Blog Archives

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, 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 infraction.  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 CBA is put into place before the 2017 season.

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): 

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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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ALL – Time TJ Surgery Tracker 1974 – 2014 (30 Updates Including Jonny Venters 3rd Time)

Dr. James Andrews - leading Tommy John surgeon is the new senior leader on this innovative and break through procedure, championed 1st over 40 years ago, and responsible for extending over 700 players careers now.

Dr. James Andrews – leading Tommy John surgeon is the new senior leader on this innovative and break through procedure, championed 1st over 40 years ago, and responsible for extending over 700 players careers now.

For all the talk of baseball players (pitchers mostly) that will be undergoing Tommy John Surgery, we will be keeping a running list!  E-mail us at mlbreports@gmail.com if you have any names to add to our totals.

How many players are having or had TJ in history? You are about to find out:

Links

More Tommy John Surgeries By The Numbers + Who Is the 1st $100 MIL Pitcher To Go Down With It? + A Scherzer Angle?

TOMMY JOHN SURGERY – 2014 (30)

2014

Jonny Venters – (3rd Time Probable) Braves: Aug/Sept 2014

Jeremy Hefner, NYM Aug 2014 (TJ Watch List – Possible 2nd TJ Surgery)

Tyler Skaggs, Angels, Aug 10 – will have season ending TJ surgery soon.  expected to be out til 2016

Nate Jones, White Sox, July.30

Tyler Chatwood, Rockies, July,19

Masahiro Tanaka, Yankees (Partially Torn UCL, (TJ Watch List), July 10th

Bronson Arroyo, D’Backs July Surgery.

Matt Wieters, Orioles, June 17th

Sean Burnett, Angels, June 5th

Chris Withrow, Dodgers, June 3rd

Jose Cisnero, Astros, May 28th

Martin Perez, Rangers, May 19th.

Jose Fernandez, Marlins, May 16th

A.J. Griffin, Athletics, Apr.25th .

Pedro Figueroa, Rangers, Apr.30th

Ivan Nova, Yankees, – Apr.29th

Josh Johnson, Padres, – Apr.24

Matt Moore, Rays – Apr.24, 2014 –  Link: With Moore Out For TJ Surgery – The Rays Should Hold Onto Price Through 2015

Jameson Taillon – Pirates – April 9, 2014

Bobby Parnell – Mets – April 8th

Cory Gearrin – Braves – Mar.29 – Went on the 60 Day DL with partial ligament  tear of right elbow Mar.29, 2014 – May Require TJ Surgery.”

David Hernandez – D’Backs – Surgery April 2014.

Bruce Rondon – Tigers –  Mar.2014

Patrick Corbin – D’Backs –  Mar.2014.

Jarrod Parker – Athletics –  March 2014

Brandon Beachy – Braves – “2nd TJ Surgery” Mar 2014

Kris Medlen Braves – Mar 2014

Luke Hochevar– Royals – March.07, 2014.

Miguel Sano – Twins (Position Player) Mar, 2014.

Cory Luebke – Padres:   Luebke went under the knife for his 2nd TJ Surgery Feb 2014. Read the rest of this entry

ALL – Time Tommy John Surgery List 1974 – Present

For all the talk of baseball players (pitchers mostly) that will be undergoing Tommy John Surgery, we will be keeping a running list!  E-mail us at mlbreports@gmail.com if you have any names to add to our totals.

How many players are having or had TJ in history? You are about to find out: Read the rest of this entry

The Toronto Blue Jays Prospects + Org. Depth Charts For All Affiliates – 2014 (MLB + MiLB)

marcus stroman

By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): & Jeff Kleiner (Org Depth Chart + Payroll Expert – find his website here)

The Blue Jays have used their system well to acquire several key pieces from other organizations via trade over recent years.

Despite all of the prospects that have left, several are still on their way to the Majors for the big club and several are highly touted.

In 2014, the Blue Jays will try to erase a 21 year playoff drought.  Will the franchise part with some more of its youth, or may they hold steady with the personnel in the MiLB?

