But don’t you start losing draft picks or international signing funds at some point? I think that’s the thing that really gets their attention.
Kind of. It’s really 3 luxury tax thresholds. This year, the first threshold is at $210M and first time offenders pay a 20% tax on the overage (second consecutive, 30%; third consecutive, 50%). The next threshold is at $230M, and that gets you an additional 12% surcharge. And at $250M, it’s a 42.5% tax, and your highest draft pick gets moved back 10 slots. Losing some draft position is a bit of a deterrent, but the difference in picking at, say #37 overall instead of #27 is not going to be a massive concern.
Red Sox beat writer…
Don’t know about the rest of you, but Benintemdi doesn’t get my chili hot. It’s been a while since he has played well.
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He sucks and is getting worse in every underlying metric.
There’s gonna be certain teams who may end up regretting not claiming Brad Hand when he was on waivers back in October.
SNY’s Andy Martino on the market for the reliever which almost certainly has rapidly improved in the wake of the contract handed out to Liam Hendricks…
According to league sources, [the Mets] was one of several teams that was willing to sign Hand for one year and slightly less than the $10 million he would have made if claimed on waivers in October. Hand is seeking a two-year deal, and has not yet found it. One executive believed that the Hendriks deal would slow free agency because some agents were starting to show a willingness to lower prices. Now, a reliever like Hand might feel even more justified in seeking a multi-year deal. Perhaps Hendriks’ good fortune will trickle down on some level to Hand.
Mets still interested in reliever Brad Hand, whose market value might have just risen
I was stunned that the Astros, and practically every other team that needed relief help, didn’t claim Hand when he was waived. To not claim him at that price borders on incompetence. Let’s hope this doesn’t bite Houston in the ass.
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Pretty much how I feel as well. If you feel for some reason that he’s worth a gamble the $6.5M or thereabouts he’s gonna earn this year isn’t unreasonable per se, but I wouldn’t give up much to acquire him. The trade simulator has players like Toro or Straw as similar value going back, or any number of minor leaguers outside the top 10-15 of the organization.
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If the Red Sox are eating a significant portion of his salary and the Astros are giving up a low(er) value asset, I think Benintendi could make sense. That’s assuming the Astros also recognize what they would need to fix with him. As Alkie pointed out, he’s on a pretty worrisome downward slope.
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Just tweeted out 10 minutes ago by Morosi but one wonders if that interest by the Astros evaporated with today’s signing of Pedro Baez…
In a Q&A for The Athletic, the Red Sox beat writer mentioned Tyler Ivey as a possibility.
In the trade value simulator Ivey is a very close match. He’s also on the 40-man so you could make that trade straight up without having to make another move. Something tells me we are going to end up making this deal at some point, but where to play him? Some of the talking heads on radio said they wouldn’t hesitate to put him in center even though some of the recent metrics say he’s lost a step. They were of the opinion there is a lot left in the tank and that if acquired he’ll have a chip on his shoulder and something to prove. Would be a nice addition for Houston in their opinion.
If they do acquire him and keep him in left and shift Tucker to right, we still need a CF. Straw not good enough at plate to start there…yet.
Ummm…so here’s what the current and former Astros.com beat writers have to say about a possible trade for Benintendi…
Footer: To the rest of the group: What do your teams have to offer up, based on Ian’s list?
McTaggart: A name to watch is Forrest Whitley, the Astros’ top prospect for the last couple of years. He’s been spinning his wheels – injury, suspension, underperformance, no Triple-A season in 2020 – for a few years now and has seen his star fall somewhat. But I could see the Astros including him in a deal.
Footer: I do often wonder if Astros GM James Click will be slightly less attached to Whitley than Jeff Luhnow was. I would have given up on him already.
Everybody’s frustrated with Whitley’s development (or lack thereof) but that’s a pretty head-scratching remark from Footer.
Inconsistent twaddle during the rest of that roundtable. Later in the discussion he says this…
McTaggart: Ultimately, I don’t think the Astros will trade for Benintendi. That’s because I think they will re-sign Brantley, who seemed to enjoy his two years in Houston and was comfortable. Plus, you know he’s going to hit. No question about that. The DH conundrum with Alvarez can be sorted out later.
But then at the end…
Footer: Let’s end this with a survey like the airlines do it. “My team is going to trade for Benintendi!” Give a number – 1 being “not likely” and 10 being “heck yea, it’s happening.”
McTaggart (Astros): 6
Rogers (Cardinals): 5
Gallegos (A’s): 4
Berry (Pirates): 2, just because I’d hate to see it happen after I said 1.
My head hurts and i wish i had not read that piece.
Obviously Footer thinks Whitley=Appel. I’m not in that camp yet, but I would not hesitate a second if I could trade him straight up for a young player/prospect at a position of need for us (OF,C,1B). Whitley straight of for Trevor Larnach, Alejandro Kirk, Keibert Ruiz, Austin Martin or Matt Beaty would have me doing back flips.
In my mind, if Whitley doesn’t provide some quality innings in the bigs this season, bullpen or rotation, then its time to start wondering if he’s ever gonna be what they thought.
Maybe it’s because of Whitley’s attitude? Someone can correct me if I’m wrong but I don’t think that was ever a knock against Appel - he just seemingly lost the ability to pitch effectively. Whitley doesn’t seem to give a shit if he lost it or not.
What do I know but I certainly would have preferred Archie Bradley for $6 million over Pedro Baez. Looking at may credentials, I can see how others may disagree.
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Same same. Not that Baez is a bad pickup. I just preferred Bradley (and really wish the Astros would’ve claimed Hand last season).
But I also get paid to make wine, not baseball decisions.
Looks like the Phillies are signing Bradley.