Major League Ready

Both sides have been incredibly fortunate and you are correct that the value of the Minnesota Twins is 30X what it was in 1970. We should also point out that Player salaries have increased by 136X of 1970 salaries. In other words, salaries have increased almost 5x compared to team values. Regardless of the exact numbers both sides are incredibly fortunate but only one side is wildly unsatisfied and demand more. It's the same side that said we are unwilling to work for a penny less than 100% during a pandemic and refused to bunch an inch. The owners want expanded playoffs which is good for the game and good for players. The also want the universal DH which is good for the game and good for players. They benefit both sides. The owners have not asked for "more" in the form of non-guaranteed contracts like football or max contract lengths like the NBA. They have not asked to eliminate opt outs. The demand for more and the subsequent threat to the MLB season is a product of players who don't feel the incredible compensation they get for playing a game is adequate and are demanding more.

We will have to see if any reliable account of the facts are made public. I seriously doubt that is this is purely about money. If the owners were only concerned about the bottom line what would stop them from simply reducing their player payroll? Literally none of the proposed terms would prevent owners from reducing payroll if that was their ultimate goal. These are very accomplished people. I believe they understand the level of parity is dangerously out of whack and they are unwilling to accept anything that promotes the further erosion of parity. The way teams were spending before the lock-out certainly does not indicate an unwillingness to spend.

Where are the players who don't think $100M and $200M and $300M contracts are not adequate compensation for playing a game? I want baseball too but I do not want the league accepting terms that further erodes the current unacceptable lack of parity.

The cumulative rate rate of inflation over the past 50 years is a little less than 7X. Average household income in the US over the past 50 years is almost identical to the rate of inflation. In 1970, ave household income was $9.870 and in 2020 it was 67,521 or just a touch under 7X what it was in 1970. Average baseball salaries were $29,303. Had they grown at the rate of inflation or the same rate as US income, the average player would be earning a little under $200K. Had US household income grown at the same rate as players, the average household income would be $1,350,000. Do you really want to take the position that players have not grown adequately when measured against the adjusted rate of inflation? Is there a group of employees anywhere in the world that have seen a greater rate of income growth than MLB and NFL players?

I would hope the twins would also trade him for a good young SS.

I would go through the list of pitchers posters here have insisted we should sign at all costs where the contracts would have started at age 30 or beyond and span 4-6 years but it would be a fair amount of work to come up with that laundry list. Now, we should not care about keeping a pitcher in the age 31 season. Darvish signed a 6 year deal starting his age 31 season. Bumgarner signed for 5 years starting his age 30 season and the list of examples is very long. Berrios has a contract starting at age 28 but that contract goes 4 seasons past his age 30 but that's good but keeping a different player past age 30 is bad? It's really hard to follow the logic here.

Changing the rule would assure small and mid market teams lose top players to the top 10 markets a year earlier. Definitely good for the players and definitely good for those top revenue markets. Bad for parity. Bad for the game and definitely bad for the other 20 markets and the fans of those teams. Every team has the option to ignore the year of service time. When they elect to keep a player in the minors the 1st 6 weeks because the short-term gain is not worth the long-term loss. How would this be a good outcome?

It just perplexes me that a MLB player can't bunt with the entire left side of the infield open. The shifts on him have been extreme for 3 years so he has had plenty of time to work on it. Rod Carew would have batted 900 against that shift..

Here is an interesting development. MLB has asked for a federal mediator. Federal Mediator

The poll on MLB rumors (for what it's worth) only has 15% believing he gets less than $100M. 52% believe he will get $140M or more. My guess is 5/120 or 6/130. Trevor Story Contract

Had you taken this stance I would not have asked if you realized he had not played in two years. However, you are now changing your statement. Originally, you said "I would bring him up give him 2022 and stop the if's/guessing." That's a pretty adamant stance. Giving him a year is entirely different. I am confused on your position.

You do realize he has not played in 2 years, right?

Good point Doc. I love watching this young man behind the plate. I will be pulling for him.