If you are a fan, get to know these players we list in the post, and follow their progress in the Minors.  if you click their name, it will take you to baseballreference.com’s player page of them. Read the rest of this entry

MLB Odds To Win Both Of The AL And NL Pennants In 2014: 5 Best Value Plays

With injuries to the Pitching Staff mounting fast for the Rays, and now with them not paying out such a great odd, the value pendulum has swung back to pick either the Yankees at +900 or the Red Sox at +750 for the AL Pennant.  The Yankees just took 3 out of 4 from the Red Sox, have a better offense in this year's lineup, and have decent pitching.  Boston is the reigning champs - and will be part of the race before all is said and done.  Factor in major injuries to Texas, Oakland and the LA Angels early, and a horrid Tigers Bullpen so far, and these two rivals have the best value on the board.

With injuries to the Pitching Staff mounting fast for the Rays, and now with them not paying out such a great odd, the value pendulum has swung back to pick either the Yankees at +900 or the Red Sox at +750 for the AL Pennant. The Yankees just took 3 out of 4 from the Red Sox, have a better offense in this year’s lineup, and have decent pitching. Boston is the reigning champs – and will be part of the race before all is said and done. Factor in major injuries to Texas, Oakland and the LA Angels early, and a horrid Tigers Bullpen so far, and these two rivals have the best value on the board.

Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer): 

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The Rays are finally listed where they should be on the betting board.

3 teams start play today tied in the AL East in the Rays, Yankees and Jays.  Baltimore has struggled along with Boston.

I think it is way too early to shovel dirt on the Red Sox season.  While I think they may not take down another pennant, they are my 2nd favorite play in the AL Pennant Odd list for return.

The Yankees are my favorite odds pick right now with a +900 mark.

Yes they have injuries to old guys are their team, but the guys in the lineup can mash right now, and particularly at Yankee Stadium. Read the rest of this entry

30 MLB Team Power Rankings: Week 3 MLB Baseball 2014

Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer): 

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A little rant before the power rankings this week

Well, another 7 days has passed in baseball for this year.

There are no more home openers, attendance is down, fans are scattering about their Easter business and the NFL Draft is around to swing its mighty sword on the sports landscape. Read the rest of this entry

Toronto Blue Jays Payroll In 2014 + Contracts Going Forward

The Blue Jays were the odds on favorite to win the World Series in 2013 among oddsmakers.  After a failure of a season, these guys are still placing way too much faith in the team.  To have them listed as tied with the Rays for the 12th best odd to win the World Series is a joke.  Stay away from this bet.  The odd should be +3000 - and not +1800.  Toronto is listed as tied for the 3rd favorite in the AL East, behind Boston and New York respectively.  It could really be another last place finish in the Division for the Canadian franchise.

The Blue Jays were the odds on favorite to win the World Series in 2013 among oddsmakers. After a failure of a season, the gambling websites  are still placing way too much faith in the team. To have them listed as tied with the Rays for the 12th best odd (+1800) to win the World Series is a stretch.  This team has committed $129 MIL already for 2014 payroll, and have not much room to gamble any more cash on the Roster.  This is incredible considering the bargain the team has with Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista being just paid $23 MIL between the two of them.

By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): & Jeff Kleiner (Org. Depth Chart Expert)

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It was a 2013 season that saw the team have the biggest spike in attendance in the majors, but it also came at a hefty price in total team salary.

For as much as the team forked out in payroll, they must not have been able to recoup all of their money.

Their payroll places them right in the middle of AL East pack.  The Yankees are right near the Luxury Tax Threshold right now of $189 MIL at $182 MIL – and the Boston Red Sox are hovering at around $160 MIL.

The Orioles will be near the $100 MIL range, and the Rays figure to be in the low $70 MIL area. Read the rest of this entry

The Toronto Blue Jays Players, Organizational Affiliates, Prospects + Depth Charts (MLB + MiLB)

The Blue Jays have been trading away all of their top prospects in recent years, and so far, not one of the players has come back to burn them.  Unfortunately, the veterans brought in via trade haven't pushed them over the top either.

