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The Dodgers Will Regret The Rich Hill Deal: Yet Another Injury Prone Chucker In The Rotation
The Dodgers have spent over $300 MIL in back to back years, and are the clubhouse leaders in Luxury Tax penalties paid. At a 50% penalty, the Los Angeles forked out $40 MIL in Luxury Taxes in 2016. With an estimated $204 MIL payroll – considering there are several roster holes now created by departing players, the team will need to spend around $235 MIL in 2017 total payroll. With a 50% penalty – and an additional 45% hit for going $40 MIL over the new $195 MIL limit in 2017, I highly expect the organization will be less willing to spend 95 cents extra for every dollar spent beyond that. Because of the Rich Hill signing, it will make it tough to get back Justin Turner and land a Closer – without paying the maximum surcharges for payroll.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner)
Follow @stokes_Hunter21 @mlbreports
I don’t hide the fact that I have been a Dodgers fan for some time. I have continuously ripped the past and present management for signing players that are injury prone. For the last 4 years the Injury/Dead money the club has doled out has rivaled what some of the lowest payroll clubs on an annual basis.
So what do the brass do? They ink a guy, who is 37, and could barely toe the mound for a handful of starts due to a blister, to a 3 Year Deal worth $16 MIL per year. Didn’t they learn their lesson with the Scott Kazmir contract? How about Chad Billingsley, Josh Beckett, Brandon McCarthy, Hyun-jin Ryu, Brett Anderson or Bronson Arroyo?
This is not even taking into a factor all of the positional players and Relief Guys they have taken a powder on (hit the ground and dust flies up because of being knocked out). The Franchise ate $41 MIL in 2013, $37 MIL in salary for 2014, $86 MIL in 2015, and $71 MIL in 2016.
For those scoring at home, that is a whopping $233 MIL in lost cash since the beginning of 2013, which was the Guggenheim Consortium’s first full year at the helm.
When you factor in some more penalties for exceeding the Luxury Tax Threshold, the organization is well over the $250 MIL mark in 4 seasons. Now 2017 doesn’t look to be much different – with $47 MIL in dead money already on the board.
Carl Crawford ($21.9 MIL), Alex Guerrero ($7.5 MIL), Hector Olivera ($4.7 MIL), Matt Kemp ($3.7 MIL) and Jose Tabata (250K) are not even on the active roster anymore, yet they will see some serious coin paid out by the Dodger Blue.
The Dodgers are also paying guys $10 MIL to play in the Minor Leagues. Read the rest of this entry
Baseball’s Biggest “Get Out Of Jail Free Cards” For Financial Contracts Over The Last Few Years
Several players have either retired for various reasons, or have served suspensions in which their organization has received an unexpected benefit of salary relief for it in recent years. This will need to be addressed in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement to be forthcoming after this next season.
Hunter Stokes (MLB Reports Part _Owner – Chief Writer) Follow @stokes_hunter21
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Before I go into this fully, this is a bit different of an article than “Hoodini Acts” pulled by GM’s in getting out from under horrible contracts, such as the praise for former Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos fleecing the Angels to take Vernon Wells, and being lucky enough for the White Sox to claim Alex Rios.
Those moves paved the way for Toronto to sign Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion to replace those crappy deals with awesome ones, so there is a note of credit to AA.
The new CBA forthcoming should be addressing on how player contracts work towards team salaries when it is due for suspension or retirement. Last week’s sudden packing in the cleats from Adam LaRoche will actually benefit the White Sox with $13 MIL in salary relief.
It is not the 1st time a guy has retired during a contract, and it is the latest where a team may be drawing a sigh of relief.
It wasn’t even the 1st instance of the winter. Earlier this off year, Mets OF Michael Cuddyer retired with one year of service left on his deal. This move led the Mets to have a few extra dollars in their seat cushion to re-ink Yoenis Cespedes to a 1 Year $27.5 MIL deal
Cuddyer was still expensive for New York with a 1sr RD Draft pick forfeit, but at least he only cost the club $8.5 MIL on 1 season, as opposed to an additional $12.5 MIL this upcoming campaign.
If the Mets are still under contract with this guy it makes re-signing Cespedes a tougher deal. Not only cash wise, but it was also clogging up another spot on the Roster if New York had to keep the under-performing former Rockies and Twins player.
