules – yes it is. Doesn’t mean it’s the appropriate treatment.
The disbursements aren’t tax free. Ohtani will pay taxes on them. This isn’t any different than a IRA or 401(k).
Dodgers are taxed and penalized for what they pay Ohtani. They pay a total of $460M.
That Ohtani benefits from growth of the account has zero bearing on the Dodgers.
The dodgers paying out the disbursements should have at the very least interest accumulated during ohtanis playing days counted against their cbt once disbursements begin
Were cbt taxes paid on interest gained by the account during ohtanis playing days? Cause interest gained is part of player pay roll since you’re using player salary to gain said interest.
They don’t pay taxes on $700M because the CBA doesn’t say they have to. Yes Ohtani gets $700M eventually. Even if the Dodgers have to put $700M into an account to pay him inflation lowers the value of the money by the time they pay it out. They will also accrue interest which will at least lessen the blow of any inflation they feel. The contract doesn’t undermine anything because it is following the rules set by the CBA.
Per the CBA the team has 12 months to fund the account for each deferred year, meaning they can’t carry more debt than a single years worth of salary without paying. 2024 deferments must be made by 2025, 2025 by 2026 and so on. By the time the players contract is up, all but potentially the final year of deferred payments must have been made and that final payment within 12 months. At that point the deferred money from the first year will have grown, and each year after that until it is disbursed.
And yes, the money is paid out from there after having accumulated additional value, hence the benefit to the player.
Sure. But at the very least
Setting aside ohtanis pay check next 10 years into an account that generates interest should eventually be taxed by the cbt system since its player payroll that’s funding the account and which is being used to generate said interest.
The ideal moment would be once disbursements begin the dodgers are charged with cbt hits based off the interest accumulated by the account the last 10 years.
Fund the account for each deferred year. Yes put his salary into the account
And as such any interest gained by placing ohtanis player payroll salary into the account should be taxed by the cbt once it’s disbursed since the money was earned while he was playing.
The dodgers aren’t paying the interest. Theyre letting the account accumulate interest, cbt tax free during his playing days. And should be taxed by the cbt once it’s disbursed (interest earned).
The vast majority of the interest goes to Ohtani, that’s how the money grows in value. Dodgers are just betting that they can earn more than the interest Ohtani earns.
I’d be willing to listen to a debate on the merits of taxing what additional money the dodgers earn above and beyond the $700M that is eventually paid out.
Dodgers pay taxes and penalties on $460M
Ohtani receives everything between $460-700M
Possible tax implications on the rest earned above $700M.
Still don’t think it should since the Dodgers have to guarantee Ohtani payments totaling $700M and assume any risk if the value drops below that amount. From an accounting standpoint it’s money borrowed from the player, and doesn’t impact the CBT.
I’d still be willing to listen.
Oh yeah they are for sure making money on that money. Good for them.
Money borrowed from the player is exactly why it is a cbt issue since player salary is what is used to calculate cbt penalties
But the CBT tax is based on what it’s worth and the player is paid for the loan. Who’s getting away with anything?
@Huh
The confusion here is the reporting that Ohtani is receiving 70 mil/yr when he’s actually receiving 46 mil/yr with 2mil going to him each year and the other 44mil going into an investment account which is guaranteed (by the Dodgers) to accumulate enough interest to pay out 68 mil/yr starting at year 11. There’s nothing strange or underhanded about this, but it’s a good deal for both sides as the Dodgers are able to gain higher expected interest rates than Ohtani (benefits of being wealthy) and will likely make an additional profit themselves on the backend.
There’s no reason to pay taxes on that income until it’s realized and both Ohtani and the Dodgers will have to pay taxes at that time. Now there’s a question of what will happen if Ohtani retires and moves back to Japan, and there are international obligations to cover this, but there’s also enough grey area that California may have to fight Ohtani in court in order to receive state income taxes in full.
If what you’re unhappy about is that no taxes are paid on these investments until the investment are removed or converted into cash, that’s how it works for all Americans and is the primary reason billionaires pay almost no taxes. So that part is a problem, but for completely different reasons.
MLB has been really good over the past two CBAs at closing all of the CBT loopholes but the ones that still exists is balancing signing bonuses with deferrals. Because deferred salary is considered by its’ real world value but signing bonus totals are averaged throughout the contract it allows teams to combine front loading with back loading to retain the player’s current-day compensation while lowering the AAV. This didn’t happen with Ohtani but the Dodgers definitely do this (Blake Snell is the best example). To be clear, the issue isn’t the deferrals, it’s the signing bonuses.
dude, you’re wrong. 460 mm today is worth 700mm in the future. if there weren’t any deferels it would have been a 460mm contract. net present value is the key phrase
So he’s earning 700 mil total. Cool. 700 mill divided by 10 years is 70 mill. Thanks for agreeing that should be the cbt tax hit
They’re hit with a 46 mill tax hit and they’re putting aside his salary which isn’t having the interest taxed despite it being earned during his playing days using his player salary
CBT tax hit needs to be higher to adjust for interest gained next 10 years isn’t accounted for despite it being his salary during the duration of the contract
70 mill a year should be enough to account for
Future value and cbt taxes on the interest gained during the duration of his current contract
You seem to think these teams are somehow breaking a rule and I guess that’s what is so perplexing because you are also very angry about it. If a team is within the rules they aren’t undermining anything. If the other owners or player’s union have an issue then they can change the rules.
@NYY- The Dodgers are taxed on the value of the contract when it is signed, the same as Soto’s contract with the Mets and every other contract in MLB.
