Absolutely.
The Dodgers finally make a move to clean up their outfield by designating Carl Crawford for assignment. They’re on the hook for about $30 million in salary for the rest of this year and next, so hopefully somebody picks him up. With Puig on the DL and Ethier not likely to return at all the way things are going with his rehab, that makes the outfield Pederson, Thompson, Hernandez and Van Slyke. Thompson has been hitting a ton, so that’s a plus as well.
Even if someone picks him up, they will likely only pay him the pro-rated major league minimum and the Dodgers will be responsible for the rest.
As OldGuy makes reference to above, NO team will claim Crawford and his bloviated contract. The Dodgers will be forced to release him after 10 days, and some team will take a chance on him via free agency for mere peanuts.
A motivated Carl Crawford at minimal cost? Some wise FO who has a team in contention will scoop him up.
Man, the A’s are dropping as badly as they did last week. Why do they keep Bob Melvin?
Crawford is one of the worst baseball contracts I can recall in a long, long time. I’m sure there are worse contracts, but I can’t think of them right now. Pujols is another bad one, but he was at least putting up some power numbers the first few years of the contract.
Melvin’s a solid manager, but he’s probably gonna get run by the end of the year. Some tough losses to good teams in the post-season, but Billy Beane won’t care. He was hired to win the big ones and didn’t get it done.
National League all-stars, as of now:
C: 1.) Johnathan Lucroy 2.) Wilson Ramos
Lucroy’s defense gives him a firm lead over the slugging Ramos.
1B: 1.) Anthony Rizzo 2.) Paul Goldschmidt
Tough call! Goldschmidt is nipping at Rizzo’s heels. Equal WAR for both guys. Rizzo has the edge in slugging, OPS and overall team success.
2B: 1.) Daniel Murphy 2.) Ben Zobrist
Tight race! While Zobrist has a higher WAR, Murphy’s ungodly +600 SLG and 100-point edge in OPS, narrowly gives him the lead.
3B: 1.) Nolan Arenado 2.) Kris Bryant
As good as Kris Bryant is, this is an easy call.
SS: 1.) Zack Cozart T-2.)Brandon Crawford T-2.) Corey Seager
This race remains impossible to call, and it wouldn’t surprise me if any one of the gentleman listed took the baton and ran with the SS all-star nod; or even someone I haven’t listed (Diaz, Villar).
Cozart pales in popularity to Crawford and Seager, but as he displayed before getting injured last season, Cozart remain a wildly underrated and productive shortstop.
OF: 1.) Dexter Fowler 2.) Starling Marte 3.) Bryce Harper T-4.) Ryan Braun T-4.) Yoenis Cespedes T-4.) Stephen Piscotty T-4.) Gregory Polanco T-4.) Christian Yelich
Fowler and Marte are easy calls. Deciding on the third outfielder is were things get tough. Harper gets the nod due to his ridiculous +OBP and his team’s success. A slew of contenders are waiting in the wings to overtake Harper.
SP: 1.) Clayton Kershaw 2.) Jake Arrieta
Clayton Kershaw’s obscene production makes this the easiest call of all: 1.46 ERA; 0.65 WHIP; 0.6 BB9; 18.17 SO/BB; 261 ERA+.
We’re watching an all-timer here, folks!
Er, I meant last season.
Any Alex Rodriguez contract. Alfonso Soriano. Those contracts for 8-9 years for a pitcher, like Kevin Brown.
Brandon Belt.
A-Rod at least had some production behind the numbers. Sorryano…not so much.
Jake Arrieta lost a game today!
Thirded.
My current ASG ballot:
AL
C: Salvador Perez. He’s the best catcher in the AL, and defending WS MVP.
1B: Eric Hosmer. Is playing extremely well, both with the bat and the glove. Miggy’s a close 2nd, but I’ll go with my team.
2B: Jose Altuve. The tiniest guy in baseball is one of the most fun to watch. Cano is hitting the cover off the ball, but I’d rather watch Altuve play.
SS: Bogaerts. Hot bat, fun to watch. No other veteran on the slate I’d want to see, and Correa will likely get on the roster via Ned.
3B: Machado. I’ll stick with the youth movement. Incredible three bagger.
OF: Trout. Cain. Springer.
DH: Ortiz. Don’t retire, Big Papi!
NL
C: Posey. Ramos is having an amazing year, but I’d rather see Buster play.
1B: Goldschmidt. Not off to an amazing start, but he’s an easy choice here.
2B: Zobrist. While I’d like to see Murphy boot a few balls just for old time’s sake, Zobrist has a soft spot in my heart for what he did last fall.
SS: Do I have to pick someone here? No one’s exciting. I guess Seager’s having a fun week - I’ll go with him.
3B: I might give Wright a veteran’s vote, but Arenado has been a big player the last few years, and is deserving.
OF: Harper. McCutcheon. Stanton. The last two haven’t played well this season, but these are the guys I want to see play. They’re electric when they’re on their A-game.
Munch: You’re not on the #VoteOmar train? What kind of Royals fan are you?
Rodriguez won three MVP Awards during the ten years covered by his $252 million supercontract. In those ten years his WAR is about 72, which by way of comparison is approximately equal to the entire careers of Reggie Jackson, Derek Jeter, or John Smoltz. That can hardly be compared to a deal where the team gets nothing.
Carl Crawford hasn’t had a full productive season since he left Tampa Bay. He’s toast.
Belt is in the midst of a fine season, and he’s an underrated talent, but his defense puts him just behind Rizzo and Goldschmidt.
Belt is a very fine player and but I’d have to agree with the old Bill James saw that it’s not the “All Guys Who Had Good First Halves Game.” Goldschmidt is the best first baseman in the NL, even if he’s off to a bit of a slow start.