Originally Posted by lewdog (Post 12004105)

Which one of you bought him lunch today???

ROFL

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut (Post 12003709)

Don't love it. That said, at least there's not a ton of risk in it.

There are few guys who are more 'sure bets' than Leake. That's not to say he's good - it's to say that you know pretty much exactly what you'll be getting out of him; a 4th starter that's going to give you about 2 WAR and 200 innings. Blah.

To me, they paid $15 million/season for a $12 million/season pitcher. It's an overpay, but one where I suspect they'll at least get solid production from him for the length of the deal and he's young enough that by the last 2 years of that deal, it's probably going to be below market given where salaries are trending.

Samardzija's is worse in that there's a better than average chance that he's a bullpen quality pitcher. His ceiling his higher than Leake's but man that floor is truly a crash point. I think Kazmir's is worse as well as I just don't see him holding up; the guy is a ticking timebomb, IMO.

I also look at the Cubs deal to Heyward that amounts to a 3 yr/78 million deal if/when he exercises his opt out as being absolutely insane. He's essentially the exact same player as Gordon and they just gave him $8 million more/season. Admittedly, its hard for me to be objective there, but that deal is just !@#$ing crazy to me.

There are some other nutty ones in there, but not as long term. Seriously, how the hell did Mike Pelfrey convince a team to give him 2/$16 million?

Originally Posted by Coach (Post 11985035)

I would trust the player/agent than a uninformed reporter who has no well established connections in Kansas City. Especially if it's Alex Gordon.

The problem is, how can one identify how much the market is for Gordon if Upton and Cespedes are still on the market? The longer those two guys who are out there, I have to think it hurts Gordon's value on the market.

Plus, you do remember Michael Bourn? He had to settle for 4/$48M and Bourn was a year younger than Alex when QO-tagged.

I think Alex will find something between 4 years $80 with a 5th year option (you know how much GMDM loves those options), in my opinion.

Originally Posted by siberian khatru (Post 12004102)

Alex looked very happy, as he should be.

The repartee between Moore and McCullough at the end was funny.

Originally Posted by kcjayhawks5 (Post 12003676)

The foul balls right back into his face are worrisome. It happens so often.

Originally Posted by Chiefspants (Post 12004300)

What was said between the two? I was at the Dr's and missed it.

Originally Posted by srvy (Post 12004302)

Sal need to lose the old school mask and adopt the more protective hockey style mask like many have done.

Originally Posted by WhawhaWhat (Post 12004334)

He's tried it before and I thought they say he hated it.

Originally Posted by Sure-Oz (Post 12004381)

@kkwhb: Dayton headed to DR, which pitcher is he after this time?

Originally Posted by Sure-Oz (Post 12004381)

@kkwhb: Dayton headed to DR, which pitcher is he after this time?

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch (Post 12003979)

So maybe we should use the median here. Let's suppose it's 2-3M. Seems like a much better application to this.

Originally Posted by WhawhaWhat (Post 12004334)

He's tried it before and I thought they say he hated it.

Originally Posted by siberian khatru (Post 12004310)

At the end Mike Swanson noted it was Andy's last Royals press conference and said basically thanks for all the fish. Andy then asked Dayton if he put Swanson up to that and Moore and Gordon were laughing

Originally Posted by Anyong Bluth (Post 12004439)

I'm still pissed Andy is leaving.

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut (Post 12004063)

They weren't really given an option.

What I don't understand is why people are more upset by this system than they were the previous system. There have been compensation picks for decades and teams have always lost draft picks for signing upper tier FAs.

The only difference is that right now the team that used to have the player can control draft pick compensation whereas under the old system there was a ranking setup. Under the old CBA, there were Type A and Type B FAs. If you signed a Type A, you lost your pick to the team you signed them away from. Generally speaking there were more Type A free agents then than there are guys that get a QO now. The list for the last year of the old system included guys like Scott Downs, Mark Ellis, Carl Pavano, Dan Wheeler and Takashi Saito - you'd lose your first round pick if you signed those guys and they had been offered arbitration (which was actually cheaper than the QO was). The risk for offering those lower level guys was less, in fact, because arbitration was tied directly to performance so you weren't guaranteed that top end salary like you are now. You could offer Mark Ellis Arb and he'd get awarded what a mediocre 2b would, not the $15 million they're guaranteed under the new QO system.

