Thorne says O's on Tex's list

[davearm]

What a terrible idea.

Why? Because Reimold is the sort of elite prospect that can just skip AAA?

[Lucky Jim]

Mack you were the first person I thought of when I read that post by Firestone the other day talking about how Tex wants to go to a team that's a perennial contender.

It'd surprise me if you truly thought Tex would sign with a team like the Pirates or the Royals if one of those teams came in with the biggest offer.

Are you suggesting that the O's are like the Royals and Pirates? Obviously, geography plays a part in this.

I don't think Mackus is - on the other hand - suggesting that Tex will go wherever the highest bid originates, but rather that if the O's have the highest bid he'll come.

[Big Mac]

Why? Because Reimold is the sort of elite prospect that can just skip AAA?

Reimold shouldn't be playing in AAA next season, he'll be 25 on OD '09.

He has shown excellent plate discipline this season. His K:BB ratio is much better than Markakis's was at Bowie. The O's don't like to have their top hitting prospects go to AAA, some members of the organization think the pitching is better in the Eastern League.

I believe Reimold is more ML ready now then Markakis was in '06.

The most obvious solution to the problem Enjoy Terror presented is to trade Huff.

[Sports Guy]

Are you suggesting that the O's are like the Royals and Pirates? Obviously, geography plays a part in this.

I don't think Mackus is - on the other hand - suggesting that Tex will go wherever the highest bid originates, but rather that if the O's have the highest bid he'll come.

Yes he is...He has clearly stated that TEx will go to the team that offers the most money.

[Lucky Jim]

Yes he is...He has clearly stated that TEx will go to the team that offers the most money.

In that post? Or elsewhere? I'm just referring to that post - and would imagine if, as you suggest, he's said that, then he's operating under an assumption about who's bidding.

Just a guess.

[Sports Guy]

In that post? Or elsewhere? I'm just referring to that post - and would imagine if, as you suggest, he's said that, then he's operating under an assumption about who's bidding.

Just a guess.

He has been saying it for a while.

[Lucky Jim]

He has been saying it for a while.

That's what I get for skipping all those Tex threads, I guess.

I don't think it's true he'll go to the highest bidder, regardless. I do think that he will go to the highest bidder among a handful of "acceptable" teams. I think the O's are in that mix. But barely.

[Sports Guy]

Tex is going to the team he wants to go to IMO...He probably has a group of teams he would play for....almost all of them are contending teams except 1..The Orioles.

So, for him to come here, the Orioles have to put comparable money on the table and need to show him what they are building towards and tell him that he is the centerpiece of that.

That is it...That is what it is going to take.

This isn't some difficult analysis...Its not some far fetched pipedream or anything like that.

It is about selling the team and putting the money on the table.

[Enjoy Terror]

Why? Because Reimold is the sort of elite prospect that can just skip AAA?

For many teams, AAA is just a holding pen for MLB ready players without any place for them on the big league roster. The pitching in AA is a lot better, and the AA environment is much more of a learning environment than AAA is. Not to mention the fact he's 25 or 26, and if he's not ready for the MLB now, he wont ever be.

Is Montanez half the prospect Reimold is? No. He skipped AAA this year, and he did it having been in AAA and sucking. Reimold could go to AAA, but it's a waste of his talents.

[JTrea81]

Yes he is...He has clearly stated that TEx will go to the team that offers the most money.

And why would this be false?

Just look at these Boras clients who have signed big deals with losing teams and their record the season before in parenthesis:

Zito to the Giants (76-85)

Beltran to the Mets (71-91)

A-Rod to Texas (71-91)

I expect Tex to be no different...

[Lucky Jim]

Tex is going to the team he wants to go to IMO...He probably has a group of teams he would play for....almost all of them are contending teams except 1..The Orioles.

So, for him to come here, the Orioles have to put comparable money on the table and need to show him what they are building towards and tell him that he is the centerpiece of that.

That is it...That is what it is going to take.

This isn't some difficult analysis...Its not some far fetched pipedream or anything like that.

It is about selling the team and putting the money on the table.

I think we see this the same way. I say barely, only because I think it's difficult to show a player that a team is building towards something...and harder to show that that something is imminent enough for him to take it into account. Athletes tend to live in the moment, when they have the choice. This underlying irrationality spells itself out for us all the time (just read the comments from players on the O's every time they make a trade.)

I think it'll be a touch more difficult for the O's, but they're the only non-contender with a shot.

[Mackus]

Are you suggesting that the O's are like the Royals and Pirates? Obviously, geography plays a part in this.

I don't think Mackus is - on the other hand - suggesting that Tex will go wherever the highest bid originates, but rather that if the O's have the highest bid he'll come.

No, I am in fact suggesting that wherever the highest big comes from, is where Tex will end up.

If the Yomiuri Giants offer him 20 years and $500M, he'll sign there.

Obviously thats a bit of hyperbole, and if two contracts are similar but slightly different (say the Royals and Yankees offer the same money over 8 seasons, but the Yankees defer much of it so its worth less than the Royals offer) then he'll go to the place he'd rather be. But if someone out of the blue, say the Royals, blows the other offers out of the water, he's signing there.

[Lucky Jim]

No, I am in fact suggesting that wherever the highest big comes from, is where Tex will end up.

If the Yomiuri Giants offer him 20 years and $500M, he'll sign there.

Interesting. That's all.

Actually, it's not. Your example doesn't prove anything, does it? Obviously if the highest bid is one that is so exaggerated as to dwarf all other offers, he may make a move "wherever."

But what if the Yomiuri Giants offer five million more than the Yankees? What if the Royals offer one more year than the Red Sox?

Using price as an absolute here seems far too one-dimensional.

[Lucky Jim]

Looks like we edited at the same time.

[geschinger]

That's what I get for skipping all those Tex threads, I guess.

I don't think it's true he'll go to the highest bidder, regardless. I do think that he will go to the highest bidder among a handful of "acceptable" teams. I think the O's are in that mix. But barely.

When has a Boras client ever turned down a more lucrative offer from another team to go to an "acceptable" team? I can't think of any but maybe I'm forgetting someone. The only instances where Boras was invovled that I can think of where anything other than the largest offer on the table mattered is with Andruw Jones, ARod and Gary Sheffield and they had to go against Boras to get a deal done. Tex seems to be a true believer so I doubt he goes that route and I see no reason to think Boras will have a different approach (considering other items other than money when determining the "best" offer) with him than he seems to use with every other client.