In a move highlighting how destitute the catching market is, the Braves signed Travis d'Arnaud to a 2 year/$16 m contract split evenly between the two years. d'Arnaud is one of those players who constantly seems to be on the verge of a breakout season but never quite gets there, mostly due to a long series of injuries. In 7 MLB seasons, his top 4 in games played are 112, 108, 103(2019) and 75. In that time, he's averaged 21 HR's/600 PA and that's where his appeal lies. If you project is season stats, he should be good for about 20-25 dingers over a full season but alas, between injuries and slumps, he's never gotten there. Don't forget he was DFA'd by the Mets and again by the Dodgers in May 2019. He enjoyed one of his pretty good runs after signing on the the Rays which is what gave him the value for this contract. Obviously, the key to this contract is for him to stay healthy. If he can, it's a good deal for the Braves. If not, they may be stuck with Tyler Flowers as their only MLB quality catcher. Steven Vogt is older and has his own injury history, but his left-handed bat would complement Flowers and play well in the home ballpark.
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The Yankees released Jacoby Ellsbury and do not intend to pay him the remaining $26 M on his contract. The Yanks assert that Ellsbury had surgery by an unapproved physician violating the terms of his contract. I would think this move sets up a showdown with a the MLBPA.
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Apparently what hit it off between Farhan Zaidi and Scott Harris in the interview process was Harris really digs roster turnover, which is......well....inneresting. Again, while the roster churning from last year turned up a couple of possible keepers in YtY and Mauricio Dubon, it remains far from clear that this is an effective way to build a competitive roster and there is an opportunity cost in having to live with a lot of PA's by the likes of Conner Joe and Michael Reed before you unearth a possible keeper.
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As a long time Giant's fan who now lives in south Texas (Ugh!), I would say that all the roster turnover creates a disconnection between me (the fan) and the team. Less time to watch and experience the players limits the emotional connections I have with those players and, thus, the team.
ReplyDeleteOn an a parallel tract, I wonder if the full impact of turnover on team chemistry is fully understood. Thanks. Love your blog.
Roger
Agree with the disconnect part with so many players going in and out. But I think Zaidi did a good job with the roster in 2019 looking at young players, making the roster more flexible so they have more room to spend in 2020. I remember in 2018 when Evans only had room to make a couple of moves Cutch and Longoria to stay under the CBT. Was that good business? Didn't the red Sox fire their GM due to CBT concerns. Regardless, I am hoping that Zaidi will not steer off of his plan to bring the Giants back to contention. That's the most important thing. If he decides to change his plan, then I will say that I would be concerned about the future of the team.
DeleteThe $16M for d'Arnaud is $2M more than MLBTR estimated. Braves really need a backup for Flowers -- there was talk on their blogs about Vogt, maybe he wants to stay on the WC and is talking with the Giants? And A's?
ReplyDeleteHe's not on the MLBTR top 50 list which goes as low as one year, $3M.
He's certainly worth that to the Giants, isn't he?
d'Arnaud and Flowers -- who is backing up whom?
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