Josh Hamilton market update - 3 years $60-75 million

[Catch 8]

Dude, the stats don't lie. In 6 MLB seasons, all of which were during his physical prime, he played in 140 or more games TWICE. He's missed 40 or more games three times. And now he's heading into the years when a player's typically begin to break down.

And in those two seasons, he finished 1st and 5th in the MVP voting.

[DrinkinWithFermi]

And in those two seasons, he finished 1st and 5th in the MVP voting.

Yeah, but if it's one the 3 seasons(literally half of his career) in which he's missed 25% or more of the games, that's 20-30% of our payroll not playing in 25% of our games. And again, he's going to be 32 next year and players typically begin to decline/break down at 32 or 33.

He only played in 75.8% of the games he was eligible for in his age 26-31 seasons(high- 96.3% in 2008/low- 54.9% in 2009). If he couldn't stay healthy in his physical prime, why would that suddenly change in what should be his declining years? It's also probably worth reminding everyone at this juncture that he was having vision issues at the end of the season which, at least partially, caused him to struggle so badly during the last few weeks that Rangers fans began booing him.

These are just some of the reasons why pretty much every team is reluctant to go beyond 3 years with him despite his unquestionable ability to hit the baseball better than almost anyone else, and why teams without infinity dollar payrolls(us) should run screaming from his $20-25 million dollar per season contract expectations.

Red flags everywhere.

[epic]

3 years and 75 mil? I don't know if that's what he's going to end up with but that would definitely be worth looking in to.

And as much as Pete loves to be cheap, he loves the big names and wants to put butts in the seats. If DD can convince him that this is a bargain I could maybe, just mayyyyyybe see ole Pete buying into Hamilton's superstardom. I feel like there have been random whispers over the years that PA would spend big on the right guy.

[Roll Tide]

No possible way Angelos would sign off on those kind of numbers for Hamilton' date=' or for anyone else for that matter. They had no intentions of bringing Reynolds back and it wasn't to upgrade at first base. DD is talking like Conor Jackson is his big first base acquisition. I don't know who the source is for the articles we see stating that the Orioles are ready to be a player in the FA market every winter, but as long as PA is incharge, they will not be.[/quote']

Duquette isn't stupid....He knows Conor Jackson is a AAAA player ... He was brought in to fill the AAA 1B job and be depth tt thy lost with the departure of Mahoney.

[joeyc]

Yeah! Let's spend 20%-30% of our budget for the next 3 or 4 years on an injury-prone 32 year old recovering drug addict that has only played in more than 140 games twice in his entire career! It makes perfect sense!

It shouldn't have to be that way. The orioles have a ton of money. You are all caught up in the Angelos way of thinking. We can deffinetely afford him. Angelos just could'nt care less about winning.

[Roll Tide]

It shouldn't have to be that way. The orioles have a ton of money. You are all caught up in the Angelos way of thinking. We can deffinetely afford him. Angelos just could'nt care less about winning.

I have a feeling that poster works for Sneaky Pete:rolleyes:

[jtschrei]

That's a RIDICULOUS bargain for Hamilton. I already did 4 years at 100 mill. Hamilton is one of the best hitters (maybe the best) in the game. C'mon haters. This guy would completely change the equation here. The Orioles are ready to win right now.

Of course, I don't see it happening. But I think people would love to see this guy hit in Baltimore. Think Raffy!

[NATTYBO's]

So much for $175 million.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/josh-hamilton-seattle-mariners-texas-rangers-mlb-contract-discussions-120612

And as I said the idea that he was going to get $150 million and 6 or 7 years was ludicrous. Not happening. Now here we are at 1/2 that.

Virtually every team in the league would be in at that price....no way he sign for less then $100MM (4/100)

[hallmt18]

I agree the O's had better get in on this. The pieces are in place for success. Some of the comments I have read on this site have been disgusting regarding this man. I had no idea there were so many flawless O's fans, Please for the Love of God give Josh Hamilton a chance

Oh, c'mon. I don't think people are suggesting he should be imprisoned or banned from baseball. Some people are simply questioning the wisdom of giving him millions and millions of dollars.