Apparently you are assuming that trading prospects for major leaguers is a better strategy for building a playoff team / contender than trading established players for prospects. If you look back at how playoff teams acquired the players on their roster you will find players that were traded for as prospects by FAR exceed trades for established players. It's not even remotely close, especially among below average revenue teams. Don't believe me? Pick a few playoff teams outside the top 10 in revenue. Go to Fangraphs and select that team and select the given year. Now look at how their top players by WAR were acquired. Cleveland and Tampa will stand out. They have acquired a lot of good players as prospects. You will have a very different point of view if you are willing to go through this exercise and let the facts speak for themselves.

The Rays have done a great job for sure. However, the twins most recent deal with them looks pretty good at the moment. We got Joe Ryan and Drew Strotman for 2 months of Nelson Cruz. His wRC+ of 96 was 12th on the Ray's team forthose 2 months. The Rays lost their division series 3-1. IDK what Ryan and Strotman will contribute but I would bet 5 years from now we will see this trade as a great deal for the Twins.

Relying on not one but two SPs coming off TJ surgery does not seem like a good idea.

I hated the Sabato pick too but I have no problem with the Lewis pick. Kyle Wright is 26 and has three shots at the ML level where he has been below replacement. Obviously, he could still be good but he is not a shining example of what could have been. Obviously, Greene was a high ceiling guy with all the risk associated with HS pitchers. I do not have any problem with them not going that route at 1/1. Greene is only 22 but he was mediocre at AAA. It's a little early to declare him the alternative we should have taken just yet. Gore and McKay also have question marks so I am going to need a couple more years to make an informed conclusion about what we should have done. That one I really dislike was Cavaco. Just too much of a wild card. Stott or Carroll sure seemed like the right choice then and now.

How would sharing financial resolve the problem created by the demand to lower revenue sharing or increase the CBT threshold? The relative profitability of the league would not change the fact that an increase of the CBT threshold or the lowering or revenue sharing will ABSOLUTELY for certain increase the level of competitive disparity that exists today?

What would it mean to give up on him? I guess giving up would mean to cut him or trade. Obviously, option 1 is not happening and what would be the point of selling this low? Hope like hell the upward trend continues. Then, when the DH becomes a permanent part of the landscape he would be a good trade piece or perhaps or DH for us at some point post Sano / Donaldson.

I agree Doc. They are not going to be inclined to trade short-term assets for long-term assets. However, I could see it happening if the acquiring team was willing to pay enough for Arraez or Kepler or a pitching prospect they value far less than the acquiring team. Miami actually seems like the most likely trade partner. Not because they necessarily want the assets we have to trade but they are in the unique position of being very deep in pitching and very thin on offense.

I have always admired Donaldson as a player so I was cautiously optimistic when they signed him. However, investing $22M in a free agent for 2.2 WAR is not exactly a problem but he is not a solution either. 2.2 WAR for $22M is underperforming and you are certainly hoping for more in the first 2 years when you sign a 34 y/o to a 4 year deal with a 5th year option that costs $16M or an $8M buyout. I seriously doubt he will be worth $16M in 2024 so you really need to consider that cost as well. Many here predicted this deal would bite us in the ass. I fear they will be right if we hold on to him. So, I am hoping he has a great first half and is dealt at the deadline even if it costs some retained salary.

I understand where you are going with this and you make a good point. It appeared to me they definitely would have preferred to sign Wheeler but getting him away from the east coast was a very tall task. So, I think they agreed with you too. Bumgarner also had a definite destination in mind and that probably would have been a disaster anyway. Ryu would have been good but I think most of us were really weary of his durability. Here is the good news. My belief is that they recognize that filling 4 or more spots in the rotation with homegrown players sets up a much better shot at sustained success. If they were to accomplish this goal, they could afford any top of the rotation SP in the league. They still need to convince them to come to Minnesota but it's financially feasible. Even if they spent $35M on a SP, they would still have room to extend a couple players or sign a SS if that does not work out. I believe that's what they see in the future that many here do not. Obviously there is no guarantee our SP prospect fill two more holes in 2022. However, if they do 2023 looks something like this ....