The Blue Jays have been trading away all of their top prospects in recent years, and so far, not one of the players has come back to burn them. Unfortunately, the veterans brought in via trade haven’t pushed them over the top either.

By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): and Jeff Kleiner (Salary, Roster and Depth Chart Expert for the MLB) – visit his website  here  

For all of the Rosters, Depth Charts, State of the Unions and Salaries Posts that we do, please visit our dedicated page link here.

The Blue Jays have invested a great deal of their future in trades in recent years.  First they traded away several prospects to acquire Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, Josh Johnson and John Buck.

The 2nd move was to also trade Travis d’Arnaud and Buck for R.A.Dickey.  However the moves backfired on them in 2013.

What is worse for the team, is the franchise has not been able to develop their own talent over the last several years.  Their best players on the club were all brought in via trades.

Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion were absolute steals for the guys they doled out to reel them in (Robinson Diaz, never played in the Majors for Pit in the Joey Bats deal, and they originally acquired in the Scott Rolen traded to Cincy.  He was selected off of waivers by Oakland, before he came to the club via Free Agency.

Jose Bautista 2013 Highlights

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The Disaster That Was The Blue Jays 2013 Season: State Of The Union

Following the 2012 Major League Baseball season, Toronto Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopolous made some noticeable moves, to seemingly re-invent Canada’s team.  Jay’s fans everywhere were ecstatic and pumped for the upcoming season, thinking that playoff baseball would finally return to Canada after 20 long seasons.

Following the 2012 Major League Baseball season, Toronto Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos made some noticeable moves, to seemingly re-invent Canada’s team. Jay’s fans everywhere were ecstatic and pumped for the upcoming season, thinking that playoff baseball would finally return to Canada after 20 long seasons.

By ‘Special Guest  Blue Jays Writer’ Steve Cheeseman 

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Another Season, Another Disaster.

The off-season started with a boom, with the signings of Maicer Izturis (3 yr-$9 million), and Melky Cabrera (2 yr-$16million).  This was followed by acquiring hard throwing Esmil Rogers from Cleveland.  

They weren’t done yet.

On November 14th, Anthopoulos completed a blockbuster trade with the Miami Marlins, receiving pitchers  Josh Johnson  (2-time All-Star)and Mark Buehrle (4-time All-Star), short-stop Jose Reyes (4-time All-Star, 2011 NL Batting Champion),   catcher John Buck,  utility man Emilio Bonifacio, and $8 million in cash in exchange for pitcher Henderson Alvarez, short-stop Yunel Escobar, catcher Jeff Mathis, and prospects.  

It was a steal.  Toronto then sent John Buck and prospects to the New York Mets, for reigning NL Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey, catcher Josh Thole and a prospect.   

Odd makers out of Las Vegas named the Toronto Blue Jays as the favorites to win the 2013 World Series.  Too good to be true right? Pretty much.

Munenori Kawasaki – See You Tomorrow

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Toronto Blue Jays Payroll In 2013 And Contracts Going Forward

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Friday, August.16, 2013

Jose Bautista is one of the  power threats in the line up for Toronto. He has rebounded nicely this season, after injuries cut his 2012 season short. He has a .261/.357/.857 triple-slash in 2013 with 27 HRs and 72 RBIs in 440 at-bats. He has 51 extra-base hits on the season, with 115 hits overall to go along with 220 Total Bases. He fares better against right-handers with a .263 batting average in 350 at-bats against them, while he is just hitting .256 facing southpaws. Bautista is still a threat with runners in scoring position, as indicated by his .301/.410/1.002 triple-slash with 6 HRs and 45 RBIs in this situation. He is still solid with two outs and runners in scoring position with a .306 batting average and 17 RBIs. They need him to stay healthy to contend in 2014.

