I write a baseball blog. Therefore, I am obligated to put in my 2 cents on Hall of Fame voting. And the new year is also the deadline for BBWAA voters to send in their real ballots for the Hall of Fame, so you see a glut of sportswriters publishing their ballots. Here’s more of the same from me.
How many years have I been doing this post? Basically as long as we’ve had the blog. Here’s (by class) 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011.
I know lots of people have lost faith in the Hall of Fame, are tired of reading analysis like this, etc etc. Fair enough; feel free to move on.
Here’s two key links for you, if you’re still reading.
- Baseball-Reference.com’s 2021 ballot class link
- Ryan Thibodaux‘s online tracker of all HoF votes
So, the 2021 class is … well its weak. With all due respect to the newly eligible candidates on the 2021 ballot, there’s not a single one hall-worthy. Several “hall of very good” players, but none transcendent. There was just one “major award” won between any of the newly eligible players, that being Barry Zito’s Cy Young award in 2002.
Nonetheless, here’s some quick thoughts on those that are on this ballot, in rough order of descending career bWAR/likelihood of getting 5% votes to stick around on the ballot.
New to the 2021 Ballot Candidates:
- Tim Hudson; highest JAWS of any of the 2021 new candidates, nearly the highest total career WAR. He certainly had enough time in the sun, playing for multiple playoff teams in his career (7 seasons pitching in the playoffs). Was frequently in Cy Young talks, but never really came close to winning one. Probably the best of this year’s class.
- Mark Buehrle: the Andy Pettitte of the 00s. Their career stats are eerily similar; if you support Pettitte, you support Buehrle. I think both guys were career #3 starters with occasionally amazing stuff.
- Torii Hunter had a surprisingly solid, quiet career. Great defender, great teammate. Not enough to make the hall.
- Dan Haren: hey, he pitched for the Nats! And he threw 88mph (his twitter account is https://twitter.com/ithrow88).
- Barry Zito: great early part of his career, forming the trio of amazing starters that Michael Lewis never once mentioned in Moneyball. Then became one of the worst-ever free agent contracts signed. 7 years, $126M. For that $126M he contributed a COMBINED 3.0 bWAR. Over 7 years. That’s $42M per WAR. Not the best legacy. Did win a Cy Young though.
- Aramis Ramirez: a long-time middle of the order dangerous bat for Chicago. Multiple 30hr/100 rbi seasons. Surprised he never got more press.
- Shane Victorino; we saw a lot of Victorino during the Philly golden years of the late 2000s. Solid player, that’s about it.
- A.J. Burnett: pitched for years, .500 career record, just kind of always there as a #2 or #3 starter. He made one All Star team in his entire career and it was his farewell season.
- Nick Swisher; the golden-child of the book Moneyball. Nice career.
- LaTroy Hawkins: no disrespect, but I don’t want to ever hear about another reliever until Billy Wagner is inducted.
- Michael Cuddyer; From Virginia! Part of a great history of players coming out of Great Bridge HS in Chesapeake over the past 20 years (also including Justin Upton, John Curtice and Connor Jones).
Returning Ballot Candidates
Here’s how I’d vote my imaginary ballot. Amazingly, i find myself struggling to get to 10 players.
- Yes on Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Curt Schilling, Manny Ramirez
- more tepid Yes on Scott Rolen, Andruw Jones
- Maybe it’s time to vote for Gary Sheffield, Billy Wagner, and Todd Helton
- Pass for now on Jeff Kent, Sammy Sosa, Andy Pettitte,
- No on Omar Vizquel, Bobby Abreu
Quick reasoning in order of the above:
- Clemens and Bonds are two of the best players ever to play, regardless of later-in-their-career PED transgressions (alleged or otherwise). You can cut both their careers off at the point where they both allegedly used and they’re still HoFamers. Vote them in and be done with it.
- Schilling may be abhorrent on social media, but he deserves the Hall based on his playing career. It does not go without saying though that it is completely reasonable for journalists to pass as a statement of protest at this point. If you want a full accounting of all the reprehensible stuff he’s spewed on social media lately, see Jay Jaffe‘s HoF post for a partial list. Its ridiculous. And frankly it makes me pause even putting his name here. Maybe its “putting your head in the sand” to support someone posting the vile crap he does … especially since he’s completely aware of what he posts and seemingly now does it for attention.