Instead, all of the fans wishes were granted when Cespedes came back to Flushing Meadows, and you can add the fact they also re-upped with Bartolo Colon for another year as yet another extension of the Cuddyer decision. Read the rest of this entry
Why It Is Time To Allow Marijuana In Baseball
Jordan Gluck (Part Owner/Featured Writer): Follow @jgluck777
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Why Its Time To Allow Marijuana In baseball
The Green Revolution has become a hot button topic recently constantly becoming one of the most recommended issues people have wanted national politicians including potential presidential nominees to talk about.
The issue is about to get really get on the hot stove as it could potentially be on the ballot in a dozen states and potentially pass in a couple of state legislators. Off those states include baseball hotbeds Arizona, Florida and California which not only all have major league teams but minor league affiliates as well.
As it currently stands players on a 40 man roster dont face penalties more than fines for smoking weed but players in the minor leagues (and for now D1 Colleges) face extreme penalties starting at 50 games.
Below is a quote I took from a Yahoo Sports article:
“Most stories about weed and baseball are rather funny.”
Like guys smoking their way onto the 40-man roster. Or the big leaguer who wrote a check for twice the size of his fine to cover the next one. Read the rest of this entry
The Dodgers Make The Right Move To Re-Sign Kendrick
The Dodgers may have overpaid to hold on to Brett Anderson with the Qualifying Offer, however lucked out with Howie Kendrick rejected the QO in November, only to sign for just $4.2 MIL for a 2nd year. The club was able to ink the 31-year-old to a 2 YR/$20 MIL – where the Qualifying Offer would have paid him $15.8 MIL for just 2016. That is luck for the Los Angeles franchise.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
The Dodgers are running pretty good today with the status quo on the offensive side of the ball anyway.
Since it was agreed on that Howie Kendrick would sign a 2 year deal for $20 MIL – this is an economic win.
1st off, the Dodgers avoided the $15.8 MIL Qualifying Offer they extended their 2015 2B, then only had to pad $4.2 MIL to the total for a 2nd season.
This is a loss financially for Kendrick, who must have thought a multi-year offer of 3 – 4 campaigns must have been out there for the same kind of money that Daniel Murphy signed for (3 years at $12 MIL per AAV).
Howie Kendrick was unfortunately in the same market as Daniel Murphy and also lost another club that could have bid for his services, when the New York Mets traded for Neil Walker. Kendrick is a .293 Career Hitter, but doesn’t really have great power for Extra Base Hits. This brought down his value a little. He is till a great professional hitter. I am surprised the Angels didn’t come calling for his services – considering the lower AAV.
Not only did the Dodgers brass finally reel in their Starting Second Baseman, they were able to add Chase Utley as a backup/quality bench hitter for $7 MIL. If you combined Kendrick and Utley salaries, it is just $1.2 MIL over what would have happened had Kendrick accepted the QO.
Love Kendrick as a professional hitter. The man is a .293/.333/.423 career hitter – and his 2015 season closely resembled this at .295/.336/.409 in 2015 for the Dodger Blue.
It shows that the Dodgers management/ownership is also willing to fork out the necessary dollars to keep up their NL West Division prowess.
As the 3 time defending Division Champs, they are in prime position to challenge the Giants for a 4th year in a row in 2016.
This contract vaults the Dodgers up to around $245 MIL in total team salary in 2016, yet it was a necessary move.
Los Angeles is also staring at a 50% penalty for going over the Luxury Tax Threshold for a 4th straight year. They will pay around $28 MIL with cash situated as it is now.
For the fans that wanted the organization to dole up for the bigger Free Agents, it is hard to fathom paying that 50% penalty for years upon years at the present rate.
This approach has had the super management team of Andrew Friedman, Farhan Zaidi, Josh Byrnes and newly appointed Alex Anthopoulos under heavy scrutiny, but may work out better in the long run.
Had the club inked Zack Greinke to his $34.42 MIL AAV, that would have put them so far in committed $ over the Luxury Tax, that they would never be able to get under for a reset.
With the 2016 season concluding without a CBA after, it is also wise not to be so far over the Luxury Tax mark when they don’t know what the new deal between the MLBPA and the owners will look like.
2017 has them over $203 MIL in contracts guaranteed to 12 guys already, but 8 players will become Free Agents after the 2016 season, and after 2017’s end comes the best news for Dodger fans. Andre Ethier and Carl Crawford will finally be off the books!
The Dodgers have a ton of young talent coming into the fold here. Joc Pederson, Yasiel Puig, Corey Seager, Clayton Kershaw and Kenta Maeda are under team control for a long period of time here. You still have Julio Urias just coming up to the Major Leagues for service time as well.
