harmony
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Everything posted by harmony
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For what it's worth, Steamer600, which assumes 600 plate appearances for each hitter, projects 2018 WAR of 2.4 for Todd Frazier, 1.8 for Lucas Duda and 1.3 for Logan Morrison: http://www.fangraphs.com/projections.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&type=steamer600&team=0&lg=all&players=0&sort=27%2cd ... although the wRC+ projections are 101 for Frazier, 115 for Duda and 107 for Morrison.
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ESPN columnist Buster Olney poses Cold Stove questions for the players union: http://www.espn.com/blog/buster-olney/insider/post/_/id/18152/olney-is-the-union-ready-for-a-spring-training-showdown
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A CBS Sportsline columnist suggests Todd Frazier for the Red Sox: https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/why-todd-frazier-a-possible-target-for-the-yankees-also-makes-sense-for-the-red-sox/
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For all we know J.D. Martinez may be far closer to signing today than he was a week ago. And, of course, at some point Martinez will sign ... I don't see him sitting out the season or even Opening Day.
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Teams probably don't see an "impasse in negotiations" knowing that J.D. Martinez will sign at some point.
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Should that cut both ways? While some fans get angry I suspect J.D. Martinez and Scott Boras are having cordial negotiations with several teams.
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Are you suggesting that Rafael Devers is free this offseason to sign with any of the 30 MLB teams? I raised the monopoly issue in the context of the vast majority of players who fail to reach six years of MLB service. I broached the possibility of making every player a free agent empowered to bargain with all 30 MLB organizations. When I graduated from college with a journalism degree 40+ years ago I was free to join any newspaper that would hire me (newspapers were still hiring back then:(). When I went into higher education I was free to accept the best of several offers. When I joined my current firm nearly 22 years ago I was free to leave for a better offer (which I did two years later for 11 months before deciding to return). Most professional baseball players lack that freedom to choose their employers in their chosen field.
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Because of its market dominance, Major League Baseball is a virtual monopoly that has been granted an exemption from antitrust laws. https://news.stanford.edu/2015/02/24/antitrust-baseball-court-022415/ The take-it-or-leave-it approach is a common tactic of a monopoly because competitors have been forced out of the market. I suspect Major League Baseball will lose its antitrust exemption if MLB employs noncompetitive practices.
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The rise of advanced metrics has coincided with the fall of albatross contracts. Two years ago seven players landed nine-figure contracts but a year ago only one player did.
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That's the option that the vast majority of players lack ... they cannot go to another employer in their field seeking a better offer. Over the past three seasons Mookie Betts has been paid roughly $2 million while posting 18.1 fWAR, valued at $146.3 million: http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=13611&position=OF#value To date Eduardo Rodriguez earned about $1.1 million while posting 5.0 fWAR, valued at $39.9 million. http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=13164&position=P#value That's what I mean when I write that non-free agents tend to be underpaid.
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http://www.spotrac.com/mlb/rankings/
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As every front office embraces advanced metrics, I suspect there is a general consensus on how much a free agent is worth. Teams don't want to pay the free agent a penny more than he is worth. But that ignores the fact that teams are permitted to underpay the vast majority of players who fall short of six years of MLB service. Should the owners have it both ways, underpaying most players while paying the free agent only what he is worth?
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Because the Collective Bargaining Agreement permits owners to underpay the vast majority of players, teams can be reasonably expected to overpay for the rare player reaches six years of MLB service. That's the price the owners pay for suppressing the salaries of most players. Why not do away with the draft and make each player a free agent regardless of years of service? Let the market determine how much each player is worth. That's the way employment works in many industries. The excess money that now goes to the rare player who reaches free agency could be redistributed among the less experienced players who are currently underpaid. At the same time, without a minimum salary, owners could fill out their rosters with players who are willing to fulfill childhood dreams for, say, $100,000 or less annually. Just a thought.
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Unlike most of us, the vast majority of professional baseball players are not free to choose their employers. The rare player who advances to the major leagues is typically limited to the league minimum salary for three years regardless of his contribution to a highly profitable enterprise. Even after the third year the player generally is not free to test the market until after the sixth year (a milestone few players reach). Many people in the world work harder than you or I work (or worked) but earn only a small fraction of our earnings. Does that make our earnings wrong?
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Last offseason Yoenis Cespedes was the only free agent to land a nine-contract after seven free agents landed nine-figure contracts the previous offseason. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2016-mlb-free-agent-tracker/sort_column-amount__sort_direction-0
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In yet another year of record revenues MLB payrolls may drop for the first time in years: https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/mlb-payroll-might-decrease-for-first-time-in-long-time/ It's not just J.D. Martinez who has been held up in the free agent market. Other free agents have suffered while owners artificially suppress the salaries of the vast, vast majority of players who never reach free agency.
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I suspect that none of us on this forum knows for sure what's going on.
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A reasonable slice of the expanding revenue pie?
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I hope the labor strife does not threaten the five Cactus League games I hope to see over three days early next month.
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I suspect J.D. Martinez is not signing a one-year contract. Luxury tax issues should arise down the road if the Red Sox want to extend Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley, Xander Bogaerts, Craig Kimbrel, Chris Sale and/or Drew Pomeranz. The big spenders are no longer limited to the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs. With revenue sharing a club with a current payroll less than half than the Boston payroll can afford big tickets.
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Many teams have money, openings in the outfield and no luxury tax concerns. The Red Sox are at a disadvantage on the last two factors.
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Perhaps other teams have exercised the appropriate discretion in confidential contract negotiations. Maybe other clubs aren't hounded by the media as much as the Red Sox are, which could help explain the dearth of leaks from other teams. Or not.
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Well done!
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ESPN columnist David Schoenfield on Thursday identified each team's "biggest remaining hole" and solution: http://www.espn.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/85233/the-biggest-remaining-hole-and-a-solution-for-almost-all-30-teams
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Should the typical American worker bee feel downtrodden despite earning exponentially higher wages than most of the world's population? http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-17512040 It's all relative.