- Ramirez was perhaps the most feared RH hitter for a decade in this league and has career numbers that put him in the top 25 hitters ever to play. Again, less interested in PED transgressions at the end of his career than I am with the bulk of his accomplishments.
- Rolen is an interesting player whose value was much more about his defense than his offense. Interestingly the Hall has no problem electing top-end defensive short stops who couldn’t hit (see Ozzie Smith or Luis Aparicio) but seem to struggle when presented with an equally dominant defensive 3B who actually could hit. That’s Rolen to a t.
- Jones was, for the first 10 years of his career, discussed as perhaps being the second coming of Willie Mays before getting hurt and getting run out of the game by the time he was 35. Despite playing just 11 full seasons he had 434 career homers and 10 straight gold gloves in Center. I think voters have just forgotten how good he was. Keith Law had a great post at the Athletic this week about just why Jones is hall-worthy, an interesting analysis that was worth reading.
- Sheffield is a borderline candidate but was nearly as feared as Ramirez was at the plate. Has stronger PED usage allegations than others. He was, unfortunately, a “difficult” player to deal with both for club and media, which has probably led to his tepid support.
- Billy Wagner: has better numbers than nearly any other inducted reliever. If you have any relievers in the hall, you’d need to consider Wagner (and as long as we’re having that conversation, say hello to Tom Henke).
- Todd Helton was better than you remember. He had a season once where he hit .357 AND hit 42 homers. Just look past the fact that he was once arrested for DUI while buying lottery tickets. Lottery tickets! For a player who made $156M in his career.
Passing on and reasoning:
- Bobby Abreu: good but not transcendent. Frankly i;m amazed at the support he’s getting so far on the bbhof tracker.
- Jeff Kent is a polarizing figure, both while he played and on the ballot. He’s a borderline guy and his voting totals have indicated that.
- Sosa: too hard to make a case that he reinvented himself as a home run hitter completely thanks to artificial mechanisms. He was a 36–40 homer guy then he suddenly rips off seasons of 66, 63, 50 and 64. I will say though, i do “buy” his corked bat explanation once I read that the league confiscated all his other bats and found no other cork.
- Pettitte lead the league in wins in the 90s (much like Morris did in the 80s) but is recognized similarly to Mark Buehrle; a lefty 3rd or 4th starter for most of his career who stayed healthy and accumulated wins and strikeouts, but was rarely even the best hurler on his own team.
- Vizquel was a mediocre hitter who played forever and nearly got to 3,000 hits. He was a solid defender yes, but I’m kind of at a loss as to why voters are giving him so much credence while Rolon struggles.
First, anyone who would vote yes on Bonds, Clemens, and Ramirez is an automatic disqualification from ever voting again.
None of their stats are authentic! None.
Take Clemens, you would have to say his career in Boston alone made him worthy, which it isn’t.
Schilling is a scumbag but he deserves it anyway. If Ty Cobb is there than there’s room for Schilling.
Mark L
31 Dec 20 at 4:08 pm
Barry Bonds is a cheater. Barry Bonds is the greatest hitter of all time. These things are both true; the former is a compelling reason to vote against him, and the latter is a compelling reason to vote for him. To me, the latter outweighs the former, especially given how widespread PED usage was at the time. You have to view it in that context; it’s not like Bonds owned baseball because he was the only one gaining a pharmaceutical advantage, he owned baseball because while tons of players, including Bonds, were gaining a pharmaceutical advantage, Bonds was much, much better than any of them.
But yeah, the fact that Bonds and Clemens cheated is a defensible reason not to put them in the Hall, just as Schilling being an atrocious, hateful human being is a defensible reason not to put him in the Hall. For me, I’d vote for Bonds and Clemens and not for Schilling because lots of players cheated in Bonds and Clemens’ era, while Schilling stands out from his peers because he’s so vile. But I totally get the arguments both ways.
SaoMagnifico
31 Dec 20 at 10:06 pm
Curt Schilling was an amazing teammate of great leadership character. I missed the memo of how he was a vile human being, especially as he did not cheat.
forensicane
1 Jan 21 at 1:05 pm
fore, you’ve missed what Schilling has said and written since his retirement. None of this happened while he was playing but since ……
His musings are stomach churning and disgusting but I’d vote him in as he wasn’t this way when he was playing.
Mark L
1 Jan 21 at 1:26 pm
I only know that he is politically unpopular but was of the opinion that ever since Jackie Robinson, we no longer live in a country of exclusion based on race, religion, or thinking. If one does not agree, just change the channel or ignore the blog.
