The Trea Turner contract extension negotiations

[Five Banners]

https://mobile.twitter.com/JonHeyman/status/1424804290581909512

 Thinking about how great something like that could work in today’s real estate market.

“So you didn’t get the house? I thought you said your agent was making a “big play“ for it.”

“Oh yeah, my agent “floated” getting around to a “serious package” with the “idea“ of offering “even more“ – – that is, if the other agent got back to them.  My agent said that the other agent never got back to them.”

 “Wow, what a big play; your agent is amazing. Wonder what was wrong with that other agent. Didn’t he know about the idea of the serious package and even more?”

“I know, right?”

[Slateman]

The  reports that the Padres totally would have upped their offer if only we called back are 100% AJ Preller trying to do damage control. It's incredibly transparent. Of course he'll say that now that his team lost out on the players to their division rival. I'm sure Rizzo sent his calls right to voicemail!

These baseball reporters are truly just complete morons who completely fail to understand context, agendas and manipulation. My god.

Unless Preller was going to give up Campusano and Abrams or Campusano and Hassell and Gore, then this is pretty silly

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Mike Rizzo's best trade ever was getting Trea Turner  ..... Mike Rizzo's worst trade ever was getting rid of Trea Turner !!!

I'm losing a lot of sleep following Trea out on the west coast (thank god for this coming week's east coast swing) but it's an amazing opportunity for him. I haven't been a Dodger fan since Duke Snider, Pee Wee Reese and Roy Campanella and even then they were second fiddle to Yogi, Mickey and Roger.

I'm blown away that the Nat's have gone the direction they have but time will tell. I still watch the Nat's but it's not the same and most times not pretty.   

Campanella's last season was 1957.  Roger Maris's first season in NY was was 1960.  I'm calling BS on this guy.

[zimm_da_kid]

Unless Preller was going to give up Campusano and Abrams or Campusano and Hassell and Gore, then this is pretty silly

Gore fell all the way to #84 in BA’s midseason rankings.  He’s gone from can’t miss, close to the majors pitcher to crap pile.  No thanks to him. 

[Slateman]

Gore fell all the way to #84 in BA’s midseason rankings.  He’s gone from can’t miss, close to the majors pitcher to crap pile.  No thanks to him. 

Gore's stuff is still there, but his mechanics are a problem. Which makes sense considering that he is not only a lefty but also has a really athletic-based delivery. It's a huge risk on Gore, but if he came with Campusano and Hassell, that's a no brainer.

[bluestreak]

Hell, for all we know, Max didn’t waive his 5/10 rights for the Padres. We have zero idea what really happened. Except that Rizzo completed a deal for two highly rated prospects.

[catocony]

Gore fell all the way to #84 in BA’s midseason rankings.  He’s gone from can’t miss, close to the majors pitcher to crap pile.  No thanks to him.

  #84 is the crap pile?  That's some inverse Rookie Monster talk there.

[Kevrock]

Kevin Long is back on a 1 year contract. Who knows if he'll be back or not. https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/nationals/source-kevin-long-return-nationals-hitting-coach

This is a weird organization. They'll drop massive contracts for guys like Strasburg and Sherzer, having a payroll north of $150 million, and then squeeze smaller decisions.

There is no reason they should be messing around with one of the best hitting coaches in the game who is also super tight with the best position player in baseball.

Yeah, exactly my point. I hate it, but it's who we are.

[Slateman]

Yeah, exactly my point. I hate it, but it's who we are.

Whether or not he's on a one year deal or multi-year deal wouldn't matter much if someone wanted to hire him to a job that was promotion.

[Kevrock]

I thought Long has said he doesn't want to be a manager, but I could be misremembering. He does want a longer term contract.

Instead of locking him up for 3 years, we went cheap on years. Now we need to sign him again. It's just dumb. Are we going to be even cheaper heading into CBA negotiations? It's annoying.

[Smithian]

I thought Long has said he doesn't want to be a manager, but I could be misremembering. He does want a longer term contract.

Instead of locking him up for 3 years, we went cheap on years. Now we need to sign him again. It's just dumb. Are we going to be even cheaper heading into CBA negotiations? It's annoying.

I want to point out I really don't think hitting coaches matter. Same with pitching coaches. They're there to be fired during losing streaks to scare the hitters into focusing.

But if he and Soto are tight....

[Kevrock]

I thought the blame that this site has put on hitting coaches over the years was excessive, but seeing Long in action and turn several hitters around has been impressive.

[bluestreak]

I think the bigger questions are

1. If Abrams is untouchable, do the Padres have prospectd to beat what the Dodgers offered?

2. Were the Padres trying to use the deal to unload Hosmer's contract?

The answer to the first question is yes, absolutely. Campusano project as much as a franchise catcher as Ruiz does, he just needs more development, particularly on defense. But he still projects as one. The other three major prospects are legit, with Abrams, Hassell, and Gore. Hassell is the most interesting to me because of his more mature approach, ability to play CF, and higher floor than the rest of the Padres prospects.

