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2020 General MLB off-season


Mo Horn

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This will be fun. 

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The New York Yankees intend to not pay Jacoby Ellsbury the remaining $26 million due under his contract, contending he violated the deal by receiving unauthorized medical treatment, sources confirmed to ESPN's Buster Olney on Friday.

According to multiple reports, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman sent a letter to Ellsbury and his agent, Scott Boras, informing them the team had converted his contract to a nonguaranteed deal.

The Yankees said Ellsbury, who has not played since 2017 due to myriad injuries, was treated by Dr. Viktor Bouquette of Progressive Medical Center in Atlanta without the team's permission, according to multiple reports.

 

 

And Seattle did this. 

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The Seattle Mariners and first-base prospect Evan White have agreed to a six-year, $24 million contract with three club options, sources familiar with the deal confirmed to ESPN's Jeff Passan on Friday.

White, 23, spent all of last season at Double-A with the Arkansas Travelers of the Texas League. No player at that level has ever received a long-term extension.

In 2018, the Philadelphia Phillies signed Scott Kingery, who had played a full season at the Triple-A level, to a six-year, $24 million deal that could max out at $42 million combined. Eloy Jimenez of the Chicago White Sox also signed a long-term deal in Triple-A before making it to the majors.

White's deal with the Mariners can max out in the mid-$50 million range, sources told Passan.

Barring a disastrous spring training, White is expected to be Seattle's first baseman on Opening Day. The Mariners used eight different players at the position last season, with Austin Nola and Daniel Vogelbachgetting most of the playing time 

 

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On 11/22/2019 at 3:07 PM, spystud13 said:

The New York Yankees intend to not pay Jacoby Ellsbury the remaining $26 million due under his contract, contending he violated the deal by receiving unauthorized medical treatment, sources confirmed to ESPN's Buster Olney on Friday.

Didn't someone else do this recently, maybe not MLB, but one of the major sports?  Anyone remember who?

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23 hours ago, Beau Vine said:

Didn't someone else do this recently, maybe not MLB, but one of the major sports?  Anyone remember who?

Kellen Winslow got in a motorcycle wreck in 2005 and there was talk of this. Ellis Willard (NBS - Warriors) did the same thing. 

Derrick Holland tripped over his dog down the stairs. I think there was a rumor that he was actually doing something else that would have voided his contract, but it was never proven. 

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Major League Baseball is investigating free agent reliever Sam Dyson for domestic violence, sources tell The Athletic.

Dyson’s ex-girlfriend, Alexis Blackburn, authored two lengthy Instagram posts this week alluding to domestic violence by an unnamed individual, one on her personal account, another on an account she authors in the voice of her cat, Snuckles. A source confirmed to The Athletic that she was writing about Dyson.

Baseball became aware of the situation this week and launched an investigation that will include an interview with Blackburn in the near future, sources said.

On her own account, Blackburn referred to being bullied, writing: “I am broken . . . I’ve allowed my physical health, my emotional health and my mental health to diminish to nothing. I’ve allowed more things to happen than I want to admit. I don’t know who this girl is right now because this hasn’t been me. I haven’t been me in so long. I’ve allowed myself to use the word ‘sorry’ in every conversation whether I did something wrong or not.”

On Snuckles’ account, Blackburn said that a person yelled at her and the cat and also “hurled” things at them. She went on to write: “No one deserves to be intimidated, scared, worthless and hopeless.”

A representative for Dyson was not immediately available for comment.

 

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Interesting little trade. Surprised SD moved Urias already. 

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The Milwaukee Brewers have acquired infielder Luis Urias and left-hander Eric Lauer from the San Diego Padres for outfielder Trent Grisham and right-hander Zach Davies in a swap of high-end prospects and veteran pitchers, a source told ESPN's Jeff Passan.

This wasn't the only move for the Padres on Wednesday. They also reached an agreement with left-handed reliever Drew Pomeranz, pending a physical, sources confirmed.

Urias, 22, was a consensus top-25 prospect entering the 2019 season and was outstanding at Triple-A El Paso, batting .315 with 19 home runs in 73 games. But he struggled offensively in 71 games with the Padres, batting just .223.