Would/should winning one playoff game change how we interpret the results of the last 3 years?

I accepted your challenge and starting going through them one by one. The premise that owners are stupid is floated here so frequently I wanted to have an informed opinion on this assertion. Plus, I thought others might be interested in the credentials of ownership. I got as far as Kansas City before calling it day because the facts tell a consistent story that did not require I look at every team. The net is that you sound like a 30 handicap calling Tiger Woods a hack. I pasted these descriptions from Baseball Reference and Wikipedia. I am glad you provided an opportunity to point out just how ridiculous fans can be. Most of these individuals have extremely impressive credentials individually. Given the many minority owners and corporations involved, collectively you are talking about dozens of exceptionally accomplished individuals. There are a few lawyers among them too and lawyers know how to negotiate. To sit here and call the collective buffoons makes a statement all right but it’s not about the competence of owners. Arizona – Ken Kendrick founded Datatel, a software company, in 1968. In 1989, he became the principal investor in Woodforest National Bank Atlanta Braves – Liberty Media Is a $9B entity that owns a variety of businesses. This company generates almost as much revenue as the 30 MLB teams combined. Obviously Liberty media contributes an impressive array of business acumen to the owners group. Baltimore – Peter Angelos. the son of Greek immigrants, he was a self-made man, rising up from a gritty working class neighborhood to run his own law firm in Baltimore. He made his fortune pleading in favor of workers incapacitated by exposure to asbestos and winning enormous settlements. Boston – John Henry & Tom Werner. Henry grew up on a farm in southern Illinois and made his fortune by investing on commodities option. He is known in the options industry for his reliance on analytical methods as opposed to playing hunches. Werner made his fortune as a television producer. A commodities trader and a TV producer. Does not sound like a guy with meager analytical or negotiating skills. Chicago Cubs - Ricketts grew up in Omaha, NE, the son of the founder of Ameritrade Corporation, a brokerage firm. He obtained an undergraduate degree and an MBA from the University of Chicago. Yes, he grew up entitled but the MBA suggests he is far from a “Baffon”. The average GMAT score for applicants at U of C is 732 so it probably takes at least 700 to get in which is the 88th percentile of all applicants. He is not dumb. Chicago White Sox – Jerry Reinsdorf - Reinsdorf earned a bachelor's degree from George Washington University in Washington, D.C.where he became a member of Alpha Epsilon Pi. He subsequently moved to Chicago in 1957.[9] Reinsdorf became a CPA and lawyer as well as a registered mortgage underwriter and a certified review appraiser. He leveraged a full scholarship offer from the University of Chicago Law School into a scholarship from the Northwestern University School of Law. Yep, areal moron witrh no credentials to suggest he could negotiate his direct tv bill. Cincinnati Reds - Robert Castellini – Education: Georgetown and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business. Once he had graduated, Castellini went home to work at his family’s business, which is called Castellini Co. At the time, Castellini Co. was not doing as well as it is now, which speaks well of Castellini’s contributions to the family business over the course of his multi-decade career. Cleveland - Larry Dolan - Education: Notre Dame. Upon leaving Notre Dame, Dolan served in the United States Marine Corps for two years, where he attained the rank of first lieutenant. Upon leaving the Marine Corps in 1958, Dolan worked as assistant prosecutor in Geauga County, Ohio before going into private practice. He eventually became president and managing partner of Thrasher, Dinsmore, & Dolan in Chardon, Ohio. Colorado Rockies - Dick Monfort graduated from the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley with a bachelor's degree in Business Management. He joined Monfort of Colorado in 1974 as a cattle buyer. He then served as vice president federal cattle procurement from 1979–81, group vice president of cattle products 1983-1984 and executive vice president 1984-1987. When ConAgra bought Monfort of Colorado in 1987, Dick became president of ConAgra Red Meats. At the University of Northern Colorado, Dick serves on the board of trustees along with the board of directors at University of Colorado Hospital, Denver Zoo, and the Colorado Economic Development