Yanks to Give Farnsworth $17M for 3 Years
Anyhoo, there is no excuse for not offering arbitration and getting a couple of draft picks for Brad Ausmus’ new favorite pitcher. Even if the Skankees pull another Sheffield and don’t make the contract official until after the arbitration deadline.

The AP article:
The Shanks reply:
This seems to have become a pattern the last few years. Maybe they just really didn’t want him back; if you offer arb, there’s always the danger it will be accepted. Then not only do you not get draft picks, you have to pay the guy. That’s the only excuse I can think of. In this case, I’m not sure why there would be so much antipathy towards keeping him.
And any chance there was of me asking my parents to get me Shanks’ book for Christmas just evaporated. What an asshat.
What’s an asshat?
Does it look like a tophat? How does it stay on? An elastic band?
Could someone enlighten me on mlb rules?
Is the draft pick we get from the Yanks their original draft pick or the higher one they get from the Phillies?
If the Yanks sign another A or B free agent, do they lose both their first rounders, or do they get to keep their Phillies first rounder and lose their second rounder instead?
Oh, and along the same lines, can sandwich picks be lost as free agent compensation?
Did anyone see Oprah on Letterman last night? Dave is a genious!
This seems to have become a pattern the last few years.
It sure has. The Braves behavior has made it seem like they don’t want the extra draft picks for whatever reason (perhaps budgetary). I realize that JS was majorly burned by Maddux but now he’s just being stupid.
The only link I could find about draft pick compensation was this from espn:
http://espn.go.com/mlb/news/2002/0830/1425253.html
it seems to have most of the clauses of the new CBA, except it says there is no draft pick compensation for Type A and Type B free agents. Isn’t that incorrect? How did we get a sandwich round pick last year?
Found better info from BA.
http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/columnists/askba.html
If Farnsworth signs with the Yanks, I think we get their first rounder (not the Phillies’). Plus a sandwich pick. Too bad the Cubs’ pick is protected, or we would get it when (not if!) Furcal signs there. You heard it here.. erm.. first? 🙂
Word from an agent friend is that Furcal is in LA right now and took a physical this morning. It’ll be announced tomorow – 3/39. Just crazy $.
Damn! That is some jack!
The Dodgers have all the money. Wonder what they’d do with Izturis — though it’s hard to trade a guy in TJ recovery.
What’s an asshat?
Does it look like a tophat? How does it stay on?
Depends.
Whoops, bad formatting:
What’s an asshat?
Does it look like a tophat? How does it stay on?
Depends.
I’ve already lost my audience, haven’t I?
Wowie we are getting some draft picks!
maybe chipper’s money is all going in signing bonuses
AARGH! Oh, never mind….
Furcal signing for 3/39 with LA would be the best of all worlds. No way he’d get anything close to 13m in arbitration, so it’s safe to offer. It’s clearly way too much money, so Chipper and Andruw and the other vets can’t get too mad for the Braves not opening the checkbook.
And it leaves the Cubs once again scrambling for a shortstop and leadoff man–meaning they’d probably end up “snaking” Lugo out from under us (assuming our talks with TB are really about him and not Baez, which I doubt). Or they’ll leave Neifi there and trade for Juan Pierre after all, though I’d rather see Cubs prospects headed to Tampa than to Miami.
You’ve never heard the term “asshat” before, JoeyT? Odd.
Can I ruin what I think was sansho1’s joke by asking him if he was referring to Depends the adult diapers? If that’s that case, I did get it!
And if you were having trouble with the italics tags, sansho, I think they turn off when you hit the enter key and you need to put them in again on the next line. If that was your problem.
Juan Pierre is going to the Yankees.
In the first two rounds.
24) orig pic
28) Yanks
supp) farns
supp) furcal
2nd round) dodgers or cubs
2nd round) orig pick
Also, if the team offers Franco arbitration and he signs somewhere else, we could get as much as a first rounder. I don’t think the team will offer it, though.