I was not aware, for example, that DeSean Jackson was in any way excluded from enjoying all of what he earns as an outstanding football player simply because he Demas himself personally by what he espouses. I personally am offended by DeSean Jackson’s comments but if he played for my team and excelled, I’d cheer for him just the same. That is the safe space of sports. Just as of all the people who were appalled that the Nationals signed Daniel Murphy, many of them stopped fixating on his private beliefs when he almost won the MVP here.
So while I am not familiar with what Shilling has done that is “disgusting,” perhaps I am just one of those people who loves the Hall of Fame because they have not yet thrown out Ty Cobb or others because their views were quite hateful on a personal level (of course, in a country where Lincoln statues are removed, Ty Cobb and others may be fair game).
I guess I am I the minority, but unless one does a Jerry Sandusky, or cheats, actually, I don’t care what people are on a personal level any more than I would count how many times babe Ruth was drunk off his arse with a tied up chick in a brothel.
Perhaps I have lived long enough to know how we all could be cancelled and do not mix my fandom with politics.
forensicane
1 Jan 21 at 3:09 pm
That’s said, I agree that the Bonds decision is difficult because he cheated but would have been a Hall of Fame caliber player anyway with that eye and that glove and that longevity. It’s a tough call and the cheating has to be accountable. Perhaps in a Moses like way, he gets excluded until after he dies. No easy answer.
Forensicane
1 Jan 21 at 3:12 pm
This isn’t the place to argue about this, so I’m not going to. Look at Jay Jaffe’s article if you want to educate yourself. If you’re content to live in ignorance, then don’t.
SaoMagnifico
1 Jan 21 at 6:58 pm
It’s interesting that folks seem to assume Schilling is a HOFer on the field but that Hudson really isn’t even in that class. Well . . .
Hudson: 222 wins, 63% win %, 3.49 ERA, 120 ERA+, 1.24 WHIP, 3.78 FIP
Schilling: 216 wins, 60% win %, 3.46 ERA, 127 ERA+, 1.14 WHIP, 3.23 FIP
Neither won a CYA. Schilling has a gaudy 1,100+ lead in K’s, but also surrendered 99 more homers ad 41 more hits. Schilling of course has a tremendous postseason record.
I don’t know how you account for availability/reliability, but Schilling had a hard time stringing together runs of consistent seasons, both due to injury and inconsistency. For all that he did do, he really wasn’t a consist star until he was 30. Hudson had a remarkably consist run.
Hudson probably won’t get in with the voters anytime soon. But he also deserves not to be immediately dismissed, and he may gain some momentum late or with whatever the Veterans’ Committee is called now.
KW
1 Jan 21 at 9:49 pm
Also, Schilling shouldn’t be grouped with Bonds and Clemens. He gets grouped with them for continually getting kept from getting in due to extenuating circumstances, but he wasn’t that level of elite.
I’ve written in past years on Bonds and Clemens. I’ve attempted to shake out what “clean” careers would have looked like for them. I sorta came up with Clemens looking like Pedro Martinez’s career, and Bonds looking like Junior Griffey’s, although Griffey had larger HR totals in his 20s. Age was cruel Martinez and particularly to Griffey. It was starting to be cruel to Clemens. Bonds probably would have continued his evolution into an elite hitting machine, just not with nearly as many HRs, or for as long.
I can’t settle the debate. Initially, my opinions were strongly against Bonds and Clemens being in, but those have softened a bit. I’ve always thought it would help matters if folks would truly come clean, but McGwire is the only one who has come close to doing that. So the saga continues, and A-Fraud will join the debate next year.
KW
1 Jan 21 at 10:08 pm
Speaking of non-enhanced aging being cruel, it slapped Andruw Jones down hard, just as it did an earlier ATL CF, Dale Murphy. Jones was one of the greatest defensive players ever, at a premium defensive position, and should have been on his way to at least 500 homers with a reasonably normal decline. His WAR7 is higher than Rolen, Ramirez, and Sheffield, among many others.
I don’t know whether Jones is a HOFers, but I was horrified when he almost dropped off the ballot his first two years. He deserves extended consideration and discussion.
KW
1 Jan 21 at 10:15 pm
If Sandy Koufax can make it into the hall on the strength of a 10 year career, only 4 of which were dominant, then Jones can make it on the strength of a 15 year career where 10 were amazing and 5 were subpar.
Jones has more bWAR than Koufax, coincidentally. He just didn’t have the incredible peak of multiple major awards.
