Off-season FA news (non-NYM edition)

[Frayed Knot]

BoSox continue their seeming fascination with other teams' closers (Andrew Bailey, Joel Hanrahan) by striking a two-year deal with Edward Mujica.
Mujica was the 2013 closer for StL before falling completely apart in September* to the point of not only losing the closer's job but falling into near total diis-use and was almost left off the post-season roster.
One would certainly think that Uehara starts the year as the closer while Mujica and others set-up.


* Mujica in 2013:
- Runs allowed in April thru August: 11 on 42 hits in 57.1 IP
- Runs allowed in September: 9 on 18 hits in 7.1 IPs

[Frayed Knot]

Mariners are meeting with Cano and are reportedly willing to go [u:2eqrepq3]Ten years[/u:2eqrepq3] for the already 31 y/o FA (some teams never learn, do they?) with amounts variously reported at $200 mil or higher.

"If that [a rumored 9 yrs @ $225 mil] is what Seattle is offering, he's gone" - says a Yanqui official acc to Wally Mathews

[Zvon]

Kong76 wrote: The Ellsbury signing is downright funny. What do they do, print the money underneath the stadium?

One of my first thoughts was Hughs and he have to be laughing.

I'm not defending this "Met sticker shock" business, they should be prepared for what's in the wind $$ wise. But I have to say I am in shock myself over what these guys are getting. It's pretty crazy.

[Edgy MD]

Hold the presses. Looks like Cano/Seattle talks have broken down. A sticking point seems to be whether s "Big Pimpin'" was Jay-Z at his finest or a cynical grab at what was already in the zeitgeist that's really a showcase to advance the brand of guest contributors UGK.

[metirish]

Various reports on Twitter are saying Jay-Z blew the deal with Seattle when he wanted mo' money , Seattle's owner reportedly exploded and stormed out....$225 was on the table, Jay-Z wanted $252.

[metirish]

Looks like my DC Dawg got the news in a'ight.

[Edgy MD]

Leaks are coming from multiple directions, and it'll be real interesting to see how this finishes --- with Jay-Z looking like a out of his depth and ruining his client's payday, or a savvy manipulator who is just staging this drama to up his client's market and his brand.

[metirish]

Is there any reason why the MFY's would even approach that $225 million deal that was on the table? , looks like a mis-play all around.

[Edgy MD]

Looks like, but there are chapters yet to unfold.

[MFS62]

Marlins signed Fecal.
So it looks like the remaining SS FA options not named Drew are
Clint Barmes
Jayson Nix
Yuniesky Betancourt......if he even plays the position anymore

or the Cuban guy.

Later

[metirish]

MLB Network ?@MLBNetwork 1m
It's being reported that @RobinsonCano has reached a deal with the @Mariners! Stay tuned to #MLBNHotStove for LIVE coverage!

Boom!

[Guest Mets Guy in Michigan]

Looks like $240 million and 10 years.

CRAZY!

[Edgy MD]

I thought there was yet another card to be played. Impressive.

How often in the free agency era has an All Star-level Yankee property walked on them? Reggie Jackson? John Wetteland? With both those guys, the team had seemingly superior new talent already in place.

[metirish]

Some big contracts in that division eh?

[Guest Mets Guy in Michigan]

This is how bad teams stay bad teams.

I get spending crazy money on the mega-mega stars. The Pojols contract isn't working out, but I see the thinking. People get excited about seeing Albert Pojols play. They'll sell all kinds of stuff with him on it.

But I never thought of Robinson Cano as being in those circles. MVP awards? A fine player, to be sure. Better than anyone we have other that David Wright -- and some would argue that. But that's what $24 million a year buys you?

[Ceetar]

Some fun stuff going on out west I guess.

Poor Astros.

[metirish]

Yeah it is crazy....I naively thought the Pujols contract would be the last of it's kind, at least for a while.

Cano like MGIM said is a fine player, but he is now going to a not so friendly hitters park, good luck with that.

[seawolf17]

Yowza.

Would have made more sense ten years ago, when guys in their late 30s were still whacking balls to the moon. But I sense those days have started to wane. This is going to be an albatross of a contract in two years.

[Guest Mets Guy in Michigan]

seawolf17 wrote: Yowza. Would have made more sense ten years ago, when guys in their late 30s were still whacking balls to the moon. But I sense those days have started to wane. This is going to be an albatross of a contract in two years.

Irish is right! Cano is going from that bandbox to one of the worst hitters parks.

Quick, someone send flowers to Tom Verducci. I'm sure he's besides himself.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Yeah, guys, but think about all the off-field value Robinson Cano provides. Who else will bring out that Puget Sound Dominican population, or all those fans of boring, smiling dudes?

