Wacha to KC

[Balta1701]

32 minutes ago, EloyJenkins said:

Royals are spending some money...but is it good money? These seem like mid tier moves to me. I know the Sox suck, but this division even with the Royals and Tigers getting FA signings still feels winnable by anyone...Twins are taking a step back and the Guardians are just meh. Seems like a really odd time to be rebuilding when the next 2-3 years of the division will be won by the team that gets injured the least. 

The Royals have never yet gone down to the "drop your payroll to $30 million and rake in the money" level we've seen from Pittsburgh, Miami, Oakland, etc. Instead, they always try to give their fans something at least a little respectable, put a couple guys on the field and play decent baseball in the first half. If a couple of their guys like Witt were to break out they could imagine having a better season than expected, and if not they hope a couple of these guys wind up movable at the deadline. Especially given that he has an opt out, Wacha fits in that mold - they can be a farm system for playoff teams and get a couple of long term pieces back in return. It's a better strategy and quite a bit more honorable than the $30 million rosters we've seen. 

[caulfield12]

3 hours ago, Balta1701 said:

The Royals have never yet gone down to the "drop your payroll to $30 million and rake in the money" level we've seen from Pittsburgh, Miami, Oakland, etc. Instead, they always try to give their fans something at least a little respectable, put a couple guys on the field and play decent baseball in the first half. If a couple of their guys like Witt were to break out they could imagine having a better season than expected, and if not they hope a couple of these guys wind up movable at the deadline. Especially given that he has an opt out, Wacha fits in that mold - they can be a farm system for playoff teams and get a couple of long term pieces back in return. It's a better strategy and quite a bit more honorable than the $30 million rosters we've seen. 

But two of those rosters are Cleveland and Baltimore...Tampa pretty recently as well.

[Balta1701]

18 minutes ago, caulfield12 said:

But two of those rosters are Cleveland and Baltimore...Tampa pretty recently as well.

Excluding 2020 (or counting the year-opening 2020 payroll) when is this "Recent" year when Tampa Bay had a payroll under $60 million?

[Lip Man 1]

4 hours ago, South Side Hit Men said:

I retired at 50 just before COVID. My career was in Finance. I like diving into statistics and baseball history, so at times I’ll go down rabbit holes at times for my personal knowledge or entertainment. Played Rotisserie starting in 1985 for the same reasons.

I also do some volunteer work and bail from Chicago for about a month each Winter, but travel and other plans changed significantly with the COVID and other external BS over the past four years. The best laid plans…..

 

 

Glad retirement is going well for you.

[caulfield12]

35 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

Excluding 2020 (or counting the year-opening 2020 payroll) when is this "Recent" year when Tampa Bay had a payroll under $60 million?

The point is that it's not like some death sentence.

You can easily run smart organizations at $30 million or dumb ones at $180-190 million.

The problem is most teams learn how to make adjustments over time.

[South Side Hit Men]

1 hour ago, Lip Man 1 said:

Glad retirement is going well for you.

Thank you! Hope all is well on your end in Idaho!

Would be better if the Sox were better, but hopefully they will at least be in a better place within a few seasons. Miss going to Sox games regularly, but hopefully we get new ownership later this decade and I'll feel comfortable supporting financially beyond a random Stubhub games or friend / family ticket invites.