Around Baseball 2021

[Laika]

I know bad joke..but seriously we need some help from somewhere. We brought out the big gun. Shapiro did a personal tour of our facilities and Hendriks signed with Whitesox. No one wants to play for us.

 

87% of the free agents are still free agents man

[Ehjays]

Well you beat Kenny. That pleb doesn't even know he got 4 years.

 

 

The White Sox have reached a multiyear agreement with free-agent reliever Liam Hendriks, pending a physical, Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports reports. It’s a three-year, $54MM guarantee with a club option for a fourth season, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Hendriks is a client of ALIGND Sports Agency.

[saskjayfan]

87% of the free agents are still free agents man

 

87% of that 87% are guys I don't want. Another player that could provide and impact is off the board. Liam Hendriks gone.

[Ray]

The White Sox have reached a multiyear agreement with free-agent reliever Liam Hendriks, pending a physical, Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports reports. It’s a three-year, $54MM guarantee with a club option for a fourth season, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Hendriks is a client of ALIGND Sports Agency.

 

$18M a year for a reliever...

 

Glad we passed on that lol.

[saskjayfan]

The White Sox have reached a multiyear agreement with free-agent reliever Liam Hendriks, pending a physical, Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports reports. It’s a three-year, $54MM guarantee with a club option for a fourth season, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Hendriks is a client of ALIGND Sports Agency.

 

3 and 39 with a 4th year for 15 with a 15 mil buyout. So it's 4 and 54. Are there tax reason's it would be structured that way?

[Abomination]

$18M a year for a reliever...

 

Glad we passed on that lol.

 

That can't be right. It has to be something like 3/40 with a 14M option or something. I'd still pass on it though.

[saskjayfan]

$18M a year for a reliever...

 

Glad we passed on that lol.

 

He got 3 and 39 and 15 in his 4th year, not 18 mil a year. That 15 mil option if declined to be paid over a period of time according to Rosenthal...so like a million a year until he's 50?

[BTS]

I know bad joke..but seriously we need some help from somewhere. We brought out the big gun. Shapiro did a personal tour of our facilities and Hendriks signed with Whitesox. No one wants to play for us.

 

Bauer doesn’t strike me as someone who’s going to respond to window dressing. He’s going to go to the team that A) offers him the most favourable contract terms, and actually convinces him that they have the infrastructure and personnel in place to make the arrangement mutually beneficial. He’s going to want his voice to be heard when it comes to his training regime and pitching on 3 days rest, and he’s going to want a team that provides him with actionable information that he might not otherwise have had.

 

I feel like Toronto is 100% able to meet his contract needs, but it’s anyone’s guess whether he’s impressed by the more subjective bits. It’s probably not something that can be faked though.

[BTS]

The 15M team option with a 15M buyout is something we’ve never seen before. I guess he’d have to be utterly broken for the team to prefer to punt him and pay the money instalments.

[Ray]

He got 3 and 39 and 15 in his 4th year, not 18 mil a year.

 

It's essentially 4 years $54M. Either they retain him for $15M for that 4th year, or buy him out for the same amount. The only cost at that point will be a roster spot, so good chance they do retain him just to spread the money out.

 

Makes it a little better, but I doubt we matched that. It'll be interesting to see what this does to the reliever market.

 

(We really should've claimed Brad Hand on waivers....)

[4thOFan]

blue jays news pls?

 

I'll let you know

[saskjayfan]

The 15M team option with a 15M buyout is something we’ve never seen before. I guess he’d have to be utterly broken for the team to prefer to punt him and pay the money instalments.

 

Seems silly on the face of it, but if we had structured Roark's deal as a 1 year 12 with a 12 mil buyout and option with the ability to pay him 1 mil per year for the next 12 I'd be paying him the 1 mil a year for the next 12 and reinvesting that money saved in a heart beat!

[Carlos Danger]

Bauer doesn’t strike me as someone who’s going to respond to window dressing. He’s going to go to the team that A) offers him the most favourable contract terms, and actually convinces him that they have the infrastructure and personnel in place to make the arrangement mutually beneficial. He’s going to want his voice to be heard when it comes to his training regime and pitching on 3 days rest, and he’s going to want a team that provides him with actionable information that he might not otherwise have had.

 

I feel like Toronto is 100% able to meet his contract needs, but it’s anyone’s guess whether he’s impressed by the more subjective bits. It’s probably not something that can be faked though.

 

I agree with all this. However, after watching his video last night. It appears his brand is just an equally important part of the three main things. I am not sure how he will perceive Canada for his brand.. Thirty-six million fan base cheering for one team is a positive. But, not as much exposure as in the US... Not really sure...

[saskjayfan]

It's essentially 4 years $54M. Either they retain him for $15M for that 4th year, or buy him out for the same amount. The only cost at that point will be a roster spot, so good chance they do retain him just to spread the money out.