Jose Bautista is one of the power threats in the line up for Toronto. He has rebounded nicely this season, after injuries cut his 2012 season short. He has a .261/.357/.857 triple-slash in 2013 with 27 HRs and 72 RBIs in 440 at-bats. He has 51 extra-base hits on the season, with 115 hits overall to go along with 220 Total Bases. He fares better against right-handers with a .263 batting average in 350 at-bats against them, while he is just hitting .256 facing southpaws. Bautista is still a threat with runners in scoring position, as indicated by his .301/.410/1.002 triple-slash with 6 HRs and 45 RBIs in this situation. He is still solid with two outs and runners in scoring position with a .306 batting average and 17 RBIs. They need him to stay healthy to contend in 2014.

By Chris Lacey (Lead Baseball Columnist/Minority Website Owner)

The Toronto Blue Jays have not had the greatest of seasons with them dead last in the American League East division. They trail the Boston Red Sox by 15 games and the chances of them being a Wild Card team are slim at best.

One of the reasons that this season has been a nightmare for the team that made plenty of noise during the offseason is with their pitching. They have allowed 590 runs this season, and only the Houston Astros have allowed more runs at 633 this season.

J.P. Arencibia Toronto Blue Jays Highlights – Parental Guidance Is Advised

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Top MLB Teams 1 – 30: Monthly Rankings + (Top 200 Stats For Reading And Fantasy Baseball)

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Thursday July.11/2013

The Giants have gone 9 - 23 in their last 32 Games and are in danger of having a brutal campaign just one year after capturing the World Series.  Key injuries and overlogged pitchers have been the main point of contention. They lost 8 Ranking Spots.

The Giants have gone 9 – 23 in their last 32 Games – and are in danger of having a brutal campaign just one year after capturing the World Series. Key injuries and overlogged pitchers have been the main point of contention. They lost 8 Ranking Spots this past time.  Should they also become sellers at the Trade Deadline,  Tim Lincecum and Hunter Pence could fetch a few players in return.  The Giants are currently 40 – 50 and 6.5 Games behind the NL West Leading DBACKS – but are in last in the NL West.

 

By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner):

The time has come for the July Power Rankings with Stats Edition.  There will be one each for May, June, July, August, September – and then a special playoff edition Power Rankings will be done in October.

I will not do a weekly Power Rankings during these weeks, because in essence, these are the weekly rankings done on a much larger scale.

These Reports are done with a heavy thought to how the teams project by the end of the season – along with how the clubs have fared so far.

I will point out who has had great months for the all 30 MLB Teams.  I reward the good performances in these rankings – and leave the poor ones for the Podcasts or future articles. CLICK THE READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY ICON or scroll past the video and picture.

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Toronto Blue Jays Organizational Charts: Payroll, Depth Charts And Rosters, (MLB + MiLB)

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Saturday, June.14/2013

The Blue Jays have played better baseball of late, are now 30 - 36.  They sit in last place in the AL East.  Mark Buerhle was great in a 8 - 0 win versus Texas Fri.

The Blue Jays have played better baseball of late, are now 30 – 36. They sit in last place in the AL East – 9.5 Games Behind the Boston Red Sox. Mark Buerhle was great in a 8 – 0 win versus Texas Fri.  The two teams continue a Series today.

By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): and welcome Jeff Kleiner (Salary, Roster and Depth Chart Expert for the MLB) – visit his website  here  

You guys are all in for a treat.  Jeff Kleiner recently contacted me about a partnership merge for the website.  He has developed a site (prosportsrosters.com) that covers all organizational affiliates in the Minors for all of the Major League Baseball Clubs.  We are going to combine efforts to bring you the best look at salaries, current 25 Man Player Rosters and Depth Charts for all 30 teams. 

Jeff is going to provide the documents in form of spreadsheets and I am going to accompany the posts with deep analysis of what the numbers tell us from my perspective.  If you can’t wait for all of my assessments for each club, go and visit Jeff’s website over at http://www.prosportsrosters.com.

In Speaking with Jeff, he is one of the more passionate fans I have come across towards the game of baseball.  He spends enough time in updating his MLB Facts for it to be a Full-Time Job.  So after the usual Video Clip and READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY button, you will find some serious &*!@?!#!