[Tony-OH]

My father was a Heroin addict. I know exactly how hard addiction is to beat. That's the thing though- no one ever "beats" it. It's a lifelong struggle, and it doesn't take much at all for years, or even decades of hard work to be erased in one moment of weakness. Trust me, I've seen it. And I would have to imagine that it's even more difficult when you have more money than the treasuries of some small countries.

Believe me though, I wish him nothing but the best on that front.

That said, I was mostly referring to his injury history and the fact that we'd likely paying him a lot of money to watch games on TV. His drug issues just make him an even riskier investment for a team like the Orioles that doesn't have infinity dollars to spend like the NYY or LAD.

How come Seattle can afford him? How comes Washington can afford Jason worth at $16 million in 2013, $20 millions in 2014, and $21 million from 2015-2017? Funny how cities that should be similar to us can afford these kinds of players but the Orioles are always poor.

Let's face facts, Angelos, no matter how much he says to the press, is never, ever going to sign an impact free agent that's not our own. I just loved how the press fawned all over Angelos when he went into the clubhouse after the Orioles first playoff win against the Yankees. Funny how Angelos comes out of hiding as soon as the team was good. Always there to take credit, never accountable for the failure.\

We can fawn all over Angelos because he said once we get good he'll pay to add talent, but it's clear as day that the Orioles have no intention of getting a top free agent this year, and probably not any year. there will always be an excuse but at the end of the day, MASN is raking in cash by the buttloads, but the Orioles haven't seen the jump in payroll like other organization have that got their own networks.

The Orioles were fun to watch last year, but there were few times we thought we had more talent than the other teams. Everyone knows we need an impact bat (MOO) and probably a number one starter. We can either trade away a lot of our pitching depth for it or actually sign it. I have no faith that Angelos has it in him to spend what it takes to build the Orioles into a perennial contender. He saw Duquette do it on the cheap last year, and he'll see if he can do it again. /rant

[CA-ORIOLE]

Virtually every team in the league would be in at that price....no way he sign for less then $100MM (4/100)

Yeah, I'm thinking he'll be around that number when all is done.

[clapdiddy]

How come Seattle can afford him? How comes Washington can afford Jason worth at $16 million in 2013, $20 millions in 2014, and $21 million from 2015-2017? Funny how cities that should be similar to us can afford these kinds of players but the Orioles are always poor.

Let's face facts, Angelos, no matter how much he says to the press, is never, ever going to sign an impact free agent that's not our own. I just loved how the press fawned all over Angelos when he went into the clubhouse after the Orioles first playoff win against the Yankees. Funny how Angelos comes out of hiding as soon as the team was good. Always there to take credit, never accountable for the failure.\

We can fawn all over Angelos because said once we get good he'll pay to add talent, but it's clear as day that the Orioles have no intention of getting a top free agent this year, and probably not any year. there will always be an excuse but at the end of the day, MASN is raking in cash by the buttloads, but the Orioles haven't seen the jump in payroll like other organization have that got their own networks.

The Orioles were fun to watch last year, but their were few times we thought we had more talent than the other teams. Everyone knows we need an impact bat (MOO) and probably a number one starter. We can either trade away a lot of our pitching depth for it or actually sign it. I have no faith that Angelos has it in him to spend what it takes to build the Orioles into a perennial contender. He saw Duquette do it on the cheap last year, and he'll see if he can do it again. /rant

Yup...I said this before...now was the time for that impact free agent. If not now, when?

Personally, I'd throw the truck up for Greinke before Hamilton, but that's just me. He's not an ace, but he is a #1.

[raypetty]

How come Seattle can afford him? How comes Washington can afford Jason worth at $16 million in 2013, $20 millions in 2014, and $21 million from 2015-2017? Funny how cities that should be similar to us can afford these kinds of players but the Orioles are always poor.

