MLBRT 2/15/2024

The questions and discussion…  

1) Recently commissioner Rob Manfred announced that former New York Mets general manager Billy Eppler directed the deliberate fabrication of injuries for up to a dozen players and the associated submission of documentation for the purposes of securing multiple improper injured list placements during the 2022 and 2023 seasons to create open roster spots and has since been suspended from MLB suspended through the 2024 World Series.

In your opinion is this suspension more than warranted for the offenses described and is it is it sufficient for the offenses that were committed by Eppler? Why or why not?  

The suspension is definitely warranted for the rules that Billy Eppler broke. You cannot fabricate injuries for the benefit of your team. Not only was it giving his teams an unfair advantage in being able to make roster moves and elevate people faster or longer than what they should have been, it was just a complete disadvantage to other teams in being able to stay healthier and fresher with his players.

It also discredited players from getting sufficient playing time that they should’ve been awarded due to their realistic injuries and time frames of the injuries. That hurts their overall career stats, can impact club control length, etc.

It’s a lot of various impacts and ramifications these bush league moves created. I think the suspension will end up being sufficient, but I would actually ban him from being GM of any team, or in control of moving players onto the injured list, for at least five years. I don’t think any team can trust that he will be doing this fairly, and the league shouldn’t either. Once you screw up the trust of people, and tried to cheat to have an unfair advantage, your credibility in the future is shot. 

If the suspensions for the  Astros GM Jeff Luhnow, manager A.J. Hinch and bench coach Alex Cora were all warranted.. and in my opinion they were… for their involvement in stealing sings during the 2017 regular season and postseason, during which they won the World Series, as well as in part of the 2018 season, then in my view what Eppler did was, at a minimum, on a par with what they did. So yes, the suspension handed out by the commissioner’s office is also warranted.  

In fact, to my way of thinking it might be too lenient because I think what Eppler did is much more serious than what the Astros players and coaches did during their sign stealing scandal and Eppler should have been handed out something on the level of say a three-year suspension. Through such a suspension The commissioner could have sent out the message the finagling and manipulation of the IL is a serious violation of the rules of MLB that creates a distinct and totally unfair advantage for a team in managing and the handing of their rosters and the availability of players compared to teams that were adhering to the rules.    

I also want to say I’m kind of surprised the Mets themselves were not given at the least a significant fine. 

2) Eight-time All-Star, two-time World Series champion and 2017 AL MVP Jose Altuve and the Houston Astros have come a mutual agreement on a four-year contract that essentially will mean Altuve will retire as an Astro for life.

Has Altuve done enough in his career during his time with the Astro’s to merit being elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame or does he need to do more work on his resume in those assumed final four years of his career? Why or why not?

With Jose Altuve having four more seasons, he does have the ability to reach close to 3000 hits for his career. He’s had a fantastic playoff career as well, winning multiple World Series, having the most home runs in postseason history, having an ALCS MVP, a regular season MVP, three batting titles, eight-time All-Star, six-time Silver Slugger, two-time TSN Major League Player of the Year and also has a Gold Glove.

He’s done a lot at the plate and has been vital to the Houston Astros in their winning their multiple World Series. He has a career .307 batting average, a career 127 OPS+, and has 27 home runs in the postseason with 55 RBIs, and a .273 batting average.

I’d give Altuve the nod into the Hall of Fame. 

Altuve’s resume for the Hall of Fame… 8 All-Star appearances, 6 Silver Sluggers, 3 batting titles, 2 World Series rings, and an MVP award along with a career slash line of .307/.364/.471 and a playoff slash line of .273/.340/.510 plus a  playoff record 27 HRs… is definitely on track for him to be elected into the Hall after his career in MLB is over.

At this stage of his career, to be assured of election, and possibly a first time selectee, it comes done to how much he can add to this resume.

Given that this contract extension gives him another six years to play in MLB and given that he currently has for his current career 2047 hits, 400 doubles, 209 HRs, 1,062 runs scored and 747 RBIs it’s not all that inconceivable he would most likely achieve some serious benchmarks that would include 3,000 hits… he needs to average 158 hits for the rest of his career… 1,500 runs scored… needs to average just 73 runs per year… 600+ doubles… 33 doubles a year would easily get him there… and a not too shabby 300 HRs… a very doable of just 15 per year.

And that I would wager would be more than enough to get him into the Hall as a first ballot selection.

In a season where he has missed more than half of the games, Altuve is still on pace to add 100 hits to his career total and was just able to cross over the 2,000-hit milestone. At this rate he would probably need at least six more seasons averaging 150 hits per year to make it.

3) Although Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman has said she is “excited about the prospect of Major League Baseball” in her city she recently came out and said she is opposed to the A’s ballpark plan on a nine-acre parcel on the Las Vegas Strip that “does not make sense” due to the congestion that already exists in that area rather than building a ballpark on another larger site in north Las Vegas which she proposed. (Taking matters out of her control is  the fact the mayor and the city do not have jurisdiction over the Strip, which falls under the oversight of Clark County.)

She recently told “Front Office Sports Today” podcast that “There are a lot of questions about whether that’s going to fit,” and added that A’s owner John Fisher has drawn the ire of Las Vegas locals for failing to share revised artists renderings to show just how it will be situated on the lot. In light of her opinion she also told the podcast that the A’s ownership should go back to the drawing board and pitch a new plan in the Bay Area when she said, “I personally think [the A’s have] got to figure out a way to stay in Oakland to make their dream come true.”

