2014/2015 Official MLB Offseason Thread: Signings, Trades, Rumors, Etc.

[rumpleforeskiin]

The Jays are paying Martin almost what the Yankees are paying McCann for a catcher who is a year older and not as good a player.

Actually, Beav, Martin at the time of the signing is two years older than McCann was when he signed. Hence, he'll be two years older than McCann will be when their deals expire. And, as you say, McCann is a much better player, over 50 points of OPS higher over his career, not to mention more durable. Martin, however, is the better defender, though not enough better to offset the offensive difference between the two.

Still, I wouldn't call it a bad contract.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Even though he was born in Ontario, Russell Martin was actually raised in Montreal and speaks french fluently. He actually uses the french pronounciation of his name when he's being interviewed on french tv talkshows (e.g. TLMP). Expect a couple of standing ovations in April when the Jays will play the Red at the Big 'O'.

It's also good marketing on the part of the Jays for french Canada. TVA Sports broadcasts Jays games & they will likely raise their viewership with the Martin signing. A few years ago when he played for the Yankees, I was in Toronto to catch a Yankees/Jays series and met a lot of people from the Montreal area who were in town for the games. Most of them told me that they were in town to watch Russell Martin play and some of them were Yankees fans simply because he played for them.

The Jays probably had to slightly overpay for him due to the fact he had similar offers elsewhere. I'm not kidding myself & know for a fact that it likely turned into a bidding contest. But it was important for the Jays to not only upgrade their catching & DH positions, but especially the leadership part and the fact he's Canadian might bring more people to the ballpark (and sell a lot of 'Russell Martin' jerseys).

Many expect that with the Martin signing, current catcher Dioner Navarro will be made into the team's full-time DH. He's a switch-hitter and will be able to give Martin a break behind the plate when required. And if R.A. Dickey gets traded during the off-season, this will mean more starts as catcher for Navarro since Dickey's personal catcher Josh Thole will likely not be kept on the roster.

Now after the Giancarlo Stanton signing, i'm curious how much Melky Cabrera will be able to fetch on the free agent market.

 

[kirkjonas]

What are you guys talking about the catchers offensive numbers so much when justifying their value. I always thought the most important aspect of any catcher is their impact and control of the pitching staff and defense like catching base stealers blocking wild pitches etc. if and when they hit thats just icing on the cake, especially for a Blue Jays rotation that is horribly inconsistent and plagued by injuries we need a strong catching with experience vs another bat.

Either way I like the signing and the moves the Jays are making. Its a good time to be aggressive with Yankees and Boston weaker, and Tampa losing Maddon. Could be a changing of the guard in the AL east

 

[Doc Holliday]

What are you guys talking about the catchers offensive numbers so much when justifying their value. I always thought the most important aspect of any catcher is their impact and control of the pitching staff and defense like catching base stealers blocking wild pitches etc. if and when they hit thats just icing on the cake, especially for a Blue Jays rotation that is horribly inconsistent and plagued by injuries we need a strong catching with experience vs another bat.

Either way I like the signing and the moves the Jays are making. Its a good time to be aggressive with Yankees and Boston weaker, and Tampa losing Maddon. Could be a changing of the guard in the AL east

I agree with almost everything you wrote. However, last season the Jays starting staff was surprisingly one of its strenghts. Other than Morrow, who always seems to be injured, the starters were healthy & very consistent for the most part. But Navarro's weakness behind the place was that he's not a good pitch framer & had he been the overall pitching would habe been even better. Martin is known to be a good handler of pitching staffs & a good pitch framer.

I love the move!

Now, it's time to go & get John Lester or hurry and re-sign the Melkyman!

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

A couple of issues with Kirk. One, the guard changed already this year with the resurgence of the Orioles. My sense is that they'll be strong again next year, Cruz or no Cruz, with the return of Wieters and Davis.

