The 2018 team proved they didn't need an ace. They didn't even try in September and still dominated, plus they buzzsawed through two of the better teams in recent memory to get to the WS, mostly without their 200+ ERA guy and with their HoF closer choking.
Yep he has become a detriment to the team simply because they have no idea if/when he can play and for how long when he does.
Pedroia won't walk away from $35M+ and neither would anyone else. It's a shame, but it's unlikely he can help the team moving forward. The Sox will eventually need to release him and find a better solution than Nunes for 2B.
Of course, today an off day, yesterday Brasier, Hembree and Workman threw less than 15 pitches and on Tuesday only Erasmo pitched. You need more people on the bench in case anyone gets injured or for pinch running or hitting.
Yeah, I was aware of Dempster walking away from the 2nd year of his contract. It was very much an exception to the rule. If you were Pedroia, would you retire?
If it plays out that way, maybe he just retires - giving up what’s left of his contract - then works as a “Special Assistant to Baseball Ops” kinda deal in which he can re-coup some of the money he leaves on the table. I have a hard time seeing him getting released, signing a spring invite type of contract, and putting on a D-backs uni just to prove he’s not done.
Or what if they are winning late and Nunez is playing second base? Bring Vazquez in for defense?
I'm ready for the Lin era to begin. In all seriousness... his SSS at the ML level has been pretty good at the plate and his defense is significantly better than Nunez. A .725 OPS would likely be above average for a second baseman, no? Plus.. .positiional versatility.... why wasn't Swihart given more time here?
While it's absolutely within his rights to do this, I just don't see it going down like that. I understand the massive financial incentive to do so... but I also feel like I can't remember many examples of a player stringing things along for more than two years when it is clear he can't play anymore.
Who are we to say that someone else has made “enough money”? John Henry has made a lot of money as well. If Pedroia was putting up MVP seasons he wouldn’t have the right to re-negotiate, so it goes both ways. I’d collect every nickel of that money if I were him.
Oh man, that's the perfect comparison to the Pedroia situation, sad as that is to say.
Josh Hamilton is another guy that didn't didn't retire even though he wasn't healthy enough to play in MLB the last 2 years of his contract.
No one. I certainly didn't.
So you're proposing that they go from a 3/45 to a 10/45 deal and keep Pedroia on the roster until he's 46? Or, presumably, release him soon after they re-do the deal and just have $4.5M on the books for him for the next ten years? I'm not sure how that really is a benefit to the team even if it gets them a small amount of luxury tax relief in the short term (Pedroia is a $13.75M hit right now so ~$9M in savings). And I really don't see how that gets by the MLBPA or the commissioner.
I am not proposing they keep him on the roster until 46. Perhaps I didn't explain my hypothetical very well but I was thinking ...renegotiate with deferred money and then he retires. Sox get cap space....Previous posts were suggesting that he wasn't going to walk away form his guaranteed money (which I agree with) and I was trying to find a scenario that both sides would agree to...... Mets paid Bonilla for many years after he was done playing.
He has young children living in Arizona so I doubt if a job with the Sox, besides playing baseball, would have much appeal for him.
Dignity is not pressuring a dude to leave a contract that was entered into willingly.
Pedro lives in Florida and still manages to have a "front office" job with the Sox (and an analyst job on MLB Network). I think Pedroia could do something similar while living in Arizona. The title is more honorary than anything. It's not like he needs to be in an office staring at spreadsheets and scouting reports all day.
I'd say "legacy" is the better word and consideration. Pedey has a great one in Boston, unlike say Ellsbury in NY who was mentioned as a comparable situation (it isn't!). Pedey has already made a lot of money and is universally loved by Sox fans. So this legacy is likely to enter his mind when thinking about playing out the contract. If he's genuinely hurt to the point that he'll likely never again be close to what he was, I can imagine him possibly walking away from a lot of what's remaining in the contract to protect this image. I say "possibly" because it's not clear how much fans care about this sort of thing. But to me anyway, his playing out the full remainder of his contract while playing well below average - if that happens - would seem kinda greedy and self-centered, and so would tarnish his image some
If I were he, the team I would most have an interest in would be Kelli, Dylan, Cole and Brooks Pedroia, and generations of Pedroias not yet born.
Should $18M be the difference between ownership fielding a winning team and not? They pulled in over half a billion in revenue last year.
I'm sure John W. Henry was familiar when he or a proxy approved the deal.
Yes, 10 spots lower for a pick that has a small chance of success to begin with. You want Pedroia to donate millions of dollars to John Henry to avoid that?
