Looking through a list of mlb January transactions, I noticed that the Reds released Mike Moustakos, who l think was heading into his third and final year of a guaranteed $64 million deal. Seldom have the Reds paid so much and gotten so little. Maybe the 100 million dollar contract for Homer Bailey?
2 Likes
Tough call but I would lean towards Moustakas.
Moustakas accumulated a WAR of -1.8 over three seasons at a cost of $64 million. Reds essentially got nothing out of the deal, not even one productive season.
Bailey accumulated a WAR of -1.4 over five seasons at a cost of $77 million. He at least had one productive year and in the series of trades they did accumulate some results, though the trades added another $60 million to the total dollar cost. Farmer 2.7 WAR, Puig 0.4 WAR, Bauer 2.6 WAR. Jay Allen was drafted with the compensation pick for Bauer signing with LA, heâs listed as the #12 prospect in the organization but hasnât shown much in A ball.
Hard to see 2023 being anything other than dreadful for the Reds. Hopefully some bright spots along the way as the young players develop.
4 Likes
They havenât exactly received a plethora of riches from Vottoâs current contract.
Generally the thinking/calculation is that every 1 WAR in baseball is worth about $8m. Vottoâs current $225m contract thru 9 of the 10 years has yielded 25 WAR (Fangraphs) or 30 WAR (Baseball Reference). That means heâs been worth $200-$240 million over that span. Heâs definitely been worth what theyâve paid him.
That doesnât even take into account his first 6 seasons when he was paid well BELOW his value.
1 Like
He signed the contract in 2014. Over the 9 years of the contract he has averaged 20 HR, 64 RBI, 25 doubles, .284 average. For that he has been paid, 193 million dollars to date. I realize there are other stats to take into consideration. Just using those as quick benchmarks. His combined WAR over that time is 30 which averages out to 3.33 a season. In only 2 of those 9 seasons has his WAR been in the top 10. In only 3 of the 9 seasons has his WPA been in the top 10 in the NL. In 4 of those 9 seasons, his salary has been in the top 10.
Do you realize that 30 WAR is a lot? That also includes a negative WAR last season, plus the shortened 2020 season.
Do you think J.T. Realmuto and Trea Turner are really good players? In 9 and 8 years respectively, they both have accumulated 29.7 WARâŚand those included their mid-to-late 20âs prime.
Okay, his salary was top 10 in the first 4 of the 9 seasons⌠he averaged 5.45 WAR for those first 4 seasons.
1 Like
Very much aware how WAR works. I am on Baseball Reference Guide daily. That is where all these figures come from. Basically, they got 3 good years out of 9. Iâm not making any of the stats up.
The Votto contract doesnât really bother me much. You always knew there was going to be some falloff towards the end, thereâs not a good track record of players getting better after 35. This is the price of retaining a generational player for their entire career, you underpay in the beginning and overpay at the end.
4 Likes
With Rolen being inducted the Reds have had a Hall of Famer on the roster for every season since 1956!
1 Like
The Brewers are still laughing about this deal,no doubt.
1 Like
First game of the season with the Pirates at Reds. With all this talk about the pitch clock, you think theyâd put it up on the screen. Nah. Just gotta âtrustâ MLB
Thatâs odd, because Iâm watching the Rays broadcast and theyâre also on Bally and the pitch clock is on the screen on the information bar at the bottom. Right in the middle of the diamond that shows runners on base.
It was there for the Reds game on Ballyâs too 
We were sitting in the upper deck on the first base side only 2 sections from being directly behind the plate and we could not see pitch clock. We could see just the first digit. Poor planning.
On the other hand, the opening ceremonies and tribute to Tom Browning and the young girl who sang the national anthem and the female soldier who sang God Bless America were spectacular. Incidentally, I have seen that young girl from Kentucky sing the National Anthem 3 times in March, once before the MAC menâs championship game, once before the Ohio State James Madison womenâs NCAA tournament game, and yesterday for the Redâs opener.
2 Likes
Yes, saw the National Anthem singer perform at a Xavier basketball game in February. Spectacular.
1 Like
Reds have almost equaled the win total through 25 games last year. I am enjoying the âVikingâ celebration of home runs! The presentation of the âswordâ at the end (actually a bat) is epic! My only concern is that everyone will want to do the celebration and will forget about the fundamentals of advancing baserunners.
Bloomberg reporting Bally is not making payments to the Twins, Guardians, Diamondbacks.
No mention of the Reds contract is a good thing for now.
1 Like
Doesnât sound good at all and the Reds might be the first team to get their broadcast rights back, which is expected to be on May 6.
The Reds and several other teams have an equity stake in Bally, which is why they were not included in the bankruptcy case that has a hearing scheduled on May 31. But the Reds are one of four unprofitable contracts for Bally and the Reds were not paid and Bally does not plan to pay them.
Should the Reds approach Apple TV to broadcast their games? Itâs a great streaming service!
1 Like