As for "Boston weaker," do you remember what happened last time the Red Sox started a rebuild in the middle of the season? With the exception of third base, the offense is set for next year. They're meeting with Pablo Sandoval at this very moment. The outfield, weakest in the majors for most of 2014, is now a strength. The pitching staff is two short at the top, but they have over $50 million to spend. While they're favorites to sign Lester, they have both Shields and Hamels as fallbacks for the #1 position.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

Now, it's time to go & get John Lester or hurry and re-sign the Melkyman!

The Jays are pretty much out on Lester. They won't go six years and there's only one team with a chance of getting him for five. http://www.mlbdailydish.com/2014/11...-lester-though-anthopoulos-downplays-interest

 

[Doc Holliday]

Here is Russell Martin's bio of his childhood:

Martin was born in Toronto, Ontario and grew up in Chelsea, Quebec. Martin has an African Canadian father, Russell Martin, Sr., and a white, French Canadian mother, singer and actress, Suzanne Jeanson. His parents separated when he was only two years old. His father used to play saxophone in Montreal subway stations to help pay for his baseball training. When Martin was eight years old, his mother remarried, and he relocated with his mother and sister to Paris.

Along with playing baseball in the Montreal neighbourhood of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Martin played hockey for N.D.G Minor Hockey. He graduated from Polyvalente Édouard-Montpetit High School. After graduating from high school, Martin took a junior college scholarship at Chipola College in Marianna, Florida.

 

[Doc Holliday]

The Jays are pretty much out on Lester. They won't go six years and there's only one team with a chance of getting him for five.

I agree that the Jays very likely won't go 6 years on a contract with Lester. Plus, they don't really need any more starting pitching. They have plenty. It would make more sense for them to go after Melky Cabrera or trade one or two pitchers for an outfielder. Howie Kendrick is within their sights, but i've also heard of Markakis. My guess is that Markakis will likely re-sign with the Orioles.

 

[Merlot]

BOYZ,

Giancarlo Stanton setting the new bar for length and contract worth. 13 years / $325M. Damn!!

I'm not so surprised that some team besides the Yankees would engage in the 2nd most insane contract ever, next to A-Rod's, but I am shocked it was the Marlins. So they are going to give the guy a raise 50 times what he was making per year, which is mind-boggling insanity #1, then they are going to give it to him 13 years, major insanity doubled. Aside from just being totally nuts on principle, need anyone cite all that can go wrong, never mind what such huge guaranteed money does to motivation. Stanton may not be the piece of crap A-Rod is but if anyone ever deserves a contract like this he had better have the self-motivation to excel of a Pedroia...and that itself is a catch-22 since guys driven as much as Pedroia get hurt and start to diminish from injuries.

It's f*cking nuts.

:nono:

Merlot

 

[Doc Holliday]

It is a ridiculous contract. Yesterday, i saw a comparison of Stanton's stats with Jose Bautista's. Bautista's offensive stats were all better than Stanton's, plus he's a much better outfielder than Stanton ever will be. Bautista can also play third and first. The panel then wondered whether Stanton was grossly overpaid, or Bautista underpaid. The conclusion was that it was a bit of both, and that the Jays better win fast as long as Bautista & Encarnacion are still under contract, since there's no way they'll stay in Toronto when their contracts expire since they're likely to get huge dollars thrown at them which the Jays won't want to match.

The commissioner likely placed a call to the Marlins' front office upon hearing of the ridiculous 'deal' they gave Stanton.

What i gather from Stanton's deal with the Marlins is that either the Marlins' front office staff are a bunch of idiots, or attendance numbers mean shit. My guess is that it's possibly a little bit of both.

 

[EagerBeaver]

What's also ridiculous, as pointed out by Buster Olney, is that Stanton has not seen an at bat since suffering a serious beaning. We don't know if that permanently damaged him physically or emotionally. There is a long history of both with players who have been beaned in this fashion, the most notable being Tony Conigliaro of the Red Sox. One would think the Marlins did tests on him and read his medical, but until he gets into the batter's box and has a half season of solid Stanton-like stats under his belt, it's a huge risk.