But I also think Preller is going to be desperate to move Hosmer before his 10/5 rights kick in. Honestly, if you're going to throw in one of the big four (and maybe another, lower tier guy), I'd take that contract. Hosmer still hits the ball hard, he just needs to tweek his swing/launch angle and get regular playing time. The Nats could trade Bell and provide him with both. And even if he doesnt, after next seaaon, he's "only" 14 million a year. If Rizzo does his job right and grabs a good prospect and a good role piece, Hosmer's contract easily pays for itself

Hosmers 10/5 rights shouldn’t kick in until after next season ends, correct?

[Slateman]

Hosmers 10/5 rights shouldn’t kick in until after next season ends, correct?

Correct. But they are gonna have payroll issues. While they'll drop some payroll with Pham leaving, that will be more than offset with Adams hitting arbitration, Lamet being arb 2, and Frazier being arb 3.

Robles is actually an ideal trade piece for them. With Pham leaving, they could put Robles in CF and Grisham in RF, giving them a very good defensive outfield. We take Hosmer and Abrams or Hassell+. 2022 sucks, but after that season, Hosmer only costs 14 million a year. And who knows, maybe Long fixes him and gives him a resurgence and he opts out.

[Duke of Earl]

The logistics of giving a starting pitcher a curtain call seem kind of tough to organize.   I don't think fans every really knew when he was done until he was hit for or the next guy came out.  Those seem like odd times for a curtain call.   And its not possible when he pitches a complete game.

Good point.  But then what were the circumstances in LA?

[UMDNats]

Pretty important information here from Docks:

Turner’s agents at CAA Sports talked to the Nationals multiple times during 2020 spring training. They exchanged at least three proposals, with the Nationals offering in the neighborhood of six years, $100 million, according to multiple people familiar with the situation.

Turner was then one of MLB’s more productive shortstops, but not necessarily an elite one. From 2017 to 2019, seven shortstops accumulated more FanGraphs WAR than Turner, including then-Cleveland Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor and Boston Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who signed a six-year deal worth $120 million before the 2020 season.

I'm sure guys like Paulsen will adjust their thinking with context about how Turner got offered similar money to other shortstops at his production. Reminder that "comically low" is a lie.

[imref]

Pretty important information here from Docks:

I'm sure guys like Paulsen will adjust their thinking with context about how Turner got offered similar money to other shortstops at his production. Reminder that "comically low" is a lie.

thanks for sharing that. I stand corrected that we low-balled him in 2020.

[Slateman]

Pretty important information here from Docks:

I'm sure guys like Paulsen will adjust their thinking with context about how Turner got offered similar money to other shortstops at his production. Reminder that "comically low" is a lie.

The bigger issue is that there was no further engagement before this season.

Maybe Rizzo wanted to see if he could sustain it over a season. Maybe the Lerners flat out said no. Maybe Rizzo tried to engage CAA, but the agents basically refused and want to see what the market holds this offseason.

[UMDNats]

thanks for sharing that. I stand corrected that we low-balled him in 2020.

It's all about comps. It's easy to think of Trea in a nicer light because he's been so damn good in 2020 and 21. But he was good, not great, before that, had a bad postseason and had general questions about his long-term value.

[UMDNats]

The bigger issue is that there was no further engagement before this season.

Maybe Rizzo wanted to see if he could sustain it over a season. Maybe the Lerners flat out said no. Maybe Rizzo tried to engage CAA, but the agents basically refused and want to see what the market holds this offseason.

Once Lindor signed his megal deal it was over IMO. Maybe before that we could have engaged but Trea had a monster 2020.

[Mattionals]

Once Lindor signed his megal deal it was over IMO. Maybe before that we could have engaged but Trea had a monster 2020.

Agreed.

[Slateman]

Once Lindor signed his megal deal it was over IMO. Maybe before that we could have engaged but Trea had a monster 2020.

Yep

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/08/13/nationals-rebuild-without-scherzer-turner/

When Cleveland sent Lindor to the New York Mets, Turner’s representatives began hammering the favorable comparisons between the two, arguing that whatever Lindor got in an extension would probably be a fitting number for Turner, too. The Mets gave Lindor 10 years and $341 million. To Turner and his team, the landscape had changed, something they communicated to the Nationals and others in the aftermath.

The Nationals didn’t make another offer, according to multiple people familiar with the situation. When the team traveled to Tampa in early June, Rizzo met with Jeff Berry, one of Turner’s agents, but the two never even discussed numbers. It seemed the landscape had shifted out of the Nationals’ comfort zone.

Gonna be honest, that seems high for a guy who would be 30 when he hits free agency

[imref]

Yep

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/08/13/nationals-rebuild-without-scherzer-turner/
Gonna be honest, that seems high for a guy who would be 30 when he hits free agency

Lindor is a few months younger than Turner