Boras spotted in Houston airport.....Harper??!!! Signed with Phils.

That lineup would be ridiculous. Even when you give any one of our stars an off day we would still have a murderers row...

 

I'd argue the exact opposite - if they got Harper, they'd need to keep low-priced players and are expecting to be competitive over a longer-term, so they'd keep the guy with 6 years of control over the more expensive guy with 2 years.

 

No doubt, but you have a history of production with Realmuto, and though very limited nothing to base whether Tucker does anything. Windows can be short lived and the Stros have lots of soul searching to do with contracts in the upcoming years. I could see taking a 2 year window and running with it at the expense of Tucker.

Ideally I hope they keep Tucker, trade Reddick find a TOR starter for a few years, get some middle relief help, it its wide open right now.

 

I'm sure your assessment is correct, but I would like to see Springers production go up by putting Altuve in front for at least 20 to 30 games. I would even like to possibly see Bregs in the 2 hole for a stretch.

 

Yall are fun.

 

Could these 'mystery teams' be in on Manny Machado, Bryce Harper?

Whenever negotiations for big-name free agents drag out, in the way they have for Bryce Harper and Manny Machado, inevitably the Mystery Team is invoked. Maybe it's based on speculation, as competing agents and club executives and reporters trade guesses about whether a team is quietly stalking to add a star.

And sometimes, the Mystery Team is very real, perhaps because of some hidden development, or because an owner or general manager becomes enamored of a strong talent lingering unsigned.

Executives and agents and analysts are privately swapping thoughts on which team, if any, might be poised to strike for Harper or Machado.

In the winter of 2003-04, for example, it appeared the Rangers' efforts to move Alex Rodriguez were all but dead. He had a full no-trade clause and talks between Texas and the Red Sox had collapsed, after the players' association would not consent to the contractual concessions Boston asked for, because of the precedent that would establish. But then Aaron Boone, then the Yankees' third baseman, blew out his knee playing basketball, setting off a series of events that led to Rodriguez getting traded to New York.

Prince Fielder's free agency dragged out deep into January 2012, and folks in the industry wondered if his agent, Scott Boras, was stuck, with no place to get a big deal. But Victor Martinez suffered a significant knee injury working out on a treadmill, the Tigers had a sudden need for a hitter, and on Jan. 26, the Tigers and Fielder concluded a $214 million contract.

When Albert Pujols was a free agent and St. Louis' talks for the slugger fell apart, it was unclear which team might be willing to spend the type of money his agent, Dan Lozano, had sought. But in a crazy 36-hour window, the Angels jumped into the talks and quickly agreed to a $240 million deal.

There have been other cases, as well, when mystery teams didn't emerge -- like last winter, when the Red Sox offered J.D. Martinez $100 million in a five-year deal ... and then waited. And in late February, despite reports of a mystery team, Boston signed Martinez to a deal close to its initial offer -- $110 million.

Harper has drawn interest from the Nationals and Phillies, and perhaps more measured interest from the Dodgers and White Sox. Sources say Machado has an offer of $175 million in hand from the White Sox -- Lozano, his agent, released a statement Wednesday evening indicating this information is inaccurate -- and at least some interest from the Phillies and the Yankees.

As this plays out, these are some of the clubs drawing speculation from insiders as possibly a Mystery Team.

For Harper, the Astros. They negotiated a trade for the slugger before the July 31 deadline, before the Nationals pulled Harper off the table. They are in their window to win right now, with George Springer, Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman and Carlos Correa all in their prime years, and with Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole each entering a final season before reaching free agency. "They've got the money, for sure," said one rival official.

A caveat mentioned by rival officials is they cannot see Astros GM Jeff Luhnow agreeing to a whopper decade-long contract, given the growing industry concerns over that type of arrangement. But on a short-term deal with opt-outs, perhaps. Can you imagine the lineup the Astros would field?

CF Springer
LF Harper
2B Altuve
3B Bregman
DH Michael Brantley
SS Correa
1B Yuli Gurriel
C Robinson Chirinos/Max Stassi
RF Josh Reddick

That would be fun to watch (although opposing pitchers might disagree).

For Machado, the Yankees. It might seem odd to have the Yankees as a Mystery Team, but they are certainly poised to move on, if they choose to do so. They added Troy Tulowitzki to play shortstop, they signed DJ LeMahieu to be their superutility Ben Zobrist, and they believe Miguel Andujar will improve defensively at third base. But if the market has backed up on Machado, into a financial realm that's more comfortable, it's possible the Yankees could restart their seemingly dormant conversations with Machado.

For Harper, the Giants. He makes a lot of sense for a lot of reasons, mostly to help create a bridge of talent beyond the group of older, ring-laden Giants like Buster Posey and Brandon Crawford. But it does seem unlikely, as Farhan Zaidi works to remake the team's farm system and address a payroll filled with expensive and aged players, his first move would be to sign perhaps the priciest player available.

