MLB Status

Thursday, May 28 2020 @ 01:34 AM EDT

Well, not a ton of stuff but what we do have is big.  Owners and players fighting over compensation for players should MLB get going again.  Also time for anew thread that is purely about what is going on now in baseball, even if it isn't much.

• MLBPA Plans To Counter League’s Economic Proposal In The Coming Days
• Players not happy with the owners trying to cut their pay by more after slashing it already to be based on games played vs per year.
• The cut the owners want is from 8% for league minimum players to a 56% cut for the richest players over and above the per game cut they accepted.  Gee, what a shock they are saying 'screw you' to that proposal
• It is expected the players will propose an expanded post-season which is pure revenue for the owners, little for players (they get some but vs a regular season game it is pennies).  Players like to play, so going to a 14 or 16 team playoff would probably be fine for them even if baseball goes to December.
• As Jay fans here we all know Rogers hides most of the revenue it makes from the Jays in Sportsnet and other areas.  Given they own the stadium, the TV network, and the cable company that shows the network they have lots of ways to shift revenue from the Jays to their other arms.  If i was a player I wouldn't trust them one iota either.
• The Jays Turned A Free Agent Whiff Into An Elite Pitching Prospect
• Fun article to read - talks about how Edwin Encarnacion screwed up (and so did the Jays) on free agency and how it led to the Jays drafting Nate Pearson.  Yeah, I'd say that worked out well.  The Jays were 10+ games under 500 each of the 3 years EE wasn't here and if he signed that deal the Jays would've owed him $20 mil for this year too (so far they would've got 7.6 bWAR (still not enough to get the Jays to 500 any of those 3 years even if all in the same year).  Instead the Jays got a couple of bad years from Kendrys Morales (0.8 bWAR) then for Kendrys Jesus Lopez (nothing much) plus international FA money (not sure who it was used on) not to mention drafting Pearson.  I'd say that worked out well.
• Blue Jays Including More Staff In Draft Process In 2020
• A very good thing imo - you keep all your employees working, and you get more eyes on the potentials for the draft.  As long as they make sure each person has a clear purpose (IE: Joe Office gets video for the coaches and scouts to review, but doesn't get 2 cents in on who is good or not).  For example, all the pitching coaches in the system should be digging through the pitching prospects and making evaluations on issues and if they can be fixed by coaching or not potentially. Same for hitting coaches and hitters, fielding coaches and fielding so you can determine if a guy is a future SS or DH.
• On the 'this sucks' category - The Blockbuster That Brought The Tigers Their Most Valuable Trade Chip
• An article about how the Jays sent Matthew Boyd as part of the David Price deal which I felt at the time was giving too many prospects away, but still was needed after over 20 years of no playoffs.  Boyd I liked in the minors as he always seemed to get a LOT better after getting settled in at a level.  I was hopeful he'd be solid after having a poor first year in the majors (he hadn't reached yet at that time).  His first year in the majors he stunk (54 ERA+ in 57 IP) but a 97 ERA+ since then and 2 years of control left.  A very solid mid-rotation guy now.  Ah well.
• On the 'oh yeah' category - Oakland’s Meager Return For A Superstar
• All about the Josh Donaldson trade.  Lots thought Brett Lawrie  would be a solid guy at 3B for a long time, he wasn't.  Sean Nolin would be a decent ML starter, just 6 starts for Oakland and minors ever since.  Franklin Barreto we feared would make the Jays regret the deal - he didn't - 80 ML games so far 60 OPS+and -0.2 dWAR.  Go figure, the best guy Oakland got was Kendall Graveman who gave them 5.5 WAR in 4 years and now is to be paid $1.5 mil if baseball gets going this year plus a $500k buyout for 2021 (or $3.5 mil if Seattle who now has him chooses to keep him).
• The Western Canadian Baseball League canceled its season
• Can't find news on the other Canadian minor league teams right now - feel free to add them below for fans of them.
  

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