The Infield is definitely going to be clogged up with Utley, Enrique Hernandez and Alex Guerrero on the depth chart. Guerrero is out of options and will need to be kept on the Major League Roster (or be released, waived or DFA’d).
Of course Justin Turner is listed as the Starter at 3B for now. Micah Johnson and Utley may join Hernandez as guys that could spell him at the hot corner.
Guerrero could also play the OF, but I am sure that Dave Roberts would love to use Scott Van Slyke as 1st on the taxi squad.
Los Angeles has also strengthened its bench with this move. The one thing they could still use it Relief help. That may be obtained by signing more Free Agents, or perhaps this may clear the deck for another trade to happen.
The Dodgers were 10th in the NL during 2015 – with a .250 Batting Average, and losing a .293 hitter last year would have been tough for this years lineup.
With Corey Seager for a full year, and a return to prominence for Yasiel Puig, this squad could really put up some runs and improve all facets of the offense.
While the club wasn’t so great at Batting Average, they were 3rd in the Senior Circuit in Slugging Percentage at .413.
One has to also think that Chase Utley will be a lot better in reserve role – compared to his .202/.291/.363 3 Slash Line with the team last year. I would say he could be 80% like his worst year (prior to 2015), where he hit .259/.344/.425 in 2012.
For the record, baseballreference.com has Utley hitting .247/.315/.398 in 2016. I am sure the club would take that.
Whether the implementation of a lot of players on the roster – as opposed to having a limited bench and depth if they would have signed Greinke projects well to the upcoming season is yet to be determined. 4
No doubt they are not as strong in the Rotation at the top. But perhaps the addition of Scott Kazmir, the return of Hyun-jin Ryu, Alex Wood for a full year, and a surprise comeback from Brandon McCarthy could pick up the slack.
Signing Kendrick was the right move all day long. This is one less position with the team having questions for.
The fans are seeing a different management philosophy with the new brass under the tutelage of Andrew Friedman. They are taking a big long term picture look. Even though they wasted $90 MIL in dead money last year with questionable decisions, they are trying to clear the deck for many years in the future, by dropping the heavy amount of committed dollars. With a new CBA forthcoming, who knows what the new Luxury Tax Threshold will be. At least by keeping the new contracts to smaller years and figures, Los Angeles may be able to drop underneath the limit in 2018 – 2020. Right near they are at a 50% penalty for every season they are over the Luxury Tax ($189 MIL) until they get under.
*** The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of mlbreports.com and their other partners.***
A big thanks goes out to our ‘Chief Writer/Part Owner’ Hunter Stokes for preparing today’s featured post.
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David Oritz Is Retiring After 2016: It Is A Perfect Time To Eliminate The DH!
David Ortiz has been the quintessential DH in the AL over the last 15 years. Boston is in contention perennially because he put up great #s compared to his competition. Realistically, only he and a few other players are even at the All-Star level, and if given the choice if there were no DH slot in the game, I guarantee you their teams would brave their physical deficiencies – in order to keep their bat in the lineup. The AL has had the Designated Hitter Position since the start of the 1973 season. But that was before Free Agency where the American League has an advantage for signing top guys because of the DH slot, and then there were no Interleague Games, where the AL has a 12 year winning streak, and is routinely posting over a .540 Win Percentage against.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Onwer) Follow @stokes_hunter21
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David Ortiz has announced he is retiring after the next season. Thus ends the greatest Left Handed DH of ALL-Time, (sorry Harold Baines).
The Designated Hitter Position has been taking a hit for effectiveness more and more over the last several years, and more teams than not use it as a rest for veterans.
Listed on MLB.com, only 5 DH’s qualified for the Batting Title race in 2015.
Billy Butler had a crappy year.
David Ortiz started slowly being hampered by the new foot in the box rule, before settling in to a 37 HRs and 108 RBI campaign – with a .913 OPS. Read the rest of this entry
Kris Bryant Can Only Look To Himself Why He May Not Be On The Opening Day Roster
Kris Bryant is about as sure of a prospect there has been in the last 5 years. Will the Cubs let him start the year in 2015, or will they send him down until the middle of April to save service time?. The young slugger had 43 HRs in the Minor League’s last year – and has also smacked 6 big fly’s in Spring Training so far. But there are things to suggest that starting him off in the Minors is not such a bad idea. The 23 Year Old is not the slickest fielder, has already experienced shoulder fatigue, and the team will play its 1st 9 games in cold weather too. (Hosting 6 games at home, and playing the other 3 in Coors Field.) But really. he might have sealed his fate for the opener by having Scott Boras as his agent.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer) Follow @stokes_hunter21
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So the talks continue to mount on the Kris Bryant Opening Day watch. With each passing day he hits a HR, or shows himself ready for the big leagues, the question will become even more serious. But if he is ultimately not pulled up to Wrigley Field on Sunday Apr.5th vs Division Rival Cards, he has no one to blame by himself.
