2020-21 Baseball Offseason Thread

There are two problems with that point. One is that you don't really know what roster they would build around those guys. The other is that it implies that the history of selling off veterans without getting full value so they could cut salary has made it clear that in terms of talent, teams can always fleece the Pirates in trades.

 

I think it’s safe to say they wouldn’t be putting a bunch of high-salary All-Stars around those guys. That core of players and a bunch of average guys wouldn’t be good enough to compete for a title.

The big problem for the Pirates, as you point out, is they rarely get a good return on players of that caliber. They make no pretense that they will ever pay their guys, so they inevitably get pennies on the dollar, so to speak. Have they even ever gotten teams to engage in a bidding war for a guy like Cole to extract maximum value?

 

No, they haven't. They always seem to be too worried they will get stuck keeping the player and actually having to pay him for that season, so they cave and take pennies on the dollar.

To be fair, not every player on that list was making much money. Meadows wasn't. He hadn't even played a full season in the majors yet. The problem was they wanted an ace to replace Cole, but being the Pirates, it had to be someone who was on a relatively team-friendly deal. That led them to overplay (in talent) for Chris Archer, whose career trend was headed in the wrong direction. Predictably, he did little for the Pirates. He battled injuries and pitched poorly before the team declined his team option for 2021.

The margin of error is just so slim for every general manager of that team. Even when they do put something together, Nutting is sure to fuck it up.

 

Would anyone here pay more per year for Trevor Bauer than Gerrit Cole is earning from the Yankees? Steve Cohen would, apparently, according to Nightengale.

EDIT: they corrected to say it is near Cole’s record salary.
Trevor Bauer offered near record-setting deal from Mets

 

Bob Nightengale is always wrong. He’s a joke.

 

Sources: Phils keep Realmuto with 5-year deal

The Phillies kept J.T. Realmuto by paying him an average $23.1 million for the next five years, the highest average annual value ever for a catcher.

 

I wouldn’t touch Bauer at anything approaching $36M/year.

 

I would, but only for a one-year deal.

Speaking of which, doesn’t Bauer get punched in the dick if he signs a multi-year deal? That’s what he said a couple years ago....

 

The Tigers get a catcher. BTW, when Ramos was kidnapped a few years ago, Miguel Cabrera reportedly paid the ransom

Tigers nearing $2 million deal with veteran catcher Wilson Ramos

 

*Update!*

Ramos pulled his hamstring while signing the contract.

 

Yeah, we'll take that Sandberg kid too ...