It wouldn’t make sense to tax and penalize the Mets for the value at the end of Soto’s contract. Same with the Dodgers.
Mets dont take 68 mill from Soto’s 70 mill, put into a savings account every year next 10 years, let it accrue interest during playing days on behalf of Soto to pay out after the duration of his contract. The interest is earned during the playing days and should be cbt tax eligible since the cbt tax is in effect when it’s earned.
Comparing apples to oranges or no savings account to a savings account. The interest accrued should be cbt tax eligible once payments begin from the account.
Both are paid in each year of the contract, so the same. Soto to Soto, and Ohtani into a separate account stipulated in the contract.
It doesn’t change the value, only the payout due to the time value of money.
All parties involved agree that it’s the same. Even the ones that don’t defer and stand to benefit from your backwards ideas about taxes. It’s the same.
Period.
@Huh
“the cbt tax is in effect when it’s earned.”
Exactly this – that’s how it works. The CBT counts what is paid out each year when it is earned. At any point Soto could tell the Mets that he wanted the ~68 mil to go into a savings account instead OR Ohtani could ask that his 44mil is paid directly instead, and it wouldn’t affect the CBT charge at all. But the extreme differences in these two numbers show just how uneven the contracts are of these two players – Soto is by far the highest paid player in the sport.
Again, if you find this as a way of cheating on an income tax – it is. But again, it’s no different than what most wealthy people do to avoid paying taxes, it’s just less common to see this in professional sports.
It isn’t cheating on income tax. That’s literally how all retirement accounts work. The money accrues tax free.
IRA, 401(k), old Keough plans, stocks, bonds, CDs, etc. This isn’t how rich people avoid taxes, it’s how the entire middle class makes retirement possible.
Apples and oranges
No. Ohtani doesn’t get the interest paid in the account each year. He gets the interest paid out once the 10 years are up.
Claiming they’re the same is wrong and inaccurate
Do the Mets put Soto’s salary, even 1 cent of it, into a saving account for Soto? Yes or no?
Money accrues tax free but you pay taxes on it when you withdraw the money lmao
IRA, 401(k), old Keough plans, stocks, bonds, CDs, etc. You pay taxes when money comes out of it.
Which is exactly the point you just undermined your whole argument lmao
Ohtani and the Dodgers are letting his money an accrue cbt tax free using his player salary during his player days, they’re not paying taxes or cbt taxes on accrued interest in the account.
Just like Ohtani will pay taxes on the money once it’s withdrawn like every savings account ever. The dodgers should be cbt taxed on the payouts since they weren’t cbt taxed while it was gaining interest using his playing day salary. You don’t really have an argument to stand on at this point.
Not relevant. They do not. When Ohtani gets his money is also not relevant to anyone except Ohtani.
CBT is calculated AT THE NET PRESENT VALUE OF THE CONTRACT AT THE TIME OF SIGNING.
I can explain it to you but I can’t understand it for you.
Are the dodgers cbt taxed on the interest gained in the account the next 10 years he’s playing that uses his player salary to determine the interest gained? Yes or
No?
NET. PRESENT. VALUE.
That’s $460M no matter how you try to misunderstand it. You keep trying to reimagine it at Net FUTURE Value, and it just doesn’t work that way.
Answer the question.
Unless you can’t again lmao
FYI putting 68 mill into a saving account is present value that’s gaining interest tax and cbt taxed free. So they’re not paying taxes or cbt taxes on the interest.
Now. What cbt taxes do the dodgers pay on the money they put into the account that’s gaining interest cbt taxes free?
They are not and for CBT purposes they shouldn’t be. It’s a private loan with the terms spelled out in the contract. Ohtani loaned them money and they pay interest for the privilege. No CBT considerations to be made
They put $46M into the account every year minus the $2M paid to Ohtani. Then they pay the calculated CBT as specified in the CBA.
The account is funded, the CBT is paid.
For cbt purposes they should
The money is put into an account
It gains interest every year while he is playing
The money earned based off the interest should be cbt eligible and taxed because its player payroll salary that’s being used to gain interest
The ideal moment would be once payments begin they’re charged a cbt tax the next 10 years for failing to pay cbt taxes on interest that was gained using player payroll, which calculates cbt penalties.
Other wise you’re just enabling tax dodging tax evasion
If this is so then why can’t you find a single involved party to agree with you?
Do the dodgers pay cbt taxes while he is playing on the money earned from interest that’ uses player payroll funds to determine said interest? Yes or no?
They don’t. And they shouldn’t. It has no relevance to the situation. None. Zero.
The NPV of the Ohtani contract is $460M. This is not in dispute. Acknowledge that part at least
Plenty of people agree with me. Check the last two articles tons of upvotes
Why does that matter to you? You insecure or something about it lmao?
“Involved party”
There’s relevance
I can explain it again but can’t make you understand it
If they put 680 mill into a savings account using ohtani’s player salary that’s player payroll.
If it gains say 150 million in interest the next 10 years. That 150 mill wasn’t cbt taxed despite them using his player salary to create it.
As such the dodgers should be forced to pay 150 mill in cbt taxes once disbursements begin and have 15 mill added to their cbt tax number the next 10 years for failing to pay cbt taxes on it prior
Not a hard concept but you’re really struggling with it. It’s pretty simple and completely relevant. Pay cbt taxes now or later.
“Disbursements are taxed”
You can’t explain it because you clearly don’t understand it.
Can you at least acknowledge that the NPV of the contract is $460M?
By the IRS. They have no CBT tax relevance.
They pay the CBT taxes now.
Are the dodgers paying cbt taxes on interest gained in the savings account the next 10 years using ohtanis player salary which is player payroll? Yes or no?