The Cardinals got Lance Lynn for a pick they got after the Rays signed Troy Percival away from them. They'd picked up Percival off the scrap heap in June after he'd been away from baseball for a season. The Elias rankings system simply had screwiness all throughout it.

More teams used to lose picks than they do now. More players used to get offered arb than they get QOs now. It's not the new CBA that's doing this, it's the fact that league minimum salaries haven't gone up nearly as fast as FA salaries have and as a result, team control is now 10 times more important than it used to be.

It gets back to the same old saw - revenue disparity.

The MLBPA has nobody to blame here unless they're willing to just tell small market teams to **** off and die.

Originally Posted by Sure-Oz (Post 12004471)

Bigger market dream job covering the overrated dodgers? Wonder who takes his place

Originally Posted by Anyong Bluth (Post 12004657)

If someone deserves it- he does. Kid's got talent. If he can be half as funny on camera as he is on twitter he could be a big talent.

I've heard that LA is a decent place to go if you have any interest on being on TV or some type of career in sports entertainment? That's the rumor at least.

Originally Posted by C3HIEF3S (Post 12004691)

His relationship Ned was sure an interesting one. Ned loved to make fun of him. I am definitely going to miss Andy, but it didn't take very long for Royals fans to see his talent and suspect that he may be onto bigger and better things sooner than later. Whoever the KC Star hires in his place has some very big shoes to fill.

Originally Posted by Anyong Bluth (Post 12004733)

Definitely. To the Star's credit, I don't know if there's another paper in America that's churned out more quality sportswriters and columnists- certainly not over the last 30 years or so.

With respect to Andy, I had little doubt that a bigger market was in the cards for him, but I didn't foresee as quick a jump for him. The kid lucked out doubletime.

His 2 seasons covering back to back World Series, and I have little doubt that the Royals higher profile nationally put his work in the spotlight to get noticed that much faster.

Has Bob Dutton killed himself yet after abandoning team after ages just as they have their gigantic success in 3 decades?
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Bob's gruff and dry sense of humor, but you have to think part of this eats at him given how the team did right after he leaves the Royals beat.

Originally Posted by C3HIEF3S (Post 12004691)

His relationship Ned was sure an interesting one. Ned loved to make fun of him.

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch (Post 12004953)

FG: "Royals win again, keep Alex Gordon"
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/royal...p-alex-gordon/

2 interesting parts:

Obviously, he will age. He’s already started. Last year he stole just two bases, and he didn’t hit a triple. He’s unlikely to be an elite baserunner again, and he’s unlikely to maintain the extent of his defensive range in left field. But there are two things: one, Gordon shouldn’t hit the wall all of a sudden, and two, a lot of his defensive value is actually tied up in his arm, which has been the third-most valuable in the outfield of the past decade by both UZR and DRS.. I don’t know how outfield arms age, compared to range, but my sense is that they should age better....

We can do something really simple. The last four years, Gordon has been an outfielder worth 18.6 WAR. Over the last 30 years, there have been 23 outfielders worth something within 2.5 wins of that between the ages of 28-31. Between 32-35, those same outfielders averaged 12.5 WAR. These are just the simplest possible Gordon comps, but if you projected Gordon to be worth 12.5 WAR over the next four years, you’d expect him to sign a contract worth about $100 million.

