jaysfan2014

And the Rays could be 5 games up in the AL East if NY and Baltimore lose tonight, as the A's are crushing the Orioles and the Astros lead the Yankees. Meanwhile, the rest of the AL East is struggling for the following reasons: Yankees (injuries, Paxton/Happ struggling, Chad Green with a 9 ERA) Orioles (dumpster fire of a bullpen--44 runs given up--starters aren't much better) Blue Jays (Can't hit!) Red Sox (SP is awful, hitting is mediocre, OF defense has regressed) With all of those problems, it's no surprise Tampa is curbstomping--now we have to wait and see how they play in their own division.

SO much for Pillar's slam--Giants pitched pissed it away as Bumgarner/Moronta proceed to blow the lead. Is it a wonder the Giants are 3-7?

Domingo Santana has 19 RBIs this season so far.. he has as many RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds have as a team right now.. Mariners offense is on a unbelievable pace--97 runs(so far) in only their 12th game this season. Only the Dodgers are closer--but much of that is Cody Bellinger + playing crappy pitching vs. the Rockies and D-Backs..

Chris Davis has the record for an 0-fer, but the Orioles blew out Oakland.. this team, while not great, is looking at least like a team that is trying to grind..

Royals bullpen is a dumpster fire--Mariners take the lead yet again. Scary to think they're going to be 10-2 if they win today.. I thought this team was supposed to be godawful!

Good to hear. Now we can use that roster spot for a player not limited to the DH spot.

Jacob DeGrom's extension, like many recent extensions for Trout, Arenado, Sale, etc. are showing the system is working--potential free agents are sticking with their current clubs rather than gamble on free agency, especially at a time teams are being more cautious on handing big money to free agents.

No idea--but he sure as hell couldn't find the plate.

My guess is even though this was probably in the works--Ken Giles imploding forced the Jays hand. Remember, Norris saved 28 games for the Cards last year (and 19 with the Angels in 2017)--closing is not foreign to him. What's your bet Giles is injured?

Bud Norris to the Blue Jays. Jays must've decided to sign him after Ken Giles imploded in today's outing.. And regarding Giles: 0.0 IP, 2H, 4ER, 3 BB.. either he's working on something or he's hiding an injury. Because that is ugly..

How greedy can you get? Bryce Harper's getting offered $300M+---and he won't take them! Boras must be still trying for $400M... give it up already and swallow your pride!

Clippard to the Indians on a minors deal ($1.75M if he makes the roster). He was good with Toronto(albeit with HR issues--13 of them)--yet he only gets a minor league deal with Cleveland!

White Sox out on Harper--basically, it's Giants or Phillies at this point.

Doubtful--it's Philly or Chicago (White Sox) for him, as the Dodgers and Yankees have both said they will not sign him due to money and his bad OF defense.

Romo probably chose the Marlins because he must like Florida, and his flyball tendencies are better suited for large ballparks like in Miami, instead of the AL East. Still lots of RP available, though..

Brett Anderson going back to the A's on a 1-year deal. Bet Jackson gets re-signed next. https://www.sfchronicle.com/athletics/article/A-s-have-an-agreement-with-lefty-Brett-13608788.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral

Big deal--he's likely gone from the Giants after this coming season, as he's a free agent.

Happy trails to AJ Ellis--he is going to the Padres org. as a special assistant to baseball ops.

As for why Edwin is still stuck in Seattle--no teams are really willing to pay for a declining 1B/DH type, and if Seattle thinks they're getting anything in return, forget it! At best, they're likely going to have to swap another bad contract in return (Morales?) and/or eat tons of cash to get a marginal propspect at best. Too many DH/1Bs are on the market.. and most of their values are basically non-existent. Mariners are basically stuck with him unless a major injury hits.