Board. Dick now resides in Denver, Colorado with his wife Karen. Charlie Monfort graduated from the University of Utah with a bachelor's degree in Marketing and Business Management. Charlie started working for the family business Monfort of Colorado, Inc. also in 1988 as president of International Sales until 1996. In 1996, Charlie became president of ConAgra Foods International; later leaving in 1998 to concentrate on his previous commitment to the Rockies. Charlie also serves on the Board of Trustees at Colorado Mesa Universit. He is also a board member of the Kempe Foundation, the Special Olympics, and the Monfort Family Foundation. Detroit Tigers – Chris Ilitch did in fact inherit his position. As president and CEO, Ilitch leads and provides oversight to the Ilitch companies, including Little Caesars Pizza, Blue Line Distribution, the Detroit Red Wings, Olympia Entertainment, the Detroit Tigers, Olympia Development of Michigan (real estate), Little Caesars Pizza Kit Fundraising Program, and Champion Foods (food manufacturing). That’s a pretty big job. Inherited or not, that’s a pretty good business education by default. I have no idea just how competent he is in this role but assuming he is stupid because he inherited a role is a big stretch. Houston Astros - Jim Crane - After graduating from college, Crane went into the insurance business. Crane borrowed $10,000 from his sister and founded Eagle USA Airfreight, an air-freight logistics business. Crane took his profits from EGL and formed Crane Capital Group. He also became a director and shareholder in Western Gas Holdings, LLC. an energy company operating in the southeastern Rocky Mountain region and southern Mid-Continent area. Western Gas Holdings and Western Gas Partners were acquired by Anadarko Petroleum. Crane is also the majority shareholder in Crane Worldwide Logistics LLC, chairman of the board for CargoJet, and director of both Nabors Industries and natural gas company Western Midstream. Kansas City Royals - John Sherman - Sherman graduated from Ottawa University. He later founded LPG Services Group, which later merged with Dynegy. In 1996, Sherman founded Inergy. It merged with Crestwood Holdings in 2013. Sherman bought a minority share of the Cleveland Indians in 2016, and became their vice chairman There is one other ownership group that is unique and should not be ignored because I stopped at KC. The Mariners are owner by First Avenue Entertainment and 17 minority owners. They are led by John W. Stanton. He is the Chairman of Trilogy International Partners, Inc., which operates wireless systems internationally, Trilogy Equity Partners, which invests in wireless-related companies. Stanton founded and served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Western Wireless Corporation, a wireless telecommunications company, from 1992 until shortly after its acquisition by ALLTEL Corporation in 2005. He was Chairman and a director of T-Mobile USA, formerly VoiceStream Wireless Corporation, a mobile telecommunications company, from 1994 to 2004, and was Chief Executive Officer from 1998 to 2003. Mr. Stanton was a director of Clearwire Corp. from 2008 to 2013, Chairman between 2011 and 2013, and interim Chief Executive Officer during 2011. The whole ownership is stupid thing really needs a deeper level of consideration. The definition of random might require a little looking into as well.

How would you be balancing revenue if you don't give it to the teams with less revenue. That would not promote parity. Now, if we are talking about the penalties, there may be an opportunity to distribute that differently. Currently, the first $13 million will be used to defray clubs' funding obligations under the MLB Players Benefits Agreements. Of the remaining sum, 50% of the remaining proceeds collected for each Contract Year, with accrued interest, will be used to fund player compensation as described in the MLB Players Benefits Plan Agreements and the other 50% shall be distributed to clubs that did not exceed the Base Tax Threshold in that Contract Year.[6] The 50% distributed to clubs that did not exceed the Base Tax Threshold means wealthy clubs that are just under the cap still get revenue. That money could be distributed in a manner that better served parity. The 50% going to player benefits could be distributed among prearb players or the bottom 25% or some other manner that does not include the highest paid players. Increasing penalties and distributing differently would serve competitive parity as well provide additional compensation to lower paid players. However, the players are very would likely stringently resist increasing penalties for exceeding the CBT threshold.