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry (Post 12004589)

Lineup
Escobar
Gordon
Cain
Hosmer
Morales
Moose
Salvy
Infante/Colon
Dyson/Orlando

Originally Posted by ChiTown (Post 12005370)

I'm completely down with 1-8, especially if Infante is healed up and "fixed". I hate, that's probably too strong, I strongly dislike having a rotation in the outfield between Dys and Orlando. I have no problem with those guys being our 4th and 5th OF'rs, but I really don't want to see either one of those guys as an everyday RF

Originally Posted by Anyong Bluth (Post 12005336)

I'm actually optimistic about his level of defense remaining extremely high. Alex has never been speedy. He's fantastic at recognition of the the ball coming off the bat and judging the trajectory instantly. He wastes so few steps in getting position to play the ball. A slight decrease in speed is going to hamper catching up to a few balls maybe. When you have Cain or Dyson playing beside you, that significantly cuts down on the gaps that neither one of the 3 are outside their zone of coverage.

As for arm strength. It's a bit harder to tell because at this point guys aren't testing him. His assist numbers have been down for a while, and it's not because of diminished performance. Runners almost never challenge him, thus the opportunities for him to make those plays aren't there like they have been or are for other guys at his position.

Originally Posted by Anyong Bluth (Post 12005336)

I'm actually optimistic about his level of defense remaining extremely high. Alex has never been speedy. He's fantastic at recognition of the the ball coming off the bat and judging the trajectory instantly. He wastes so few steps in getting position to play the ball. A slight decrease in speed is going to hamper catching up to a few balls maybe. When you have Cain or Dyson playing beside you, that significantly cuts down on the gaps that neither one of the 3 are outside their zone of coverage.

As for arm strength. It's a bit harder to tell because at this point guys aren't testing him. His assist numbers have been down for a while, and it's not because of diminished performance. Runners almost never challenge him, thus the opportunities for him to make those plays aren't there like they have been or are for other guys at his position.

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch (Post 12005442)

That's why I read these write-ups and study the data: I would never guess it was his arm that was so valuable. I see him sliding into foul ground, running back to the alleys and jumping over the walls into the crowd and thought that was his value. I was guessing his speed decline would hurt his game severely.......but it appears the data says I'm wrong.


Net: he can probably go .250-10-70 with declining defense and still earn 2 WAR/yr. that's his floor, barring injury. This contract probably will work out.

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch (Post 12004953)

FG: "Royals win again, keep Alex Gordon"
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/royal...p-alex-gordon/

2 interesting parts:

Obviously, he will age. He’s already started. Last year he stole just two bases, and he didn’t hit a triple. He’s unlikely to be an elite baserunner again, and he’s unlikely to maintain the extent of his defensive range in left field. But there are two things: one, Gordon shouldn’t hit the wall all of a sudden, and two, a lot of his defensive value is actually tied up in his arm, which has been the third-most valuable in the outfield of the past decade by both UZR and DRS.. I don’t know how outfield arms age, compared to range, but my sense is that they should age better....

We can do something really simple. The last four years, Gordon has been an outfielder worth 18.6 WAR. Over the last 30 years, there have been 23 outfielders worth something within 2.5 wins of that between the ages of 28-31. Between 32-35, those same outfielders averaged 12.5 WAR. These are just the simplest possible Gordon comps, but if you projected Gordon to be worth 12.5 WAR over the next four years, you’d expect him to sign a contract worth about $100 million.

Originally Posted by cosmo20002 (Post 12005495)

You were the most vocal person on the board about how signing Gordon would be a terrible move.

Originally Posted by KChiefs1 (Post 12005551)

Royals got Wang.

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/16/01...b8860024ac.jpg

Originally Posted by Coach (Post 12005723)

Re: Wang - Minor league contract. I suspect this will have an invitation to spring training.

Originally Posted by suzzer99 (Post 12005609)

Gordon Cain Dyson is a historically great defensive outfield. Gonna be a lot more fun to watch than last year, cringing in terror on every hard hit ball to right.

Originally Posted by Sure-Oz (Post 12005674)

@BNightengale: The #SFGiants indeed sign Denard Span, and will get $31 million over 3 years, per @Ken_Rosenthal

Originally Posted by Sure-Oz (Post 12005674)

@BNightengale: The #SFGiants indeed sign Denard Span, and will get $31 million over 3 years, per @Ken_Rosenthal

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry (Post 12005421)

Get us to the trade deadline and then try to deal for a rent a bat for the postseason stretch.