Idk who’s better. You dodging questions or dodgers dodging cbt taxes
CBT has relevance cause they’re not paying cbt taxes on the interest earned.
Not on money earned thru interest they don’t. Please explain to use how they pay taxes on money that’s not even in the account yet lmao. You’re lost.
What’s the NPV of the contract?
Because it isn’t CBT related.
Do they pay taxes on interest earned from the account yes or no?
For the fourth time they do not. And they shouldn’t.
For the third time, what’s the NPV?
CBT is related.
Player salary is involved while he is currently under contract playing for the dodgers. Thats how interest is earned using those funds. Debunked
Player salary that’s been paid and had its CBT calculated.
NPV?
They should
They’re using money ohtani earned while playing for the dodgers under his current contract. That money is how interest is determined in the account. As such the cbt applies. Debunked again.
CBT?
Hence why cbt taxes apply when disbursements begin. You even paying attention? Running circles around you at this point lmao.
Yes when payments begin cbt needs to be paid on the interest gained while he was under contract since it was t paid while the money from interest was in the account untouched.
I think you mean running in circles. CBT taxes do not apply at disbursement. That’s how you want them to work and they don’t.
The accountants and tax lawyers that the PA and MLB use to calculate this refute everything you’ve said.
The CBT and its impact have all been correctly decided without your input.
Well I am having to retype the same facts over
And over again for you. Cause somehow such a simple compact is beyond your intellectual capabilities
Dodgers put ohtanis salary into a savings account
The savings account gains interest using his player current salary
The account isn’t taxed and isn’t subject to cbt taxes the next 10 years
As such once disbursements begin Ohtani pays taxes and dodgers should be forced to pay cbt taxes on the account
Such a simple concept and factually sound. Dodgers didn’t pay cbt taxes before on the interest they should once it disburses.
Your only counter argument has been the equivalence of “no I don’t like that” which as a dodger fan I’m sure you don’t lmao.
Then why do all the relevant parties disagree with you?
When do the dodgers pay cbt taxes on the interest earned from the account?
Before we go any further you need to state the NPV of the contract.
That simple question is the basis for this entire argument. Answer the question and we’ll go on.
When do the dodgers pay cbt taxes on interest from the Ohtani account question dodger?
Moron, Ive asked the same question at least six times and you don’t answer.
Here’s the answer for you since you’re not honest enough to answer it.
“Shohei Ohtani’s record-setting 10-year, $700 million contract has a Net Present Value (NPV) for MLB’s Competitive Balance Tax (CBT) purposes of approximately $460 million, translating to a $46 million annual cap hit, due to significant payment deferrals (only $2M/year for 10 years, then $68M/year for the next 10) discounted at a specific rate (around 4.43%). This structure allows the Dodgers significant payroll flexibility by lowering their immediate luxury tax burden, effectively making Ohtani’s present-day cost much less than the nominal $700M.”
Third times the charm
When have or when will the dodgers pay taxes on interest earned from the account they’re putting ohtanis current player salary into?
Your refusal to answer the question speaks volumes about your worth as a man, commenter, and baseball fan.
Instead of answering the question you act like a petulant child who denies scribbling on the walls sharpie in hand or denies eating the cookies crumbs all over your face
“I won’t answer your questions until you answer my questions first” lmao childish behavior
When you’re actually ready to man up answer the questions I ask we can have an adult conversation. Though I have 0 faith that day will ever come from an intellectually dishonest homer prone person such as yourself
Enjoyed your holiday season.
Never because it isn’t owed.
That’s a fairly well spoken post for someone who’s financially illiterate.
You’d struggle to hit water falling out of a boat in the middle of the ocean
At least I understand basic math
Light travels faster than sound which is why you seemed bright until you spoke. Maybe that’s your problem. Finances is at least algebra 2 level, a high school course. If you’re only good at basic math that explains a lot. You probably never graduated middle school.
You getting these comebacks out of one of your children’s joke books?
Somewhere out there is a tree tirelessly producing oxygen for you. You owe it an apology. Are you only good at basic science? Do you also need an explanation of how plants create oxygen?
Joke book. Thought so.
CBT? Only fair, I answered your question
You have miles to go before you reach mediocre.
CBT impact of Ohtani’s contract?
Answering a question with a question lmao. Yup that’s the level of intelligence I’m dealing with.
Do dodgers pay cbt taxes on interest from the ohtani account?
“CBT”?????????” Never heard of her
That’s your answer lmao. Oh god.
Intellectually dishonest.
The CBT impact of his contract?
Hint: it’s the Net Present Value
Ok you win I’ll answer
“NPV?” That work? I used your answer
Which is…?
Don’t be shy. Shout it out if you know it!
$460M
Anyways your logic and argument about cbt/npv is severely flawed
Here’s why.
You think the cbt and npv doesn’t apply to the account they put ohtanis funds into. It actuallly does despite your weak attempts to say it doesn’t.
You think the npv of the interest in the account is 0. That’s wrong. It’s “non existent/unrealized” like every other savings account.
See you were correct to bring up Iras 401ks etc etc cause once disbursements begin is when taxes are applied. Thats because you are taxed based on interest you gained. If you put money in and don’t gain anything from it they dont tax you.
Same with the cbt and its npv. Until disbursements begin the interest is unrealized. Once disbursements begin it becomes an actual tangible quantity which also becomes the npv itself for cbt purposes and thus the cbt applies
Dodgers didn’t pay any cbt taxes on the interest in the account for 10 years cause they couldnt which was the correct answer despite your refusal to answer said question, unless they paid an unrealized gains tax each year which should never be a thing.