By having Scott Boras as his Agent, it has pretty much implanted in the Cubs brass, that the prize prospect will never sign an extension, and when his service time has him approaching Free Agency, he will indeed hit the open market and look for the top bidder.
I don’t even blame Boras for this. He is a phenomenal representative of his players, and always seems to get the max dollar for the highest percentage of the time compared to other agents.
Perhaps it will serve as a deterrent to future awesome young studs, that Boras has been sticking it to team owners for years. Maybe they should opt for a different agent, as this man has shown his playing cards on too many occasions. The executives all know Boras will lead his client to the open market.
Even having said this, if the man was not under the direction of the Boras Corporation, the Cubs should not start the clock on him anyway. The talk of the Cubs contending in 2015 is much over-hyped in my view. Read the rest of this entry
Dodgers Brass’ Is Brutalizing The 2015 Payroll ($267 MIL) With Dead Money + Injury Plagued Chuckers!
Since Andrew Friedman has taken over, he has shown a blatant disregard for payroll, by cutting pitchers that had guaranteed deals, while doling out cash to often injured chuckers, or players that have limited success on their resume. The LA NL franchise is nearing $267 MIL for 2015 patyroll and are in the 3rd year of the Luxury Tax Penalty (40%). The franchise located at Chavez Ravine, are looking at a $30 MIL stipend to pay the MLB for that very infraction. Next year(9nd every year after till they drop under the Threshold once, they will rise to a 50% penalty/) One certainly has to question their last 5 or 6 moves in accordance with payroll. The Dodgers better hope that the forthcoming CBA doesn’t throw the hammer down on high salary teams over the Luxury Tax – when the new deal with the MLB and MLBPA is put into place before the 2017 season.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer): Follow @stokes_hunter21
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What the hell is Andrew Friedman doing? Lets just eat the contracts on Brian Wilson and maybe Brandon League, while paying the freight on Dan Haren’s 2015 salary ($10 MIL) to play for the Marlins, and also forking out money to Brett Anderson, Brandon Beachy and also coming to a theater near you soon. If that weren’t enough, they have signed perennially injured/malcontent guys in Erik Bedard and Dustin McGowan on Minor League deals.
The club will also digest half (or more) of Andre Ethier‘s remaining deal (3 YRs, $56 MIL) if another franchise will take them off of their hands. Yes that was not the current front office’s deal, however the throwing away of money is still directly tied to their decisions now.
Pretty soon the entire total for the dead money in the Dodgers team salary will rival the contract marks of the Tampa Bay Rays and Oakland A’s if this trend persists.
The Los Angeles payroll was supposed to be reigned in – and not jumping to an ALL – Time record.
Even with losing the albatross contract of Matt Kemp, the Dodgers are sitting at nearly $266 MIL in projected team payroll. Let’s add a 40% penalty for being a 3rd time offender to the mix, and you can kiss another $30 MIL out the door at Chavez Ravine. Maybe the club should hope for a Zack Greinke opt out.
For a Full Player Breakdown off all Salaries in 2015 – and going forward click here .
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If ‘Cash’ Was Handled Right – The Yankees Could Get 2015 Payroll Under The Luxury Tax This Year
A few years ago, the Yankees were trying to get under the Luxury Tax Threshold just a few years ago, before they dished out $175 MIL over 7 years to Masahiro Tanaka. Despite that, the club could have opted to get under last July by trading Kuroda, Suzuki and Gardner near the Deadline, instead of going for an ill-advised run at the playoffs. At an estimated $211 MIL team salary so far, there are options to drop the mark under the limit yet again if the club struggles. Should they not take advantage this time, they are completely dumb beyond recognition.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer): Follow @stokes_hunter21
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Losing out on Yoan Moncada Sweepstakes
The Yankees fans let out a collective groan. but the cost of Yoan Moncada would be even more money than his $31.5 MIL signing bonus – and additional $31.5 MIL penalty. How about tacking on another $15.75 MIL for part of their $50% Luxury Tax Penalty?
