2019-2020 Offseason Discussion

[fish16]

Well yeah...our competition SHOULD be tough. I'm just saying that this Marlins team was likely going to be somewhat improved anyway and with the short season and all of the other weirdness (injuries, sickness, layoff, lack of fans, etc.) it wouldn't shock me to see a team you wouldn't expect (Marlins or someone else) end up with a better than usual record...and also good teams end up with a worse record than you would think.

But I do agree...being terrible one more year wouldn't be the worst outcome either.

id be fine with terrible so long as we still get the minor league development needed in this critical rebuilding year. a delayed year for our top prospects is a nightmare. I hope they do 2-3 minor league teams per organization getting rid of the AAA AA, etc distinctions and just having teams utilitize their spring training facilities in arizona and florida to create some sort of minor league season.

Another thought that crossed my mind in the last few days is that hope that we save money these last few years until next year to sign a big piece or two is pretty much out the window with this lack of revenue now coming in. it was unlikely regardless but now it seems completely off the table.

[Namaste]

I wonder if Blake Snell actually believes he’d be “risking his life” playing baseball this summer.

[fish16]

I wonder if Blake Snell actually believes he’d be “risking his life” playing baseball this summer.

I thought i read he had some sort of physical condition that might make him susceptible to illness but now i cant find anything about that. I do see an argument for the players even though its not gonna work. I could see them saying the owners are the ones that benefit when the revenue exceeds projections, they get the benefit, why shouldnt they face the burden now? I think they should compromise and pay slightly more than what their salary would be prorated based on the number of games just for a showing of good faith. For example, if the season is half as long, pay them slightly more than half their salary.

[Nick]

I wonder if Blake Snell actually believes he’d be “risking his life” playing baseball this summer.

I think there are players that actually have an argument, during the KBO game they mentioned Sean Dolittle's wife having a pre-existing condition. Snell's comments came off as whining about potentially having to take a paycut, though. The Billionaire owners should be taking the brunt of the losses I agree, but there's got to be some give and take from the players side.

[fish16]

I think there are players that actually have an argument, during the KBO game they mentioned Sean Dolittle's wife having a pre-existing condition. Snell's comments came off as whining about potentially having to take a paycut, though. The Billionaire owners should be taking the brunt of the losses I agree, but there's got to be some give and take from the players side.

this sums it up well. You also have guys with previous health issues like Rizzo.

[rmc523]

I wonder if Blake Snell actually believes he’d be “risking his life” playing baseball this summer.

I thought i read he had some sort of physical condition that might make him susceptible to illness but now i cant find anything about that. I do see an argument for the players even though its not gonna work. I could see them saying the owners are the ones that benefit when the revenue exceeds projections, they get the benefit, why shouldnt they face the burden now? I think they should compromise and pay slightly more than what their salary would be prorated based on the number of games just for a showing of good faith. For example, if the season is half as long, pay them slightly more than half their salary.

This is the opening line on the ESPN article:

Tampa Bay Rays ace Blake Snell says he will not play this season for a reduced salary, especially because the risk of contracting the coronavirus is "just not worth it."

From that it sounds like he's saying it's not worth the risk for him to play for reduced pay, but if you pay him in full, suddenly it's not a risk? Lol


That's completely different from those that either have medical conditions or immediate family members that have issues.

Listen, I get that it's their pay at risk, and I do realize if it were me, I'd also want to get paid, but for us "average" folks, and people like me that lost their job completely, I don't have an abundance of sympathy and it sounds like whining when player X complains about the potential of "only" making 5M instead of 7M or whatever. That said, the same can be said of the owners, but I also realize they're paying a lot of people with no revenues coming in at all.

They need to just meet in the middle and get over it.

[fauowls44]

I completely understand players that don't want to play over health concerns. However, for Snell it sure sounds like this is mostly money. Also, it is likely that the environment that the players will be playing in will be far safer for them then the than the rest of the general population.

[fish16]

apparently this year would include a universal DH for both leagues which will help with the roster crunch with guys like Brinson.

[Nick]

apparently this year would include a universal DH for both leagues which will help with the roster crunch with guys like Brinson.

lol, I was thinking about NL teams who this would help, for whatever reason Lewis Brinson getting more ABs didn't come to mind.

[fish16]

lol, I was thinking about NL teams who this would help, for whatever reason Lewis Brinson getting more ABs didn't come to mind.

god i miss discussions about actual baseball. i even miss maddawg

[fauowls44]

lol, I was thinking about NL teams who this would help, for whatever reason Lewis Brinson getting more ABs didn't come to mind.

If anything, with a DH in the NL, the Marlins should sign Puig on a prorated deal.

[fauowls44]

Here is an update on MLB testing should the season start:

https://www.si.com/mlb/2020/05/14/co...ce=twitter.com

One of the hurdles Major League Baseball faces in a return to play is how to provide frequent and comprehensive coronavirus testing without depriving frontline workers and the more vulnerable from needed tests. MLB believes it has cleared that hurdle: by partnering with the Utah lab that runs its performance-enhancing drug program to turn that lab into a coronavirus testing facility.

In partnership with MLB, the Utah lab, The Sports Medicine Research and Testing Laboratory, not only would provide coronavirus testing for the 3,000 or so baseball players and support staff but also for thousands more in the general public. Under that plan, MLB would provide a net gain to public testing rather than drawing from existing resources.

[Nick]

fish16's Lewis Brinson comment got me thinking. Say we have an 82 game season, with no minor league seasons at all. Almost all our big prospects were meant to play at either AA or AAA this year. Instead of those guys having lost seasons, would it be better for us in the long run to let them develop at the big leagues? Obviously you have to take service time into consideration, but I have no idea how that's going to work at this point. Then you'd have to figure out what to do with guys like Aguilar, Joyce, Dickerson,Villar, Rojas, guys that were meant to bridge the gap to these prospects. Not to mention the starting pitching, who you could conceivably build an entire starting rotation with top pitching prospects at AA and AAA for us.

[fish16]

fish16's Lewis Brinson comment got me thinking. Say we have an 82 game season, with no minor league seasons at all. Almost all our big prospects were meant to play at either AA or AAA this year. Instead of those guys having lost seasons, would it be better for us in the long run to let them develop at the big leagues? Obviously you have to take service time into consideration, but I have no idea how that's going to work at this point. Then you'd have to figure out what to do with guys like Aguilar, Joyce, Dickerson,Villar, Rojas, guys that were meant to bridge the gap to these prospects. Not to mention the starting pitching, who you could conceivably build an entire starting rotation with top pitching prospects at AA and AAA for us.

Id imagine they have some sort of condensed minor league season with a few upper minors teams and then the lower minors just have a year of organizational scrimmaging. I hope they dont rush guys now because of it though.

[Nick]

Id imagine they have some sort of condensed minor league season with a few upper minors teams and then the lower minors just have a year of organizational scrimmaging. I hope they dont rush guys now because of it though.

But I'm not talking about if there is a condensed minor league season. (which I haven't even seen a suggested plan for anywhere at this time) I'm talking about a situation where the two options are. Your top 10 prospects don't play in live games at all for the entirety of 2020, or you get them to the majors to continue their development.