If we are paying Barnhart $7.5 million, it’s gotta be a good sign that we are going to spend some more money, right?
Boyd and Goodrum are probably non-tendered. Jimenez and Garneau might be, and if Garneau isn't Greiner is almost certainly gone. Robson, Short, Nivaldo Rodriguez, Drew Carlton and Miguel Del Pozo are all pretty easy DFAs (amongst several others), too.
Here is the list of guys we can cut. I could name like 25 guys a year ago. Avila is killing it. Del Pollo Carlton Foley Garcia N. Rodriguez Garneau Greiner Reyes Robson Hill Short
They still have to add some people from the minors to protect them from the rule 5 draft. I don't know who all those people will be, or how many, but that will also lead to guys from that list getting dumped.
Just catching up on Tigers stuff but Barnhart has to be one of the worst offensive players in baseball right? Just brutal numbers that really don't seem to make up for the defense at $8 million a year. Am I missing something on this?
Gold glove left hand hitting catcher who they probably want to platoon with Haase, and work him with some of the younger pitchers. Salary is a little high but I see the value in a guy like him on this team From an article on blessyouboys "In 2021, Barnhart was worth either 0.2 WAR in Baseball Reference’s calculation, or 1.2 WAR in FanGraphs’ calculation. The debate is largely over the value of his offensive production. So we’ll split the difference and say 0.7 WAR in 116 games. On the open market, he may have commanded around $5.5M coming off a career best year by several measures. The Tigers will pay two million more than that, but scarcity at the position and the desirability of Barnhart’s ability to run a game make him worth the premium."
I was looking at the Fangraphs and still didn't get it but I've always just thought $5 million per win RE WAR so I'm probably just outdated in thinking about this stuff. Not the end of the world (and get the platoon aspect) but was really hoping for a hidden gem.
There were 47 catchers in MLB last year with at least 200 plate appearances. Barnhart ranked 30th in wRC+ out of that group. He was 23rd out of that group in Fangraphs' WAR. That seems about right. Is that worth $7.5M? Who knows. Catcher is basically the one position where the "stats don't tell the whole story" is actually kind of true. He has a really good defensive reputation besides the stuff they try to quantify (throwing and pitch framing).
I mean they have a DH making 4x that close to a -1 WAR, Barnhart's deal isn't gonna sink the franchise. Just seems shocking how bad his offense looks even on the more favorable WAR calculation. Oh well, some reinforcements + some of the kids coming up should at least get them close to .500 with an eye toward competing for the division in '23.
His wRC+ last year was 81. wRC+ is calculated where 100 is league average among all hitters in baseball (not including pitchers). I think the average wRC+ for catchers is something like 89 or 90 the last few years. I'm not expecting much more than a bad hitter and good defender. Unfortunately, if you look at the FA options, the alternatives were all probably worse, especially considering our place in the market currently as a non-winning team. I think the "excitement", if you want to call it that, for him is based more on the alternatives than the idea that he's a great option.
Kiley McDaniel mentioned in his top FA piece that a team like the Yankees is eager to make a big move and could give Correa 300 mil plus prior to December 1. He mentioned us as a team that might commit nine figures to Storey, but it all seemed speculative at best.
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/11/top-50-mlb-free-agent-rankings.html 2/3 picked tigers for Correra
Since I don't think Verlander is going to come back, Rodriguez and Stroman are the two pitchers I'd like to see for us if we go that route with decent $$. Would guess both of them end up somewhere in the 3-4 years at $15-20M range. Rodriguez maybe a little cheaper than that.
Reports today we're in on Jon Gray and Anthony DeSclafani. So, essentially, we're in on every starting pitcher, with the possible exception of the guys at the absolute top of the market.
This is another interesting list. I would be curious read what the Cardinals would want for DeJong. He's become a 3 true outcomes guy all the way, but he's good defensively and there's some upside there if he can get the BA just a smidge higher, at least. Didi can't really field anymore, but I'd be okay with a flier on his one-year deal, too. It's expensive, so maybe Philly would throw a little extra in there.
Tbqh I hope they avoid Correa, and anyone who needs 10 years. I'd rather have a really good SS on a palatable deal, and the flexibility to improve the team in other areas. Post Cabrera Stress Syndrome.
Like the pitcher. Don't like the contract. Improving SS defense is a huge deal now. Rodriguez is much better than his ERA showed last year, but it doesn't really matter if we're throwing out IF defenses as bad as Boston was.
I give no fucks about any contract in baseball. If the owners want to spend, let them spend. Just don't come back and use it as an excuse later.
Whether we like it or not, when you give out contracts like this, that player is playing as long as he's healthy. Just the way it goes. I would have been fine with 5/$80M because I think there's some upside there to potentially win on that deal. The opt out after year 2 takes away most of that upside if Rodriguez ends up being good, and keeps the downside of a pitcher on a 5-year deal and all the risks that come from it.