As such just like Iras and 401ks once those interest funds become real and paid out the cbt kicks in using the interest lump sum as the npv and dodgers are taxed for 10 years based on how much interest they pay out.
I looked forward to your homerism rebuttal of “no I don’t like that” devoid of facts and reasons
Here’s a basic example for your basic math skills of what I mean.
If you have $10 today, you can put it in a piggy bank or a real bank and earn interest, making it $11 next year.
The npv principle says today’s money is worth more in the future. $10 becomes $11
The dodgers paid taxes on the $10 (460 mill). But they haven’t paid taxes on the $1 (interest) long as the money is in the account.
Only time dodgers can pay taxes is when they take the money out of the account. And since they didn’t pay cbt taxes on the $1 the last 10 years they need to pay cbt taxes on it soon as it becomes available, lump sum or spread out over 10 years the length of their disbursements to Ohtani. Otherwise you’re just allowing cbt tax evasion from money that was earned using player salary to generate interest.
If you’re fine with tax evasion just say so and be done with it.
You’re welcome for the free education. But you’ve demonstrated you don’t possess the necessary skills required to participate in this discussion any further given your limited knowledge on cbt npv and self proclaimed basic math skills. Maybe take some community college classes? Best of luck
All of the above bs is based on the erroneous assumption that Capital Gains and CBT are equivalent. They are not. The IRS and MLB are not equivalent.
Ohtani will owe taxes on his interest gained to the IRS. The Dodgers, under Guggenheim, will owe taxes on the whatever profit they make, to the IRS. Neither of these obligations have anything to do with the CBT overseen by MLB and agreed to by the Players Association.
Dodgers do not, and will not, ever owe anything to the CBT beyond the $460M NPV established at time of signing.
If I’m wrong please direct me to the regulatory body that oversees this so that I can educate myself.
Otherwise STFU.
My favorite part of the back and forth was DroppedThirdStrike couldn’t hang and began claiming “people agree with me not you!”
Lmao yeah those same people are gonna get the mlb locked out next couple years
Your stance leads to a lock out
My stance least offers a solution to avoid a lockout
Congrats you played yourself droppedthirdstrike. Well with dropped in your name it was only natural and a matter of time before you droppedtheball on this one. Ba dum dum dum.
Hang? You got hung. And you weren’t offering solutions, only claiming things that don’t exist, like the Dodgers owing additional CBT payments on interest, that aren’t factual.
And the people that agree with me, are the people who have already decided how the CBT works.
The CBT will not lead to a lockout, but may be adjusted for higher penalty levels. And deferrals won’t be brought up at all.
All you’ve managed to do is embarrass yourself. Congratulations
I knew the $10 example was too much for dropped the ball. My gut said he can’t handle it but I had faith he could. And he couldn’t. That’s my bad. Double digit numbers are just too much.
For the record,
Yes, interest earned on a savings account is generally considered taxable income by the IRS and must be reported on your federal income tax return.
What is Taxed: Only the interest you earned is taxed; your original principal balance is not.
Tax Rate: Interest is treated as “ordinary income,” meaning it is taxed at the same marginal rate as your wages (ranging from 10% to 37% for the 2025 tax year).
Only the interest earned is taxed not the original principle. Treated as ordinary income taxed at same rate as your wages. Huh those wages were player salary used during the playing days while ohtani was under contract with the dodgers.
Yup cbt applies. The interest which is considered your wages since it’s taxed at the same rate as your wages were wasn’t cbt taxed just like it wasn’t regular taxed. CBT definitely applies.
Who says the CBT applies besides you?
Yeah sorry to burst your bubble and shake your world views but if Ohtani can’t dodge the irs once disbursements begin (he didn’t pay taxes on the account while it accrued interest). Dodgers shouldn’t be able to dodge the cbt (they didn’t pay cbt taxes on money that was generated using player payroll salary while the player was under contract playing for the dodgers).
Course a dodger homer would be like Ohtani has to pay taxes but no dodgers don’t need to pay cbt taxes lmao
Simple mind simple arguments is what you get from people like droppedtheball
Droppedtheball will tell you he’s financially literate
And will tell you Ohtani has to pay taxes on the disbursement but someone dodgers don’t need to pay cbt taxes on disbursements even though they never paid cbt taxes on it in the first place lmao.
But he’s good at basic math and is financially literate. About as good at basic math as using a digital clock to tell time and about as financially literate as a piggy bank
Where in the CBA does it specify that a team has to pay towards the CBT for interest earned on deferrals?
That’s enough for now. Go outside and play with your friends, Daddy has work to do.
Droppedtheball still can’t tell you when dodgers pay cbt taxes on interest generated in a savings account using ohtani’s player salary while he’s under contract with the dodger.
“Financial literate”
Next he’ll tell you he is business savvy cause he ran a lemonade stand back when he was a kid lmao , his parents and siblings really ran it he just handed out the lemonade like waitress
For the 10,000th time, they pay nothing on the interest earned toward CBT.
Nothing, zero, they owe nothing and will never pay anything on that interest. Quit being so dense. They pay nothing on the interest, as has been explained ad nauseum.
Final answer: zero. Forever.
Still waiting for dropped the ball to explain why cbt tax shouldn’t apply to the interest other than “people agree with me that will lead us to a lockout”
They’re like draft Dodgers
Long article to basically state King went for money, because Padres have little chance to reach WS with deferment dodgers in same division.