I agree with the Yankees not wanting to shell out nearly $80 MIL for an unproven teenager. There are a numerous of examples of can’t miss prospects that won’t pan out.
The Yankees are estimated to have a payroll of near $221 MIL. But the actual AAV is a little higher with the length of term bringing up the overall mark. Alex Rodriguez makes $21 MIL in 2015, but he 10 year pact, was for an AAV of $27.5 MIL overall, so that is the number that brings up the clip.
If the Yankees are on pace to have spent $215 MIL in 2015, so by July, that means they would have put out about $105 MIL at the ALL-Star Break. This gives about $84 MIL worth of room, but you must take off around $27 MIL to fall under the limit.
For a Year to Year Breakdown For all of the Yankees players please visit here.
Stanton’s Deal Will Set Off A Collective Groan For Small To Mid Market Clubs
Giancarlo Stanton’s new 13 Year Deal worth $325 MIL has got to be a red flag for other small to mid market franchises who are looking to extend their own talent. Everything is a cumulative effect on another when a deal like this goes down. Many teams are going to be asked to grant contracts of more than 10 plus years, and for ridiculous sums of money.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer): Follow @stokes_hunter21
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Giancarlo Stanton signing his whopper of a deal has to be shaking the foundation of all but the many low to mid level market’s boots. He just raised the bar on what young franchise players will make in terms of years and dollars, Not good.
Arizona you better thank the lord you inked Paul Goldschmidt before he took off in his career,. The same can be said for Andrew McCutchen in Pittsburgh and Chris Sale in Chicago. All among the better valued deals in the game right now.
These 3 would all enter in the top 25 contracts of ALL – Time if they were Free Agents on the open market presently…. Meaning at least $135 MIL for a deal in the 6 to 7 year window. Read the rest of this entry
The Evil Empire Is About To Crumble In The Bronx!
With almost $100 MIL tied up in contracts for Sabathia, A-Rod, Teixeira and a potential Tommy John Surgery candidate in Masahiro Tanaka, this New York squad is in some deep trouble for next season. Despite the recent playoff misses, and injury prone players brought in by Brian Cashman, the club saw fit to grant him a 3 year extension last month. It may take a small miracle for them to make a playoff spot next campaign.
The Evil Empire Is About To Crumble In The Bronx!
Jordan Gluck (Featured Writer): Follow @jgluck777
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The Yankees have long used the prolong success of the “core four” to drive them to go far in the playoffs. They then surrounded them by free agents and other homegrown players.
Today the Yankees are in some trouble and if they aren’t smart this offseason they will remain hampered by large contracts for a long time instead of a quick retool to be VERY competitive in two years.
Let me show you what I’m talking about
Here is their Starting lineup and their ages:
LF Brett Gardner 31
3B/2B Martin Prado 31
CF Jacoby Ellsbury 31
C Brian McCann 30
RF Carlos Beltran 37
1B Mark Teixeira 34
DH Alex Rodriguez 39
2B Robert Refsnyder 23 (Or acquisition at 3B, Prado plays 2B)
SS Brendan Ryan 32
Not exactly Spring chickens over there. The only player under 30 is one that will almost absolutely be replaced by someone who is most likely over 30. This at this moment isn’t exactly a star studded lineup, but the way that their being paid might make it seem that way. Read the rest of this entry
As Of Right Now – The Yankees Are A Mess For 2015: End Of The Year ‘State Of The Union’
With almost $100 MIL tied up in contracts for Sabathia, A-Rod, Teixeira and a potential Tommy John Surgery candidate in Masahiro Tanaka, this New York squad is in some deep trouble for next season. Despite the recent playoff misses, and injury prone players brought in by Brian Cashman, the club saw fit to grant him a 3 year extension last week
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer): Follow @stokes_hunter21
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Let me get this straight…The ‘Bronx Bombers’ have missed the playoff for 2 years straight and no one has lost their jobs? Man how times have changed in Yankees land.
If George Steinbrenner were alive still right now, the twitter and social media world would be trending his name for all of October.
Since when is it acceptable to miss the playoffs, underachieve and spend to the best payroll in the American League?
Firing Kevin Long is not going to solve the hit crisis the club has.
Before any of you throw daggers at our site, we have had this stance for a couple of years now.
