Baseball Blog

Will the Yankees Spend Big Money this Offseason?

December 22, 2014 by Derek Byrd

Lets face it, year in and year out the New York Yankees have a payroll of over $200 million. Lately, Hal Steinbrenner has vowed to cut the huge spending down. He mentioned that going into last year before eventually pulling the trigger on huge signings like Masahiro Tanaka, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Brian McCann. With many big name free agents already off the market, the Yankees don’t have many guys left to spend the big bucks on. But there are two names, Max Scherzer and James Shields. Will the Yankees swoop in at the last second? Are they waiting for the price to drop on these guys? Lets take a look at what they have done so far.
P Chris Capuano

The Yankees really wanted to bring back P Brandon McCarthy who was stellar after he was traded from the Arizona Diamonbacks but the Yankees felt his price tag of 4 years $48 million was too steep. The Yankees turned to plan B, Chris Capuano. Capuano, who was also acquired last year mid season by the Yankees re-signed with New York for 1 year $5 million. In 12 starts for the Yankees last year, Capuano finished 2-3 with a 4.25 era. He figures to be the fifth starter in the rotation or even long relief should the Yankees go after Scherzer or Shields.

Chase Headley

This signing left a lot of Yankee fans scratching their heads. Back in 2012, Headley finished with a .286 31 home runs and 115 RBIs finishing 5th in the NL MVP voting. He has not been close to those numbers since. Yet the Yankees re-signed Headley to a 4 year $52 million deal after a season that saw him hit .243 13 home runs and 49 RBIs. At 30 years old, he’s nearing the end of his prime, which has not been much. It’s also reported he will be the everyday third baseman over returnee Alex Rodriguez. I understand he had been dealing with a hip injury throughout last year which led to some disappointing numbers but pay him that way. Give him a 1 year deal, a prove it deal, and if he delivers than you can pay him what he currently stands to make over the next 4 years.

The Yankees roster is not as stacked as it has been in the past. Don’t be surprised if the Yankees do go after Max Scherzer. The Yankees have trouble hitting him as an opponent and it would be nice to have him on their side.

Giancarlo Stanton, the New $325 Million Man

November 21, 2014 by Derek Byrd

The Miami Marlins have just agreed to a 13 year $325 million deal with outfielder Giancarlo Stanton. The 25 year old Stanton hit .288 with 37 homeruns and 105 runs batted in. Astonishing numbers for a 25 year old. Many 25 year olds have not even made it out of the minor leagues yet alone put up all star numbers. Did the Marlins make the right move though?

Keith Olbermann thinks the deal is a scam. Stanton stands to make $107 million over the first six years before Stanton enters his option years. Marlins owner essentially has Stanton signed at a bargains rate of $30 million over the first three years. This heavily backloaded contract allows Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria to do one of two things.

First he can attempt to dump Stanton once he gets to those big money years. Don’t think he will? When the Florida Marlins became the Miami Marlins, Loria made a huge splash spending on guys like Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, and Heath Bell. He spent A LOT of money on these free agents only to ship them off the following year in a salary dump trade. Don’t rule out Giancarlo Stanton being dumped in four years.

Loria can also sell the team. If Loria can’t put a contending team together in the first three years that he was Stanton at essentially a discount with the money he’s saving, look for him to sell the team. The Marlins have been rebranded since moving to Miami. New location, new ballpark, and an OK roster, Loria can definitely cash in on the sale of the Marlins.

For now, Giancarlo Stanton is a $325 million man playing for the Miami Marlins, but I’m not so sure he will be there by the conclusion of this contract in 2027. Either Stanton or Loria will be on the move in 2017.

Braves Move OF Jason Heyward

November 17, 2014 by Derek Byrd

The Atlanta Braves mad a big move today with one of their young promising outfielders, and no, they did not break up the Upton brothers…yet. The Braves traded 25 year old former first round pick Jason Heyward to the St. Louis Cardinals. A bit of a shocking move for the Braves who finished just under .500 last season at 79-83.

Heyward in his young career was an All Star in 2010 and won two Gold Gloves in 2012 and 2014. Heyward was packaged with right handed reliever Jordan Walden for 24 year old right handed starting pitcher Shelby Miller who finished 10-9 with a 3.74 ERA and a minor league player. If anyone were to be moved from Atlanta’s outfield, it was thought to be BJ Upton who has been atrocious since signing a 5 year $75 million in 2012. In each of his first two years in Atlanta, Upton has hit an abysmal .184 and .208. Heyward on the other hand has hit .254 and .271 during that same span. Miller figures to step into the rotation right away next year as he seems to be a promising starter in this league.

Heyward figures to be inserted into the Cardinals lineup right away as the everyday starter in right field and should hit in the middle of the lineup. Heyward should bring a bit more punch to a Cardinal lineup that struggled to hit the long ball. It’ll also be a contract year for Heyward meaning if he wants to get paid next off-season he’ll need to have a big year in 2015.

With a very young lineup, it still leaves many scratching their head as to why Heyward was moved. The Braves had a great nucleus of young budding players in Freddie Freeman, Justin Upton, Andrelton Simmons, Tommy La Stella, Julio Teheran, Alex Wood, and Jason Heyward. Maybe the Braves were not ready to give Heyward the big money he is most likely seeking next off season. Either way, looks like the Braves are moving on.

An Inside Look into the Harsh Conditions of Minor League Baseball

November 10, 2014 by Derek Byrd

There, on every wall of every minor league locker room, where rosters and travel schedules are pinned, one can find the sign-up sheets for what are known as “player appearances.” They usually consist of things like speaking engagements at local schools, autograph sessions at grocery stores, local meet-and-greets with the team mascot at some random car dealership, etc. Although the venues vary, but the payment—which can be as little as a gift card at the lowest minor league levels—only changes with a promotion. In High-A ball, you’ll earn anywhere from $50 to $100 a pop, which all depends on whether you have to give a speech or not. All appearances are offered at a first-come, first-served basis—and there are usually only three spaces for signatures—which are often are scheduled during a player’s only time for rest or on one of the few days off a player will receive over the course of the seven-month season.

Even though there are slim pickings for opportunities for appearances, you can count on the sheet being covered in names within minutes of its posting. Money is so tight in the minors, getting your name on that list is a godsend.

It’s not the best experience playing as a minor leaguer. Many players don’t like to talk about their experience as a minor league ball player. The travel conditions include long bus rides whereas if you were at the major league level you would have a short first class flight. You find yourself constantly on the road..and for a while.

They are just like other working Americans, they have families, mortgages to pay, bills to weep over. Yea, you may have baseball, the dream, the game, the joy, the crack of the bat and the roar of the crowd. But is it truly worth the financial strain that you feel for trying to chase your dream of making it to a big league team and payday. You fly over all in a fantasy land where money has no value. How dare you talk of such trivialities in the face of all you have, you acquisitive minor-league swine. Take your player appearance sign-up sheet and shove it!

Minor League Baseball is not for everyone, but if you love baseball enough and have dreams of the big leagues, you push yourself. Unfortunately, not everyone makes it. There are only 30 big league teams, and each team has 3 or 4 minor league squads. The odds don’t play in the favor of every minor leaguer.