What is your opinion on the mayor’s opinion and considering her thoughts…

Is there any way that you could envision that the Athletics would remain in Oakland and not be playing MLB in Las Vegas as has been planned and announced by the Athletics and the commissioner’s office? Why or why not?

I’m not a big fan of the mayor’s comments.

They would love baseball to come to Las Vegas, which is a great destination based on tourism and to add to the landscape of sports that’s already there (NFL and NHL). They have a lot of gambling as well, which will help drive people to the baseball games as they might have bets on the games and would like to watch them in person, or just for something to do.

Vegas is a huge tourism site, and a site that has a lot of sports action and home to big events all the time. While the Strip isn’t the best spot for it, as we saw with the Super Bowl and the over-crowded stock-pile of cars on the strip streetways, I think the location would be fine as it’s the best spot for the easiest access for fans to get there. They won’t have to drive as much and can walk up and down the Strip to the location.

I think the Athletics staying in Oakland just isn’t a plausible situation anymore. They don’t really seem to want them in Oakland, or the Bay Area, and the current stadium is falling apart, enormous, bad environment for fans, and just not a good professional baseball stadium that should host anymore games in it.

It’s time for Oakland to follow suit with the Raiders and go to Las Vegas. Carolyn Goodman should just deal with the location and take it. I don’t think it’s going to overcrowd the strip, especially since it’s baseball and not a huge event like the Super Bowl, which was just managed extremely poorly on the Strip.   

Not sure what the Vegas mayor is trying to accomplish here but at this point it seems as if it would be nearly impossible for the Athletics to negate going to Las Vegas and returning to Oakland.

While the fact the Athletics won’t have a MLB ready ballpark for years down the road is not ideal I think it’s a done deal the team will play in Vegas and play in a ballpark somewhere within the strip’s locale. The mayor should just deal with that reality and hopefully the team will have enough success that will bring in millions in extra revenues from going to the games and spending their bucks at the various venues along the Strip.   

4) Free-agent third baseman Matt Chapman is still unsigned and remains looking for a contract for the 2024 season and presumably beyond.

Which team do you see Chapman eventually playing for in 2024? Why?

I would love to write the Milwaukee Brewers in this slot, but I think it’s going to come down to two teams. The Toronto Blue Jays, in order to bolster their line-up in the AL East and grab a competitive advantage, or the New York Yankees, to also bolster their offense after struggling for the last two seasons.

The Giants would make a lot of sense to bolster their line-up to compete with the Dodgers, but I don’t think that they’re going to pony up the money to grab him. Same with the Brewers, or other teams that are in need of a third baseman.

I think the Blue Jays would be a great fit, as he used to play for them, and they also just signed Justin Turner, but he can’t really play a lot of third base and can really only be relied upon as a designated hitter. And Toronto was so close to making a playoff appearance and pushing for a run last year and the year before. This year could be their year with adding a bat to their lineup, especially at the hot corner.

I think the Yankees could also use him, which would really help their line-up as they need all the help they can get on offense, even after acquiring Juan Soto. They cannot rely on just Aaron Judge to provide help to the line-up, and while Juan Soto does help out, just one bat isn’t going to get the job done and satisfy the Yankees’ front office, fans or team’s aspirations at making a World Series run, which should be their objective every single season. 

While I agree that the Yankees could use Chapmans bat in their lineup and his defense at third I just don’t see them spending the money to sign him to play in NY when they have made it known they are still looking to add pitching to their rotation. I think for them it’s a lot more likely they either trade for Dyan Cease or sign free agent Blake Snell than go after Chapman.

However I do see either the Toronto Blue Jays or the San Francisco Giants spending the money to get Chapman to sign on with their teams.

Both franchises could use his bat in the middle of their batting orders as well as his glove at third to fill out their lineups and be the possible difference maker for either team to be in the 2024 playoffs.   

5) On Monday (2/5) the Kansas City Royals announced the team and shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. have come to an agreement on an 11-year contract extension, worth at least $288.7 million, with opt outs for Witt after Years 7, 8, 9, and 10 as well as a three-year club option that could push the total value to 14 years and $377.7 million. 

What is your opinion on this deal? Why?

I love this Witt deal. Not only does it show that teams in small markets can spend money to lock up their key players, and good players, for a long time and at bigger money, but it also provides that a key player stays in Kansas City for a starting point and a piece to build around to make their push to get back into the World Series conversations, or at least the playoff races.

He’s only had two career seasons in the majors for the Royals. His first year featured him in the Rookie of the Year conversation with 20 home runs hit, six triples, 30 stolen bases and a .254 batting average (102 OPS+). Last year showed a lot of improvement where he was featured in the MVP talks while on his way to hitting 30 home runs, 49 stolen bases, leading the league with 11 triples, improving his batting average to .276 including raising OPS+ to 120. He even raised his walks from 30 in 2022 to 40 in 2023, including dropping his strikeout totals from 135 in 2022 to 121 in 2023. This is a fantastic deal as he’s going to be one of the best players in the majors for some time, and the next super star. They have to lock him up, and for them to be able to retain him and not lose him, which is typical of superstars who grow up in small market organizations, is such a good thing for small market teams and the MLB as a whole. 

First, I’m surprised the Royals actually did this deal.

Second, I think that it sends out the message to other players that the team is serious about being a team that want to add significant players to their roster  so that they can once again be World Series contenders.

All in all great for Witt and great for Kansas City especially since news has broken that the Royals intend to build a new 34,000 seat ballpark in downtown Kansas City that would be ready for the 2028 season.

Extra Innings…