Terminator

Shatkins is doing a good job but they can be hard to peg down sometimes. In the Happ deal we got controllable low ceiling types. Then we turn around and flip Diaz (another low ceiling type) for an actual pitching prospect. Why they didn't try to do that with Happ I'm not exactly sure but given how the FA market is treating 1 to 2.5 WAR players I think they got the Happ deal wrong and the Diaz deal right. We basically replaced Diaz with a similarly talented player for $5 million bucks and got a pitching prospect on top of it. But once we did the Diaz deal then we were basically stuck with relying on Tulo to be the starting SS. (We all thought it might be Gurriel but he's going to be a UT guy.) But how do you attract a starting SS for peanuts when you have Tulo on the team? It's hard to guarantee playing time with him there. Since he probably doesn't have much left in the tank they probably just said screw it and dumped him so it would open up a spot for someone more reliable. Because without Galvis we'd have a suspect starting SS in Gurriel and no depth. No we at least have a capable starter in Galvis, with some depth in Gurriel, before having to turn to the replacement level guys like Urena and Sogard.

Here's the overall quote: Martin was the other veteran on the team. I never got a douchey vibe from him though. Bautista was Bautista but he wasn't there last year so I wonder how much he played into those comments. Donaldson kind of seems like the prime suspect. I remember when he went on his "this isn't the try league, it's the get it done league" rant. Most fans loved it but as a teammate that's not something you exactly want to hear. Tulo is another prime suspect. Those two getting hurt and losing a bunch two years in a row is also going to affect how one views them as clubhouse leaders too. Regardless, it doesn't seem like it was an epic meltdown in leadership from anyone, just maybe some personalities butting heads a tad after two frustrating seasons.

I don't think Hicks did that bad. He's a late bloomer so he he likely had one chance to cash in and rather than banking on a big year and going for a 4 for 80 type of deal like Lorenzo Cain or something he took a discount to secure the big payday. If he got hurt this year or had a bad year he's looking at a 1 or 2 year deal. I think he's probably going to regress some anyway, he just had a monster year that I don't think he'll replicate again. And like MikeM said, if he signs a 5 year deal he probably doesn't get much in his age 34 and 35 seasons anyway. He projects to be not much better than replacement value in those years. If he tears it up from now until he's 35 (which I highly doubt) he probably only gives up 20 million or so? I think he did fine.

Lol Jays do him a favor by releasing him when they did and he spits in their face.

Agreed. Especially when guys like Dietrich, Avisail Garcia and Denard Span are all signing for peanuts. What's the point of McKinney? Same can be said for Drury too.

Buster Olney SUCKS

Pompey had a good game today. 2-3 with a jack and an OF assist.

Smith Jr. has poor foot speed. He's slower than the average major leaguer. Pompey is a lot faster and can play CF. Pompey isn't a world beater but if he makes it to the upper 1/3 of his projections or so he's a viable major leaguer. I'd like to see them give him a shot. I wish we could find a taker for Pillar. I read that the Giants had interest earlier this offseason and they could really use him. Their OF is pathetic.

Unless he just shits the bed this spring, I would give Pompey a chance. Even if everyone is healthy I'd still have him break with the big league team by optioning one of McKinney, Teoscar or Travis.

No idea. Iglesias is probably a little bit better.

He ended up getting some solid money after all. If everyone is healthy where does he gets the majority of his PT? They are paying him starter money.

I don't think it needs to be that dynamic of an overhaul. Start arb a year earlier, eliminate an extra year of control and rework service time to get rid of the manipulation somehow. They could also increase the floor. How much of this owners are willing to go for I'm not sure though.

Yeah but Kevin Millar would take a shot of Jack before Red Sox playoff games. The guy was a natural leader.

Sometimes veterans are the biggest *******s in baseball. I remember when AA would sign absolute toilet veterans to be the 25th man on the team because of their presents. In 2012 we actually wasted a roster spot on a cranky 45-year-old Omar Vizquel. That version of Vizquel probably couldn't crack the starting lineup of my beer league softball team but we wasted a roster spot and money on him anyway. He proceeded to bitch about the team the entire year and was generally viewed as a negative in the clubhouse. He also put up -1 WAR in 160 ABs.

The other veteran on the team LOVES the signing too. Good reporting here.

Here we go boys, Hosmer has weighed in on the Machado signing and word is he LOVES it.

That is a little weird. He's probably like a true talent 2 WAR player but has wildly varying results year to year for some reason.

He's just so ATHLETIC out there.

Sorry guys I didn't realize Opening Day was such a s*** show in TO. It's basically a national holiday in the US.

Here's Eric Hosmer bringing those veteran presents to the Pads' infield defense. You can tell he's really inspiring the young guys to play smart, veteran baseball. Well worth the $150 million. I also hear he's in the best shape of his life this spring and is primed to have a big season. Plus, there is no way Machado signs without another star in the fold. So in essence Hosmer started this Padre renaissance. He and Machado are going to add a lot of star power that San Diego simply hasn't had in the past and it's going to elevate the Padres play this season. The only question is can the young players handle the spotlight? With Eric Hosmer providing his veteran presents I think they can. Look at what he did in Kansas City. Watch out for San Diego.

I agree with this. Teams are swimming with cash right now. The main problem I have with it is that the last 3-4 years of the deal are going to be where this deal hurts the team. So the team needs to capitalize on years 1-6 of the deal in order to make it worth it. Well the Pads aren't immediate contenders so it shrinks the years in which this deal is actually going to help them. If the Jays were ready to contend I'd think it'd be a good idea to offer a similar deal for Harper. But they aren't so it doesn't make sense to pay top dollar for 2 years where we waste Harper's prime.

He might play 3B right out of the gate but when Tatis is up he definitely will.

This isn't an attack on you Bob, this is directed at the Padres. But this is one of the dumbest tropes in all of sports. Veteran presents.

Too bad for them that Hosmer is a waste.

They probably paid him the most.