glory

Probably Mets fans. It will take DJ LeMahieu five and a half years to reach the amount of money Bauer will get in 2. It will take Springer over 3 years, and that's with a front loaded contract + signing bonus. I know most MLB players want the long term security at a lower AAV, but Bauer's contract is great. It's NBA money.

I also have no issues with what Bauer did this winter. I've mentioned before, check out his stuff on YouTube plus the Momentum channel. Lots of informative stuff and he is giving other MLB players the platform they otherwise would not have. He's helping the sport. I also like that he didn't go the LeBron route (as Heyman thought he would) and just did a simple video because he's not on that level of celebrity. Overall he did a pretty good job. It will be interesting to see if other FA's in the future follow this format. I can understand why people find it annoying though. This is the social media age. It's only going to get more social media driven as the Gen Z's start to get older.

Wow. Great job by Luba/Bauer. 2/85 is game changing numbers.

Buehler, Bauer, Kershaw, Urias, May, Gonsolin, Price....damn.

I can appreciate Bauer trying to market himself and improve his “brand”, but yeah, he doesn’t have the star power for this approach to work as he expects it to. He also could have waited a week and not done this on Super Bowl weekend.

I like the fact that Bauer is looking at AAV instead of years. Too many MLB free agents just want the most total dollars, even it's spread out over 12 years or deferred. That's not a bad thing, but they don't seem to care as much about AAV. Bauer is not only betting on himself, with some cushion in the form of opt outs, but if that Mets offer is true, then in 2021-23 he'll be making about the same total dollars as Trout (who will get $111.35 million over that span). The risk obviously is injury and decline, and there's no guarantee he's getting another big contract after 2023 if either of those two things happen, but at least he'd be paid really well for whatever is left of his prime. Interesting way to go about free agency. I wonder if he would have went this route in a normal market where more teams would have been in on him and would have been willing to go longer. I guess we'll know next year if he gets that contract and opts out.

Rooting for the Mets to get him. Dodgers don't need him.

Bauer and Stroman need to be in the same clubhouse. Make it happen.

My guess is they will end up taking whoever bites on a one year deal. Odorizzi probably wants multi years. Paxton will likely take one year, but would he take a pillow contract in the AL East pitching home games in Dunedin? Walker might be the most realistic in that case.

After Hazel, none of them are ever going to try to break a story. Being cryptic will get views/engagement too, so probably safer for them to go that route.

Archer back with the Rays. One year, $6.5m. Poor Pirates.

If the roster stays as is, then how they use the DH spot will depend on how much they like Tellez because right now that's his only spot with Vlad at 1B. Against a LHP we will probably see Hernandez at DH and Grichuk in RF to get the better defensive lineup in there, but against righties I would imagine Tellez will get the bulk there unless they are not sold on his 2020 and will use him more situationally. Either way, I expect a lot of different lineups to be used in 2021.

The MLBPA was going to reject any offer MLB gave them, but that doesn't mean they don't believe what they are spewing. Expanded playoffs disproportionately helps owners over players. If they feel owners would lose motivation to spend if it became a lot easier to contend for a playoff spot, then they may not be wrong. Just to clarify, I personally don't care about either side. Both are unlikable and bad for the sport.

I don't necessarily disagree with that, it's part of the reason I was in favor of expanded playoffs, but it really comes down to how teams value those extra post season spots. If owners realize that they could be around .500 and contend for one of those spots, and it drives down their motivation to spend (because they don't have to), then it may not have the impact on fan engagement that it should have in theory. Maybe fans will be engaged to watch a 78-82 win team contend for a WC spot the first time, but if it happens consistently, then eventually it's going to be old hat and diminishing returns. I guess we will need to see a few years of sample size to determine whether expanded playoffs 1) increases regular season attendance due to more teams in contention, 2) increases regular season TV numbers, 3) gives more owners an incentive to try to improve their teams.

Yes, it means the normal rules apply (10 team playoffs, DH in the NL). Not sure about the extra inning rule, they might end up doing that anyway (they should). The players had incentive to agree to expanded playoffs in 2020 since it was a 60 game season and their salaries were prorated, so the expanded playoffs made sense financially for everyone involved, but Manfred can't unilaterally postpone the season like last year, so the players have the leverage. I've said before that I like the expanded playoffs, but I think I am changing my mind on that, especially after this winter when damn near 98% of owners sat on their asses and did nothing. Players are absolutely right; if you put more teams in, owners (who have historically found every way possible to depress player salaries) will have less incentive to spend money. It should help the sport if more high profile players are getting national spotlight during the playoffs, so that's one benefit of expanded play, but that's really it. With that said, keep the extra inning rule and put the DH in the NL.

Yeah that’s what so exciting about the current Jays. Spending in free agency on potentially high impact talent but not touching the prospect base. Much better chance to build a sustainable winner that way.

Arenado is getting an extra guaranteed year at $15m according to Heyman, in addition to the extra opt out after 2022. So he'll have about 7/214 left on his deal now with the extra year added, and the Rockies covering $50m. Cards basically get him for 7/164 if he doesn't opt out, from ages 30-36.

I'm indifferent to Walker, I can see why some want him back and some don't, but it's possible he's looking for more than a year at the moment or a higher AAV than they want to give him. Him and Matz project very similarly next season, and that's with Matz being tire fire last year and being in an org run by Brodie at the time (probably not as optimal for pitchers as the Jays org). They might circle back to Walker at some point either way. Still, as much as money helps the Jays, for one year pillow contracts to pitchers, that's not their strong point. For hitters it's different, hence why Semien might have found it attractive.

I can't imagine FA pitchers, especially those looking for a pillow contract, would view Toronto as a top destination for them. Unfortunately this SP market aside from less than a handful of guys is basically all guys looking at 1 year deals, which puts the Jays in a tough spot. If Ray didn't spend a month here he likely would have signed elsewhere as well. In hindsight, the 3/40 for Gausman, assuming every other major signing would have worked out the same (Springer, Semien, Yates) would have been great.

I can understand people being upset at getting Matz (he hasn't been good since 2016 and $5m isn't cheap for what he is) but I don't think we have to sweat any of the prospects sent to the Mets. Maybe one turns into a good RP or something, but it's a very minor package.

I think the Jays will probably start the season with a “traditional” rotation but gradually morph into what we saw last year as the season progresses. Hard to know how pitchers are going to react coming off throwing 40-60 innings rather than 150+. Stockpiling more depth is probably a good idea.

Yeah if the Jays add another SP it will either be a trade or re-signing Walker. I don't think they are getting Paxton or Odorizzi, but who knows.

SRF and Diaz were bubble 40 man roster players, and Winck isn't much of a prospect. The issue is Matz hasn't been good lately. Maybe they see something in him, or maybe they don't have that much left to spend, and found this to be cheaper/better than some of the FA options.

Sean Reid-Foley, Yennsy Diaz and Josh Winckowski. 40 man roster clean up from the looks of it.

Josh Winckowski is one of them.