For Harper or Machado, the Rangers or Twins. They are mentioned by rival officials and agents mostly because they have the payroll flexibility, and could make that kind of move if they wanted to do so.

For Harper, the Braves. They have a need to fill in the outfield, and their parent company, Liberty, could afford that kind of contract. But Liberty has generally operated with very tight, limited budgets, and it's hard to imagine them taking on a player who would absorb 20 to 25 percent of their payroll.

For Machado, the Padres. San Diego hasn't had a winning season in a long, long time, and the Padres' ownership has been looking for a way to goose the rebuilding process, which is why they signed first baseman Eric Hosmer last year. But the Padres' priority seems to be pitching.

For Machado or Harper, the Cubs. Either player would augment the lineup, of course, but the Cubs have made no secret of the fact that they are conducting baseball business with little to no flexibility in their budget. Could one of the world's wealthiest sports franchises afford either player without going bankrupt? Of course. Are the Cubs willing to blow up their budget to make this happen? Sure doesn't seem like it.

The mystery over mystery teams lives on.​

 

The Phillies and Dodgers are the clear fits for Harper, but after those 2, Houston is in the next tier with Washington, Atlanta, and the White Sox. There’s a big 3rd tier of teams that have weak need for an outfielder but either can’t afford the salary, aren’t ready to compete, or wouldn’t appeal to Harper. So I still think it’s 75% he goes to Philadelphia, LA, or Washington, 20% he goes to Houston, Atlanta, Chicago, or San Francisco, and 5% he goes somewhere else.

 

Boras's old mystery team strategy huh? - poor Phillies probably just bidding against themselves.

 

It's not the talent they aren't interested in acquiring--it's the media driven price tag of 10 years and 300-400 million. It's a ridiculous expectation in a baseball world that gives guaranteed contracts.

 

I wonder how upset Bryant is for the owners that have been burned by these insane contracts....

Pujols, ARod, Fielder, Felix Hernandez, Jason Heyward, Jacoby Ellsbury, Pablo Sandoval, Cespedes, Mike Hampton, Vernon Wells, Matt Cain, James Shields, Rusney Castillo, Jose Reyes, Johan Santana, Barry Zito, Ryan Howard, Carl Crawford, etc, etc, etc...

How many times can you expect these owners to write those checks after being burned over and over again?

 

If we want to get into the world of crazy contract #s, there need to be clauses that contain opt-outs when players fail to perform, sustain injury, etc.

Otherwise, ballplayers need to get used to 2-4 year high AAV contracts. They are win-win situations for players and clubs alike.

 

Problem is, for every terrible contract, there’s several that are great, a la Altuve and most players’ rookie and arbitration figures. There needs to be a happy medium between the two extremes. Obviously easier said than done, but hopefully that gets fixed before a strike occurs.

It would be SO Houston to have a strike amidst our best play (1994-esque)

 

Altuve-style extensions are fairly team-friendly.

Honestly, if Luhnow can continue to maximize the FARM system, we will continue to develop quality players that we can either use or shop. Our farm hasn't gone backwards once since Luhnow has taken over, and Tucker was our last high round pick.

This bodes well for short-term quality trades and contracts, which will keep us competitive for the long haul.

Then there is the international market that we are just beginning to tap into for development....

MLB does not need a strike. I do wonder though...would players move overseas in order to keep playing?

 

At least that strike can’t take away 2017.

 

We don't know if the Altuve contract will be great. His play could certainly fall off. It looks a ton less risky than other long term deals, but players need to accept the new norm. Hes getting paid a lot, just with less years.

This entitled attitude by the players is starting to piss me off. It's not unfair that owners have stopped wasting money. If they wanted some kind of financial guarantee they should have bargained for it.

 

Yep. If the players come to the table next bargaining time and ask for more free agent dollars they are making the same mistake again. The problem isn’t the owner’s refusing to give guys $300M. The problem is that the way things are set up, many of the very best players make <$1M/yr. Whether they negotiate for a dramatic increase in league minimums, earlier arbitration, or a set % of league revenue, those are the only effective ways to get more money.

 

I meant his early extension, when we had 3 MVP esque years for like 12mil total. Yes, there are tons of horrendous contracts for teams, but they can also make out like bandits with other situations.

 

Owners are no longer going to pay high dollars for past performance.

Top players could fight for a chance to get earlier free agency, if a team opts not to offer a multi-year "max" extension that would take place of the normal arb-eligible years. That would be the best likely scenario of a team still having club-control over their homegrown players, but players not having to wait a full 6 years before getting paid. I would also expect there are certain criteria attached to being a "max" type player eligible for this.

Players have been hesitant to agree to salary caps, max contracts, etc.... but adopting an NBA-like model (which allows all young players to get paid or opt for free agency, but huge incentives to stay with your current team), would be in the best interest of the players going forward.

If they strike, I do not see them coming out on top this time around. The league is flush with revenues that aren't tied to attendance.

 

When the MLBPA wants to talk about a salary floor/cap tied to revenue, and treating the minor leaguers like employees and not serfs, then we can talk.