MLB 2020/2021 Off-Season Thread

[Meacon Keaton]

Gross, JMar. Gross.

[The Buscher]

A-Rod and J-Lo break up.

I wish them well and all of that but all I can think at the moment is thank fucking god they didn't buy the Mets.

[Krabby]

7 hours ago, Buschie Lee said:

A-Rod and J-Lo break up.

I wish them well and all of that but all I can think at the moment is thank fucking god they didn't buy the Mets.

That's probably what broke them up!

[The Buscher]

Luis Guillorme just led off an inning by putting together an at-bat that had all the starters on the top step of the dugout going nuts over each foul ball.  Worked out a walk in 22 pitches.

Baseball is the best.

[The Buscher]

Carlos Carrasco out probably until the All Star Break with a torn hamstring.  Fucking hell.

[The Buscher]

Jack Leiter of Vanderbilt threw a 16 K no hitter today.  Very possibly the #1 pick in the draft and can’t see him falling outside of the top 3.

[Meacon Keaton]

He would've been a Top-10 pick out of high school, but every team knew he was determined to go to Vanderbilt, so no one took him until the Yankees in the mid-rounds. 

[The Buscher]

One week til Opening Day.  Which means the Mets have one week left to work out a Lindor extension.  Lindor remains adamant that he will not negotiate in-season.

Almost everybody assumed $300 million would be the bare minimum to keep him from free agency but his camp has supposedly been asking for considerably more.  I'm hoping this is one of those things where somebody blinks on March 31st, but reporters keep saying there's "no real movement" to a deal.  

Everyone in the fanbase wants him here for the long-haul.  Nobody wants to go into 2021 knowing this is basically a one-year window of contention with so many key players (Lindor, Conforto, Storman, Syndergaard) ready to hit the market.

But the base is split on how hard they should push to get it done.  Some people just want Cohen to make a statement and give him a blank check, whatever it takes.  Others feel if he's seriously asking for Mookie Betts money when there's a loaded shortstop free agent class on the horizon, you have to accept that he's a rental and let him try to get $350 million in that competitive a market.  Either you get him back next winter for cheaper or end up with another shortstop from the class.

[Gabriel]

Have the Mets even reached $300 million on their offer yet? The last thing I read said that Lindor had asked for "well north" of that point, but that the Mets initial offer was considerably lower as well.

I think this is a year where owners have more of the power than usual when it comes to negotiations. If the world doesn't return to normal and revenues don't return to where they were, is Lindor or any other star player going to be able to get that money they want?

It could be a waiting game. Owners holding off on re-signing guys, just in case the market ends up plummeting anyways.

I mean, who really wants to shell out hundreds of millions of dollars for a player that they could, conceivably, have for less in the off-season if things don't improve enough? If baseball isn't back to normal, the free agency period next year won't have a lot of teams willing to shell out big bucks.

[The Buscher]

The Mets were always said to be willing to go to $300 million+, my assumption is that they'd start below that and work up while Lindor would do the opposite and they'd meet in the middle around $300 million.

I know they don't want a contract that will be an albatross at the end but when you get to those kind of numbers it's kinda inevitable that you have to make it a 10+ year deal.  It doesn't matter if a guy is actually receiving most of his money up front when he's in his prime years, the AAV of the contract is what determines the yearly CBT hit.

Knowing Cano's terrible contract will be back on the books for 2 more years in 2022 and 2023 doesn't help.  I don't expect he'll actually be on the team but that's gonna be a big CBT hit regardless.  Right now the first year penalty for going over isn't bad at all but it could change with CBA negotiations.  I have a hard time imagining the penalties can be tightened that much because the union knows it will only serve to further depress salaries.

[gunnar hendershow]

 

[The Buscher]

With Texas opening up the vaccine to all adults as of today, the Astros are stopping in Houston on the way to Opening Day in Oakland, and they'll be the first team to undergo mass vaccination.

Of course there's people saying "is it a good idea to do this so close to the season?  some people have been getting sick"

Ignoring that healthy athletes are less likely to get sick, nobody should get any crap if they have to miss a day or two because they got the vaccine at some point during the season.  It's way more important than baseball.

[Meacon Keaton]

And depending on which vaccine they’re getting, if they get it today they should all feel back to normal by Thursday anyway.

[Maxx]

Wouldn’t want to have to play a sport the night of shot #2.  My arm had super limited range of motion 

[MalaCloudy Black]

Rizzo and his agent have ended talks with the Cubs, Rizzo saying he wants to focus on the season.

[The Buscher]

The latest from Mets camp is that they've made Lindor a 10 year, $325 million offer that is said to be their final offer.

Lindor's camp, however, reportedly is seeking a 12 year deal around $385-$400 million, which would surpass Betts as the 2nd highest deal ever.

If that asking price is true and no deal gets done, the fanbase is about to turn on Lindor in record time because it's just an absurd valuation and seems like the type of offer you throw out there when you already have decided you don't want to be there and have one foot out the door.

As it is though, wouldn't surprise me if this is all posturing to maybe get extra option years or incentives added.  Given the loaded shortstop market and CBA uncertainty I don't even know if these guys get $300 million, let alone his reported asking price.  Maybe he just takes the deal at the 11th hour.  Gonna be a nerve racking final 2 days.

[Mx. Canadian Destroyer]

I mean, that was always the risk with trading for Lindor, no. That is an insanely good offer but seeing as he's incredibly good and a member of the Player's Association, there was always very good odds he would head to free agency. 

[gunnar hendershow]

He might still come down to their number. The risk of injury has to weigh on him a bit. He'll get $325-350 in the open market unless he forgets how to hit or gets a terrible injury. But those risks are there.

[The Buscher]

He's very good but he's not the second best player in baseball.  It sounds as though Tatis' deal caused him to raise his ask, and while I understand everyone wants to be the highest paid at their position, he's five years older.  Saying no to $325 million or thereabouts would be probably the biggest "bet on yourself" move ever given the shortstop market he's going to be entering, and possibly ahead of a strike.

Just feels like 10/325 is a ton of common ground for both sides to just decide to walk away with nothing.  My hope is that he plans on taking the deal last minute if he has to but right now his team's trying to work the 11th/12th years into options or extra incentives.

[The Buscher]

Final day before Lindor's deadline and apparently nothing has changed.  Mets are still at 10/325, of note there is not even any deferred money in it like a lot of other teams do with their mega deals.  Lindor still wants 12/385 with no deferrals.  Reportedly neither side is willing to budge any further.

Making things worse is that Cleveland reporters are bringing up that when he was offered a $250 million extension, his agent signaled he wanted $325-$350 million.  Well he's at 325 now.  Maybe the 385 ask is an attempt to work it down to 350.  Maybe Lindor is trying to send a message by asking more of Cohen than other owners, even though I think Cohen would've already closed the deal by now if Sandy Alderson wasn't concerned with the draft/IFA penalties that come with repeat luxury tax offenders.

But unfortunately, that it's played out publicly like this means the media is having a field day and fans are going to resent him unless he plays like an MVP.  Assuming there's no last minute deal I think there will be dipshits booing him on Opening Day, because yeah that's totally gonna make him want to re-sign here in the winter.