He primarily played second base for the Padres, who boast stars at third base and shortstop with Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr., respectively. But the Brewers are expected to play Urias at shortstop, according to Passan.

Lauer, 24, is 14-17 with a 4.40 ERA in 53 games -- 52 starts -- over two seasons with San Diego. He went 8-10 with a 4.45 ERA last season.

Grisham, 23, also was widely rated as a top-50 prospect entering the 2019 season and was one of the Brewers organization's best minor league hitters, batting .300 with 26 homers and 71 RBIs in 97 combined games at Double-A Biloxi and Triple-A San Antonio.

He appeared in 51 games with the Brewers, batting .231 with six homers, and emerged as an every-day player in September after star outfielder Christian Yelich suffered a season-ending injury.

Davies, 26, went 10-7 with a career-best 3.55 ERA in 31 starts last season. He had spent his entire five-year career with the Brewers, going 43-42 with a 3.91 ERA in 111 starts.

Pomeranz, 31, was 2-10 with a 4.85 ERA in 46 games for the Giants and Brewers last season. The Athletic first reported on Pomeranz's agreement with the Padres.

He was used primarily as a reliever with Milwaukee and was outstanding in the role, posting a 2.39 ERA with 45 strikeouts over 26 1/3 innings.

 

And 3/$30M for Kyle Gibson to Tex. 

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The Orioles have placed infielder Jonathan Villar on outright waivers after being unable to find a trade partner for the fleet-footed switch-hitter, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports (via Twitter). Villar’s projected $10.4MM arbitration salary apparently served as too substantial a roadblock to overcome when marketing him to other teams.

It’s an extreme cost-cutting measure for the tanking Orioles — one that frankly looks unnecessary. Even with Villar in the fold, the Orioles’ Opening Day payroll projects to come in south of $80MM, so it’s not as if there is (or should be) any real pressure to shed salary.

Beyond that is the simple fact that Villar has been a fine player in Baltimore — arguably the organization’s best in 2019. The 28-year-old batted .274/.339/.453 with 24 home runs, 33 doubles, five triples and a whopping 40 stolen bases (in 49 attempts) this past season. Defensive metrics soured on his work at second base but gave him passable marks at shortstop — and Villar does have a track record as a useful glove at second prior to the 2019 season.

Both FanGraphs and Baseball-Reference.com valued Villar at four wins above replacement this past season. Clearly the Orioles aren’t the only team in the league that doesn’t value Villar at his current price point — hence the lack of trade interest — but there’s virtually no way off spinning this as a move that makes Baltimore a better team in 2020.

Even if the Orioles reinvest that roughly $10MM sum, there’s little reason that with their current level of financial commitment they couldn’t simply have kept Villar and spent an additional $10MM anyhow. And it’s unlikely that Villar’s eventual replacement will give them superior on-field results. It looks to be a move designed to lose more games next season, and it’s surely a tough blow for a fanbase that has had few quality performances to cheer over the past couple of seasons.

Villar will be available for any club to claim at this point, though the new team would be on the hook for the same projected salary in arbitration. If he goes unclaimed, he’ll surely opt for free agency, at which point he’ll be able to sign with any team for any amount. Given the lack of trade interest in Villar, it’s certainly possible that he will indeed pass through waivers, but he should draw plenty of interest on Major League deals — perhaps even a two-year pact at a lower annual rate. For the Orioles, meanwhile, the optics of letting him go for no return aren’t great, and the move will be tough to sell to the fans.

 

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News that the Orioles have requested outright waivers on middle infielder Jonathan Villar was met with consternation by the fan base.

I was a little confused too, and I get paid to supposedly know what’s going on.

So, let me break it down as best as I can.

Here’s the background:

Villar, 28, had a splendid year for the 108-loss Orioles in 2019. He played in all 162 games and slashed .274/.339/.453 with 24 home runs and 40 stolen bases. It’s not a stretch to say the shortstop/second baseman is the Orioles’ best all-around player.