Todd Boss
2 Jan 21 at 9:31 am
Coincidentally …. Mark Zuckerman has returned to the “Nats to Oblivion” topic after i think a decade of not publishing it….
https://www.masnsports.com/nationals-pastime/2021/01/all-the-ballplayers-whose-careers-ended-in-dc.html
A great read. I’ll post my version with 2019 and 2020’s oblivion class noted once the 2021 season starts and we have assignments.
Todd Boss
2 Jan 21 at 9:32 am
“Nats to oblivion” was a lot more relevant when the Nats were terrible. Back then it was a reminder of how bad the teams were.
I remember the bad ole days when the Nats had the last place farm system for 4 years in a row. One writer even said that the distance between the Nats system and the 29th place team was the Grand Canyon.
Mark L
2 Jan 21 at 2:57 pm
Not to threadjack, but it’s exciting to recall that last year, Rizzo struck quickly and repeatedly right after the new year to address remaining team needs.
The pace of the market and the direction of baseball economics very much favor the Nationals getting what they want without major sacrifices, and for several reasons.
1) Lots of higher end inventory still there
2) Collective reluctance to dispense long-term contracts, and prices already lower
3) Seller teams pressured by remaining inventory on market, return on Darvish/Caratini deal perceived to be lower than expected
Buckle up – first week or so of 2020 brought us Will Harris and Starlin Castro, all of whom were thought to be major acquisitions.
I still think a trade is in the offing, because the Nationals have a lot of starter inventory who could help teams that I don’t expect to be relied upon by the Nationals this year.
Some of those players have higher perceived value than others. But assuming that better options, and affordable options, exist as free agents right now for #4 options at 1-2 years (I don’t think the Nats will sign any existing starter on the free agent market to a three year deal), such a signing is a catalyst to packaging another starter or starters (think Fedde or even Ross, or others who are at the AAA-AAAA or out of options stage) for a bigger lineup piece (or pieces). It feels, with six spots open on the 40 man, like major retooling is coming, and soon.
forensicane
3 Jan 21 at 2:11 am
And Eric Thames and Daniel Hudson came in shortly thereafter.
forensicane
3 Jan 21 at 2:12 am
…and Asdrubal Cabrera. So four signings by 1/8 and one more on 1/14.
forensicane
3 Jan 21 at 2:16 am
fore, I sure hope you’re right. There’s a lot of inventory out there and the Nats desperately need some holes filled.
Mark L
3 Jan 21 at 12:55 pm
Bell was a nice, cost-effective addition. But there is still A LOT that needs to be done to make the Nats a fringy contender. I’ve mentioned several times, and I think some others have too, the model of the ’10/’12/’14 Giants. None of those were anywhere close to great teams. You shake your head when you look at those rosters, particularly when you think about the crew that eliminated the Nats in ’14, or the Cards who the Nats should have beaten in ’12. Those teams had a couple of hitting stars, less quality starting pitching than the Nats have now, but a lot of gamers who fought every inning for every out and every run. Not coincidentally, the Nats had several of those types of guys in ’19 . . . some of whom got old fast in ’20, which also tended to happen to the Giants, thus the lapse years between the championships.
Anyway, the Nats still have several key roster slots to fill for ’21. We all like to throw out the names of big-bucks guys we’d like to see them trade for or sign. Boz sorta made the case in his Bell-signing column for blowing past the $210 tax line and spending $50M+ on the rest of the roster. I’ve seen NO indication that’s going to be the case, though. In fact, we have no indication yet whether they would even be willing to spend in the $15-18M per-year range for guys like Brantley, Ozuna, or LeMahieu.
Is Rizzo being coy, or is he on a much tighter budget? We don’t know. There was some buzz that the Nats bid on Santana, but that was less than $10M per. (I think Bell will turn out better.) Maybe Rizzo is just lying in the weeds, waiting for better deals. But if he isn’t, and he is on a tight budget, I wish he would go on and go after some guys like Rosairo or Pillar. Right now, there are several decent guys to choose from in that price range. When the run on them starts, they may go fast.
Also, at what point do we roll out the big “C” word and start talking about collusion across baseball? I mean, there’s not even much buzz about any of the higher-level free agents. The silence is deafening.
KW
4 Jan 21 at 1:53 pm
Maybe the delay has a lot to do with what is agreed upon for this season, in terms of length, attendance, etc.
forensicane
4 Jan 21 at 4:50 pm
The economics of player acquisition are – of the free agents, how many would you offer more than two years? Is a player of similar or better caliber in the Nats system now more than two years away?