Ds
The wild card exists
~~blown [him] away” with strong offers, he didn’t believe those teams had the roster and commitment to winning necessary to field a World Series contender in 2026. King added that he was prioritizing winning “for the duration of the contract,” and that he was willing to take less in order to make that happen.~~
This feels incongruous to reality. He stays with the team that is prioritizing winning over better offers? Not sure Padres are doing that any better to take a discount. Which makes me think he didn’t get the offers he wanted out East and is just playing to the Padres base.
Clev – you sound like a guy who doesn’t want to believe anything that doesn’t fit his own narrative even when a guy has no reason to bother to make an after the fact statement.
If it was a ln agent stating something in advance def worth questioning but here, King has nothing to gain.
Longtimecoming — Think what you want, but players say things publicly to build relationships. By playing the PR game, he gains.
If the truth was he got bad offers, he doesn’t believe the Padres really improved this offseason (losing Cease and Suarez), or both. Keeping that to himself doesn’t offend his relationships. It does them favor. Especially when he could be a free agent again next winter.
Who it tricks is the fans following the news. Which is why I said what I thought it incongruent. For example, the Red Sox always say they are interested despite falling short. This “blown away” gives the team an excuse to the fans it wasn’t their fault. When free agency is about going and getting your man.
I listens to king talk. The words the reporter used I don’t think describes what he said.
King definitely said he wanted to play for a team that can contend during his contract.
He also said he didn’t know if that was the case of certain teams. That he didn’t know them well. He had a zoom call and in person meetings. That you can only learn so much from doing that. In the end he said Preller is one of the best in the business and is confident he will do anything to try and win.
Padres have a window in ’26 – good team on paper – Nice deal on the Korean but passing on a reunion with Arraez is a risk.
The Padres started clicking with Arraez in ’24. He had an off year in ’25 and hit .292. Only 21 K’s in 675 PAs – he could of easily went .315/.350/.400 this season. He is such a tough out and really puts a wrinkle in the lineup that keeps pitchers thinking.
I would have passed on King for Arreaz and went soft in the rotation. Replace Maranacio with Pierce Johnson or Michael Kopech. Rely on the bullpen again. Worked last season.
Up 14M on Machado next season. 28M to King next season, he is picking that up.
Moranacio had sub 1 era in mlb. Although, He wasn’t given many innings at mlb level I really like what I saw. Ignore his El paso numbers that aaa league for pitching is BS.
For all the nonsense reporting about the padres and their finances I think if they do save money it’s the bullpen because Preller knows how to build a bullpen better than any other area. He doesn’t need to spend a lot. They have shown they can pickup guys on minor league contracts and turn them into studs or develop them from farm.
Bullpen is stacked as it is, another big arm probably overkill but looks nice on paper.
The real improvement would be an upgrade to Wandy or Matsui but difficult to pull that off with their contract situation.
Padres look set for the most part. Arreaz is the only piece missing.
Abs-
I couldn’t disagree with anything you said more than anything anyone else has ever said.
Arraez doesn’t give some sort of genius at bats. He swings at everything. When he doesn’t he takes pitches right down the middle. He has no power so people don’t bother pitching around him, nor throw him a lot of strikes because he will chase. If they do decide to challenge him they do so without fear because he has no power.
Arraez is a perfectly fine player, was worth 1.3 war last year.
He isn’t in any way shape or form a game changer. His market this year will show that. He will get half of what king gets a year.
No speed, no defense, no power, no walks…good at getting hits. Fine one tool but not enough to be a game changing player.
You are wrong. As a pitcher, you know Arreaz is going to put the ball in play. You know you cant strike the guy out, and that would have me thinking.
He is a game changing player. Remember how well the Padres started playing in ’24 when Arreaz arrived? They turned it on in August / September.
Three batting titles.
Is that you Arraez?
You’ll miss Luis Arreaz and that is a guarantee.
I’ll
Miss him batting second for zero seconds.
@Simm
This really sums it up about Arraez, and echoes what you have said.
twinsdaily.com/news-rumors/minnesota-twins/why-the…
“Arraez’s swing decisions are getting worse. His quality of contact is getting worse. And his back of the baseball card stats are getting worse because of that.
Add to that the fact that Arraez is, at this point, a first baseman or DH, with the ability to fill in at second if absolutely needed (he started three times the number of games as a DH as he did as a second baseman last year, ceding those opportunities to a roughly average defender in Jake Cronenworth). And he’s a poor defensive first baseman by most metrics. And he’s an average runner at best.”
I’m not disagreeing with you about Luis Arraez . I think he should looked at through a different lens and seen in the situational context of a lineup and game situations The stats here on his worst year-in 675 at bats he struck out 21 times – 3 % K rate walked 34 times, hit into 12 double plays had 12 sacrifices and 7 Sac flys. Led the NL in hits with 181 61 RBI out of the 2spot. 10 less than Tatis. His 327 OBP was worst of his career but better than Mookie Betts in 25 There is something to putting the ball in play and advancing runners and putting pressure on a defense. He is not there to hit home runs. His defense is passable. He’s not fast but he’s a decent baserunner. 11 steals caught 4 times. All that said I think there is a lot of value to this guy in the context of a lineup that is trying to win a game that day. What that’s worth $ wise I don’t know, but I would take him on my team any day.
Arraez may not strikeout much, but he makes a ton of outs. Pop-ups, fly-outs, ground-outs. Okay some of those can be “productive outs.” But Arraez may go unsigned. I don’t know who has interest in his sort of profile: no power, no defense, no speed, no versatility. His one plus feature is low strikeouts. I don’t think many teams want to pay much for just that one upside.
They won’t pay much but there’s half a roster in Colorado for whom he’d be an improvement
unsigned? ok Im going home.