[Edgy MD]

Marketing-wise, I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss the guy. Seattle still has a world of guys yearning to remain hip despite their advancing years, and they're certainly as vulnerable as any to the notion that rooting for an Afro-Dominican by way of New York repped by Jay-Z makes them hip. Plus forget not that the Mariners are still owned by Nintendo, which has avenues of exploitation on the Pacific rim that few other teams could offer.

Competition-wise, yeah, that contract's a terror, and if he doesn't produce and the team doesn't excel, all the marketing opportunities quickly grow thin, but they're betting their hopes and not their fears.

Beyond that, if you believe the spooging folks have been doing about the stockpiles of talent in Houston's farm system, you perhaps don't feel as sad for them.

[Frayed Knot]

I can't believe Seattle blinked on this!

I was sure when reports started circulating this morning that not only had Cano/JZ played their way out of the best offer they were going to see but had also lowered the incentive for the Yanx to go any higher. IOW, for the want of an extra $15 mil I would have guessed that they were going to "lose" about $50.
BUT NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! as Steve Martin used to say.
Just two years after the Pujols contract--one that was given to a better player, a younger (at the time) player, in a bigger market--has proven to be well over-sold WITH STILL 80% OF IT STILL TO GO Seattle goes right down that same rabbit hole.

[Edgy MD]

Yeah, well, that's what you get for being so sure. I I saw it still to play out, and suspected capitulation was coming. Never quit on Jay Z. Conflicting leaks coming from multiple directions at the same time definitely suggested the truth was still further down the road.


And for Pete's sake, it was Belushi, not Steve Martin.

[Frayed Knot]

Well then, as Belushi used to say: WELL EXCUUUUUUUUUUUUSE ME!!

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

[youtube:2la2gvlb]zANvYB93u2g[/youtube:2la2gvlb]

[Guest Mets Guy in Michigan]

metsguyinmichigan wrote: Yowza. Would have made more sense ten years ago, when guys in their late 30s were still whacking balls to the moon. But I sense those days have started to wane. This is going to be an albatross of a contract in two years. Irish is right! Cano is going from that bandbox to one of the worst hitters parks. Quick, someone send flowers to Tom Verducci. I'm sure he's besides himself.

Oh man, Verducci's not grieving -- he's bitter and turning on Cano

You can take your legacy in pinstripes and your New York marketing opportunities and your direct flights to the Dominican Republic and the Yankee hat Jay-Z claims to have made famous and all of it becomes less important if another team wants you more than the only organization you have known in your 13 years in professional baseball. The reported 10-year, $240 million deal Cano agreed to with the Mariners on Friday is Albert Pujols 2.0. Two years ago the Angels offered Pujols $44 million more than did the Cardinals -- and that was not counting the $30 million in deferred money in St. Louis' offer and before the Cardinals cut a 10-year offer in half. Pujols later would say he was "bitter" about the way the St. Louis front office made him look "like the bad guy." This departure has a similar smell. This time the Mariners offered Cano as much as $70 million more than New York. Real money. And Cano can look back at the New York front office the way Pujols did his former employers. Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/mlb/news/20131206/robinson-cano-mariners-jay-z-yankees/#ixzz2mjmFpzjk

[MFS62]

Beltran to the Yanks (3 years) and Scott Feldman to Houston.
As for Carlos, Why would a nice guy like Carlos go over to the Dark Side?
Shame.
But if this means that they will have to move Soriano to second base, it will bring joy to MFY-haters everywhere.

I thought Feldman would be a good Plan B if Arroyo became too expensive, Since Feldman signed for what I thought Arroyo would ($10/ yr) it looks like the price for Bronson could go even higher.

Later

[Zvon]

Holy crapoli things are shakin' out. I can't believe the deal Cano got. Insane.

[Frayed Knot]

MFS62 wrote: Beltran to the Yanks (3 years)

Good thing the Yanx aren't panicking over the loss of Cano.
The funny thing is though, I think Carlos brings their average age down a bit.
Can't possibly see Soriano at 2B except in a rare emergency

... and Scott Feldman to Houston.

And now we know what the price is for a decent 3rd/4th-type starter* -- approx 3 x $10



* 51-56 career record; 4.62 ERA; 1.37 WHiP; 31 y/o; double-digit wins twice (2009 & 2013)

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Frayed Knot wrote: MFS62 wrote: Beltran to the Yanks (3 years) Good thing the Yanx aren't panicking over the loss of Cano. The funny thing is though, I think Carlos brings their average age down a bit.

Funny, but, y'know, even in a vacuum, Beltran's deal may actually be a better one than the Granderson one. It's almost certainly a better deal for the MFYs than the Granderson deal is for the Mets, if only because of what they get from marginal wins.