Let's face facts, Angelos, no matter how much he says to the press, is never, ever going to sign an impact free agent that's not our own. I just loved how the press fawned all over Angelos when he went into the clubhouse after the Orioles first playoff win against the Yankees. Funny how Angelos comes out of hiding as soon as the team was good. Always there to take credit, never accountable for the failure.\

We can fawn all over Angelos because said once we get good he'll pay to add talent, but it's clear as day that the Orioles have no intention of getting a top free agent this year, and probably not any year. there will always be an excuse but at the end of the day, MASN is raking in cash by the buttloads, but the Orioles haven't seen the jump in payroll like other organization have that got their own networks.

The Orioles were fun to watch last year, but their were few times we thought we had more talent than the other teams. Everyone knows we need an impact bat (MOO) and probably a number one starter. We can either trade away a lot of our pitching depth for it or actually sign it. I have no faith that Angelos has it in him to spend what it takes to build the Orioles into a perennial contender. He saw Duquette do it on the cheap last year, and he'll see if he can do it again. /rant

Could it be that the Albert Belle signing/situation scared PA off of signing any big time FA? Believe me I am not a fan of PA?

[DrinkinWithFermi]

How come Seattle can afford him? How comes Washington can afford Jason worth at $16 million in 2013, $20 millions in 2014, and $21 million from 2015-2017? Funny how cities that should be similar to us can afford these kinds of players but the Orioles are always poor.

Let's face facts, Angelos, no matter how much he says to the press, is never, ever going to sign an impact free agent that's not our own. I just loved how the press fawned all over Angelos when he went into the clubhouse after the Orioles first playoff win against the Yankees. Funny how Angelos comes out of hiding as soon as the team was good. Always there to take credit, never accountable for the failure.\

We can fawn all over Angelos because said once we get good he'll pay to add talent, but it's clear as day that the Orioles have no intention of getting a top free agent this year, and probably not any year. there will always be an excuse but at the end of the day, MASN is raking in cash by the buttloads, but the Orioles haven't seen the jump in payroll like other organization have that got their own networks.

The Orioles were fun to watch last year, but their were few times we thought we had more talent than the other teams. Everyone knows we need an impact bat (MOO) and probably a number one starter. We can either trade away a lot of our pitching depth for it or actually sign it. I have no faith that Angelos has it in him to spend what it takes to build the Orioles into a perennial contender. He saw Duquette do it on the cheap last year, and he'll see if he can do it again. /rant

I fully believe that the Orioles could operate comfortably with a payroll in the $110-120 million dollar range. But ol' Pete isn't going to sign off on that. It sucks but it is what it is. And it doesn't change the fact that paying $20-25 million a year for a guy that was only healthy enough to play in 75.8% of the games he was eligible for in his age 26-31 seasons is a terrible idea.

And that goes for any team.

[weams]

I fully believe that the Orioles could operate comfortably with a payroll in the $110-120 million dollar range. But ol' Pete isn't going to sign off on that. It sucks but it is what it is. And it doesn't change the fact that paying $20-25 million a year for a guy that was only healthy enough to play in 75.8% of the games he was eligible for in his age 26-31 seasons is a terrible idea.

And that goes for any team.

I think the Orioles could comfortably operate at a 120 million dollar payroll. I am really sorry that the only FA we could possibly target are filled with great risk and are flawed. But is not just the Yankees being stupid anymore. The Phillies did it and suffered the down slope. The Angels as well. Heck they fired they guy who got them Trout. The Red Sox are back to their own brand of stupidity and the Dodgers are bursting pi?atas with shotguns. The Rangers are always in a Big Market mode and the Tigers and Cubs take the very next tier. IF we WERE to buy a free agent at the top unrecoverable levels, I am starting to think it might have to be someone as flawed as Josh. Anyone who is a good player that is coveted by those big market teams is a 100 million dollar man. I am very glad we signed Adam.