2021 MLB Season / 21-22 Offseason Thread

[gunnar hendershow]

The Correa deal has 2 opt outs and it's assumed that he'll take advantage of it after a season or two to get his big money deal elsewhere. Possibly (likely?) in Baltimore based on some rumors and his relationship with Mike Elias. Feel like there's some funny business going on since Correa recently switched agents and his old agent was entitled to part of the money from this contract, but not from any future ones.

[The Buscher]

Yeah I’d kept reading Baltimore had an offer out to Correa for like $300 million, if true it feels absurd to turn it down for any reason other than the agency thing.

By the time Correa’s on the market again, Baltimore will hopefully look like they’re finally headed in the right direction if Rutschmann comes up and looks good.

[gunnar hendershow]

4 minutes ago, CM Busch said:

Yeah I’d kept reading Baltimore had an offer out to Correa for like $300 million, if true it feels absurd to turn it down for any reason other than the agency thing.

By the time Correa’s on the market again, Baltimore will hopefully look like they’re finally headed in the right direction if Rutschmann comes up and looks good.

Yeah big difference between now and waiting a year or two is they can see how things start to pan out with the prospects. They're going to need to make some form of signings to strengthen other positions and Correa would fit that role, especially since by the time he's up for free agency again he'll be no older than 30.

Lot can change in a few years though, maybe another team decides he's their missing piece.

[The Buscher]

Trevor Story to the Red Sox.  6 years, $140 million.

[Toe]

I always make it a point to watch on spring training game each season. It's like a sign that we are finally getting out of winter. So I was delighted to watch the Jays beat up the Pirates yesterday, with Matt Chapman hitting a home run and looking good for the couple innings he played.

[The Buscher]

So the final contracts for the shortstop class that had been anticipated for a few years:

Lindor: 10 years, $341 million (extension signed last year, contract starts this year)
Seager: 10 years, $325 million
Semien: 7 years, $175 million, switched to 2B last year and now will do so permanently
Baez: 6 years, $140 million with an opt-out after 2
Story: 6 years, $140 million with an opt-out after 4
Correa: 3 years, $105.3 million with an opt-out after years 1 and 2

Correa, had he not had this double agency issue looming, probably would've wound up getting to the $300 million mark but as it is he'll likely head to the market again next year with possibly Bogaerts as the only competition at his position.

Mets at the moment look like they've fucked it with Lindor's deal. In fairness, every Mets fan was screaming their heads off about needing to lock him up last spring, myself included. We were all euphoric when they signed him. Nobody expected him to suck in 2021. Need to just hope he regains form this year because if last year was a sign of things to come for him this is gonna be possibly the worst contract of all-time.

[gunnar hendershow]

Baez might also get a very lucrative deal in 2 years time. Very interesting how these guys have timed it with Correa being able to pick his offseason and Baez having a chance in 2 years to cash in on for more money.

I would anticipate total earnings for those guys come in around what Lindor is making but without the flashy "10 years, $350 million" headline.

[gunnar hendershow]

Might just have to start watching more Mets games to cure my Buck Showalter withdrawal.

[The Buscher]

Buck is already a joy to listen to.  Luis Rojas was a nice guy but listening to him talk was astoundingly boring, every answer he gave sounded like it was rehearsed with the front office and he gave you little to no information.  Ditto for Mickey Callaway, well minus the nice guy part.

[The Buscher]

Well, a week later and Eric Adams not only sounds like he's not any closer to dropping the NYC private sector vaccine mandate, but the persistent questions on basketball and baseball have people thinking he might go the other direction and go out of his way to not make exemptions especially in light of how many people lost their jobs over the rule.

I've no sympathy for the unvaccinated and am all for doing what's best for the public but this particular rule is idiotic as it pertains to sports because unvaccinated athletes from the other team are allowed to play.  Plus CDC guidance from the very beginning was that risk of spread is lessened outdoors.

The two players to really keep an eye on - Judge and Nimmo.  Both heavily assumed to be unvaccinated and both would potentially lose out on free agency if their teams chose to dock them service time for days they have to be on the restricted list.  That should be reason enough for them to get the jab but who knows.  Judge would be a catastrophic loss for the Yanks.  Nimmo is hurt all the time so the Mets are used to playing without him but he really is their table setter and possibly the best pure hitter on the team.

There's a segment of Mets fans concerned that deGrom is unvaccinated but as far as I can tell that's entirely speculative based on him living in a very conservative part of Florida.  I certainly hope he's smarter than that, because if he's suddenly out for half a season again it kills my hopes for the year dead from the jump.

