7 Players Reject Qualifying Offers
The 4pm CT deadline has passed for free agents to accept or reject qualifying offers, and seven of the 10 players issued offers have officially turned them down. An eighth free agent, Will Smith, rejected the Giants’ qualifying offer and left the free agent market even before the deadline passed, signing a three-year, $40MM deal with the Braves. Jake Odorizzi of the Twins and Jose Abreu of the White Sox each accepted their team’s qualifying offers, and will now earn $17.8MM for the 2020 season.
Here are the seven players who rejected their former team’s one-year, $17.8MM qualifying offer….
- Madison Bumgarner (Giants)
- Gerrit Cole (Astros)
- Josh Donaldson (Braves)
- Marcell Ozuna (Cardinals)
- Anthony Rendon (Nationals)
- Stephen Strasburg (Nationals)
- Zack Wheeler (Mets)
There aren’t any surprises in that list, as there wasn’t doubt that Bumgarner, Cole, Donaldson, Rendon, Strasburg, and Wheeler would forego the one-year offer in search of a much richer, multi-year commitment. There was perhaps a bit more uncertainty surrounding Ozuna and Smith, given that Ozuna was coming off a pair of good but unspectacular years in St. Louis and Smith could perhaps have been wary of how the QO would impact his market, given what happened to another closer in Craig Kimbrel last winter.
If anything, the only real surprise occurred on the acceptance side, as Odorizzi was seen as a candidate to receive a multi-year offer before he opted to remain in Minnesota in 2020. Abreu, on the other hand, was widely expected to remain with the White Sox in some fashion, either via the QO or perhaps a multi-year extension. It should be noted that Odorizzi and Abreu are still free to negotiate longer-term deals with their respective teams even after accepting the qualifying offer.
Teams that sign a QO-rejecting free agent will have to give up at least one draft pick and some amount of international bonus pool money as compensation. (Click here for the list of what each individual team would have to forfeit to sign a QO free agent). The Astros, Nationals, Giants, Mets, Cardinals, and Braves are each in the same tier of compensation pool, so if any of their QO free agents signs elsewhere, the six teams will receive a compensatory draft pick between Competitive Balance Round B and the third round of the 2020 draft, or roughly in the range of the 75th to 85th overall pick. Atlanta, for instance, probably didn’t mind giving up their third-highest selection in the 2020 draft to sign Smith since the Braves have another pick coming back to their if Donaldson leaves for another club.
A total of 90 players have been issued qualifying offers since the QO system was introduced during the 2012-13 offseason, and Odorizzi and Abreu become the seventh and eighth players to accept the one-year pact. Odorizzi and Abreu are now ineligible to receive a qualifying offer in any future trips into free agency, so both players won’t be tied to draft/international pool penalties if they hit the open market following the 2020 season.
MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand was the first to report that Donaldson turned down his QO, while ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan was the first to report on the other six names.
Astros Accused Of Illegal Use Of Technology To Steal Signs
Nov. 14: Major League Baseball is planning to talk to Red Sox manager Alex Cora and newly minted Mets skipper Carlos Beltran about the issue, Rosenthal and Drellich further report (subscription required). Both were on the 2017 Astros — Cora as bench coach and Beltran in the final season of his playing career. Beltran firmly denied any knowledge of the system in a statement to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan adds that the league has already interviewed former Astros bullpen coach Craig Bjornson, who joined Cora with the Red Sox. MLB is making its best effort to gather “tangible evidence,” Passan writes, and will “consider levying long suspensions” to those who are found to have lied during the interview process.
Nov. 12: The Astros have come under scrutiny once again, this time on the heels of an in-depth report by Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich of The Athletic (subscription required), wherein four former employees, including right-hander Mike Fiers, detailed an extensive sign-stealing operation enacted by the team during the 2017 season. Stealing signs in a traditional sense — such as a runner on second base watching the catcher and attempting to discern the pitch that has been called — is generally accepted as part of the game. Utilizing technology to aid in that effort, however, is expressly forbidden by the league.
The Astros, per the report, would utilize a center-field camera fixated on the catcher and a television monitor placed in the clubhouse tunnel near the dugout steps to try to decode an opponent’s signs. An Astros employee or player would then at times signal the type of pitch that was coming with a loud sound — typically banging on a trash can to alert the hitter of an offspeed or breaking pitch. Fiers, who was non-tendered by Houston following the 2017 season, confirmed that setup when interviewed by The Athletic. He added that upon leaving the organization, he warned his future Tigers and Athletics teammates of the practice.