Originally Posted by KChiefs1 (Post 12006149)

Royals could have signed him for that price.

Originally Posted by siberian khatru (Post 12005580)

Another Dayton Moore reclamation special

Originally Posted by tk13 (Post 12006242)

Saving it for a pitcher, no doubt.

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry (Post 12006261)

The outfield I say lets see what Dyson and Orlando can do for now. Hell Ebiner or Starling might make a jump in spring training for all we know. Nobody was saying anything about Orlando this time of the year last year.

If we need a bat (which we probably will), then lets go get one at the trade deadline.

Originally Posted by baitism (Post 12006539)

I'm not sure why people are down on an Orlando/Dyson platoon? Why pay 10-12 mil for a slight upgrade over them? That money could be better spent elsewhere.

Originally Posted by Anyong Bluth (Post 12006245)

Every no name, scrap pile signing by Dayton makes me giddy.

Originally Posted by KChiefs1 (Post 12005551)

Royals got Wang.

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/16/01...b8860024ac.jpg

Originally Posted by baitism (Post 12006539)

I'm not sure why people are down on an Orlando/Dyson platoon? Why pay 10-12 mil for a slight upgrade over them? That money could be better spent elsewhere.

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch (Post 12007444)

Can't be any worse than Rios was.

Originally Posted by stonedstooge (Post 12007466)

But imagine what we could have if we were better in right. If I'm not misremembering, Dyson hasn't performed very well when given the chance to play everyday since about 3 Springs ago

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch (Post 12007689)

He's consistently about 10% than league in weighted runs created. His speed and defense #s are off the charts. Assuming he got 500 PA and stole bases at the same rate, you're looking at 50-60 swipes. It's hard to imagine him struggling in the field either.

It's possible he will get "exposed" as a regular. But it's also possible he becomes a better hitter with regular PA. It's hard to hit when you're not getting to see live pitching very often. Either way, his floor with just speed + defense should make him better than Rios

Originally Posted by WilliamTheIrish (Post 12007948)

If he ='s regular season Rios, minus the injuries/pox, and becomes post season Rios? ****, we've already won.

Originally Posted by tk13 (Post 12008028)

Our friends in Toronto have traded their leadoff hitter for relief help. Storen was the Nationals closer until Papelbon came in and wrecked the team. Might very well end up as the Jays closer.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Sources: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlueJays?src=hash">#BlueJays</a> have acquired Drew Storen from <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Nationals?src=hash">#Nationals</a> from Ben Revere. First reported as close by <a href="https://twitter.com/JonHeyman">@jonheyman</a>.</p>— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ken_Rosenthal/status/685663241427640320">January 9, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Originally Posted by Prison Bitch (Post 12007444)

Can't be any worse than Rios was.

Originally Posted by BigCatDaddy (Post 12008900)

Chances of Mondesi as a July call up or is he about a faster version of Infante right now?

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho (Post 12009416)

All depends on how he hits. If his tools finally translate to production and he starts hot at NWA and then continues that at Omaha, they may make the move midseason.

Also depends on how Colon/Infante perform. If they're getting quality production from either guy, KC may wait one more year on Mondesi and allow him to continue to season.

Mondesi and Starling are probably the two most important in the system, because there are so few position player types close and ready.

I also wouldn't be surprised to see, if they are positive about keeping Moustakas, them have Cuthbert work on LF/RF defense.

Originally Posted by tk13 (Post 12008028)

Our friends in Toronto have traded their leadoff hitter for relief help. Storen was the Nationals closer until Papelbon came in and wrecked the team. Might very well end up as the Jays closer.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Sources: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlueJays?src=hash">#BlueJays</a> have acquired Drew Storen from <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Nationals?src=hash">#Nationals</a> from Ben Revere. First reported as close by <a href="https://twitter.com/JonHeyman">@jonheyman</a>.</p>&mdash; Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ken_Rosenthal/status/685663241427640320">January 9, 2016</a></blockquote>
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