You sign Santana you lose #29 and 14 mill...they weren't getting multiple years

The question is: Are we a better team with Santana in the rotation this season? You can't with a straight face say we aren't. This is a one year window with JS in the rotation - who we have not intention of resigning...

We are the 3rd best team in our division at the moment.... My frustration comes from thinking maybe Glass should sack up and give us puncher's chance...

So now we take our very mediocre 2-5 starters and go to war with Detroit and Cleveland. Well, good luck. I hope Duffy is a star, I hope Ventura is a star...Adam... all of them... But I just get sick seeing Santana sign with the Jay or O's for a one year deal, when he wanted to stay here.

What besides his words have shown he wanted to stay here. He turned down the same offer he is going to accept from KC earlier in the year.

Besides his words? He turned down the offer months ago...before his market crashed.

Are you saying he wouldn't sign if we offered him the same as the Jays? Hell, DM was on the radio yesterday saying he had recently spoken to his reps... what do you think it was about? True Detective? I'm sure it was along the lines of we'd accept a one year deal close to the QO... DM can't do it because he has tight owner.

This is the sad reality of baseball in KC as long as Glass is owner.


Also the ****ing fact that two years later - once Shields leaves - we will have traded 7 years of Wil Myers for a ****ing 8th inning reliever in Wade Davis makes me want to puke my ****ing brains out.

Once you have signed Vargas and Chen it doesn't make sense to spend 14 mil and the #29 pick on another starter. While I have hated Glass for a long time, I think that this team probably needs to operate around 90 Million at least at this point in time. I would love him to go spend another 14 mil but I won't tear Glass apart for not doing it.

If we were sitting at 45 million like we were a few years ago, then sure.

I am with you on the Shields deal, I get why they did it but I don't like it.

I'm curious, for this year, what payroll level would everyone think that Glass is no longer being cheap?

I think they have done a terrible job of spending their $ (Hoch, Davis etc.) But I am not that upset with the amount?

See this is where we disagree... it makes complete sense. Santana pushes those two tire fires back a slot in the rotation. The 29th pick only exists in the context of Santana leaving, so who cares. And, quite frankly, fetishizing draft picks in baseball is dumb. 98 percent of these guys never see the light of day... especially if DM is picking pitchers.


Overall, I think we should expect the owner to spend what it takes to win. It doesn't help that DM likes to pay relief pitchers 5 million a head.

So I read today that something in Santana's medical about his elbow really scared a lot of teams off, thinking it's just a matter of time before it blows.

I think the draft pick has value, but I agree it is much lower than say an NFL draft pick. I am more in line with the argument that if you don't spend so much stupid money on RP's you can sign Santana and still be around 95-100 million.

I like the idea of spending what it takes to win, but look around baseball. Besides from a few teams (Dodges, Angels, Texas, Yankess) GM's and owner's bypass opportunities that would make their team better to save money constantly.

A lot of teams think Santana's elbow is a ticking time bomb, which is why he never got close to that huge 9-digit contract he was looking for. Someone may have been willing to gamble on a Vargas-type of deal with him, but he realized his value too late.

Along with his propensity to throw his slider, that can't be good

Rojas writes (Spanish-language) that Santana is deciding between the Jays, who have offered $14MM, and the Orioles, who have offered $13MM plus incentives.

In case anyone is wondering what Baltimore gives up if they outbid Toronto, they have already burned most of their draft on QO free agents. If they sign Santana, then the Orioles will lose a 90-something pick.

if anyone wants to watch the royals today, 3pm on mlb network.

do believe they are playing the milwaukee brewers.

And that would probably be the case even if they re-signed Santana. His career trend, year-by-year:

Below league-average
Slightly above league-average
Great
Below league-average
League average
Above-average
Well below-average
Great
??? (2014)

I've said it before... will not surprise me at all if Vargas has a lower ERA in 2014 than Santana does in 2014. Especially if Ervin ends up in a homer haven like Toronto or Baltimore.

James Shields has pitched 200+ innings for seven consecutive seasons and shows no signs of slowing down. They're basically the same age. Shields is a much better bet to continue being effective into his mid-to-late 30s than Santana, especially considering Shields already has an effective changeup, which usually ages better than hard-biting sliders.

Agree. Vargas has less upside but a higher floor.

I've thought this is how the No. 5 spot would end since they re-signed Chen. Chen will be available to cover Ventura's spot and ensure an extra year of control and also able to provide some relief for Duffy in spot starts once Ventura is called up.

We talked about this a few weeks ago in here... but having a plethora of picks like that is a boon and how smart front office's operate in today's MLB.

I know people pooh-pooh the idea of having those extra picks compared to present day returns, and I get that... but it's still very valuable.

A lot of great players have been nabbed in the sandwich rounds by teams that had greater financial flexibility to take a player. Sean Manaea is a great example of that.

Jason Parks of Baseball Prospectus saw him pitch the other day and came away glowing. He was sitting 92-93 with command to BOTH sides of the plate and had tightened up his slurve a little bit. Was talking about how he likely is a top 30 prospect by the time they do their mid-season list (was top 75ish in BP's official 101).