2006 draft order:
1. Royals (56-106)
2. Rockies (67-95)
3. Devil Rays (67-95)
4. Pirates (67-95)
5. Mariners (69-93)
6. Tigers (71-91)
7. Dodgers (71-91)
8. Reds (73-89)
9. Orioles (74-88)
10. Giants (75-87)
11. Diamondbacks (77-85)
12. Rangers (79-83)
13. Cubs (79-83)
14. Blue Jays (80-82)
15. Nationals (81-81)
16. Brewers (81-81)
17. Padres (82-80)
18. Mets (83-79)
19. Marlins (83-79)
20. Twins (83-79)
21. Phillies (88-74)
22. Athletics (88-74)
23. Astros (89-73)
24. Braves (90-72)
25. Indians (93-69)
26. Angels (95-67)
27. Red Sox (95-67)
28. Yankees (95-67)
29. White Sox (99-63)
30. Cardinals (100-62)
So, if the Furcal rumor is true, our draft situation looks like:
Round 1, Pick 24 (ours)
Round 1, Pick 28 (Yanks)
Round 1 Supp, Pick ~2 (Dodgers)
Round 1 Supp, Pick ~15 (Yanks)
Round 2, Pick 7 (Dodgers)
Round 2, Pick 24 (ours)
That would be 5 picks that, if not all top 50, are damn close. Hopefully we get a lot of southern boys who can throw it 95.
…And can be in the big leagues by August.
I totally scooped you. You’re stealing my info! That’s for premium subscribers only!
LOL joey
Smitty, where did you hear that scoop on Pierre? Is that just a Billy Smith TM Hypothesis, or did you see it on ESPN news or something
Pierre would be a great fit for the Yankees. I’m hardly his biggest fan (T-Moore…) but they need a big-time glove in center and could use some team speed too.
Kyle,
That is a little Billy Smith TM Hypothesis + ESPN says he has been offered and the Yanks are thinking it over= he is probably going to go. Unless the Cubs make an offer in the next few hours, which may happen. By this time next week we will know a lot more about our team.
There’s still the chance that we might give back some of those draft picks for Todd Jones or somebody.
drew, that’s really why I was asking the questions before. Kyle makes it sound like the picks you gain in compensation can’t be transferred. So the most the Braves could give up would be the original first and second rounders. The Yankees, Supplemental, and Cubs/Dodgers picks would be protected.
I’m pretty sure you can’t lose a compensation pick. If we start signing free agents willy nilly, we’ll lose our first rounder and maybe our second rounder, and “create” a sandwich pick for another team in front of our Farnsworth sandwich pick, but we can’t lose those picks.
If they Cubs sign Furcal, they will have lost their second (Furcal), third (Howry), and FOURTH (Eyre) rounders.
Has it gotten that bad where we discuss our excitement over draft picks? DRAFT PICKS!!! I know, I know, JS always pulls something out of his bag, but even the most optimistic of fans HAS to be getting a bit concerned. We can sit here and poke fun at the Mets for their moves, but I think these moves are better than those of the prior regime. Meanwhile, we sit, and sit, and sit…
Please, JS, come through with something…
JJ: yes it has gotten that bad.
Baseball is leaving me depressed! but nothing else to do in the day…
atleast at night, I can follow cricket 😉
Bill Simmons picked the Jets over the Patriots this weekend? Is he RETARDED?
Actually, Simmons only picked NY to cover the spread. If the Pats beat the Jets by 10 or fewer, the Jets cover the spread. Not retarded at all.
Oh, that makes sense. I get it. So he’s saying the Pats won’t win by more than 10 points, effectively causing them to lose the bet? Okay. But Bill Simmons has written some pretty retarded stuff before, so you can see where the thought occurred to me 😉
I like how Bill still has no idea about the Falcons (not that the rest of us do). Last week he took the Lions, this week he takes Vick in Carolina. If he truly bets every game (doubtful) he’s getting killed by Atlanta.
Well, sort of. The Pats haven’t lost any money, nor will they, at least not based on the Vegas line. The line (Pats favored by 10.5) is a reflection of what kind of handicap it takes to get the same amount of people to bet for the Jets as for the Pats in that game. The betting lines mean nothing to the teams involved, only to the hordes of gamblers out there.
And yes, Simmons has written some really stupid stuff. My personal favorite was in September, when se said something to the effect of, “Chris Carpenter is 18-5 over in the National League, looking like the Cy Young favorite. Who knew?”
I then e-mailed a response to him, saying something like: “Well, Bill, everyone who pays attention to more than the AL East knew. It’s pretty common knowledge that he’s owned the NL thus far, but I guess we can’t expect you to know that, since you’re only the Boston Sports Guy. Wait, where do you live, again?”
If I recall correctly, Vick has never lost to the Panthers.
Stu, I bet Simmons didn’t even respond because your email was too sports related. Now, put in a reference to a classic 80s movie, maybe a Lindsay Lohan comment or two, and you would have made his mailbag column. Maybe next time?
