Michael Saunders to Phillies

[RealAccountant]

If that is what Saunders got, Moss should get a multi year deal. Assuming Phillies would have checked in on him.

[Governator]

Deal pending physical for Saunders. So it isn't close to being done yet lol.

[Ray]

9m guaranteed. 8m next yr, 1m buyout

 

Well it would be $10 million guaranteed then because of the buyout.

 

Also, my understanding is that the option is worth $11 million with $3 million in incentives.

[Carp12]

Well it would be $10 million guaranteed then because of the buyout.

 

Also, my understanding is that the option is worth $11 million with $3 million in incentives.

 

His salary for this season is 8m. 1m buyout. 9m gaurantee

[Brownie19]

Probably a short-term deal until some of the Phillies' young OFs (Cozens, Williams, Quinn) are ready to play regularly.

 

Understatement of the day.

[Brownie19]

Wow - this is significantly more money than I thought he'd get. Good for him.

[Ray]

Phillies might've screwed the rest of the market. Guys like Moss, Pagan and Valbuena should get much better deals.

[jaysguy44]

What a a terrible deal for the Phillies lol

[justafan]

Unreal. That's a lot of cash for a borderline player with terrible defence.

[Abomination]

Wow - this is significantly more money than I thought he'd get. Good for him.

 

Yeah, good for Saunders, and I wish him well. With his questionable knee, I wouldn't have wanted us to pay that much.

[Spanky99]

Yikes... Philly overpaid. I guess they had too, who would seriously want to go play there at the moment.

[Carp12]

Overpaid but not a bad deal for philly. They have the money and can always flip him at the deadline for a prospect if he's healthy

[Ray]

Let's just wait until he passes his physical. I wouldn't exactly call this a 100% done deal.

[canadiansportsjunkie]

Not really an overpay since its Philly...decent future but when you suck you have to pay more

[saskjayfan]

Unreal. That's a lot of cash for a borderline player with terrible defence.

 

He had a 117 Wrc+ last season. He's above average offensively. At the trade deadline his Wrc+ was north of 130. If he has the same hot season he did last year, someone in contention desperate for offense will trade for the bat.

[TheGrandslamMan]

We have to remember that he played last year after missing the previous year with a major injury. It was inevitable that he was going to slow down.

 

It'll be interesting to see how he does after having a year back under his belt. Could end up being a great deal for the Phils.

[TheGrandslamMan]

I was kind of hoping that we'd get him back but 10M is pretty steep. Not liking the idea of a Zeke/Upton LF.

[King]

Thoughts fellas.

 

http://www.fanragsports.com/mlb/blue-jays/spector-blue-jays-re-signed-wrong-outfielder/

 

http://d3d2maoophos6y.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/19105105/DCD161014021_ALCS_Blue_Jays_at_Indians.jpg

 

The Blue Jays came into this offseason with both of their corner outfielders going to free agency. The decision on which one to prioritize re-signing should have been easy.

 

Take away their names, and maybe it would have been easy.

 

Player A, an All-Star in 2016, turned 30 in November after a season in which he hit .253/.338/.478 with 24 home runs in 558 plate appearances. His outfield play was not good, at -11 defensive runs saved, but he added a necessary dimension to the lineup as a left-handed batter.

 

Player B, an All-Star previously but not in 2016, turned 36 in October after a season in which he hit .234/.366/.452 with 22 home runs in 517 plate appearances. His outfield play, once a strength, clearly was not at the same standard as he posted a DRS of -8. He is a right-handed batter.

 

It’s obvious enough who these players are – Michael Saunders is Player A, Jose Bautista is Player B – but taking names out of the equation should make the choice clearer.

 

http://i.imgur.com/tOZcawk.png

 

The 2016 production is just about equal, but Saunders is in his prime while Bautista appears to have hit the downside of his career. Even with the addition of switch-hitter Kendrys Morales and the loss of Edwin Encarnacion, the Blue Jays still have a righty-heavy lineup led by Josh Donaldson, Troy Tulowitzki, and Devon Travis. Steve Pearce, Toronto’s other big free agent addition this winter, also hits right-handed.

 

Not only is Saunders a better player to have on your team in 2017, he’s on a friendlier contract to his team. Saunders went to the Phillies for one year and $9 million, with an $11-14 million option for 2018. Bautista’s deal to return for the Blue Jays is for one year and $18 million, plus two option years.

 

There’s also the matter of the draft pick. Had Bautista gone to another team, the Blue Jays would have gotten a compensation pick at the end of this year’s first round, since they gave Bautista a qualifying offer. Granted, Toronto is getting one of these for the loss of Edwin Encarnacion, but another would have been plenty sweet. Saunders, who did not get a qualifying offer, brings no compensation with his departure.

 

The Blue Jays misplayed the free agent market when they quickly signed Morales and Pearce to essentially ensure they would not have room for Encarnacion, who wound up lingering on the market until January and signing a reasonable deal in Cleveland. That may have led to this second miscue, because the name does matter. For the Blue Jays to lose Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista, their cornerstone players of the 2010s, in the same offseason would be a big psychological jolt.

 

The problem with thinking that way is twofold. The obvious part is that it leads the Blue Jays to pay more money to the wrong player, as far as on-field performance is concerned. But, say you’re willing to pay that extra money because he’s Jose Bautista, dammit, the bat flipper in chief, Twitter follower nonpareil, and emotional fulcrum of the Toronto Blue Jays. Well, you’re still wrong.

