MLB Offseason 2023-24: The $700 Million Man

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Oakland’s stadium is a shithole.

Literally.

 

[1001001]

Literally.

It’s mostly from the possums.


Mostly…

 

[BillJ]

Oakland’s stadium is a shithole. No one is going to move there without a new stadium.

I think Oakland wants to build a stadium. They don’t want to build a stadium for John Fisher.

 

[Aragorn]

Bellinger back to the Cubs for three years, $80 million, way less than he was hoping for. I wonder if Snell is going to regret passing on $150 million.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Boras blinked, but I'm glad to have Belli back. There are opt-outs after the 1st & 2nd years.

 

[BillJ]

Boras blinked, but I'm glad to have Belli back. There are opt-outs after the 1st & 2nd years.

Sounds like it is more, two years and sixty million. Only way he sticks around for the third year at $20 million is if he isn't playing very well.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Charlie Manuel is at the Phils' camp. Looks MUCH healthier.

 

[Timby]

Sounds like it is more, two years and sixty million. Only way he sticks around for the third year at $20 million is if he isn't playing very well.

Bellinger's only 28; if he has another monster year in 2024 I guarantee you he opts out this winter. This is a bridge contract.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Anyone know why the names on players' jerseys are so much smaller now? The numbers are the same size, but the names have shrunk quite a bit.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Anyone know why the names on players' jerseys are so much smaller now? The numbers are the same size, but the names have shrunk quite a bit.

So names like Mastrobuoni and larger can fit? Some of those guys need a second uni.

 

[Timby]

Anyone know why the names on players' jerseys are so much smaller now? The numbers are the same size, but the names have shrunk quite a bit.

Fanatics (which now has the exclusive license) has cheaped out on materials.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Fanatics (which now has the exclusive license) has cheaped out on materials.

Are these the same unis that players are complaining about the white pants being "see through"?

Uniform shenanigans.

 

[Aragorn]

Kris Bryant interview sounded like he regrets signing with the Rockies (that he signed too quickly, that he didn't look at their prospect situation). He tried to spin it later, but the team is a total mess. What other team would trade Nolan Arenado and throw in $50 million because they don't want to pay him, then sign Kris Bryant to an insane contract?

 

[Timby]

Kris Bryant interview sounded like he regrets signing with the Rockies (that he signed too quickly, that he didn't look at their prospect situation). He tried to spin it later, but the team is a total mess. What other team would trade Nolan Arenado and throw in $50 million because they don't want to pay him, then sign Kris Bryant to an insane contract?

I didn't get the sense that he actively regrets signing with the Rockies, considering he also says this earlier:

“Worth the wait,” the sign read, with Bryant in a Chicago Cubs uniform he had yet to wear in a real game.

This was Bryant’s identity nine years ago: Wunderkind savior of a downtrodden franchise, the weight of six straight playoff-less seasons backed by a century-long championship drought placed squarely on his shoulders. Bryant’s debut signaled the end of misery on the North Side.

“Looking back on it — honestly I wish things went a little differently,” Bryant told The Athletic in an interview last week.

“I didn’t know that (billboard) was going to be up there. But if I did, I probably would have been like, ‘Let’s not do that. Let me just go out there and play ball and let me be who I am.’”

I think the piece is more of a retrospective of how he now believes that his career could have been so much more, both from his own choices (signing with Colorado) and from things outside of his control (his horrific injury history), as evidenced by this:

By the numbers, Bryant’s ability to square up the ball is seemingly in free fall. He said that injuries are “solely” at fault — namely the plantar fasciitis in 2022 and a broken finger last year. He added that finding an offensive groove is difficult with inconsistent availability.

There’s nothing off mechanically, he said. And there are no lingering ailments that could explain the drop-off. While his manager Bud Black agrees that injuries have debilitated his production, he believes that Bryant has also faced a familiar foe during his time in Colorado.

“There’s so many factors that go into how a player’s doing,” said Black. “We talk about the psychology of it. But only Kris really knows. But from his conversations with me — he put a lot of pressure on himself early, the first year. Big contract. New team. Signed late. Came to camp late. The pressure that players put on themselves is real.”

Bryant may be a superstar in this game. But he’s also low-key and soft-spoken. Friendly but not necessarily incredibly outgoing. Just because that star label was attached to him immediately does not mean he loved everything that came along with it.

Schmidt made a point of saying that he never acquired Bryant to be the face of their franchise. “I just wanted him to be one of the guys.” Bryant’s hitting coach in Chicago, John Mallee, immediately brought up that now infamous billboard as a point of consternation.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Josh Donaldson is retiring. Linky

 

[Timby]

Josh Donaldson is retiring. Linky

It's really incredible just how quickly he fell to pieces. Legitimate superstar through 2021, with an amazing ability to pick up on pitches and adjust his swing, and then he just turned into a pumpkin.

 

[BillJ]

A's release renderings of new Las Vegas domed stadium that resembles famous opera house (msn.com)

 

[cardinal biggles]

Oh good, now we can stop photoshopping Vedek Winn's hat into the Sydney Opera House onto and start photoshopping her hat into the A's stadium instead.

 

[Timby]

A's release renderings of new Las Vegas domed stadium that resembles famous opera house (msn.com)

I'm pretty sure there is not physically enough space on the site they have "secured" for that stadium as shown. Beyond that, they're highlighting the view out of left field as a selling point for the stadium, but in reality, that view in any stadium located at the southeast corner of the Tropicana lot will be completely obstructed by the current Tropicana hotel / new Bally's hotel--assuming Bally's isn't functionally bankrupt and actually knocks down the Tropicana and builds something else there as they claim they will.

On a related note, I don't think you could have a giant window there in reality, because the sunlight would reflect off of the windows / glass curtain wall of the Bally's property and be a major nuisance in during any day game.

 

[Aragorn]

Joey Votto, 40, signs a minor league contract with the Blue Jays.