Jeff updates this page below on a daily basis.  After you click on it….Bookmark it.  There is a 3 year salary forecast and stats not listed here on this page.  Jeff updates these pages daily and these changes include any Roster moves!

For a Full 3 year Salary Outlook plus last years Stats for every player in the Blue Jays Organization click here

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Triple Play Podcast Ep #9: Jays Misery, The Expos Franchise Mt. Rushmore + An Interview With Michael McKnight

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Monday, May  20th, 2013

The Triple Play Show will have 5 shows per month.  Each show will be about 1 hour

The Triple Play Show will have 5 shows per month. Each show will be about 1 hour.

By The Big Ticket Show ( AKA Triple Play Podcast on http://www.mlbreports.com)

Guests in this Podcast – Ian Hunter of bluejayhunter.com  ( and Michael McKnight [twitter-follow screen_name=’mcknight_mike_’ show_screen_name=’yes’

On this week’s show we once again find ourselves lamented the Blue Jays futility but this time Ian Hunter of bluejayhunter.com joins in the misery. Chris’ Expos jerseys inspires a trip down memory lane to pick our Expos Mt Rushmore. Finally Michael Mcknight of Sports Illustrated drops in to recount the tale of Brian Cole.  Its a must listen. Read the rest of this entry

The Toronto Blue Jays Payroll 2013 and Contracts (Updated For MIA Trade Nov.13/2012)

Monday, September.10/2012

Note from Chuck Booth:  I am attempting to bring the history for each of the 30 MLB Franchises into a 5 part series that will focus on 1. The teams history.  2. The hitters 3. The pitchers. 4. The Teams Payroll going into 2013 and 5.The Ball Park that they play in. (The stadium articles will all be done next summer when I go to all of the parks in under a month again.)  Be sure to check my author page with a list of all of  my archived articles section here.

The Blue Jays have not qualified for the Playoffs since they won Back to Back World Series in 1992 and 1993. At that time, they were around the top of the MLB Payroll for all teams. How much will they spend in 2013?

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer):

It has been a disastrous season for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2012.  Only the Boston Red Sox can usurp them in the AL East for being more disappointing.  It is not entirely anyone’s fault, injuries to many key pitchers-plus the loss of Jose Bautista just after the All-Break, crippled the team’s ability to compete.  Just chalk up the season to unlucky.  Fortunately for the Blue Jays, Alex Anthopoulos has kept the team flexible with the payroll going forward.  I still think that getting out of the Vernon Wells and Alex Rios contracts was the biggest ‘Houdini Act’ of the New Millennium.  Since he got out from under those contracts, only Joey Bats makes more than 10 Million Dollars now on the club.  To contend in the AL East, the Jays will need to spend at least 100-110 Million Dollars.  The core of the team is intact for a couple of more years.  From 2013-2016 is the clubs best window to make a charge at the playoffs and have some success.

Perhaps the best move that the Blue Jays GM did this year was to lock up Edwin Encarnacion to a 3 YR/27 Million Dollar contract before he hit the Free Agency Market.  In a downtrodden year, EE could have requested an arm and leg for his services and been obliged.  He left between 8-10 Million Dollars on the Table in my opinion.  The keys will be to lock up a couple of their young player to long-term contracts.  The catching looks solid (Arencibia and Mathis) for years to come with some more prospects filtering through the Minor Leagues (Travis D’arnaurd.)  Trading away Eric Thames and Travis Snider paved the way for the club to lock-up Colby Rasmus long-term-and maybe take a run at a power hitting Outfielder.  The team’s starting pitching must heal up from multiple Tommy John Surgeries and come back to be relevant.  The team should definitely be players for free agent pitchers.  

For Part 1 of a 7 Part Article Series:  The Toronto Blue Jays Franchise 1977-1993, click here

For Part 7 of the 7 Part Series:  Blue Jays 2013 Team Payroll:  A Readers Thoughts, Click Here:

Josh Johnson brings a career record of 56-37 (.602) to the Blue Jays lineup in 2013. With one year and 13.75 Million Dollars left on this current deal. will Toronto try and extend him or wait to see if he can stay healthy all year.

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