[gunnar hendershow]

If it's someone like deGrom he'd only miss a handful of starts and they'd adjust his pitching days so they fit in as many as possible on each road trip. Would still hurt though.

We'll see if some players decide to get vaccinated as it gets closer to Opening Day.

[The Buscher]

17 hours ago, damhausen said:

If it's someone like deGrom he'd only miss a handful of starts and they'd adjust his pitching days so they fit in as many as possible on each road trip. Would still hurt though.

Out of curiosity I looked at the schedule, if he started the first game if every road trip and he pitched every 5th day during the road trip, they'd get 24 starts out of him over the course of the season.  A net loss of about 8 starts from a normal season.  So he'd lose a quarter of his season vs. an everyday player who would use half.  But losing a quarter of the season from the best pitcher in baseball is still a big hit.

Also, under such a plan he'd presumably have to throw spring games during homestands to stay sharp and even then his starts won't always line up with his regular schedule, plus it would mess up everyone else's schedule too.  I really hope he's jabbed.

[The Buscher]

And now just like that, the mandate is being lifted for athletes tomorrow after all.

Well, that came out of nowhere.

The mandate is still in effect for everyone else though, which will doubtless result in the city being sued into the Stone Age.

[Toe]

Blue Jays rework bench trading Grichuk to Rockies for Tapia, Pinto (sportsnet.ca)

I love this for the Jays. Grichuk was the odd man out, and while Tapia will probably also struggle for game time in the outfield, he is left handed bat that the Jays have been missing. He also brings a bit of speed, which is another thing the Jays lack. 

Grichuk should get plenty of chances to play in Colorado, and his power should play well in Coors Field. He was also just too streaky for me.

[Gabriel]

22 hours ago, Toe said:

Blue Jays rework bench trading Grichuk to Rockies for Tapia, Pinto (sportsnet.ca)

I love this for the Jays. Grichuk was the odd man out, and while Tapia will probably also struggle for game time in the outfield, he is left handed bat that the Jays have been missing. He also brings a bit of speed, which is another thing the Jays lack. 

Grichuk should get plenty of chances to play in Colorado, and his power should play well in Coors Field. He was also just too streaky for me.

Grich is going to have a monster year in Colorado and belt a million dingers... but he wouldn't be doing that in Toronto. I loved having Grichuk on the team. Great guy, team player and above average as a defender. He was redundant though and didn't have the tools to be used consistently as a bench-option if he wasn't starting.

Tapia has power, but needs to get the ball off the ground more. The Jays will be able to help with that. His power will improve with Toronto, and I wouldn't be shocked if he hits more long-balls as a Jay than in Coors Field, just because of the coaching.

What he really brings though, is someone who can be reliable in the outfield and can start whenever needed... but he's got a multitude of tools that make him an attractive option to pinch-hit and pinch-run. He's going to get more playing time as a 4th outfielder than Grichuk would have (barring any major injuries). Tapia is also cheaper, which is never a bad thing when you need to be mindful of roster flexibility.

I think it's a great deal for both sides. I was sad to see Grichuk's name on the headline, but it's just a really good baseball trade.

[gunnar hendershow]

If anyone was curious on the current health of baseball look no further than a weekend series against the Yankees having discounted tickets. This was inconceivable even a few years ago and you expected the opposite as tickets would be more expensive for these games to fleece all the Yankee fans from the region hoping to see their team play without making a trip to the Bronx. Orioles got a lot of flack for basically giving the Yanks and Sox free home games since Oriole fans would just sit those out and get tickets at regular prices when the Twins or Rangers came to town. And now they're just trying whatever they can to get anyone to go to games.

https://www.mlb.com/orioles/tickets/offer

[The Buscher]

I don’t think I’ve ever planned a day around a Spring Training game before but I made the exception today as deGrom and Scherzer combined to pitch the entire game, and it did not disappoint.

[The Buscher]

Albert Pujols officially signs on with the Cardinals, 1 year deal.  Sets him up to retire along with Molina and Wainwright this year.

[gunnar hendershow]

That is a pretty neat thing and the team should be competitive this year to boot.

[GhostMachine]

On 27/03/2022 at 10:29, damhausen said:

If anyone was curious on the current health of baseball look no further than a weekend series against the Yankees having discounted tickets. This was inconceivable even a few years ago and you expected the opposite as tickets would be more expensive for these games to fleece all the Yankee fans from the region hoping to see their team play without making a trip to the Bronx. Orioles got a lot of flack for basically giving the Yanks and Sox free home games since Oriole fans would just sit those out and get tickets at regular prices when the Twins or Rangers came to town. And now they're just trying whatever they can to get anyone to go to games.

https://www.mlb.com/orioles/tickets/offer

That is very disturbing.