6 minutes ago, mqr said:

I'm pro-universal DH, but absolutely not at the cost of expanded playoffs. 

So you don't want expanded playoffs?

Just now, mqr said:

Somewhat surprising to me that the players hate the expanded playoffs enough to not take the DH

I think it’s the principe of the thing...adding a universal DH should be something both sides want but the owners are acting as if it’s a concession on their end.

2 minutes ago, Sleepy Harold said:

One would think considering his market has now been cut in half.

More than cut in half, honestly. There are AL teams that already have a DH and only a couple NL teams would have an in house option.

5 of 15 is perfect for baseball if they play a long season. Last year was understandable, but please stop wanting 7 or 8 in each league. It’s terrible.

34 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

Attempting to fake a website to hide everything behind wins the day for me.

Melky's is the funniest.  Braun's was the absolute worst.  

1 minute ago, TomPickle said:

More than cut in half, honestly. There are AL teams that already have a DH and only a couple NL teams would have an in house option.

Yeah that's what I'm saying, what's realistically his market now with now avenue to playing time in the NL, like 4 AL teams?

1 minute ago, Sleepy Harold said:

Yeah that's what I'm saying, what's realistically his market now with now avenue to playing time in the NL, like 4 AL teams?

Twins, Sox, Mariners maybe? 

1 minute ago, fathom said:

Twins, Sox, Mariners maybe? 

Maybe the Rays too if they wanted to solidify DH, but that's probably unlikely.

2 minutes ago, Sleepy Harold said:

Yeah that's what I'm saying, what's realistically his market now with now avenue to playing time in the NL, like 4 AL teams? 

I don't think it makes sense for teams that aren't going to compete to sign a DH so you can count out the Rangers, Mariners, Royals, Tigers, and Orioles. Of the competing teams the A's, Rays, and Indians are too cheap. The Yankees, Angels, and Astros already have a crowded DH spot. So yeah, really just the White Sox, Twins, Red Sox and Blue Jays are the options at this point.

If he signs with the Twins, there is no reason they shouldn't throw the rest of the money supposedly left in the budget towards Tanaka.

12 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

So you don't want expanded playoffs?

Not even a little bit. Quite possibly the only thing that could make me lose interest in major league baseball. 

Edited January 25, 20215 yr by mqr

3 minutes ago, TomPickle said:

I don't think it makes sense for teams that aren't going to compete to sign a DH so you can count out the Rangers, Mariners, Royals, Tigers, and Orioles. Of the competing teams the A's, Rays, and Indians are too cheap. The Yankees, Angels, and Astros already have a crowded DH spot. So yeah, really just the White Sox, Twins, Red Sox and Blue Jays are the options at this point.

Red Sox have JDM

Twins, Sox make most sense 100%. Twins make more sense than Sox.

 

In a strange world, the Blue Jays could make sense, but they have a log jam there too.

Rays could make some sense TBH. Seems like a signging they would do.

 

3 minutes ago, TomPickle said:

I don't think it makes sense for teams that aren't going to compete to sign a DH so you can count out the Rangers, Mariners, Royals, Tigers, and Orioles. Of the competing teams the A's, Rays, and Indians are too cheap. The Yankees, Angels, and Astros already have a crowded DH spot. So yeah, really just the White Sox, Twins, Red Sox and Blue Jays are the options at this point.

Red Sox have JDM and Blue Jays have other areas to spend with their resources. It’s really just a two team race at this point.

Getting Cruz would be like when the Twins stole Thome in 2010. Thome then proceeded to have a great season and kicked our ass every opportunity he got. 

18 minutes ago, mqr said:

Somewhat surprising to me that the players hate the expanded playoffs enough to not take the DH

I think mainly because the owners get a lot of money from expanded playoffs especially if fans are back in the parks in October. Easy rejection.

You guys are absolutely right, Martinez slipped my mind because he was terrible last year. Ozuna does seem like a more likely option for the Blue Jays since they are spending this year. CJ Cron seems more like a fit for the Rays if they're going to go out and grab a DH. He'd be a cheaper option and a platoon fit with Tsustugo.

1 minute ago, TomPickle said:

You guys are absolutely right, Martinez slipped my mind because he was terrible last year. Ozuna does seem like a more likely option for the Blue Jays since they are spending this year. CJ Cron seems more like a fit for the Rays if they're going to go out and grab a DH. He'd be a cheaper option and a platoon fit with Tsustugo.

I can’t imagine Rays spending so much on Cruz. Nice job though with your initial post.

3 minutes ago, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said:

I think mainly because the owners get a lot of money from expanded playoffs especially if fans are back in the parks in October. Easy rejection.

Yes. It is all bargaining chips.

Expanded Playoffs are a MUCH larger puzzle piece compared to Universal DH.

Players WANT Universal DH but not at the cost of maybe their biggest chip. 

Blue Jays don’t need a dh. Unless they can convert excess OF into an arm, they’ll be rotating their outfielders. I was hoping to have a similar scenario for the Sox, but isn’t looking likely. 

Just now, iWiN4PreP said:

Yes. It is all bargaining chips.

Expanded Playoffs are a MUCH larger puzzle piece compared to Universal DH.

Players WANT Universal DH but not at the cost of maybe their biggest chip. 

And it seems like it’s still possible for this season

1 minute ago, Blackout Friday said:

Blue Jays don’t need a dh. Unless they can convert excess OF into an arm, they’ll be rotating their outfielders. I was hoping to have a similar scenario for the Sox, but isn’t looking likely. 

100% True. They have a ton of bad fielders but good hitters. Alejandro Kirk, Teoscar come to mind instantly who need to use DH. Also Rowdy Tellez is around. They should 100% be out on Cruz.

It's Twins most likely with a possible chance for the CWS. Although he could still wait another month or so until the owners/players get their shit together and get U-DH in. 

Expanded playoffs would be tough to do without making getting to the playoffs seem kind of worthless. Honestly, it seemed like nobody wanted to be the 8th seed in the NL last year. If they do 8 teams, it cheapens the accomplishment of making the playoffs and it makes seeding almost seem pointless. If they do 6 or 7 teams, one or 2 teams will end up getting a bye for the first series. The problem is that long layoffs don't work well in playoff baseball so the team on the bye could actually be at a disadvantage. 

Beyond the implications of Cruz, this is completely disgusting for what it means for the MLB. We don't even know the rules of the game and it's going to be February. I'd be furious if this was occurring at my job... I really don't understand how we can be this incompetent. 

It looks like it's going to be another long 2-3 months between the MLBPA and the owners. 

Just now, chw42 said:

Expanded playoffs would be tough to do without making getting to the playoffs seem kind of worthless. Honestly, it seemed like nobody wanted to be the 8th seed in the NL last year. If they do 8 teams, it cheapens the accomplishment of making the playoffs and it makes seeding almost seem pointless. If they do 6 or 7 teams, one or 2 teams will end up getting a bye for the first series. The problem is that long layoffs don't work well in playoff baseball so the team on the bye could actually be at a disadvantage. 

One other thing to note on this topic that is maybe the most important for the MLBPA is that expanded playoffs means MLB Owners have to try a little less to end up making the playoffs. This means less bigger contracts for players in the long run. That seems to be the reason why the players don't want expanded playoffs. The detrimental effect it would have on teams giving out contracts.