If there is no such player for a particular position on the free agent market, what does the trade market hold for that better option with two or more years of control? How desperate is the team to sell?
That’s essentially how we got Josh Bell and his two years of control. It’s also why a play like Ramirez would be out of reach in terms of the return cost.
Free agents will want multiyear deals at this stage. The older players are going to want three years or more, like Donaldson last year. How many of these players would the Nats truly go over two years with?
Look at Lemahieu – he wants five years. SO does Springer. Would the Nationals go five years or more (philosophically) with any of these players?
forensicane
4 Jan 21 at 5:27 pm
Casali to Giants for 1/$1.5M. Great price for one of the best of the not-so-great lot of backup catchers. That’s exactly the type of guy I wish Rizzo was signing right now. No, not a make-or-break player, but one who could fill a hole and leave them with $$$ left over to make a bigger splash elsewhere. Maybe they think Welington Castro or Barrera can be just as good. Maybe, maybe not.
KW
4 Jan 21 at 10:14 pm
It would be nuts to give LeMahieu five years, a contract ending when he’s 38.
Springer started the winter hoping for seven years, so it’s “progress” if he’s really down to five.
You know, I don’t really blame players and agents for trying to get the most they can, the most that the market will support. But contract lengths have gotten out of hand. A contract of three or four years is a very solid contract. It’s a crapshoot to sign anyone for seven or more, no matter how young they are. Stanton has played seven seasons under his mega-deal. He’s won one MVP, finished second once, . . . and was 19th in the only other season he got votes. He’s also missed significant chunks of four of those seasons.
KW
4 Jan 21 at 10:22 pm
On the ‘everybody else’ tier of catchers Casali seemed the best fit for the Nats.
What is Plan C for catchers?
Mark L
5 Jan 21 at 7:51 am
Mets get Lindor and Carrasco for fairly light return. Wow. NL East just got tougher. AL Central not so much. I mean, two AL playoff teams from last season have essentially quit, including one that was in game 7 of the World Series. And two NL teams have gotten significantly better as a result, although the big-market Cubs seems to have contracted.
MLB has to establish a salary floor. As I’ve noted before, the NFL requires teams to spend within 11% of their cap. REQUIRES them. Team payrolls are virtually equal. The only things separating them are bad coaching and front office stupidity. Of course the NFL can impose the floor because all of their TV money is shared. MLB has allowed a massive disparity in local TV contracts that has been detrimental to the game for a long time.
The Mets now have one of the best rotations in the game . . . on paper. In reality, there will be significant sustainability concerns with Carrasco, Stromen, and Thor. The other thing is that the Mets just took on around $35M in salary. That number might not completely take them out of the big-ticket free-agent market, but they’re certainly not going to sign Springer AND Realmuto on top of those obligations. So I see this deal squeezing the FA market even more.
KW
7 Jan 21 at 1:36 pm
Interesting deal. In a way it’s in line with Snell and Bell and Betts deals.
Carrasco is a controlled, accomplished veteran but aging starter.
Of course this hurts the FA marketplace, but more at SS and SP.
Makes me wonder about the asking price for Jose Ramirez.
Can’t fault the Indians for a deal like this. Whether the return was light is debatable.
forensicane
7 Jan 21 at 2:01 pm
That its January 7 tells me:
Rizzo is waiting for a price collapse on one or more free agent targets as higher budget teams (Dodgers, Padres, Yankees, Angels, Braves, Mets) fill their needs and the pool of competitors shrinks. Whomever falls to them at a lower price point dictates trade strategy — unless the same pressure is happening to the Reds and Rockies as teams who would trade for their contracts are shrinking.
I always appreciate his patience, and I do now as well. It’s not collusion, but feels like a game of three way chicken – the player, the Nationals, and rival bidders. Who blinks first?
forensicane
7 Jan 21 at 5:37 pm
Until Rizzo actually spends, I’m not going to be completely convinced that the Nats ARE going to spend. The longer he doesn’t, the more concerned I get. We haven’t even had rumors that they’ve bid on anyone more expensive than Santana, who was in the $8M range. They’re said to be among teams going to Kluber’s showcase, but then nearly every MLB team would be nuts not to.