“I just want the game to be cleaned up a little bit because there are guys who are losing their jobs because they’re going in there not knowing,” Fiers explained to The Athletic. “Young guys getting hit around in the first couple of innings starting a game, and then they get sent down. It’s (B.S.) on that end. It’s ruining jobs for younger guys.”
Fiers may have been in the Houston dugout during that 2017 season, but opponents on the pitcher’s mound weren’t totally in the dark. Recently retired reliever Danny Farquhar detailed a late-2017 appearance during which he caught wind of what was taking place, telling The Athletic: “There was a banging from the dugout, almost like a bat hitting the bat rack every time a changeup signal got put down. After the third one, I stepped off. I was throwing some really good changeups and they were getting fouled off. After the third bang, I stepped off.”
As one might expect in 2019, it didn’t take long for someone to find video footage of the incident in question. Lucas Apostoleris of Baseball Prospectus quickly found the appearance referenced by Farquhar (Twitter link), and the sound of the banging detailed by Farquhar can be heard quite clearly in the included video link.
It’s worth emphasizing that electronic sign stealing is widely believed to extend beyond the walls of Houston’s Minute Maid Park. As Rosenthal and Drellich explore, concerns surrounding the potential stealing of signs via technology aren’t necessarily unique to the Houston organization. Teams are increasingly wary that other clubs are utilizing technology to gain a competitive edge and steal signs, with one anonymous MLB manager telling The Athletic that such habits “permeate” the league and that MLB has done a “very poor job” policing the issue.
The league did fine the Red Sox during the 2017 season for illegal use of an Apple Watch in their home dugout, though there have not been any other publicized instances of league-issued discipline regarding technology-driven sign stealing. The investigation that led to the sanction of the Red Sox stemmed from a complaint filed by the Yankees, which the Red Sox countered with their own complaint alleging that the Yankees had utilized a YES Network camera to steal signs from Boston. Distrust between other organizations is surely prevalent throughout the league.
After the Red Sox were fined in 2017, commissioner Rob Manfred intimated that stricter punishments would be levied for future violations of this nature (link via the Associated Press): “All 30 clubs have been notified that future violations of this type will be subject to more serious sanctions, including the possible loss of draft picks.”
This isn’t the first time that the Astros, specifically, have been accused of stealing signs; a man with ties to the Astros organization, Kyle McLaughlin, was caught taking pictures near the Indians and Red Sox dugouts during the 2018 postseason. At the time, the Astros claimed that they were trying to ensure that those clubs weren’t utilizing illegal and/or unethical measures to gain an advantage. They were cleared of any rule violations by the league. A year later, during the 2019 ALCS, Houston manager A.J. Hinch scoffed at the notion that their players were whistling to call out the Yankees’ signs, calling any such accusations “a joke.” General manager Jeff Lunnow, at the time, told Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle:
“We haven’t done anything wrong. If people want to make their own conclusions based on what little evidence there is out there — really just rumors, speculations and accusations without any names behind it — that’s their prerogative. I’m not concerned because I know how we behave and how we act. We’re not doing anything wrong.”
Today, the Astros offered the following statement in reference to the report from Rosenthal and Drellich:
“Regarding the story posted by The Athletic earlier today, the Houston Astros organization has begun an investigation in cooperation with Major League Baseball. It would not be appropriate to comment further on this matter at this time.”
Asked to personally comment on the matter today at the GM Meetings, Luhnow told a large contingent of reporters that the organization will cooperate with any investigations but declined further comment (Twitter link via Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune).
Jacob deGrom, Justin Verlander Named Cy Young Winners
6:28pm: The BBWAA announced a slight correction in the NL voting (Twitter link), revealing that Ryu finished in second place alone — not in a tie with Scherzer, who is alone in third place. Flaherty is now alone in fourth place as well, with Strasburg landing fifth.
5:56pm: Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom and Astros righty Justin Verlander have been named the Cy Young Award winners in their respective leagues, the Baseball Writers Association of America announced Wednesday (click for voting breakdowns in the National League and American League).
