MLB - NEWS & NOTES

with all theo and madden have done it's WS title or bust in '16.

 

Here's an interesting question for the Cubs: with Schwarber likely destined to be a corner OF for most his career (don't hurt his bat by putting him behind the plate) and Bryant likely being a corner OF at some point, are the Cubs hoping Heyward opts out?

 

If Heyward opts out after 3 years then he will receive $78M from the Cubs, an aav of $26M.

 

ouch! more insanity. mlb network had on former player and ws mvp mike lowell and he said the deal is overpriced, but in today's game, worth it for his stats etc. interesting. overpriced but worth it in today's game and for his defensive metrics. what a concept.

 

what if they are playoff contenders and maybe a WS winner? would they break up the team then in that stretch of team success?

 

If they are paying Heyward on the back end will they be able to pay Bryant, Schwarber, Russell, etc when they hit arbitration in 2-3 years?

Bryant had a significantly better offensive season at age at than Heyward had at 26, who would you prefer?

 

I thought I responded yesterday. But I think the bottom line is the Cubs at this point don't have a preference if he opts out. If he does, it will line up with paying Bryant and Schwarber and Russell. (And Arrieta will need to be paid in year 3). They do have some other potentially good outfielders in the system - McKinney, Almora, Happ. So are they hoping he opts out? It may be too strong of a word, but I think they feel they have options if he does and they aren't going to worry at this point.

 

The Cubs are expecting to have their own TV station in 2019 and at that point they feel they can have a $200+ mil payroll.

 

yeah but that doesn't matter 3 yrs from now. will bryant be a super stud then or a dud? what about their injuries and health and production? lots of factors to consider before signing that check... *WRITE*

 

Agreed. Although Bryant has super2 status so he'll get arbitration next year (if I understand that correctly, Russell too I believe).

Bryant and Heyward bring different things to the table. Personally, I want them both.

 

heck yeah and especially if they win a ws or 2. why break up the core of the team? and you signed him for that long. i don't think you wanna see him leave or opt out after 3 yrs. keep the core together if they can. with their new tv coming, they will have money to burn on the North Side.

 

Todd Fraiser is now a White Sox.

 

CHICAGO -- The White Sox acquired third baseman Todd Frazier from the Reds on Wednesday in a three-team trade involving the Dodgers. As part of the deal, the White Sox sent second baseman Micah Johnson, outfielder Trayce Thompson and right-handed pitcher Frankie Montas to Los Angeles, while the Reds received infielders Brandon Dixon and Jose Peraza and outfielder Scott Schebler from the Dodgers.

Acquiring Frazier, who turns 30 in February, strengthens the team's infield as well as adding an important power component to the South Siders' lineup. Frazier has 108 home runs in parts of five seasons with the Reds, including a career-high 35 in 2015 to go with his career-high 89 RBIs.

"Todd is one of the finer all around third basemen in the league. He is a high-character, smart baseball player who will provide an impact bat in the middle of our order," said Rick Hahn, White Sox senior vice president/general manager. "He solidifies us defensively at third base and provides a great presence in our lineup and in the clubhouse."

(MLB,com)

 

CHICAGO -- Jason Heyward has proven to be one of baseball's most valuable defensive players in his six Major League seasons.

That's the consensus among scouts, front offices, award voters and sabermetricians, and it's a big reason why the 26-year-old outfielder landed an eight-year, $184 million deal with the Cubs.

? J-Hey officially joins Cubs' young core
Defense isn't the only thing Heyward brings to the table, but it is his calling card. Perhaps the biggest question for the Cubs going forward is how Heyward's dominant right-field defense will translate to center.

"If it comes down to it, I'm perfectly fine with playing center field or right field," Heyward said Tuesday at a news conference in Chicago. "Whichever is going to be best for the team in that aspect."

Heyward posted 22 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) in right field in 2015, nine more than Ender Inciarte, who ranked second. Heyward also led in that category in '14, and he's led all right fielders in Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR) the past two seasons. He is a three-time Gold Glove Award winner.

But as of now, the Cubs are expecting Heyward to be their primary option at a position he's only appeared in 32 times (30 starts) in 816 career games as a defender.

? Center stage: Precedent for Heyward's move to CF
The Cubs believe Heyward can handle it. As president of baseball operations Theo Epstein was rattling off the attributes that made Heyward attractive to his club, he said Heyward is "probably the best right fielder in the game, and someone we feel can play a solid-to-excellent center field, as well."

Another deal for a center fielder could happen, via free agency or trade. The Cubs have been reported to be shopping infielder Javier Baez and right fielder Jorge Soler -- whose move would allow Heyward to return to his natural position.

As of Tuesday, Heyward is the starting center fielder. But he's aware that could change.

"I guess that's going to come down to what we see out of ourselves when the group is at Spring Training," Heyward said. "From my experience, you can say you have certain guys playing somewhere or hitting somewhere in the lineup. When it comes down to it, it's just going to take time for it to play out."

(By Cash Kruth / MLB.com)

 

Remember those 12 days in April he spent in AAA and everyone couldn't stop talking about? Because of that he is not arbitration eligible until 2018. Cubs can continue to pay him around 500k for 2 more seasons. Then Scott Boras strike...

 

The reason I say the Cubs hope he opts out is because the only reason he wouldn't is because they remaining years are clearly more than he can get on the open market, meaning they'd be over paying his performance.

 

My understanding is those 12 days kept him from going to free agency a year earlier (ala Heyward). But he'll actually get an extra year of arbitration. But I have pretty limited baseball arbitration understanding.

 

Your free agency comes after 3 years of arbitration, unless you are a Super-2. Only the top 17% of eligible Super 2 players become Super 2. He is Super-2 eligible, but his service time makes it unclear if he will be a Super-2 or not.

Here's a link explaining Super-2. It's not exactly simple.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2009/05/super-twos.html

 

Indians also to sign, Rajai Davis.

 

man, tons of guys on the move. happy for the teams making big moves. i gotta sit and watch the phils trade their only asset away 2 weeks ago. they don't have anyone else to trade. haha.

i don't care. it's Star Wars Thursday and I got tix tonight.