The 1st mistake was to not get under the Luxury Tax Threshold this season. That was soon followed by inking Brett Gardner to a 4 Year Deal, when you have such a similar player in the Outfield like Jacoby Ellsbury. Read the rest of this entry
The Royals Or O’s Winning The Title Would Be Good And Bad: MLB Payrolls Part 2
Kauffman Stadium was newly renovated about 5 years ago. It is a nice visual display of a ballpark, however it is far being in the top venues in the Majors for earning money. The Royals fans saw the club struggle to finally end a 3 decade long playoff drought this year. It is imperative that the MLB work with ‘cost control’ in the upcoming ‘Collective Bargaining Agreement. Both KC and Baltimore had to endure lengthy stints of losing campaigns, before compiling enough top-level draft picks to compete in their respective divisions. Hopefully other small to mid market teams will not have to be bad for that amount of time in the future to obtain success finally.
Yesterday I addressed the Dodgers potentially winning the World Series in the next few years while bringing more attention to the inequities of the big and small market clubs.
Even with LAD losing today and being eliminated, it doesn’t change the fact they will be playoff contenders for years to come based on their talent level, and super imposed revenue stream to outspend every team in the National League.
I identified the last several lower revenue teams that have had success, and pointed out that it took them big stretches of poor campaigns in order to collect on some good.
This is the biggest reason why baseball needs to adopt a salary cap – in order to leveling off the field.
Kansas City and Baltimore are perfect examples of this. The narrative is great here Franchises that haven’t appeared in the Fall Classic since 1985 and 1983 respectively, when both organization won their last Titles.
The Royals 29 years since that has been tough to stomach. The later George Brett years, the core from the championship had aged or moved on by the time he hung up the cleats.
After the 1994 strike/1995 lockout, the Royals found themselves at the bottom of the division for years. Read the rest of this entry
Stop Praising The Yankees For 2014! + Someone Should Be Held Accountable For This Disaster!
The Yankees can’t stop themselves from spending!! A self-imposed cap of under $189 MIL was shot when injuries began to mount. The club should have packed it in for the year, traded veterans near the deadline, with nothing but a hope and a prayer to make the playoffs. Now because they couldn’t fall under the Salary Tax Threshold, it will take a miracle to reach underneath this mark before the 2016 CBA. Welcome to financial hell Yanks, and your team is old – and have no Starting Pitcher’s likely above the #5 slot to begin the 2015 season currently on your 40 man roster under contract, and your payroll is already nearing $175 MIL on just 17 players as it is. Despite all of this, the Yankees are set to offer Cashman an extension? Are they for real?
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer): Follow @stokes_hunter21
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I am sick and tired of hearing all this praise being bestowed on Brian Cashman for the job he is done.
I will not lump Joe Girardi into this conversation, Heck, he has done a great job manipulating the roster he has been given. With the amount of injuries (which happens to old players – hello!) the Yanks are lucky they are not cellar dwelling with the Red Sox.
Back near the Trade Deadline, Chuck Booth explained the “Pinstripers” were foolish to not take advantage of a seller’s market, giving them the ability to deal some veterans – in order to get under the $189 MIL Luxury Tax Threshold. They were 47 – 47 at the ALL – Star Break. Read the rest of this entry
AL Wins Interleague Season Series For The 11th Straight Year Over NL!
After 7 years of Interleague, the AL trailed the season series 4 – 3, and the overall games mark 853 – 833 (.506). Since 2004 it has been 11- years straight of AL beatdowns, winning each campaign for Won – Loss record.
The American League won the season series from the National League for the 11th straight year Thursday night.
By virtue of the Orioles sweeping the Reds in a 3 game Interleague series, it netted the AL a 151 – 128 lead on the campaign, and guarantees the Junior Circuit of a winning year on a 300 game series.
The last time the NL won the season series was in 2003.
This is bad news for those fans looking for an alternative of “home field advantage” in the World Series based on AL vs NL for a year by year basis. Once again, that honor should go to the team with the best record – and not the winners of the “Midsummer Classic”.
For a brief period in 2014, the NL held a 26 – 17 advantage in May, however have gone 102 – 134 since that day.
The AL’s dominance is also showing up in the runs scored department, with them featuring a Run Differential of +93 (1212 – 1119).