It’s the second consecutive Cy Young win for deGrom, who has cemented himself among the elite arms of the generation. The 31-year-old deGrom received 29 of a possible 30 first-place votes, with the Dodgers’ Hyun-Jin Ryu receiving the lone other first-place vote. Ryu, who narrowly topped deGrom for the NL ERA title but tossed 22 fewer innings, finished in a second-place tie with Max Scherzer. Stephen Strasburg and Jack Flaherty, meanwhile, were only slightly behind that pair in a fourth-place tie of their own. Mike Soroka, Sonny Gray, Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler, Kirby Yates and Patrick Corbin all received votes and appeared further down the ballot.
Tossing 200 innings is an increasingly rare feat in today’s era of bullpen dominance, but deGrom delivered his third straight year of 200-plus frames, finishing with 204 innings of 2.43 ERA ball. His 2.67 FIP largely supported that excellent ERA, and deGrom was once again masterful in terms of overall strikeout percentage (31.7 percent) and walk percentage (5.5 percent). The right-hander, to this point, hasn’t given the Mets any reason to second-guess the four-year, $120.5MM contract extension they awarded him prior to the 2019 campaign. That pact ensured that deGrom will be a fixture on the starting staff for years to come, and he’ll join Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz and Marcus Stroman in a formidable top four in 2020 as the Mets look to reload and once again take aim at a postseason berth.
Verlander, 36, narrowly edged out teammate Gerrit Cole but managed to secure his second career Cy Young win. No pitcher outside of Verlander or Cole received a first- or second-place vote, but Verlander’s 17 first-place votes won the day. Rays star Charlie Morton received the bulk of the third-place votes (18) and came in third place on the ballot, while Cleveland’s Shane Bieber received 10 third-place votes and finished fourth in voting. Lance Lynn parlayed his brilliant rebound campaign into a fifth-place finish, while Eduardo Rodriguez, Lucas Giolito and Mike Minor rounded out the ballot (in that order).
Verlander led the Majors with 223 innings pitched and finished second in the game in strikeout percentage (35.4 percent), trailing only Cole (39.9 percent) in that regard. Verlander’s 2.58 ERA was slightly higher than Cole’s 2.50 mark, and his FIP (3.27) was a good margin higher than that of Cole (2.64). But Verlander yielded fewer walks in more innings pitched, started one more game than Cole and finished the year with 21 victories to Cole’s 20. The two were widely expected to crush the rest of the field in a tightly contested race and did just that. Verlander would have been a free agent alongside Cole were it not for the two-year, $66MM extension he signed over the winter. He’ll instead join Zack Greinke atop the Houston rotation for the next couple of seasons as he seeks to add a third trophy to his Cooperstown case.
Astros Intend To Add Veteran Starters
Even as the Astros fend off yet another controversy, they’re working to tweak an exceptionally talented roster. And GM Jeff Luhnow says that a key focus for the winter is to buttress a rotation that stands to lose key pieces to free agency, as Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle writes.
That’s not exactly surprising; it was obvious that something would need to be done with ace Gerrit Cole and sturdy veteran Wade Miley departing, to say nothing of Collin McHugh and (likely) Aaron Sanchez. Even with Lance McCullers Jr. slated to return — with Brad Peacock, Jose Urquidy, and Josh James also options to join Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke — there’s a dearth of reliable innings on hand. But it was not entirely clear just how the ‘Stros would go about filling in.
Luhnow made clear that the organization would like to come away from the hot stove season with multiple veteran additions to the rotation mix. “I’d prefer to have two because more options is better,” he said, “but it’s going to come down to what we can actually get done and what our value proposition is.”
It doesn’t sound as if the Astros necessarily feel a need to add a pair of surefire starters. Luhnow spoke of a “need to build that list” of “eight or nine guys competing for five spots.” And he noted that some additions could be promised a starting spot, while others might be brought into compete for one.
As Rome highlights, there’s an interesting question here for Luhnow — or, perhaps, for owner Jim Crane. The team has expressed a desire not to move past the luxury tax line, but that doesn’t leave much free payroll to work with. And Luhnow again emphasized a desire to avoid tying up too much future spending capacity, saying: “In general, the more flexibility we give ourselves in the future, the better off we’re going to be as an organization.”
