Bradfoot

If we are ever able to quantify the increase in production that these provide, I think we will find it to be very minimal increases and only applies to particular players. But if it adds a few points to your OPS then you better take it. I don't think this will take anyone from average to superstar like people seem to think. The hype is only happening because a very good Yankee lineup trounced a pitcher that they know better than anyone else. If it originated from a team like the Diamondbacks (2nd in runs/game), I think it would be a couple minor articles that already fizzled out.

Every time someone is sent down it presents an opportunity for someone else. I would rather they have someone fresh than possibly finding themselves in a situation where you have to choose between overpitching someone to injury or going with a position player. I have no concerns with how things currently are.

Not a bad signing for the Tigers but it is still a decent risk for them. After all, Maeda is entering his late 30's and has averaged less than 70 innings per season over the last 4 years. A decent pitcher when healthy but if we are going to trim payroll and still try to be competitive it's understandable to not be excited to tie up 12M on a question mark.

It's hard to imagine a team that has stated it plans to cut payroll adding the 26M Goldschmidt or 24M Alonzo contracts.

The bottom half is good though. It means less injured players. 19th most injured players means 11th fewest. It was only 2022 that we ranked high with reds, pirates, cubs.

Deep dive into number of players injured each of last 5 years. Seems like 2022 was an outlier. MLB 2022 Injured Reserve Tracker | Spotrac 2022 - Twins ranked 3rd with 32 players injured (team) (number of players) (number of days) (amount of money on injured list) Cincinnati Reds 37 2,638 $33,712,787 Pittsburgh Pirates 34 1,730 $10,499,570 Chicago Cubs 32 2,158 $45,160,984 Minnesota Twins 32 2,363 $32,712,075 San Francisco Giants 31 1,462 $39,365,278 2021 Twins ranked 16th most injured players with 28 2020 Twins ranked 19th most with 14 players 2019 Twins ranked 16th most with 19 players 2018 Twins ranked 19th with 18 players

Should be interesting watching the Sano critics who obsess over batting average react to Gallo this year.

The mega deal makes more sense to me for the Mets. The Giants don't seem to be ready to capitalize on the first few years of this deal like the Mets are. At the same time, I wonder what the Mets will look like in 5 years when all these expensive players are hitting their mid 30's. The Mets will probably be able to stomach all these deals even if/when the players have fallen off but it certainly seems like they are all-in now and will deal with the consequences later. Sounds like the Giants got cold feet and were looking for an out. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets, the “Giants flagged something in [Correa’s] physical and doctors disagreed.”

The White Sox seem to be hitting their stride. This can still be a very scary lineup. I'm starting to see them as the favorite. Since August 1st Eloy Jiminez .366/.444/.565 190wRC+ Jose Abreu .329/.377/.401 124 wRC+ Elvis Andrus .303/.340/.528 147 wRC+ Lance Lynn 1.81 ERA 10.51 k/9 Dylan Cease 2.18 ERA Cueto 2.87 ERA

The article says Lucas Gioloto has a 75.27 ERA. I expect some more offense today.

I think the Twins will continue to play like they have been and finish at or slightly above .500. The question is will that be enough. The division is awful and will likely be up for grabs until the end. The new playoff format might be interesting this season though. As things are right now, the lowest seed in the AL (Rays) would play the 3rd seed (Guardians/Twins) while having a better record than them. If they win that game, they would face the 2nd seed. On the other hand, the first wild card team or 4th seed (Blue Jays) would face the 5th seed (Mariners) that currently has 3 more wins than the 3rd seed then play the 1st seed if they move on. It seems like the 6th seed will have an easier path than the 4th seed because of the weak Central division.

I don't think the trade calculators are capable of valuing a potential future trade properly. For instance, Miami does not need to trade Lopez. There is no urgency for that. Larnach and Steer may seem like an even trade to the calculators but does that trade value convince Miami to sell someone that they have no reason to sell? I don't think so. I think a seller trading a highly regarded player with 2.5 years of cheap control would be reasonable to expect to "win" the trade by a fairly wide margin. It would take more than Larnach/Steer to get Lopez.

I don't really see Miami parting with a great starter that still has 2 full years left. They could find a corner outfielder of Larnach's caliber much easier than replacing Lopez. They want to be competitive next season and I believe Lopez would be a big part of that. I think odds are better of them finding an extension for Lopez in the next 2.5 years instead of trading him. I could see him getting a deal similar to what they gave Sandy Alcantara last offseason, buy out the arb years and get 2-3 additional years.

The 13th ammendment does have to do with this since you saying the consequence of breach of contract is forced servitude. The 13th ammendment does not allow that behavior. If there was a breach of contract it would be more of a early termination fee or barring him from working for a competitor which I don't think they can do in this case since it is not another pro baseball team. Finding a substitute is nowhere close to impossible. Even if the Twins did not promote the most logical person (the assistant), there are hundreds of candidates available. If the Twins wanted to go the college route again they can talk to any of those that just finished their season. There are also hundreds of past pitching coaches out of work, former players that would like an opportunity to coach, etc. Making the argument that Wes Johnson is the only person in the world that can be our pitching coach next week is not at all true. "During a pennant race" is also not true. We have not met the halfway point of the season yet. He cannot be forced to finish the season, there may be a penalty for ending the contract early but there is no legal method of forcing him to coach the remainder of the season against his will.

The 13th amendment specifically says Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except for a crime which they have been convicted, shall exist in the United States of America. Employment contracts are not fully enforceable, there may be penalties for breaking it or non-compete clauses but that would depend on the contract. Even if the team doesn't give their blessing, the player or coach can absolutely leave. In most cases they would only forfeit the remaining money and not be able to sign with another team in the same league for a set period of time. Since the NCAA is not affiliated with the NFL or MLB in any way, the NFL and MLB don't have any say in who is hired by NCAA. A non-compete clause would not be applicable in this move since he is not moving to another MLB team. The Twins are not in competition with LSU.