All 30 Teams non-tendered players

[HowAboutThat]

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/12/non-tendered-players-all-30-teams.html

 

I’m sure this is been discussed in other places, but I don’t think there is a thread that combines them, and there’s a whole lot of guys to discuss here, so I thought it would be a good idea to put them all together. If this has already been done, the moderators are welcome to delete this post or combine it with the one I missed.

I wonder if we will be interested in any of these guys, all of them are worth something, and all of them are probably better players than your average waiver wire guy, or minor league free agent. I have already put in a request to bring back CaJo, but I don’t know who else I want. What do you guys think?

[Tony-OH]

Gotta imagine Addison Russell will be a target for the Orioles off this list.

[backwardsk]

4 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

Gotta imagine Addison Russell will be a target for the Orioles off this list.

Uggh, I hope not.

[interloper]

11 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

Gotta imagine Addison Russell will be a target for the Orioles off this list.

I think Elias values "good guys" more than we may assume. He's made it a point to call out Mancini and Davis and Rutschman and others who are considered "good guys". And I think the owners care about that, too.

I think pegging Elias as some cold mathematician is doing him a bit of a disservice. Not that I'm saying you're doing that here, exactly. But he's been a scout, he's been out there with the players. He may run things very new school, but that doesn't mean he wants bad seeds on his club. 

A player LIKE Russell (age, talent, needing a change of scenery) makes a lot of sense, but I see no reason to gamble on guys with questionable character. 

[Tony-OH]

6 minutes ago, interloper said:

I think Elias values "good guys" more than we may assume. He's made it a point to call out Mancini and Davis and Rutschman and others who are considered "good guys". And I think the owners care about that, too.

I think pegging Elias as some cold mathematician is doing him a bit of a disservice. Not that I'm saying you're doing that here, exactly. But he's been a scout, he's been out there with the players. He may run things very new school, but that doesn't mean he wants bad seeds on his club. 

A player LIKE Russell (age, talent, needing a change of scenery) makes a lot of sense, but I see no reason to gamble on guys with questionable character. 

There seems to be some stigma that says if you have an incident in your life that it should define your character forever. i for one don't know 100% what happened with Russell and his wife, but he apparently cheated on her and a woman scorned have been known to exaggerate things.

Even if she didn't, at the end of the day, this is what Epstein said about him, “He’s fully and enthusiastically complied with everything (MLB) has put in front of him as far as therapy and counseling going forward. Beyond that, he’s reached out on his own to engage in a therapist, someone he’s stayed in contact with three to four times a week, and that will continue long after the mandated therapy is done.” 

Now domestic abuse is abhorrent, and there is no reason to hit on your spouse whether they be male or female, but it sounds like the guy has done everything to improve himself. I would not be against the Orioles acquiring Russell and I doubt Elias would either f the price is right and he can fill a hole for this team. 

[interloper]

1 minute ago, Tony-OH said:

There seems to be some stigma that says if you have an incident in your life that it should define your character forever. i for one don't know 100% what happened with Russell and his wife, but he apparently cheated on her and a woman scorned have been known to exaggerate things.

Even if she didn't, at the end of the day, this is what Epstein said about him, “He’s fully and enthusiastically complied with everything (MLB) has put in front of him as far as therapy and counseling going forward. Beyond that, he’s reached out on his own to engage in a therapist, someone he’s stayed in contact with three to four times a week, and that will continue long after the mandated therapy is done.” 

Now domestic abuse is abhorrent, and there is no reason to hit on your spouse whether they be male or female, but it sounds like the guy has done everything to improve himself. I would not be against the Orioles acquiring Russell and I doubt Elias would either f the price is right and he can fill a hole for this team. 

Fair enough, but they said all that and then released him at age 25 in his first arbitration year after cutting his AB in half. So they clearly don't care to see if his character stays improved. Or maybe they know it really hasn't. 

Either way, I'd look elsewhere. The last thing the O's need is the spotlight being shone on them when everyone is already itching to criticize them for tanking, etc. 

[backwardsk]

38 minutes ago, interloper said:

I think Elias values "good guys" more than we may assume. He's made it a point to call out Mancini and Davis and Rutschman and others who are considered "good guys". And I think the owners care about that, too.