The problem is Villar made $4.825 million last year and has one more season of arbitration eligibility remaining. And, based on his performance in 2019, he’s looking at a huge raise in arbitration — MLB Trade Rumors predicts he could get $10.4 million.

That’s a whole lot of money for a terrible team to pay to a player who will be looking at free agency after 2020.

So, the Orioles have been trying to trade Villar before Monday’s deadline to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players. They obviously have not had any luck in stirring up trade interest. So, as first reported by MasnSports.com, they requested outright waivers on Wednesday.

So, what does that mean?

This is where it gets tricky, because it isn’t a traditional waiver situation. I had to ask for a little clarification. Here goes:

By requesting outright waivers, the Orioles are essentially offering Villar’s contract to any team that wants it. A claiming team would then have to handle his arbitration situation.

If no team claims him — and the Orioles should know by roughly 1 p.m. on Monday — Villar remains on the Orioles’ 40-man roster. Temporarily.

In that scenario, the Orioles would then have approximately seven hours — until the 8 p.m. non-tender deadline — to make the next move.

Since they have already requested outright waivers, it’s obvious the Orioles will not be tendering Villar a contract and taking him to arbitration. You can pretty much forget that scenario now.

That leaves two potential courses of action if Villar remains on the roster Monday.

The first is to non-tender him a contract and allow Villar to be a free agent. That is the most likely resolution.

The second is to agree to a less lucrative deal with Villar in the seven-hour window the Orioles have before making a tendering decision.

You’d think Villar would rather test the market, but that’s where Wednesday’s waiver request makes some sense.

If all teams pass on going to arbitration with Villar, it might send the sign to his representation that the free-agent market may not be particularly hot for him. And, therefore, armed with the knowledge that no team claimed him, maybe Villar would be more willing to accept an offer before the arbitration decision of lesser value.

That means the Orioles on Monday might offer him something in between $5 million and $10 million, and Villar might take it so he doesn’t have to deal with the mysterious free-agent dance.

That at least seems to be the method behind the waiver request.

The reality is that the Orioles don’t want to pay major money in 2020 to someone who is not part of their future and won’t be able to lead them to the playoffs next year no matter how well he plays. So, as a 28-year-old coming off a career season and heading into free agency after 2020, Villar is not a fit for the Orioles.

The pushback on that concept, however, is that the Orioles will be cutting loose one of the few players who provided both excitement and productivity to the field in 2019 simply to save and/or reallocate money.

That’s hard to swallow for a fan base that has already endured the two worst records in franchise history in 2018 and 2019. Basically, the Orioles are saying that they aren’t going to be good again in 2020, and they’ll prove that by jettisoning one of their best players.

(There is going to likely be more of this to come. An MLB.com report Wednesday suggested the Orioles are working toward a trade of pitcher Dylan Bundy, another arbitration-eligible player they have been shopping.)

That, of course, is what a rebuild is. It’s what has been advertised since the Angelos sons started anew in October 2018 (or, really, July 2018). The payroll is going to be pared as low as possible, and GM Mike Elias and the front office have suggested that money saved in salaries will be used to boost the infrastructure of the organization — whether that’s spent on the international program or the analytics department or technology or whatever.

None of it should come as a shock. Those are the growing pain moments we’ve been talking about throughout the last year. That is what everyone signed up for.

Certainly, it would make everyone feel better if the Orioles could get something in return for Villar. But I’ve questioned his trade value for months, simply because the sense I got from talking to other teams is that contenders don’t look at the super aggressive Villar as more than a complementary piece, and teams don’t give up anything for a guy like that, especially when his price tag is $10 million-plus.

Villar will find a job pretty easily and should be paid fairly well. On the open market, he might even be able to get a multi-year deal at a lesser average annual value to provide him the security he desires. And, again, maybe he doesn’t take that gamble and decides to sign Monday at a discount with the Orioles if no one else claims him off waivers. It’s possible, but I just think that’s doubtful.

The other scenario we thought was a possibility heading into the offseason looks fully unrealistic now: That the Orioles would offer Villar arbitration, pay half that award in salary and trade him in July as a rental to get some minor-leaguers in return. That, of course, is gambling that Villar has another great campaign and further boosts his trade value.