 

The Blue Jays do not lack for personality regardless of Bautista’s presence. It’s not just because of veteran leaders like Donaldson and Tulowitzki, with Morales also bringing a wealth of experience. Think about Marcus Stroman, the pitcher whose clothing line is named after his signature hashtag, #HDMH — height doesn’t measure heart. Personality is on display in Toronto, and by the end of last October, Bautista was spending more time worrying about “circumstances” of umpiring than he was making a positive impact with his bat.

 

Bautista still should be a decent contributor in 2017, and maybe he defies age to remain a star into the future. That’s just not a proposition the Blue Jays needed to or should have bet on, not when Saunders was right there, for less money, with the chance to let Bautista walk and add another prospect to a farm system in need of further replenishment.

[Terminator]

Well, everyone's gotta eat. My guess is this hot take will get the writer enough clicks for groceries this month.

[Maahfaace]

Thoughts fellas.

 

http://www.fanragsports.com/mlb/blue-jays/spector-blue-jays-re-signed-wrong-outfielder/

 

http://d3d2maoophos6y.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/19105105/DCD161014021_ALCS_Blue_Jays_at_Indians.jpg

 

The Blue Jays came into this offseason with both of their corner outfielders going to free agency. The decision on which one to prioritize re-signing should have been easy.

 

Take away their names, and maybe it would have been easy.

 

Player A, an All-Star in 2016, turned 30 in November after a season in which he hit .253/.338/.478 with 24 home runs in 558 plate appearances. His outfield play was not good, at -11 defensive runs saved, but he added a necessary dimension to the lineup as a left-handed batter.

 

Player B, an All-Star previously but not in 2016, turned 36 in October after a season in which he hit .234/.366/.452 with 22 home runs in 517 plate appearances. His outfield play, once a strength, clearly was not at the same standard as he posted a DRS of -8. He is a right-handed batter.

 

It’s obvious enough who these players are – Michael Saunders is Player A, Jose Bautista is Player B – but taking names out of the equation should make the choice clearer.

 

http://i.imgur.com/tOZcawk.png

 

The 2016 production is just about equal, but Saunders is in his prime while Bautista appears to have hit the downside of his career. Even with the addition of switch-hitter Kendrys Morales and the loss of Edwin Encarnacion, the Blue Jays still have a righty-heavy lineup led by Josh Donaldson, Troy Tulowitzki, and Devon Travis. Steve Pearce, Toronto’s other big free agent addition this winter, also hits right-handed.

 

Not only is Saunders a better player to have on your team in 2017, he’s on a friendlier contract to his team. Saunders went to the Phillies for one year and $9 million, with an $11-14 million option for 2018. Bautista’s deal to return for the Blue Jays is for one year and $18 million, plus two option years.

 

There’s also the matter of the draft pick. Had Bautista gone to another team, the Blue Jays would have gotten a compensation pick at the end of this year’s first round, since they gave Bautista a qualifying offer. Granted, Toronto is getting one of these for the loss of Edwin Encarnacion, but another would have been plenty sweet. Saunders, who did not get a qualifying offer, brings no compensation with his departure.

 

The Blue Jays misplayed the free agent market when they quickly signed Morales and Pearce to essentially ensure they would not have room for Encarnacion, who wound up lingering on the market until January and signing a reasonable deal in Cleveland. That may have led to this second miscue, because the name does matter. For the Blue Jays to lose Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista, their cornerstone players of the 2010s, in the same offseason would be a big psychological jolt.

 

The problem with thinking that way is twofold. The obvious part is that it leads the Blue Jays to pay more money to the wrong player, as far as on-field performance is concerned. But, say you’re willing to pay that extra money because he’s Jose Bautista, dammit, the bat flipper in chief, Twitter follower nonpareil, and emotional fulcrum of the Toronto Blue Jays. Well, you’re still wrong.

 

The Blue Jays do not lack for personality regardless of Bautista’s presence. It’s not just because of veteran leaders like Donaldson and Tulowitzki, with Morales also bringing a wealth of experience. Think about Marcus Stroman, the pitcher whose clothing line is named after his signature hashtag, #HDMH — height doesn’t measure heart. Personality is on display in Toronto, and by the end of last October, Bautista was spending more time worrying about “circumstances” of umpiring than he was making a positive impact with his bat.

 

Bautista still should be a decent contributor in 2017, and maybe he defies age to remain a star into the future. That’s just not a proposition the Blue Jays needed to or should have bet on, not when Saunders was right there, for less money, with the chance to let Bautista walk and add another prospect to a farm system in need of further replenishment.

 

It would of been nice if they mentioned the fact that Saunders is made of glass and his knee is shot, and that he more than likely will not replicate his BABIP inflated first half ever again.

[Ray]

Saunders knees probably buckled from the shockwaves caused by me typing this post.

[TholesWeirdEye]

Clickbait article. Considering Saunders is made of glass and has only played more than 130 games a year 3 times.

[Captain Adama]

Aside from the Steamer projections which show Saunders to be a 101 wRC+ bat compared to Bautista's 128. My biggest gripe (one of many) of the article is, a 30 year old outfielder with an extensive injury history is not what one would consider to be in his "prime."

 

King, I love a good troll, but you gotta up your game.

[Stangstag]

King might need a brief ban. This did not deserve a new thread.

[bones10]

I feel like this is a dumb argument my salty Rays fan friend would make in order to make fun of the Jays for having bad management.

[TholesWeirdEye]

King might need a brief ban. This did not deserve a new thread.

 

Agreed. I reported the post copious amounts of times.

[Gary]

So batting average is all that matters?

[BTS]

Reported.

[King]

I regret nothing.