by Nick Brower | Mar 12, 2018 | SPORTS
The Yankees and Neil Walker are nearing an agreement on a one year contract that is expected to be worth around $5 million. Walker has spent time in New York with both the Yankees and Mets and has been an above average player on both sides of the ball his whole career. Walker is a true utility man and can play all around the diamond. This move by the Yankees leaves a lot writing on the wall for the rest of the roster. It seems that the Yanks want to hold off on calling up both Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar, at least for now. They have now filled both holes in the infield with Brandon Drury slotted to play third and now Walker to play second. Walker will also provide good insurance behind Greg Bird at first base. While both Andujar and Torres look real close to being big league ready, some more time in the minors definitely would not hurt, especially in today’s contract situations. Holding the two young talents out of the big leagues through April will keep both of them under Yankee control for another full season. Andujar is 23 and Torres is only 21, so the Yankees are thinking long term here. While I understand what they are trying to do, I’m getting impatient. Andujar has been smacking the cover off of the ball this spring and I want to see him up in the Major’s. Torres would have been ready last year if it wasn’t for an elbow injury. There is something so exciting about watching these young kids play the game and I was looking forward to seeing it all season. But the Yankees did execute their plan well. Both Drury and Walker are great ball players who come at a price that still allows New York to reset some of their luxury taxes this season. I just feel like it puts the team in a holding pattern at a time when they should be attacking. They were only one win away from the World Series last year. The rebuild is over. It’s time to go win now. All I can hope is that this patience will be rewarded with multiple championships. I’m ready for another Yankees dynasty.
by Nick Brower | Mar 12, 2018 | SPORTS
The Phillies made a big time move yesterday and signed one of the last big time names left on the market. Former Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta will be headed to Philly after agreeing to terms on a three year deal worth $75 million. Arrieta will instantly get pushed to the front of this rotation and will serve as their ace. Besides his great talent on the mound, Arrieta will serve a very useful role in the clubhouse. This Phillies staff is incredibly talented and still very raw. Many young players got their first shot at big league starts last season and the future looks bright. Arrieta will be a great fit as a mentor for these young arms. Jake has been a dominant pitcher of late and is also a player who has struggled and made adjustments to his game. The Phillies are looking forward to having an example like Arrieta for young arms such as Aaron Nola, Jerad Eickhoff, and Nick Pivetta. Philadelphia is still in a rebuild mode but this move puts them right in the thick of things for this season. Their division, the National League East, is full of question marks. The Nationals seem to be the clear cut favorite but after that it is wide open. The Marlins are destined for a year at the bottom after trading away just about all of their talent, the Braves are rebuilding, and the Mets are never a sure thing with their history of injuries in that starting rotation. This is really a great move for the Phillies in both the long-term and short. Arrieta will impact this team right away and could have them competing for a Wild Card spot. He also sets them up for long-term success by giving the young talent someone to look up to. Look out for the Phillies this season and for a few to come.
by Nick Brower | Mar 9, 2018 | SPORTS
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and wide out Mike Evans agreed to terms on a fat new contract this afternoon. Evans received a five year, $82.5 million extension that comes with $55 million guaranteed. That guaranteed number is most among current receivers. The Bucs clearly think they have something worth holding onto here with the combination of Evans and Jamesis Winston. I can’t blame them. Evans joined only Randy Moss and A.J. Green last year by reaching 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first four seasons. He’s already second in team history with 32 touchdowns and in his four seasons he has accounted for 21% of the Bucs total offensive yardage. He is also one of the most durable players in the league. He’s only missed three games since joining the league and one of those was due to a suspension for standing up for his quarterback during a sideline scuffle. The kid can flat out ball and the Bucs are smart to lock him up. Evans and Winston are a powerful duo and the Bucs are only a few pieces away from competing because of them.
by Nick Brower | Mar 9, 2018 | SPORTS
Don’t look now, but Facebook is taking over another facet of your life. The MLB announced today that a total of 25 games will be broadcasted exclusively on Facebook this season, starting with the Phillies v. Mets on April 4th. Facebook will be announcing the schedule one month at a time to allow for flexibility and will aim for mainly Wednesday afternoons. This move by Facebook is a big step towards bringing more live television onto its platform in an attempt to compete with streaming services like Amazon Prime who landed a deal with the NFL last season. There are still some details to be hammered out but the games will be produced by MLB Network, with commentary crews to be determined. The MLB is excited about the partnership as it is a great way to spread the game. Bringing games to a global platform like Facebook will bring the game to new fans all over the world. This also is another big win for streaming in general. More and more people are turning away from cable and heading to streaming services for most of their television watching needs. Sports is one of the few things that cable is still superior at. If this venture with Facebook is successful I would expect more streaming companies to try to create partnerships with the major leagues. And that would spell trouble for traditional tv companies.
by Nick Brower | Mar 9, 2018 | SPORTS
A weird winter for free agents continues with maybe the weirdest of all. Mike Moustakas will return to Kansas City after agreeing to a one year deal with a mutual option for the second that will guarantee $6.5 million and can max out at $22.7 million. The Royals were not expecting to have Moose back as they were committed to not signing any longterm deals as they try to rebuild. Everyone was expecting Moustakas to get serious looks all over the league for longterm big money contracts. He’s only 29 and had a breakout offensive season last year slugging 38 home runs and driving in 85 runs while hitting .272. Moose is also an above average defensive player at the hot corner. The Royals extended a qualifying offer to Moustakas that would have paid him $17.4 million this season but he opted to test the market. This deal has everyone around the league, including myself, scratching their heads. Mouse is worth way more that $6 million a year. For comparison, the Mets just picked up the option on Asdrubel Cabrera’s contract. Cabrera is 32 and is slotted to play third this year. His option will pay him $8.5 million this season. Cabrera does not play third nearly as well as Moose and only hit 14 homers last year with 59 RBIs. I think the lack of interest in Moustakas is more about the strength of next year’s free agent class than his talent. Josh Donaldson and Manny Machado are slated to become free agents next fall and both will get top dollar to play third base. I think teams did not want to commit to Moose with an opportunity to land one of those superstars next season. This will prove to be a mistake. Moustakas doesn’t have the superstar appeal of those two players but is just as productive. I expect him to hit the market again next season and find a long term deal with a team that misses out on Donaldson and Machado.
by Nick Brower | Mar 9, 2018 | SPORTS
All signs are pointing to Carlos Gonzalez returning to the Rockies this season. Sources have reported that the two have an agreement in place for a one year deal and are just finalizing the language. CarGo has spent the last nine seasons in Colorado and has been an elite slugger. He might be kicking himself a bit though. Colorado wanted to talk extension last spring and was ready to give him around $45 million over three years. Gonzalez opted to play out his contract and test free agency and then he went out and had one of the worst years of his career slashing just .262/.339/.423 and hitting only 13 home runs. He’ll probably miss out on a big chunk of that money, I don’t expect this deal to come close to the yearly average that an extension might have brought. At least the one year deal will give CarGo a chance to bounce back and prove he is worth a bigger, long-term deal. Other teams gave him a look this offseason but I guess Gonzalez wanted to stay at home in Colorado and keep taking advantage of Coors Field and that thin air.