He will get a job, as far as value. Baseball uses this thing called war (I don’t always agree with war). His war was 1.3 last year. Which isn’t very good.
He will likely get a 10ish million aav contract. If he goes back to hitting 350 with an obp more around 380 the he becomes pretty valuable.
If it’s 290/320 obp then he is less valuable especially if he has to DH it play 1b.
His best value is if he could play a good 2b. The padres didn’t like him there but maybe some other team will. He just doesn’t fit what the Padres currently need. If they can’t get what they need then maybe they resign him.
He is exactly what the Padres need, they spent there money on King and went with the Korean because of the long-term money on their books.
Arreaz’s market should be every bit as healthy as Ha Seong Kim’s and Kim had a 4yr/48M offer from the White Sox before signing at 1yr/20M.
Arreaz easily gets 3/60M is he keeps it short, he gets 5/90M otherwise and he is getting short-changed.
If Im Arreaz, I’m looking for 3/70 or 5/100M.
ABS- Arraez isn’t gonna come close to those numbers.
When he signs we can debate this again.
I think it will be more like 2/22, 1/14. Perhaps a losing team overpays a bit.
Kim gets 1yr/20M — the three-time MLB batting champion gets 1yr/14M
I don’t know, Im a Luis Arreaz fan, have been since he was in Minnesota, hope he gets a fair shake and lands in a good situation. Marlins shoukd be in on Arreaz.
ARRAEZ – Ive been spelling his name wrong, honest mistake. I look forward to his signing. Nobody talks abkut Arraez all off season, all Bregman, Bellinger, Tucker — Arraez one of the truly great players in MLB. On a HOF track.
There’s a reason nobody is talking about Arraez.
King still signs in SD if they never trade for him
Listening to king during his press conference talk about what he thought of San Diego before coming here vs what he experienced while here was telling. His expectations were near zero when he was traded there.
By the time he left all he could talk about was how great it was. From the fans to the coaches like Neibla and what the did to help his career was clear.
Including his feeling of their chances to win an unfinished business. He talked about the players like Pivetta calling and texting him nearly everyday about coming back.
I can say with near certainty the only reason he is a padres right now is because of that trade. Even said this was the only west cost team he even considered signing with.
Keep being wrong.
I mean he kinda has to say that, no? They offered him more $ than everyone else and opt-outs after every season. You don’t have to trade for a guy to do that.
How much did other teams offer him?
Less
Ring- less? As in you don’t know…
Padres offered him more. Especially considering the opt-outs after every season.
Really? What did others offer?
You just blabber with nothing to back it up.
Less money and no opt-outs.
Also if King wants to stay in SD so much why did he even bother with the opt-outs?
Really how much less? No other team offered an opt out.
Common bro, you’re just spouting stuff. You k ow nothing
Post the source for someone offering King more $ than SD.
You are saying this was the largest offer he got with no evidence.
I asked how much were the other offers. You said less.
You’re just a troll.
Why? Because I disagree with you? Most free agents sign with the highest bidder. The opt-outs after ever year also can’t be ignored. And it also makes little sense that he would need those if he wants to stay and play in SD so bad.
No because you said it was the most…I never said either way. You said it with no evidence.
Troll
Sure, Jan.
King said other teams offered him more. We know for certain that he knows what he was offered. We know for certain from your comments that you don’t know anything about what he was offered.
The source is King.
Link to direct quote from King saying other teams offered him more?
@Ring
“Link to direct quote from King saying other teams offered him more?”
Not even hard to find.
sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/12/19/michael-king-e…
“There were a couple (of teams) that lowballed me,” King said with a laugh. “But then there were a couple that blew me away and unfortunately weren’t in cities that had a winning mentality or a roster that I believed in for the next few years. I told my agent — and he probably wasn’t happy with it — that I wanted to win for the duration of the contract, and I don’t care if that means I have to take less of a deal than whatever you’re negotiating.”
@ISD Point taken. They still didn’t offer him opt-outs tho. The intrinsic value of the opt-outs can’t be ignored.
You are a King fan, great you get him next season too at 28M.
I am a king fan, as he is a good pitcher.
Totally agree. His press conference made it clear that if he hadn’t been traded here and played for the organization and this our awesome fan base, King would not be a Padre
No it didn’t lmfao
Yes your right. And I think if the Padres wouldn’t of traded for King his improvements in his mechanics, and being in the starting role wouldn’t be as apparent as they are now.
Either way – I’m convinced he would be a Padre.
I really don’t know how you can argue the Pads shouldn’t have traded Juan Soto away when they won 11 games more without him than with him.
I get the argument that they shouldn’t have traded for Soto in the first place if they were just gonna have to trade him away a season and a third after getting him.
But arguing trading him away didn’t work? There is no reasonable path to that argument.
Please tell me you won’t still be on about this ten years from now.
What I’m saying is nothing King does after 2025 counts towards the trade. The book is closed on that branch of the trade.
Well, you can say that all you want. Doesn’t make it a logical or reasonable take, unfortunately.
Kind of a silly thing to be on about.
You seem to be trying hard to just reduce the trade value the padres got for Soto.
It’s okay that the padres got a good return that keeps on giving.
@Simm
Three members of their rotation for two seasons (much as I’m sure @Fernando Ringworm Jr. strains to not count Cease), two members of their rotation for a third season, a solid catcher for one season, and still potential value with Jhony Brito and whomever they draft in place of Cease is indeed a “keeps on giving” deal.
Meanwhile, the Yankees got to watch Soto turn them down after a year. Maybe they did something really amazing with their draft pick. They’re lucky Grisham remembered how to hit in year 2. And yeah, he still counts after accepting his qualifying offer.