AP is reporting that Chipper has restructured his contract so the Braves will have more money to re-sign Furcal or a closer. Here’s a portion …
Braves finalize $37 million, three-year contract with Chipper Jones
By PAUL NEWBERRY
AP Sports Writer
ATLANTA (AP) ? The Atlanta Braves finalized a $37 million, three-year contract with Chipper Jones on Friday that guarantees the third baseman an additional $15 million and saves the team $6 million in 2006 salary, money that could be used to re-sign Rafael Furcal or pursue a top closer.
Jones had $22 million in guaranteed money remaining in a $90 million, six-year contract that began in 2001. He was due to make $17 million next season, and Atlanta had team options for 2007 and 2008 at $15 million annually. The options, which carried a single $5 million buyout, would have become guaranteed if he had 450 plate appearances in the previous season or was an All-Star.
Under the new deal, he gets a $4 million signing bonus in January and $11 million in each of the next three seasons. The contract contains a 2009 team option at $8 million that would become guaranteed if he has 450 plate appearances the previous year and escalators that could raise his 2009 salary to $11 million.
It sure has. The Braves behavior has made it seem like they don’t want the extra draft picks for whatever reason (perhaps budgetary). I realize that JS was majorly burned by Maddux but now he’s just being stupid.
What’s stupid? We get compensation for Farnsworth without offering arbitration because he signed before Dec. 7th.
Funniest quote from that AP article about the Castillo trade:
Active with what? You have two assets left!
Of course, either of those assets are worth pretty much any price.
Oh, wait, forgot about Lo Duca. Trading Lo Duca must be what he means by “remain active”.
What players do the Yankees have to offer the Marlins? I thought they are not trading Cano, Wang, and Duncan. I doubt the Yankees have anything that the Marlins like…but you knows, the Yankees may just pay the Marlins $20M to acquire Pierre.
I know it can’t happen, I am just kidding.
Marte for Lugo?! No way. I wouldn’t mind JS trading his son to the Rays for Lugo though, haha!
Problem with that, kc, is that parents don’t like to screw over their own kids. Other people’s kids are fine; for example, screwing over Vicki and Mike Green’s son is fine, but not his own.
Yes, I am pathetic enough that I actually looked up the names of Nick Green’s parents.
What’s stupid?
Sorry for the being unclear. By “now” I meant since Maddux. Not offering Sheff or Drew arbitration when it was crystal clear they were not going to accept it was…
If I recall correctly, Vick has never lost to the Panthers.
True. I like the Birds this weekend too. I was just saying he’s been all over the place with them this year.
Did anyone see the article on ESPN about how Congress is going to investigate the BCS system? Why all the sudden interest in intervening in sports? Yes, it’s a billion-dollar industry and yes, it’s a stupid system, IMHO, but shouldn’t it be the NCAA’s job to fix it?
Just a random thought.
With Chipper signed through 08 and Eric Campbell likely to arrive by then is Marte gone?
I think Marte is gone. If they really had plans for him, they would’ve taught him to play left or first by now. I think he gets traded somewhere next week.
It’s going to be depressing if he really gets traded for Julio Freakin’ Lugo, 30 years old and coming off a career season while signed for one more year. Ugh. At least when we got JD Drew, he was really good, and we didn’t give up a position player prospect.
Also, looking at those terms, Chipper cut the Braves a great deal. He was supposed to earn 47 million over the next three years if all three options vested (which they likely will); now, he will only earn $37 million over that time period.
Assuming he gets 450 plate appearances next year, he would have been guaranteed $32 million for 2006 and 2007. Now, we get an extra year for a mere $5m more.
Here’s hoping Chip moves to first base, ages gracefully, and retires with the Braves.
I think they’ll trade Marte, but I also hope it’s not for Lugo, or ever for Lugo and Baez. But I do think he is Schuerholtz’s big chip this year.
Chipper has reached a level where, if he retires a Brave and makes it to the Hall, I’ll find a way to get there to see him inducted. Just like I’ll do with Bobby Cox, and just like I’ll do with John Schuerholtz.
Furcal with the Dodgers? What is interesting is the first team the Braves play in 2006 is the Dodgers.
I hope to be there.
Well, how interesting. Last year the Braves lost Drew and Wright to the Dodgers and the Yankees respectively, and seems like this year the Braves will lose Furcal and Farnsworth to the same teams. It seems like the Braves continue to supply players to the rich teams, and the Braves continues to win!!!
To be honest, I was not a big fan of Schuerholtz, especially not impressed with his work during the late 90s and early 2000s. However, it seems like the good GMs are at their best when they have limited resources. Schuerholtz’s work in the past two seasons have convinced me that the Braves will be fine and they will be as competitive as prior years. As long as the Braves still have the combination JS and Bobby, I don’t think we need to worry too much.
