I'm back for this week's mailbag! We have questions about the Boras Four, the Cubs' pitching strategy, the right shortstops available, Juan Soto'defense, Blue Jays offense', the latest gambling suspension, my choice of one of three awards, and much more.
Doug asks:
Do you think front offices will feel even more compelled to suppress free agent salaries after all the long drama about “The Boras Four” and none of these players wanting to be the best? Can anyone from Chapman, Bellinger, Snell, or Montgomery get out of their contract?
Owners and players will be completely opposed to player salaries until the end of time, or at least until the end of Major League Baseball. But to your point, it makes sense that if the early performance of Boras' late-signing pitchers holds up, most front offices will be wary of giving big AAVs to pitchers who sign well in spring training, even on short-term deals.
Blake Snell it was bad, and since April 8th there are different stages of IL for adductor and groin strains. Snell recently told reporters, “One thing I can say is big league spring training, you need it. You have to go to spring training. I hope teams realize that. I don't know what [Jordan] Montgomery does, but I bet it's hard for him.”
Montgomery, who expressed similar sentiments, sits at a 5.48 ERA after eight starts, the worst strikeout rate of his career.
Some pitchers have thrived after signing late, in particular Ervin Santana signing on 3-12-14 and putting up a 3.2 WAR season for the Braves. But both Snell and Montgomery signed later than Santana, and many examples show pitchers struggling outside of regular spring training.
Open Subscriber Exclusive Articles Like This One For Front Office Subscription Trade Rumors
- Access weekly subscriber articles by Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams, and Anthony Franco.
- Join the weekly live chats with Anthony.
- Remove ads and support our authors.
- Access GM-caliber tools like our MLB Contract Tracker
Source link