That trade reasonably benefited both clubs; I’d say the Padres more so on volume.
It doesn’t make it a logical or reasonable take. It already was one before I said it. The moment a traded player touches free agency, nothing he does afterwards counts towards the trade, even if he doesn’t actually change teams.
Cease trade still happens without Soto just probably with someone like Dylan Lesko or Robby Snelling as the headliner besides Thorpe.
Ultimately nothing they do will make up for losing Abrams, Gore and Wood.
@Fernando Ringworm Jr.
A player’s experience playing for an organization leading him to decide to stay there doesn’t matter.
This is just simply wrong and silly. Waste of time.
Informed
Yeah, he must be a Yankee fan or a preller hater.
Either way he is spouting nonsense.
The money and opt-outs were what led to him deciding to stay there. Your username doesn’t suit you.
Fopsy is that you?
I don’t know Pirate fans might have them beat. They have more reason though.
Boras did say Rendon is working out again and intends to honor his contract. I’m disgusted by Rendon’s attitude and, of course, his his contract, but some players actually like him. I could never understand why he can’t keep his temper under control and fake it and just say the right things during interviews. He created his combative relationship with the local media, especially Sam Blum who covers the Angels for the Athletic. He was the beat writer that Rendon said that playing baseball is not one of the most important things in his life and it’s just a job,which is just a summation of my memory of the interview.
Darvish is a honorable man. I think he will walk away from the money if he decides he can no longer play. Maybe a buyout, maybe a place in the organization depending on how involved he wants to be. Everything I have been reading says he is prioritizing his family and his son just signed to play college ball locally. Maybe he just wants to be a Dad and Husband at this point in his life.
A retirement would be good for the Padres as it would free up some money to continue to build the roster.
The only thing I know for sure however is Preller is likely not done and the fun is just getting started.
Not EVER going to happen
King, Pivetta, Musgrove are enough to be competitive with Giants and D-Backs but the Madres will miss the playoffs.
Oh yeah? Where are the holes on this team?
One starter?
Stacked pen
Solid lineup…could use a 1b
Bench should be decent with the addition of Song. Bryan Johnson was solid last year. Perhaps backup catcher we will see. Padres are in a very good spot at this point in the offseason to be a very good team. Preller will add some more players.
Should be a pretty good battle in the NL for playoff spots.
Simm, when a guy starts of his post with “Madres”, he’s a non-serious poster. He’s not capable of an intelligent baseball conversation. Much as the guy above leading with Padre fans .. crybabies. Either these guys are 13 years old and strutting their stuff, or they just don’t have the mental brainpower to civilly discuss baseball.
You’re wasting your time, yet … lol .. you actually CAN hold a baseball conversation. 😏
Simm– Is Joe Musgrove supposed to be ready on Day One of Spring Training, and to be counted on as an Opening Day member of the starting rotation, or is his comeback from Tommy John still going to be a factor and getting him back at 100% will be sometime later in the season?? I’m not sure myself, haven’t heard this discussed much.
Sob-
Musgrove was working to comeback if the padres when deeper in the playoffs. He has said recently he is now on his normal offseason program and will be good to go this spring.
Now we never know if there will be a setback but as of now he should be ready opening day.
How many innings do they push him next season is another question. My guess is somewhere in the 150 range. They prob push him back on off days, extra days off around the allstar break. Perhaps the skip a start, most of that will be how he feels.
Also the padres have a deep pen. So I would expect them pushing him 7-8 innings very often.
The work stoppage coming in 2027 will reset the mlb financials.
The league can’t keep an interested fan base in more than half of the markets right now
So many empty stadiums
Perhaps mlb should go to a tiered league like most soccer leagues. And the big boy spenders can be the premier league.
I don’t think there will be a work stoppage. There is too much money on the table that could be lost forever. Owners and players love to make money. Money makes the world go round. So there will be baseball. They will figure out their differences. (It’s just a matter of money, after all.)
SOB-
The only way I see a prolonged work stoppage is if the owners push for this cap. Which really isn’t necessary or gonna go anywhere.
What I do expect to happen are changes to the luxury tax. Maybe they raise where the tax starts and then make higher penalties for going over said line.
They also could raise rev sharing to around 50% or so. Perhaps that number goes up over time. Spread the money around a little more.
For the players they need to modify the QO. I’m fine with a QO but remove the penalty for teams signing a QO player and keep giving teams that lose a QO player draft picks.
I’d also like to make all draft picks tradable. It’s dumb they aren’t. Maybe you limit how many years out you can trade picks.
Add in some sort of floor for spending. Doesn’t have to be all that high. Maybe like the nfl where it’s measured over a period of time.
That would be some positive changes for both the players and the league.
Higher revenue sharing (balances the money around a little more. Take some money from the rich and spread it around).
Raise the start of the tax line. This is good for the players as teams that don’t like to go over it may spend a little more money.
Make the first tax line penalty higher. Say 50-75%. This will make more teams not want to go over but the big dogs will still pay it. Make the next tier 100%, third tier 200%. It’s not a cap but a bigger deterrent.
Keep the QO but remove the draft penalty for teams that sign them. This will allow free agents to get more money. Keep the draft comp for the teams losing a player. Win for the losing club and win for the singing club and win for the player.
Draft picks being tradable would create an excitement. Especially around draft time. Will also allow teams to stack picks. For lower payroll teams they need a bunch of dudes hit the majors at one time to compete. This should help expedite teams rebuild times.