While on the topic of the Red Sox's bullpen: The reason Kimbrel isn't back in Boston is MONEY... the Red Sox, thanks to soaring arb costs and handing out contracts like candy in recent years, are paying the piper financially--as of right now according to Cot's, they are at $237,569,167 for CBT tax purposes, with just <$9M in flexibilty before they hit the maximum tax and lose 10 spots in the draft. Not to mention, ownership is also putting pressure on the Sox to keep payroll down.. John Henry has already said the team cannot add any more salary, as the team is losing money at current payroll levels--sure they make money, but taxes, revenue sharing, stadium costs, etc. wipe out a ton if not all of the profit. Same problem in New York--$220M in payroll and Steinbrenner's crying poor due to the team's high costs, similar to Boston--hence why Machado is not a Yankee. http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/25947832/hal-steinbrenner-says-yankees-made-right-moves Especially this notable quote: "With no discussion of our costs, that's always the problem," Steinbrenner said. "I hear everything about our revenues, I hear nothing about our cost. I hear nothing about the gargantuan debt service payment that we have to pay every year [on bonds that financed new Yankee Stadium], nothing about all of our stadium operations, all the security, not to mention player payroll, not to mention revenue sharing." Even the Dodgers are under the same pressure to keep payroll down as well as they have gigantic debt payments from the team being purchased by Guggenheim previously and jacking up the payroll so significantly, they're now having to cut down sharply to cover debt service and get out of the luxury tax, and save money for when guys like Seager and Bellinger hit arb, while keeping a sustainable pipeline of young players coming to keep this team competitive. Unfortunately, as known, the Dodgers still can't get over the hump.. they are in danger of becoming MLB's version of the Buffalo Bills--frequently in the World Series for several years, but never winning a ring. And they need to win in the next year or two, especially with Kershaw approaching the end of his prime. Part of this is the main reason why FA has been absolutely glacial this year.

Also note Betts will be part of that same FA crop after the 2020 season as well--and like Trout, he will be paid quite a lot. Both of those players are ones you give $35M+/year to, as both are 5-tool players and will at least age reasonably well, unlike Harper or Machado.

Other reasons the FA market is so slow: Dallas Keuchel--wants $175-$210M/6-7 years (seriously? No team is paying that kind of money to a declining pitcher whose stats are going the wrong way(more hits, less K/9IP)--and highly likely to become an albatross for whoever signs for that length, and is a mid-tier pitcher at this point in his career). Marwin Gonzalez--wanted $60M/4 years--it's just plain greed. He only made $5.125M last year--and his numbers last season don't support him getting that kind of money. Note: both are Boras clients. Craig Kimbrel: One of the best closers in baseball--yet is still unemployed. He needs to lower his demands on years--teams are seeing the issues with Kenley Jansen(heart, and showing signs of decline already at age 30), and Chapman (while still elite, his walk rate is soaring and he is increasingly having difficulty staying healthy), and of course, let's not forget when the Jays threw money at BJ Ryan in the 2005 offseason--that deal blew up in the Jays face, as Ryan had TJS in 2007, and was basically out of baseball by late 2009. The other problem is that Boston has no money to sign him without subtracting from the MLB roster through a trade (likely Rick Porcello, who's a FA after this season--but the lack of MLB ready depth in the Sox system for SP after the 5 of Sale/Price/Porcello/E-Rod/Eovaldi, assuming Wright, Velazquez and Johnson are in the bullpen, makes it difficult for the Red Sox to do anything..as the Sox farm system is barren of MLB ready starting pitching.

It's unbelievable Harper and Machado still aren't signed--with pitchers and catchers reporting this week, they still haven't signed. Give it up already--you two aren't getting $300M+/10 years. Teams don't want major albatrosses.. with Harper the biggest risk, as his OF defense is scaring teams, along with his danger of becoming a 3-true outcomes guy(walk, strikeout, HR)--even with his age, teams likely feel he's going to end up a DH/1B by his late 20s/early 30s, as his defense absolutely collapsed last season in CF and RF. After watching Chris Davis implode in Baltimore.. teams are trying to get Harper for as short a length as possible, closer to 3-5 years instead of 8-10..also, the Cubs and Yankees aren't in the mix, as they cannot afford him and/or have no space to play him. And the Dodgers won't touch him even after clearing out their OF glut--because they want to have space for younger guys, and already handed AJ Pollock a multi-year deal. As for Machado--it's just greed and concerns about hustle, along with his dirty play in the playoffs last year. He's more likely to get paid.. what is hurting him is that his preferred team, the Yankees, don't really want him for his terms.. he wants $300M+--Yanks only offered $220M/7-8 years. And now the deal's unlikely to happen as the Yankees already added Tulo and LeMaiheu, and are preferring to wait for Gregorius to return from TJS. More likely he'll end up in Philly, Chicago(White Sox) or San Diego.

Former Blue Jay Melky Cabrera signed minors deal with the Pirates.

We know Tampa and Oakland plan to use openers this season--any other teams? After its success last year with the Rays--it seems other teams are adapting.