Richard’s source is apparently solid. The LA Times has confirmed that Furcal’s been offered “. . . a three-year contract worth close to $40 million . . .”
Unless the Cubs seriously step up, Furcal’s going to Hollywood, baby!
That was already known Joey.
Let Furcal go, use the very cheap Betemit and use the money for a closer and a good set-up man. Say Todd Jones and Trevor Hoffman?
Dan, I was posting a confirming source. That’s why I said, “Richard’s source is apparently solid.” I generally like to have other sources confirm things that an anonymous poster heard from an agent friend.
What’s your problem?
Offering arbitration to Farnsworth and Furcal seems like a pretty safe move to me. Any deal with them is only one year and I doubt that an arbitrator would award much more than what the Braves were offering.
If the Braves receive draft picks as compensation they can either sign the draftees, or not. Once again they don’t have to spend the money.
I read on Rotoworld that a deal with the Yankees for Pierre would cost them minor league pitcher Sean Henn and Scott Proctor. However, an update today denies that report and says that the Marlins want Cano and the Yankees are unlikely to deal for him now.
Does anyone know what minor league free agents the Braves have signed?
Has anyone ever taken a look at the Yankees draft results back from 1998? They are REALLY bad. All these “prospects” we’re talking about (Cano, Proctor, etc.) don’t even appear to have been drafted by them. It’s actually sort of funny.
Why would anyone want Todd Jones? Yeah, he put up good numbers last year at age 37, but I actually cheered when the Marlins brought him out of the pen against us last year, and he didn’t disappoint. 37 people! The oldies are not goodies! (with the usual Julio caveats)
Kevin, here’s one names Brad Baker. He could be in our bullpen at the start of the 2006 regular season. We beat out both the Red Sox and Yankees for him.
http://www.reformer.com/Stories/0,1413,102~8865~3143504,00.html
“Why would anyone want Todd Jones? Yeah, he put up good numbers last year at age 37, but I actually cheered when the Marlins brought him out of the pen against us last year, and he didn’t disappoint. 37 people! The oldies are not goodies! (with the usual Julio caveats)”
Theres nothing wrong with having him on your team next year, and theres nothing wrong with having a 37 year old on your team. Jones is a risk BECAUSE he was so good last year that he will probably get a multiyear deal for some good money. Jones had a career year and will likey not be that good again though it is reasonable to expect him to be a solid pitcher. As for his age, while its not a good idea to give him more than 2 years there have been plenty of relievers (andactualy plenty of guys at lots of positions) to be solid up til their 40s.
Asshat, noun: A person who has their head so far up their ass that they’re wearing said ass as a hat.
It amazes me how many people think Todd Jones is a safe risk. Jones had ten years between good years — I’d hate to have to wait ten more for his next good one.
I kind of look at it the other way. The only really bad year he had was 2003. He was a pretty good pitcher for a long time, but’s been about average (for his parks) in since 2001, without outliers at 2003 (bad) and 2005 (good).
I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect an era between of around 4. Such a guy would have a place in the pen, but he sure as heck isn’t worth closer money.
Anyone know where I can place a prop bet that Boyer will put up better numbers than Todd Jones next year?
Absolutely we’d take Jones in our bullpen. The only real concern is that we don’t want to be in a situation where he’s the only option we have to close. But damn right we’d like to have him.
Also Jones fits the Bobby/Leo philosophy pretty well: throw strikes and get groundballs.
Hes a Marietta native too as i recall…and in a way he shows the sudden changes of Marietta over the last 10-20 or so years. Jones is seen, and i think would identify more, as being a “country boy” type whereas now the Marietta ballplayers (and its one of hte top HS baseball hotbeds) are typical suburban kids of familys not native to GA.
For a while there NMS , Kolb threw strikes and got groundballs too…
Anyone know how true it is that the braves offered furcal 36mill for 4 years…
Also Jones fits the Bobby/Leo philosophy pretty well: throw strikes and get groundballs.
Who is this Leo you speak of?
By the way, Jones has talked openly of wanting to play for the Braves in recent years, almost so much so that he’s become bitter they haven’t pursued him. To that end, I don’t see him granting a hometown discount when someone like the Mets or Rangers will likely throw a lot of money and years at him.
I saw Baker signed, also Mike Ryan and Brian O’Connor
NMS sums up my sentiments. I’m 15 years older than Jones, but then again, I’m not going to be counted on to save any ballgames in 2006.
I think Jones is pretty much wasted money. If that’s what they are thinking, I would sign Seanez and Hammond instead and let the closer thing sort itself out.