If they’re not going to spend for any of the $15M+ guys, I sure wish they would get on with getting their pick from the cheaper options. Eddie Rosario looks like a good fit to me, and with less chance of flaming out than Schwarber or Pederson. But it’s crazy in general that there aren’t even rumors about these $8-10M players who would be good fits with a number of teams. If you throw in Puig, Pillar, Profar, and JBJ, though, there is somewhat of a glut in the $5-10M OF market.
KW
8 Jan 21 at 11:56 am
I’m also increasingly wondering whether the Nats are going to fill all the slots that they would normally try to fill if they were spending up to the tax line. Maybe they’re good with Stevenson in LF, S. Castro at 3B, Harrison at 2B, W. Castro or Barrera as backup catcher, and the final two starters coming from among Ross/Fedde/Voth. None of that would be ideal, but they could still field a pretty decent team, particularly if Stras and Max can stay healthy.
The playoff window in the NL is going to be very narrow, though. If the Nats only half-heartedly spend, they’re going to start the season behind the 8-ball. There are only two wild cards (if teh 2020 changes don’t stick), and one seems very likely to go to Padres/Dodgers. The Cubs and Reds have traded major assets, though, so maybe there won’t be a WC from the Central. The Braves will be odds-on favorites in the East, but winning intra-divisional games is going to be difficult, as all five teams have near-playoff-quality rosters.
So . . . if the Nats don’t go big, they’re sorta all but surrendering.
KW
8 Jan 21 at 12:09 pm
So we beat Astros who weren’t just cheating at the plate:
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/01/former-angels-staffer-alleges-widespread-use-of-foreign-substances.html
So Gerrit Cole is not only a jerk but a cheat. But a very rich one.
KW
8 Jan 21 at 3:38 pm
Know your Rizzo
Rizzo wants stars
Or players who will be stars
Lerners will let him do that
It doesn’t mean he has to break the luxury tax
But it may mean more trades if prices don’t fall on FA
And that’s OK
We win either way
Enjoy the ride
Don’t suffer
forensicane
8 Jan 21 at 5:28 pm
Max also named as possible ball doctorer:
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/30671790/fired-los-angeles-angels-clubhouse-attendant-names-pitchers-ball-doctoring-case
He’s been out of the AL for a long time, though; don’t know if it allegedly carried over to his time with the Nats.
KW
8 Jan 21 at 9:40 pm
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/30679546/kyle-schwarber-signs-one-year-10-million-deal-washington-nationals-source-says
Schwarber! Love the move.
Todd Boss
9 Jan 21 at 11:34 am
Gawd-awful signing. $10M for a high-strikeout, low-average hitter (sub-Mendoza in 2020!) without a position. I’m appalled. I haven’t disliked a signing this much since Matt Wieters, maybe earlier.
SaoMagnifico
9 Jan 21 at 11:47 am
Sao, at last we agree. Yecch by me. 10m?!
forensicane
9 Jan 21 at 11:53 am
i’ll probably post on it. But I like it. Throw out 2020. In 2019 he was .250/.339/.531. Yes he strikes out a lot; so does the rest of the league these days. He also hits it out of the park a lot. 38 homers in 2019. Career 113 OPS+ and he plays a position we needed (left field).
And this can’t be worse than the Wieters signing for many reasons.
1. they gave Wieters TWO years at $10m
2. if you screw up signing a catcher … you’re screwed at that position since you’re signing him to play 5 days a week.
3. if Schwarber is really that bad, we could put practically anyone else in left.
4. There’s no such thing as a bad one year contract.
Todd Boss
9 Jan 21 at 11:59 am
It’s bad when it takes away money we need to fill other holes. We’re not seriously planning to go into 2021 with Carter freaking Kieboom and his wiffle bat at third base every day, are we? Do we really want Austin Voth, Joe Ross, Erick Fedde, Rogelio Armenteros, Steven Fuentes, Paolo Espino, and whomever else we can fish out of the bargain bin competing for two rotation spots?
SaoMagnifico
9 Jan 21 at 12:19 pm
But left field/middle of the order bat was also a hole. And has been since Rendon left.
Frankly, the team just has too many holes and not enough money to go around.
Todd Boss
9 Jan 21 at 12:36 pm
I’m going to be really bummed if/when Brantley and Rosario sign elsewhere for a lower AAV.
Schwarber only makes sense in the context of Davey Martinez really loving him.
SaoMagnifico
9 Jan 21 at 12:40 pm
new posted.
Todd Boss
9 Jan 21 at 2:50 pm
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