This weekend’s 3 game set of games between the Giants and Tigers is a 2012 World Series rematch, and may just seal the fate for the two teams, as both are fighting for playoff berths. Read the rest of this entry
Beane Acquires Lester + Gomes For Cespedes: Then Acquires Fuld For Millone
Jon Lester, 30, is in the last year of his contract, which will make him around $4 MIL for the last 2 months of the 2014 season. While there is no way he signs with Oakland past this campaign, this is a calculated move to land a playoff assassin that can front a franchise a #1 starter for a playoff series – or as the pitcher in a Play in Wild Card game should the Angels run the A’s down for the AL West. Much like Samardzija, the Athletics brass knows these guys could never be acquired via Free Agency, and have the wherewithal to know that inking longterm aces to deals past the age of 30 is just not in the cards for the franchise. The A’s were put in the position to rent them because of Beane’s nice deals to build the organization’s depth. Lester features a 2.11 ERA in 76.2 IP worth of work in the Post season lifetime. Lester is 10 – 7, with a 2.52 ERA in 143.2 IP this season in 21 Game Starts.
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
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Billy Beane has been adamant about his team winning the World Series in 2014, and he fired yet another salvo on the July 31st deadline.
The A’s GM acquired Jon Lester and Jonny Gomes for the popular Cuban OF Yoenis Cespedes.
Lets have the finances out of the way 1st.
Jon Lester, 30, is in the last year of his contract, and will be a Free Agent after this year.
There is no shot at the man signing with the Athletics after this year. however the A’s will receive a compensatory pick for giving him a qualifying offer following 2014.
The LHP wll make approximately $4 MIL the rest of the season.
Yoenis Cespedes, 28, is signed through the 2015 at $10.5 MIL per year the next 2 seasons, and will become a Free Agent after next year.
As per the article 20B section of the CBA, he negotiated that he would be free and clear once his original 4 YRs/$36 MIL deal with the A’s was completed – prior to the 2012 campaign.
The 2013 and 2014 HR Derby winner will make just south of $3.3 MIL for the rest of this year.
Jonny Gomes 33, will make about $1.5 MIL for the duration of the 2014 year, and will become a Free Agent this winter. Read the rest of this entry
Current 2014 MLB Team Payrolls: Trade Deadline Manuevering
Clayton Kershaw is the highest paid player on the highest payroll of the Majors with the Dodgers. Los Angeles is currently sitting at nearly $240 MIL for total team payroll, and will enter the 2nd year of their Luxury Tax Threshold Penalty, where they will pay a 30% surcharge on any monies spent over $189 MIL. As it stands right now, the club will pay somewhere north of $15 MIL this year. If the Dodgers are in penalty again for 2015, they will pa 40% of any cash over the Threshold. Abusers of the tax for 4 years and beyond pay $50%. With their payroll this year, it would cost Los Angeles over $25 MIL if they were at that limit.
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
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2014 Team Salaries Rank (In Millions)
1. LAD – $239.8 ( 2nd time abuser – Luxury Tax Penalty at 30% over $189 MIL = $15.24 MIL to be added at the end of the year.) (1st in NLW)
2. NYY – $200.0 ( 4 or more time abuser – Tax Penalty at 50% over $189 MIL for an additional $5.5 MIL to be added at end of the year.) (1st In ALE)
3. PHI – $177.4 (1st in NLE)
4. DET – $163.0 MIL (1st in ALC)
5. BOS – $157.9 (2nd in ALE)
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MLB Teams Pitching Payroll vs Positional Players Payroll In 2014
The Dodgers are the new kings of spending money on payroll in the MLB. They already spend the most money their Pitching Staff, are the only team well over the $200 MIL mark, and are also creeping up on the New York Yankees for position player spending. With the Bronx Bombers not in a playoff spot currently, the Dodgers may pass the Pinstripers by adding salary to their lineup, or by New York deciding to trade a few players from their position lineup.
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
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The LA Dodgers have 5 quality Starting Pitchers, and a bevy of former Closers in their Relief Core.
The boys who play their home games at Chavez Ravine, would fit into the top half of entire team payrolls for the majors with each of their pitching and offense separately.
If the Yankees trade 1 or 2 hitters before the Deadline, or the Dodgers add an offense player to their depth, they will hold the #1 spot in both distinctions.
New York, Detroit, Philadelphia, Washington, Boston and both of the Los Angeles franchises are in the top 10 in each. Read the rest of this entry
What Masahiro Tanaka’s Injury Means For The Yankees In 2014 + 2015
With Masahiro Tanaka out for at least 6 weeks with a UCL tear, the Yankees are dealing with 4/5ths of their opening day rotation now on the DL – and their 5th starter (Kuroda) having struggled in the 2nd half of 2013. The club is barely at .500, and must realize there is an opportunity to reset the 50% Luxury Tax Threshold to 0, by slashing some payroll via trades in the next 3 weeks. The worst thing this organization could do would try to salvage this year, like they did in 2013, by adding payroll, flipping prospects, for an ill-advised playoff run that the odds are stacked up against.