 

Makes it a little better, but I doubt we matched that. It'll be interesting to see what this does to the reliever market.

 

(We really should've claimed Brad Hand on waivers....)

 

I don't know why we didn't. Historically looking at elite relievers 4 and 13.5 isn't awful. Melancon got 4 and 62. 4 and 54 would seem like a bargain for Hendriks.

[z3r0s]

No way I'm in for an 18M RP.

[saskjayfan]

No way I'm in for an 18M RP.

 

He's being paid 13.5 mil not 18.

[Jimcanuck]

Rosenthal is out there

[BTS]

Seems silly on the face of it, but if we had structured Roark's deal as a 1 year 12 with a 12 mil buyout and option with the ability to pay him 1 mil per year for the next 12 I'd be paying him the 1 mil a year for the next 12 and reinvesting that money saved in a heart beat!

 

Yeah, you’re right that it’s not nothing.

 

I actually wonder what the team would do if they could spread Roark’s salary over like 5 years if they cut him.

[Abomination]

Seems silly on the face of it, but if we had structured Roark's deal as a 1 year 12 with a 12 mil buyout and option with the ability to pay him 1 mil per year for the next 12 I'd be paying him the 1 mil a year for the next 12 and reinvesting that money saved in a heart beat!

 

It's a slippery slope, especially if interest is owed on the deferred money. See one Bobby Bonilla.

[z3r0s]

No way I'm in for an 18M RP.

 

Not really how the MLBTR article reads. But I guess it depends how they are showing the weird buyout

[saskjayfan]

It's a slippery slope, especially if interest is owed on the deferred money. See one Bobby Bonilla.

 

It depends on how the contract is structured. Degrom had 13 to 15 mil a year of his deal deferred 15 years and I'm pretty sure there is no interest accruing on that money. Degrom will be earn 52.5 mil from ages 47 to 50..lol

[Ray]

I don't know why we didn't. Historically looking at elite relievers 4 and 13.5 isn't awful. Melancon got 4 and 62. 4 and 54 would seem like a bargain for Hendriks.

 

The example you used yourself should serve as a cautionary tale for giving relievers that much money. Melancon was paid $64M because he posted a 2.25 FIP and 213 ERA+ the 4 years leading up to the deal. After he got paid, he produced a 120 ERA+ and 3.18 FIP, which is good but hardly worth the contract and fairly replaceable. Unless you're posting elite numbers, that much money in a reliever isn't worth it. There's been maybe 2 relievers in recent years that got sizeable free agent deals that panned out. Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller (with the Yankees), and that's pretty much it. Go take a look at the top 10 highest paid relief pitchers and you'll find the vast majority of them aren't living up to their high priced contracts.

[RobinThicc]

Got the fourth year, good for him.

 

And really interesting way to handle that buyout if it happens.

[Jays24]

4/54 isn't crazy at all considering its only 1.5 million more than Roark is making for next year.

 

To get a major free agent, you have to toss in that extra year. This will apply to Springer, DJL, Bauer, etc.

[connorp]

It’d be nice to get a premium + RP in FA but Jays will never spend that kind of money. Much better chance of finding a RP out of a dumpster that’s really good any given year vs a position player or SP.

[z3r0s]

Yeah, MLBTR makes it sound like 54/3 then the option. Which would be 18 yearly then the weird option. But IDK

[Pendleton]

It’d be nice to get a premium + RP in FA but Jays will never spend that kind of money. Much better chance of finding a RP out of a dumpster that’s really good any given year vs a position player or SP.

 

Keon Kela comes to mind as a buy low reliever. Not listed as a top 50 FA, likely because he hasn't pitched much the past two seasons. Still only 27 and has a pretty good prior track record, late inning type stuff if healthy.

[Abomination]

4/54 isn't crazy at all considering its only 1.5 million more than Roark is making for next year.

 

To get a major free agent, you have to toss in that extra year. This will apply to Springer, DJL, Bauer, etc.

 

 

It kinda is, at least for one who is 32 with a limited track record of excellence.

[Ray]

It kinda is, at least for one who is 32 with a limited track record of excellence.

 

Yeah. They're not comparable at all. Roark is also making less than half the total value of Hendricks contract.

 

Roark basically has to eat up 150 innings on a league average basis to be worth it.

 

Hendriks has to produce like he did the last 1 and 1/3rd to be worth it (which he may, just the track record of free relievers actually doing that isn't great).

[saskjayfan]

It kinda is, at least for one who is 32 with a limited track record of excellence.

 

He's had a sub 3 FIP 5 of the last 7 years. League average FIP is 4.5. His other 2 years were 3.22 and 4.33. Even his one bad year wasn't hot garbage. The last 2 years he's had a FIP 1.14 and 1.87. 3 years and 30 was never going to get it done for Hendriks..lol