[Mick]

1736797672[/url]']
Sasaki has turned down the Giants. He also turned down the Mets and Yankees.

Giants lose the Rōki Sasaki sweepstakes

Verlander has some interesting incentives in his contract:

$200K for MVP ($150K-2nd; $50K-3rd)
$200K for Cy Young ($150K-2nd; $50K-3rd)
$150K for WS/MVP
$100K for LCS/MVP
$100K for All Star
Full No Trade

Darn.  There goes the plan to trade him to Baltimore so he can complete the Orange circuit.

Sasaki is down to Toronto, LA and SD.  Since Toronto is the AL equivalent of SF (always a bridesmaid, never the bride), it is down to SD or LA. The consensus is that he is headed to the Dodgers.  I still think the winner will be San Diego.  

Regardless, he is going to sign with a club in a high tax jurisdiction.  So much for that nonsense of star players only being interested in signing with teams in low tax locales.

I think you're right. I think the dual tiebreaker is local media vs. LA craziness AND relationship with Darvish.

Separate topic...what do you think about Randal Grichuk as a low-cost pickup? He's 33 this year, but he hit .291/.348/.528/.875 in 254 ABs for the Diamondbacks last year. Just 46 strikeouts. Corner outfielder, really good range, positive Rtot. Could be had for 2 years, $6.6 million, supposedly.

Randal Grichuk Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More | Baseball-Reference.com

[Mick]

1736797672[/url]']
Sasaki has turned down the Giants. He also turned down the Mets and Yankees.

Giants lose the Rōki Sasaki sweepstakes

Verlander has some interesting incentives in his contract:

$200K for MVP ($150K-2nd; $50K-3rd)
$200K for Cy Young ($150K-2nd; $50K-3rd)
$150K for WS/MVP
$100K for LCS/MVP
$100K for All Star
Full No Trade

Darn.  There goes the plan to trade him to Baltimore so he can complete the Orange circuit.

Sasaki is down to Toronto, LA and SD.  Since Toronto is the AL equivalent of SF (always a bridesmaid, never the bride), it is down to SD or LA. The consensus is that he is headed to the Dodgers.  I still think the winner will be San Diego.  

Regardless, he is going to sign with a club in a high tax jurisdiction.  So much for that nonsense of star players only being interested in signing with teams in low tax locales.

I think you're right. I think the dual tiebreaker is local media vs. LA craziness AND relationship with Darvish.

Separate topic...what do you think about Randal Grichuk as a low-cost pickup? He's 33 this year, but he hit .291/.348/.528/.875 in 254 ABs for the Diamondbacks last year. Just 46 strikeouts. Corner outfielder, really good range, positive Rtot. Could be had for 2 years, $6.6 million, supposedly.

Randal Grichuk Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More | Baseball-Reference.com