There are numerous directions the Astros could take here. It’ll obviously depend upon the opportunities available — the “value proposition,” as Luhnow frames it — along with the team’s willingness to spend and decisions on investing in other areas of need. Landing the next Miley or Charlie Morton would surely be ideal, though that requires both the identification of an undervalued asset and the ability to reach agreement before another team swoops in. There are quite a few notable hurlers entering free agency this winter. It’ll be fascinating to see how the ‘Stros end up engaging the rotation market.
Draft Compensation For 8 Teams That Could Lose Qualified Free Agents
Eight teams issued qualifying offers this year to ten players, with the Nationals and Giants handing out two apiece. Teams issuing the $17.8MM offer must be comfortable with the receiving player accepting, as it isn’t possible to trade such a player (absent consent) until the middle of the season. But in most cases, the offer is given with the expectation it will be declined, thus allowing the issuing team to receive a compensatory draft selection if the player signs with a new club.
As with draft forfeitures, draft compensation is largely tied to the financial status of the team losing the player. And in 2019, seven of the eight teams that issued qualifying offers fall into the same bucket: teams that neither exceeded the luxury threshold nor received revenue-sharing benefits. This applies to the Astros, Nationals, Giants, Mets, Cardinals, White Sox and Braves. In such cases, the default compensation for losing a qualified free agent is applied.
In other words, if any of Gerrit Cole, Stephen Strasburg, Anthony Rendon, Madison Bumgarner, Will Smith, Zack Wheeler, Marcell Ozuna, Jose Abreu or Josh Donaldson signs with a new club, their former team will receive a compensatory pick between Competitive Balance Round B and Round 3 of the 2020 draft. Those selections would likely fall in the upper 70s and low 80s. Slot values in that range of the 2019 draft checked in between $730K and $700K. The Nationals and Giants, then, could add a pair of Top 100 picks and roughly $1.5MM worth of additional pool money each if they lose both of their qualified free agents.
The lone team that stands to gain a potential pick at the end of the first round would be the Twins, who issued a qualifying offer to Jake Odorizzi. Minnesota is a revenue-sharing recipient that did not exceed the luxury threshold, thus entitling the Twins to the highest level of free-agent compensation possible … if Odorizzi signs for a guaranteed $50MM or more. If Odorizzi’s total guarantees are $49.9MM or lower, the Twins would receive the same level of pick as the other seven teams who issued qualifying offers: between Competitive Balance Round B and Round 3.
Of course, if any of the players who received qualifying offers either accept the offer or re-sign with their 2019 clubs on a new multi-year deal, no draft compensation will be awarded to that team at all.
Multiple Teams Pursuing Zack Wheeler At Outset Of Free Agency
7:33pm: The Mets also remain interested in exploring a multi-year arrangement with Wheeler, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). It’s not evident how serious that possibility is — let alone whether there’s any potential for a pact to come together before Wheeler formally reaches the open market.
We’ve seen plenty of on-again/off-again chatter of a deal with Wheeler over recent months. When the Mets acquired Marcus Stroman, it was generally supposed that the club was going to move on from Wheeler, though the door stayed open when he wasn’t dealt over the summer. With obvious budgetary restrains and other needs, it still feels like a longshot.
Meanwhile, those prior trade talks also came up in reporting today. Andy Martino of SNY.tv tweets that the Mets spoke with teams right up until the deadline passed, with the Astros pushing hardest and the Yankees, Rays, and Athletics also involved.
That’s mostly of historical interest, though it could offer some clues for free agency. Indeed, the Houston organization is already engaged with Wheeler’s reps, per Heyman (via Twitter). The ‘Stros talked shop with Jet Sports today. We can only presume that the outfit’s major free agent starter came up in conversation, among other things.
2:29pm: Zack Wheeler technically has another three days to accept or reject his $17.8MM qualifying offer from the Mets, but there’s never been a realistic scenario in which he takes the one-year deal. The right-hander is widely considered to be among the four best pitchers in free agency this winter — No. 3 behind Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg, by many accounts — and should have little trouble cashing in on a lucrative multi-year pact. To that end, MLB.com’s Jon Morosi reports that the Angels, Padres and White Sox are among the teams that have shown early interest in Wheeler. Other clubs have surely checked in already and will continue to do so, of course.