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
I have talked at length about the Yankees precarious position of defining whether or not they are contenders or not, and whether they should seek selling off some assets, to fall below the $189 MIL Luxury Tax Threshold – or if the franchise should run at a postseason berth in Derek Jeter‘s last season.
Seeing that Masahiro Tanaka will be out for at least 6 weeks with a partially torn UCL on his pitching arm, and possibly be out with Tommy John Surgery afterwards, this season outlook is becoming bleak.
Even with the Japanese superstar throwing at a premium level, the club would have a longshot chance to make the playoffs – and do some damage. Read the rest of this entry
ATR (Ask The Reports) Returns For One Day Here: June 25th, 2014
Home Of Sully Baseball + #WOB, #SullyMetrics, Baseball Analysis (Audio + Written, Roster Trees, Salaries, Org. Depth Charts, Historical Series for All 30 Clubs + State Of The Unions + Wicked Daily Content,) + tyhe best coverage on the 2014 MLB schedule in the world. We are not your average “Cookie Cutter” Website. Also our motto is “THE TRUTH STINGS LIKE A CATCUS!”
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow MLB Reports Follow @mlbreports
As our website has increasingly adapted to changes both suggested by our readers and writers, we are forever changing our content on our little space carved out on the interwebs.
So for a little bit of nostalgia, I add an installment of a previous segment we once had, called ATR (Ask The Reports).
Q: I noticed you pulled down the HR leaderboard pages and placed them on a website called www.30mlbteamsreports.com, is this the same ownership of that site?
CB: Absolutely, I purchased the domain www.30mlbteamsreports.com to help control some of the amount of stuff we post at http://www.mlbreports.com. In some cases, we will post some of our work on both websites from now on. Read the rest of this entry
The AL Has Been Dominating The NL During Interleague For Over A Decade Now
After the 1st 7 years of Interleague, the AL trailed the season series 4 – 3, and the overall games mark 853 – 833 (.506). Since 2004 it has been 10 years straight of AL beatdowns, winning each campaign for Won – Loss record, with a clip of 1437 – 1206 (.544). Despite a promising start of 26 – 17 this season for the Senior Circuit, the AL has reeled off a 63 – 45 run, to hold an overall mark of 80 – 71 (.530) – which is slightly above the Lifetime mark of .524 baseball
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer): Follow @stokes_hunter21
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The American League holds a decisive ALL – Time Record on the National League in Interleague play – and perhaps that is why a lot of traditional fans hate the concept even more.
Heading into play in 2014, the AL has won the last decade straight of seasonal play (10 years), and now possess an overall yearly record of 13 – 4 over the Senior Circuit.
It wasn’t always this dominant for the Junior Circuit. 4 of the 1st 7 campaigns were taken by the NL, however ever since the start of 2004, the American League has routinely speedbagged their opposition league.
Re – Aligning To 4 Divisions May Help The MLB
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer): Follow @stokes_hunter21
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Since the MLB doth refuses to address their salary discrepancies among teams in the league, how about we take another radical approach?
How about eliminate the 6 Divisions – and come back with 4 new divisions!
We can also go back to 14 teams in the AL and 16 in the NL.
I have long since agreed with this websites philosophy on re-aligning the Divisions for payroll and geography reasons. Read the rest of this entry
The Toronto Blue Jays Could Be Facing Yet Another Challenge For Payroll
Toronto is the only team in the MLB not in the USA. With that comes foreign currency. For the years of 1990 – 2007, the Canadian Dollar was hovering around the 70 cents mark for the duration. The last economic crash in the USA – had the dollar at near par for the better part of the last 7 years, including once reaching $1.10 over every George Washington bill in America. The average for the exchange rate has been in the mid 90 cents range since 2008. The loonie has been in a nosedive since 2014 kicked in – and now it is around 90 cents for every US Dollar. If it goes down much more, it will be just another challenge the Jays will face in a vaunted AL East Division.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer): Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
It was a big reason the Montreal Expos are no longer in the MLB anymore. It also affected the only Canadian franchise left for that same stretch.
I am talking of course about the Canadian Dollar.
Luckily for Toronto, the last 6 years have been decent for the exchange rate.
The mark has fluctuated predominantly between .94 -.99 cents per US Dollar from 2008 – 2014.
This is even more crucial for the Blue Jays considering they reside in a tough AL East with payroll powerhouses Boston and New York. Read the rest of this entry
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