That’s what is probably going to stick with fans the most. Why not roll the dice?

I’m not sure we will ever fully get the answer to that question, but we’re also not privy to the trade discussions that Elias has had with other teams. It’s not hard to connect the dots, though. No one asks for outright waivers on a player if a trade market is there. Teams don’t give away a player if they can get something of value for him. Period.

And that gives us a glimpse as to what the trade interest level was for Villar. Apparently, it was nonexistent.

 

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2 hours ago, spystud13 said:

Souza, Cron, Addison Russell join the available list. 

Non-tenders of note thus far: - RP Blake Treinen - 2B César Hernández - SP Taijuan Walker - IF Addison Russell - SP Kevin Gausman - CF Kevin Pillar - OF Domingo Santana - 3B Maikel Franco - OF Steven Souza Jr. - DH C.J. Cron - SP Aaron Sanchez - IF José Peraza - IF Tim Beckham

 

 

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The Milwaukee Brewers completed a trade Thursday with the Seattle Mariners to acquire catcher Omar Narvaez in exchange for minor league pitcher Adam Hill and a competitive balance Round B draft pick.

The Brewers had a need at catcher after starter Yasmani Grandal signed a four-year, $73 million contract with the Chicago White Sox last month.

The left-handed-hitting Narvaez, 27, had a career season for the Mariners in 2019, hitting .278 with 22 home runs and 55 RBIs in 132 games.

 

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The San Diego Padres today announced the members of Manager Jayce Tingler’s coaching staff for the 2020 campaign. Joining the Major League club will be Larry Rothschild as pitching coach, Bobby Dickerson as bench coach, Wayne Kirby as first base coach and Ben Fritz as bullpen coach. Skip Schumaker has been elevated to associate manager after serving as the Padres first base coach the last two seasons. Returning to the staff as hitting coach will be Damion Easley, who served as assistant hitting coach in 2019. Rod Barajas, the Padres bench coach and interim manager last season, will serve as catching and quality control coach in 2020, and Glenn Hoffman returns as third base coach.

What in the flying shit is associate manager?! 

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34 minutes ago, spystud13 said:

 

Preller doesn’t seem to grasp that acquiring an OF for an OF doesn’t reduce your glut of OFs. 

He traded a 27-yo guy with a sub-300 OBP in 1500 PA for a guy with a 126 OPS+ who can play CF if necessary, so that's a win in my book.  

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9 hours ago, Beau Vine said:

This long-ass Bobby Jenks story is pretty jaw-dropping: https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/bobby-jenks-baseball-scar-tissue

As an Astro fan my initial reaction is that Bobby Jenks can die of gonorrhea and rot in hell with Dan Marino.  But that article took guts to write.  Hat tip.  

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1 minute ago, Guadaloopy said:

As an Astro fan my initial reaction is that Bobby Jenks can die of gonorrhea and rot in hell with Dan Marino.  But that article took guts to write.  Hat tip.  

I honestly had always hated Jenks, but then I read about the spinal fluid pouring out of his back and about the surgeon doing two surgeries at once and he had made a hell of a point. 

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On 12/5/2019 at 10:38 PM, Beau Vine said:

I honestly had always hated Jenks, but then I read about the spinal fluid pouring out of his back and about the surgeon doing two surgeries at once and he had made a hell of a point. 

I’d like to know more about these concurrent surgeries and any regulation constraining them. I don’t know how big a deal it is to reschedule a surgery like jenks was having, from a room and personnel standpoint, and it sounds like the other surgery wasn’t scheduled like a double booking but rather an emergency trauma situation. 
 

if I know anything from watching tv it’s that surgeries have teams. So maybe one lead surgeon going between rooms to supervise and instruct two (or more?) operations isn’t  automatically creating a standard of care deficiency. Especially if the jenks procedure was somewhat routine. 
@Magus Ossis @ChiTownDoc you guys have any knowledge and opinions on the practice?

Edited by Pato del Muerto
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