I think pegging Elias as some cold mathematician is doing him a bit of a disservice. Not that I'm saying you're doing that here, exactly. But he's been a scout, he's been out there with the players. He may run things very new school, but that doesn't mean he wants bad seeds on his club. 

A player LIKE Russell (age, talent, needing a change of scenery) makes a lot of sense, but I see no reason to gamble on guys with questionable character. 

He was still in Houston when they traded for Osuna, no?

[interloper]

10 minutes ago, backwardsk said:

He was still in Houston when they traded for Osuna, no?

Yeah but he wasn't the guy pulling the trigger on trades. I could be wrong about Elias, who really knows at this point. 

[sportsfan8703]

40 minutes ago, interloper said:

Fair enough, but they said all that and then released him at age 25 in his first arbitration year after cutting his AB in half. So they clearly don't care to see if his character stays improved. Or maybe they know it really hasn't. 

Either way, I'd look elsewhere. The last thing the O's need is the spotlight being shone on them when everyone is already itching to criticize them for tanking, etc. 

He's only 25.  Plus, what do we care about PR?

[ArtVanDelay]

Addison Russell is exactly the type of player we should be picking up.  Only 25 years old, high upside.  Of course his past complicates things but someone is going to sign him either way, so why not us?

[interloper]

3 minutes ago, ArtVanDelay said:

Addison Russell is exactly the type of player we should be picking up.  Only 25 years old, high upside.  Of course his past complicates things but someone is going to sign him either way, so why not us?

What's his upside though? A .750 OPS? He hasn't even reached that in his career. Not that good of a SS defensively from what I can tell.

[Just Regular]

1 hour ago, Tony-OH said:

Gotta imagine Addison Russell will be a target for the Orioles off this list.

Whether we move on Russell or don't, have to imagine Hyde's a big character witness.

ESPN did a piece highlighting the "good" non-tenders.  Murph already touted Taijuan Walker; Jimmy Nelson and Aaron Sanchez also seem to me to be in an adjacent basket.  I think 2020-2021 may be a year early for us to try the 2-year thing for Hurt Good Pitcher you really only care about in Year 2, and I can't think of any instances of a team going 3-years on that concept.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/28214328/which-mlb-players-were-cut-loose-traded-non-tender-night

[ArtVanDelay]

2 minutes ago, interloper said:

What's his upside though? A .750 OPS? He hasn't even reached that in his career. Not that good of a SS defensively from what I can tell.

He’s a 25 year old that costs nothing to acquire and has a good chance to be an average or even above average MLB player in a full season’s worth of games.

His defense looks pretty good after a quick glance at his Baseball Reference and Fangraphs pages.

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, ArtVanDelay said:

He’s a 25 year old that costs nothing to acquire and has a good chance to be an average or even above average MLB player in a full season’s worth of games.

His defense looks pretty good after a quick glance at his Baseball Reference and Fangraphs pages.

Can we pay him in quarters?

[oriole]

57 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

There seems to be some stigma that says if you have an incident in your life that it should define your character forever. i for one don't know 100% what happened with Russell and his wife, but he apparently cheated on her and a woman scorned have been known to exaggerate things.

Even if she didn't, at the end of the day, this is what Epstein said about him, “He’s fully and enthusiastically complied with everything (MLB) has put in front of him as far as therapy and counseling going forward. Beyond that, he’s reached out on his own to engage in a therapist, someone he’s stayed in contact with three to four times a week, and that will continue long after the mandated therapy is done.” 

Now domestic abuse is abhorrent, and there is no reason to hit on your spouse whether they be male or female, but it sounds like the guy has done everything to improve himself. I would not be against the Orioles acquiring Russell and I doubt Elias would either f the price is right and he can fill a hole for this team. 

Mmhmm...and historically men have consistently been known to undervalue the weight of a woman’s words when she has been wronged. 
 

I’d prefer to pass on Russell. Playing the game of baseball for fame and fortune should be a privilege reserved for those who adhere to a minimal standard of human decency. I’m not saying he should be banned or anything like that, but as fans we should recognize that personal conduct matters and actively oppose glorifying domestic abusers. Baseball is a business so if the fans reject a player, I would hope teams would too.