A Tip of the Chapeau to Our Northern Neighbor Ballclub
A story came out today that the Canadians are once again
showing the Americans that people are more important than profits. The Toronto Blue Jays announced that they
intended to increase the compensation to minor leaguers by 50%. Supporters say, “It’s about time!” Anyone who’s read pieces I’ve posted here on
the unconscionable plight of minor leaguers who must pay for their own
equipment, collect sub-minimum wages, and take on jobs as Uber drivers and
other extra work simply to meet the basic requirements for food and shelter.
Others have scoffed that the gesture is crazy and merely a
drop in the bucket towards what players should earn given the sacrifices they’re
making often thousands of miles from home trying to make a career out of their
talent.
Frankly, I think neither one of these answers is completely
correct yet I’ll offer up a third one.
Suppose you are a minor league free agent and you have a choice to play
for the Blue Jays and their model of compensation or to play for any of the 29
other American clubs and their 50% less model (currency conversion rates
notwithstanding), which would appeal to you more? I think until the Americans wise up and
follow suit or surpass what the Blue Jays are doing, they’re going to have a
leg up in talent acquisition. Then they
will be crazy like a fox.
Suppose Things Don’t Pan Out as Planned?
Going into the Spring Training 2019 season there were any
number of scenarios in which things could have played themselves out. Most expected to see a lot of Todd Frazier at
1B and Jed Lowrie at 3B. Injuries kept
that from happening, but it gave ample time for non-roster prospect Pete Alonso
to show what he’s capable of doing. If what
he’s shown in Port St. Lucie is any indication of how bright his future is, you’d better go buy your shades now.
What’s perhaps even more surprising is the rebirth of the
heretofore forgotten Dominic Smith. A
lot has been written about how his sleep apnea diagnosis, conditioning and
weight loss have helped contributed to his success on the diamond. Right now he has a leg up on Alonso in that
he’s already on the 40-man roster and is not subject to the service time manipulation
game. Given his success, it’s possible
for once to have the Mets allow an injured Todd Frazier time to recover
COMPLETELY before rushing him back to games.
Where it got really weird, however, was in the bullpen
race. Everyone assumed Kyle Dowdy had
pretty much secured a spot based upon his Rule V status. There’s just so much terrible pitching you
can provide before you have to say, “OK, we tried” and offer him back. Ryan O’Rourke was an injury reclamation
project that people saw as 30 year old filler, yet he’s pitched to a 2.16 ERA
for this period. He’s also a lefty. Southpaw Luis Avilan is no longer perfect but his ERA
is a still nifty 1.86 and over 9.2 IP has yet to walk a batter. Tim Peterson is at 2.70 but has better than a
strikeout per IP. Justin Wilson will be
there given the money they invested despite his putrid spring. However, Robert Gsellman may not want to put
down a long term lease in NY just yet.
Normally a 4.15 ERA wouldn’t be something to worry about, but he has
options…just sayin’
A 50% increase is the least they can do - hopefully, other clubs (hint, hint, the Mets) will follow suit.
ReplyDeleteAs you note, a 50% increase still leaves them at very low pay. 100, 100, do I hear 100?
I don't understand why teams don't build dorms for their lower MnLers, as they do in ST. House them and feed them if you're not going to pay them a living wage.
ReplyDeleteBill, great idea, it seems. Curious as to why not.
ReplyDeleteCan the GCL & PSL Mats live "on campus?"
ReplyDeleteWhy not? Maybe a local college has an empty dorm in the Summer that can be rented. Or a local motel in the "off-season"
DeleteAfter The "Eat 'N Rip"
ReplyDeleteI am back. Good lunch. I am stuffed peppers!
Anyway, good post by newcomer journalist Mack Ade today. I think he has an excellent career brewing at this and I agree with pretty much everything Mack has posted.
The two kid pitchers that I think (like Mack) may begin 2019 at AAA Syracuse are Tyler Bashlor and Daniel Zamora. But their respective lead pitches are too good not to believe that they should be back very soon. Obviously unlike anyone else living today, I sometimes have to wonder to myself, "Can either or both possibly be converted to a starter role since the 2019 bullpen depth is so well stocked now by GM Van Halen. And yes, I still do have (like most Mets fans) some trepidation in regards to, "What would happen if the Mets lost one of their top three starters due to injury sometime during this season?"
My thinking is that it is probably better to have too many rather than too few potential starters. Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman could easily replace the four and five starters for awhile, coming out of their bullpen roles. Maybe Tim peterson as well here. But the thing I really like about both Daniel Zamora and Tyler Bashlor is that their lead pitches (when firing on all cylinders) are truly amazing ones. Whereas some of the pitchers probably heading down to Syracuse soon, that Mack mentioned today in his post, they don't really have that sensational a lead pitch that the above two possess.
I have to believe that for Daniel and Tyler this can be done.
The Yankees got Gio Gonzales and for very little in contrast to today's salaries, three million dollars. But Gio has to make the parent Yankees 25-man roster out of Spring Training.
So what about Dallas Keuchel, Mack? Could the Mets do a similar type move with him for here? He is a lefty you know too. No one seems to be biting at his salary request. If the Yankees get him too, I will just spit.
LOL