It won’t be a perfect system. There still will be gaps from the high and low teams but this would start creating a little more balance and not hurt the players.
Probably won’t happen because as much as the league complains about the big market spenders. They want them in the playoffs for ratings.
All great stuff. I am trying to figure out what the point of the QO is…my brain doesn’t really recall how things worked prior to the QO…and it seems like a bunch of unnecessary steps at first glance. Like trying to remedy something that the market should be able to do by itself. I’m not sure what to think about it beyond it being overly cumbersome and something in need of simplication, but maybe it’s doing something marvelous in terms of parity and fairness that I’m just not seeing.
Oh we can talk again once the season kicks off in 2026 and rosters are set. We can very much say that about the Dodgers and missing the playoffs with the amount of Calibur players they seem to be losing for one thing or another – You can always predict what you might consider to be the obvious, But until the season is in full swing, rosters are posted, and the chemistry starts gelling – your just blowing monkey farts into the air hoping what people actually smell is wins then your just pushing really unreliable rumors..lol
Don’t be offended by my reply, I just get a kick out of fans who love to make predictions before Spring Season even starts. Besides – Being new to this platform I just want to be friends with most everyone
Ouch. True but very harsh.
Padres, Mariners, and Brewers are all slated to win a World Series soon. Padres have to do more to beat the Mariners and Brewers
Anything that Acee reports needs to be taken with a grain of salt. If you listen to the original interview, which was NOT Acee’s question, Darvish simply said he’s just working through his rehab and does not want to look past that. Acee, however, reported that Darvish is having doubts. Darvish was even there in attendance during King’s press conference. Darvish remains very active with the Padres. Again, take what Acee reports with a grain of salt.
You don’t have to listen to Acee but you can listen to darvish. When he was doing his charity event last week. Reporters ask him questions on camera.
One question was about his role next season. He said he is working with Preller on that. Followed by him saying he may not pitch again. That he isn’t ruling it out atm.
It almost sounded like he would work in the front office then be given the chance to pitch again if he decided to. Does that mean he retires and joins the front office or he just waits it out for the next year then decides idk. He was also in the meeting with Kings agent. So it seems Preller is already involving in front office business.
He could retire, join the front office and get paid a ton of money. At the very least that money would no longer go to the lux tax saving the padres some money. Perhaps it’s like a 10 year front office deal. Spreading out some of the money he is currently owed. There is smoke of something happening though.
Perhaps he retires. Joins the front office on a high salary. Who really knows.
“Padre fans are the biggest crybabies on this website.” – says lead Crybaby Antony 🙄🙈😖
it amazes me how people “mistrue” things to a point where things snowball out of control ! I agree, Acee reports are about as reliable as “Monkey Farts” I rarely accept anything he reports just because I see him as a “Glory Hound” I mean he’s had his claim of fame but not too many. I have family who works closely with several players agents, Darvish being one of them., I can verify that (a) Darvish won’t be throwing another pitch for the Padres, after rehab from the Surgery he had in October 2025 the club has determined that IF Darvish doesn’t want to take a role in the Bullpen as short reliever they would be open to talks for him to join the Club in another Capacity such as advance scouting the College Pitching. Darvish is seriously considering that role since his Son now is now Pitching for UCSD – even though Yu Darvish won’t be able to scout his own son, he could have other scouts take a look see.
Now, Darvish has also mentioned (according to his Agent Joel Wolfe) becoming a part of the firm who Joel Wolfe belongs to, primarily working with the Asian Market. ( Darvish speaks several other languages other than English / Japanese) so all these “What if’s or What is going to be” that Acee is “Monkey Farts”
NEXT, Which leads me to the next response to why Yu Darvish was at the press conference of Kings signing. In rare occasions players rely on other players to kind of do the work of agents when it comes to contract negotiations, those type of situations are known as “Player Players relation” (again, I know this because of my insights from family working in that profession – which should lead to show what I mentioned about Darvish becoming a player agent – it might sound far fetched but what I have found out just makes sense.
So yes, I do understand why people doubt what Acee reports but he’s just “doing what lousy reporters do” he starts a snowball then continues it by adding the things he wants to happen.
My opinion about Darvish – Great man in general has the tools to help the Padres in a different Capacity like talking to the Superstars of the Asian market keeping the “Markee” Japanese pitchers/players away from the Ole mighty Deferment money the Dodgers keep throwing at the likes of Ohtani and other Japanese players.
I praise Michael King for holding out, he didn’t actually get what he wanted but in my opinion he didn’t lose anything either.
but you can take it to the bank – that we may have lost Yu Darvish as an active pitcher but we may have finally scored huge advantages in 2028 in the Admin section of things. We will have to just wait and see.
Lol we’re still pushing the Darvish recruitment angle? How many Japanese players have the Padres signed since they traded for Darvish?
That is just one of the reasons they are seriously considering doing that with Darvish. Remember, Darvish has made trips to Japan when several of Japanese players (Primarily pitchers) announced wanting to play in the MLB to try and campaign / showcase what playing for the Padres could do. Its the front office that fumbled on getting those players signed with the Padres forcing the Players to other teams. If Darvish does take the position where he has more of a say to signings I’m guessing there will be more Asian players interested in the Padres.
Yes you have a legitimate reply but we also have to look at the authoritative side a Player can go and campaign to players but thats just as far as it gets, BUT if a player such as Darvish approaches one of those players, has some type of authority to SUGGEST STRONGLY to the Sr. Admin players then I’m seeing more Asian players wanting to sign
Bro Darvish SUCKS at recruiting XD XD XD
Preller needs to keep him as far away as possible from any Japanese player he is trying to sign!