Stanton protected himself with an opt out after 5 years in case the Marlins continue to suck dick, which I think they will. At that point he will be 30, and have a shot at one more 5 year contract at maybe $30 million per year, if he is still the same player he was.

 

[lgna69xxx]

Great observation Beav, i had totally forgot all about that horrible beaning he took. Good point!

 

[Doc Holliday]

Same here. I wouldn't touch a player with a 10-foot pole if he suffered such a bad beaning. Tony Conigliaro & Hal Cowens were never the same after being beaned. There are many others in the same boat. What were the Marlins thinking??

 

[Special K]

Doc, did you happen to compare Bautista's age to Stanton's?

 

[Doc Holliday]

Doc, did you happen to compare Bautista's age to Stanton's?

I wasn't the one making the comparison. I think it was either Bob Ryan or J.P. Morosi, Bob McKeown & Ken Read of Sportsnet.

By the way, get ready to see Pablo Sandoval patrolling third base at Fenway. I was told he's currently in Boston & it woudln't surprise me that they announce his signing by the end of the week.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

The Stanton contract is getting mostly positive reviews, and really it probably should.

Look at it as two contracts. From MLBTR, "Stanton will earn just $6.5MM in 2015, $9MM in 2016 and $14.5MM in 2017 before earning $77MM total over the following three seasons. In other words, should he opt out of his deal, he’ll have received $107MM over six years (an AAV of $17.83MM) and be walking away from seven years and $218MM (an AAV of $31.14MM)"

His first six years will be a bargain. At that point, he's 31 with seven years to go at an average $31M per. Figuring a continued low level of inflation, his contract will be worth $26.6 M in the first year in 2014 dollars, down to $22.87 by the last year. There will be a number of guys making $30 M by 2021.

If Stanton stays healthy and productive over the first six years of the deal, he'll probably opt out, give up his $218M and sign a $400 M/10yr deal with the Yankees.

 

[Doc Holliday]

If Stanton stays healthy and productive over the first six years of the deal, he'll probably opt out, give up his $218M and sign a $400 M/10yr deal with the Yankees.

:lol: :lol: :lol: !!!!!!

 

[Doc Holliday]

Pablo Sandoval in Toronto

I just got word that the Jays have spoken with Pablo Sandoval or will tomorrow. It's expected that the Jays will try to sign at least one more big-name free agent and if not Sandoval, then possibly Melky Cabrera or a pitcher. I'd be shocked if it's Jon Lester, since he wants longer term than the Jays are expected to be offering. Insiders believe the recent signing of Russell Martin might help the team attract more pitching to Toronto. Who knows.......

 

[Doc Holliday]

I just heard that the Jays are contemplating offering 7 years to Lester. But the key for this to happen would be moving R.A. Dickey (and his personal catcher, Josh Thole) to another team. Mark Buehrle would also be a candidate to be moved, but i doubt it'll happen since he's currently making too much money. The Yankees, maybe?

 

[Doc Holliday]

The Russell Martin introduction media conference just ended. I have a feeling that Jays fans will fall in love with this guy! He spoke both in french & english during the conference. He'll be great for the local media & reasonates class!

Other things:

-The Jays are shopping around Dionner Navarro. He's on his final contract year & wants to catch, not being satisfied as being simply a DH. A late rumour is circulating that he's asked for a trade, which has been denied by Alex Anthopoulos.

-The Jays have been talking to Torri Hunter about joining them. Their still waiting on the Melky Cabrera camp to make up their mind if they want to remain in Toronto or move on. If he decides to move on, don't be surprised if Hunter is immediately signed.

-The Jays are also talking to Andrew Miller about becoming their closer.

-The Jays' interest in Pablo Sandoval is supposedly not that serious.

-Jays are realistic about their chances of landing Jon Lester. Rumour has it that they're contemplating offering him 7 years, which would be going against the organization's long-time philosophy.

-R.A. Dickey is rumoured to being shopped around. This isn't a surprise. There isn't much talk in regards to Mark Buehrle, but that is likely because no one wants to touch his contract.