2018 MLB Spring Training Running Thread

So you want to do away with free agency?

 

In the case of the 90s Yankees, you are partially correct. They developed their core of players and made some trades. But they didn't really start going on their buying spree until the 2000s.

Looking at their 1998 lineup, Knoblauch was really the only guy that they got from a small-market team in a salary dump, and even then the Twins got Eric Milton and Cristian Guzman (who was blocked by Jetes). The O'Neill for Kelly trade wasn't too popular when it was made because Kelly was seen as a future star. Martinez was acquired for Russ Davis, who was also supposed to be a big star.

They had some veterans sprinkled in (Raines, Strawberry, Chili Davis before he got hurt), but they were low-cost filler.

Pitching-wise, Cone was really the only guy they bought, Wells came in a trade, and El Duque was signed. There was some spending there, but hardly major to think they bought themselves a pennant.

Even the Clemens trade next year was fairly even, with Wells and Homer Bush, who looked like he had some potential, being sent to Toronto.

Now, if you want to say the 2000s Yankees were spending like crazy to buy pennants (Giambi, A-Rod, Sabathia, etc.) have at it.

 

Guy, I've explained my position in the past many times and that has never been a part of it.

I do think MLB should have a salary floor at the first priority. I also think a hard salary cap would be beneficial, though MLB's system has improved.

Also, I think baseball fans should be able to acknowledge that the deck is stacked for certain franchises. It doesn't guarantee success, but they do have a built-in advantage. The Yankees are at the top of that list.

 

Even ARod wasn't free. Soriano was a great player at the time. If not for Mariano blowing the lead in the 9th, his HR off of Schilling would have won the WS and radically changed the perception of both of them.

 

During that entire run, the Yankees never lost a player they wanted to keep. They never had to make budget-based decisions. They could always keep everybody and keep on adding.

 

Soriano was a hyped prospect, but he was a cheap price to pay for A-Rod. He was a hacker with bad defense who got off to a hot start.

 

Good point. One can easily wonder how much history would have changed if A-Rod went to the Red Sox and Soriano stayed with the Yankees.

 

I don't know how people expect teams like the Royals, Indians, and Astros to compete with the recent Yankees juggernaut.

 

A hyped prospect? Go look at his last 2 years in NY, and remember that sabermetrics were just getting started and walks were still underappreciated. He was one of the best players in baseball. Not Arod, but who was?

 

The Astros are big-market now, remember? Happened sometime around mid-October 2017 IIRC.

 

And the Cubs, like the Mets, were small market during their "process."

 

Nobody said they can't, but keep beating on that strawman rather than make a useful contribution to the discussion.