Wheeler, 29, has come all the way back from a lengthy absence stemming from 2015 Tommy John surgery. He’s made 60 starts over the past two seasons and saw his fastball velocity tick up to a career-high 96.7 mph average in 2019 — the second-hardest mark of any free-agent starter on the market (behind Cole).
Wheeler had a rough handful of starts at the beginning of each of the past two seasons, but over his past 55 starts combined, he’s worked to a 3.47 ERA (3.27 FIP) with 9.0 K/9, 2.4 BB/9, 0.82 HR/9 and a 43.1 percent ground-ball rate in 349 2/3 innings. Beyond the high-end velocity, Wheeler possesses above-average spin on his heater and curveball, and he’s excelled in terms of minimizing hard contact against him (90th percentile average exit-velocity among MLB starters, per Statcast).
Each of the three listed teams is a natural fit for Wheeler, though that’s true of the majority of rotation-hungry teams in the league. While the likes of Cole and Strasburg will be wholly ruled out by many clubs due to their expected $30MM+ annual salaries and over the next half decade-plus, Wheeler is quite likely someone most teams will view as affordable — even if he’s at the top end of their budget. The New York Post’s Joel Sherman quotes one team executive expressing a similar sentiment, calling Wheeler the best arm of the market’s second tier (beyond Cole and Strasburg) and adding “and everyone pretty much will believe they could afford him.”
Beyond the listed teams in Morosi’s report, it’d be a surprise if the Phillies, Twins, Braves, Yankees, Rangers, Nationals (if Strasburg departs), Dodgers, Blue Jays and others aren’t in play for the righty. Wheeler could draw the most widespread interest of any free agent on the market this winter and will probably be connected to a dozen or more additional teams between now and the time he finally puts pen to paper.
Yordan Alvarez, Pete Alonso Win Rookie Of The Year Awards
Astros outfielder Yordan Alvarez and Mets first baseman Pete Alonso were named the rookies of the year in the American and National Leagues, respectively. The former was a unanimous choice, while the latter received top placement from all but one of the ROY voters from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
It’s a power-packed duo, to say the least. While slugging numbers were up around the game, these two still stood out.
Alvarez, 22, didn’t force his way onto a loaded Astros roster until mid-season. But he still swatted 27 long balls in his 369 plate appearances. And his half-season offensive numbers were … well, astronomical. Among players with at least three hundred attempts, he came in a close second in all of baseball in wRC+ (his 178 just lagged Mike Trout) and slugging percentage (.655, just trailing Christian Yelich).
The 24-year-old Alonso did damage all year long, on both sides of a memorable Home Run Derby victory. He appeared in all but one of the Mets’ games, slugging a league-leading 53 dingers while topping the century mark in runs and ribbies. It wasn’t just counting stats; Alonso wrapped up his debut season with an excellent .260/.358/.583 batting line.
The rest of the American League field fell well shy of Alvarez in output. But that’s not to say there weren’t nice performances. Surprise Orioles hurler John Means landed in second place, another nice bit of recognition for one of the least-likely All Stars in the history of baseball. Brandon Lowe of the Rays, Eloy Jimenez of the White Sox, and Cavan Biggio of the Blue Jays finished 3-4-5.
There was certainly stiffer competition on the N.L. side. Third-place finisher Fernando Tatis Jr. may well have commanded the award (or at least forced a photo finish) had his season not been cut short. And the man in second, Braves hurler Mike Soroka, had his own strong claim to the award. He picked up one first-pace vote after turning in 174 2/3 innings of 2.68 ERA pitching — no minor accomplishment in a season filled with the offensive exploits of so many. Pirates standout Bryan Reynolds landed fourth with his own excellent campaign, while Cardinals hurler Dakota Hudson and Nationals outfielder Victor Robles each also received down-ballot votes.
Astros Promote Owner’s Son Jared Crane To Executive Team
The Astros moved some pieces around in their front office recently, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. With an eye towards succession, Astros owner Jim Crane has moved his son Jared Crane into a position to oversee the club’s business operations.
Longtime team president Reid Ryan has been moved out of the role and into a different position within the organization as Executive Advisor of Business Relations. The organization says Ryan will remain “an important part of the Astros organization,” though they’ve also said that he will have more time to explore other opportunities. All in all, the shift from Ryan to Crane seems a significant change for both parties.
Ryan, of course, is the son of Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan. The elder Ryan has been an advisor to the team for the past six seasons, but his role has expired and he is not expected to continue on with the team.
This all comes on the heels of an unfortunate situation surrounding former assistant GM Brandon Taubman, but the team insists this shakeup has nothing to do with the handling of Taubman’s situation. Instead, the move is part of a long-term plan by owner and chairman Jim Crane to move his son into an increased role with the team.
Kevan Graves, Pete Putila Under Consideration In Giants’ GM Search
10:38am: San Francisco has also considered Pirates assistant general manager Kevan Graves for the GM post, Rosenthal tweets. Graves is currently serving as the Pirates’ GM on an interim basis after the firing of longtime general manager Neal Huntington late last month, however, and Rosenthal notes that he’s a candidate for both positions.
8:33am: The Giants are considering Pete Putila in their search for a general manager to serve under president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). Putila presently serves as the Astros’ director of player development.
Putila becomes at least the second known candidate for the opening, though it’s possible to surmise at least one more. As Rosenthal reported yesterday, and we discussed here, Cubs assistant GM Scott Harris is known to bee under consideration. And it appears likely that Athletics AGM Billy Owens has at least been contemplated in some manner, though the current status there is not known.
It remains entirely unclear when a hiring decision will be made. As noted yesterday, the Giants are likely planning to do so before long, given that the offseason market is now open for business. At the same time, the team doesn’t face much pressure from the executive market since most other teams are not hiring a #2 baseball ops exec at the moment. (The Pirates are still engaged in a search for their top job, which certainly could have an impact.)
Putila has helmed the Astros’ farm system for over three years now, overseeing a key component of one of the game’s most recently successful organizations. He brought a varied background to that role after five prior seasons with the Houston club. Whether or not Putila is picked up by the Giants, his involvement in this process makes him only the latest of many Astros executives to draw interest from other outfits.
Crane: Astros Will “Take A Run At” Gerrit Cole
Just over a month ago, Astros owner Jim Crane expressed uncertainty as to whether the team would try to re-sign right-hander Gerrit Cole – now the undisputed best pitcher available in free agency. But Crane, who just watched his Astros drop a hard-fought seven-game World Series against the Nationals, has publicly changed his tune. Crane told Brian McTaggart of MLB.com and other reporters Monday that the Astros will at least make an effort to keep the coveted Cole in Houston.
“We’re going to take a run at it,” Crane said. “We don’t know if we can get to where they want to get. [Agent Scott] Boras is tough to deal with.”
The famed Boras is sure to drive an especially hard bargain in negotiations for Cole. After all, the 29-year-old flamethrower is coming off a marvelous season that could see him earn Cy Young honors for the first time. Even if Cole – who’s a finalist for the AL award with two starters he knows well in the Astros’ Justin Verlander and the Rays’ Charlie Morton – doesn’t wind up winning, a record payday should soon be in the offing. The seven-year, $217MM contract David Price signed with the Red Sox entering 2016 still stands as the largest deal a pitcher has ever signed, though Cole has a legitimate chance to obliterate (not just surpass) that guarantee prior to next season.
MLBTR forecasts an eight-year, $256MM pact for Cole, and that type of money could make a return to Houston especially unlikely if the team’s bent on avoiding the luxury tax. Crane has already said the Astros would “prefer not to” spend beyond the $208MM tax threshold in 2020. However, as MLBTR’s Steve Adams explained last month, limboing under the line looks as if it will be a challenge even without Cole in the mix. Indeed, factoring in the arbitration projections of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz, Jason Martinez of Roster Resource and FanGraphs estimates the Astros already have upward of $239MM in luxury-tax calculations for next year. There’s room to trim some of that down – including by, say, non-tendering Aaron Sanchez (who’s projected to earn a $5.6MM salary) – but seemingly not enough to put the Astros in a position to re-up Cole without blowing the $208MM mark out of the water.
Of course, there’s an argument the Astros – if they actually do want to keep Cole – should throw tax concerns aside. As Adams previously pointed out, even if the Astros were to outspend the $208MM figure by $40MM next season, they’d “only” pay in the range of $10.4MM in penalties. That amount doesn’t look as if it should stop a team from working to re-sign one of the premier pitchers in baseball and someone who could soon rake in an overall guarantee worth approximately 25 times that sum.