The Cubs are helping Prior accrue ML time

[98navigator]

Suntimes

 

The Cubs made several procedural moves recently involving Mark Prior to ensure his continuing major-league service time while on the disabled list.

 

Prior initially was placed on the minor-league disabled list when he was experiencing shoulder problems, then was placed on the major-league 15-day disabled list when he underwent surgery. The move helped avoid a grievance by the players association to preserve Prior's accrued service time, the team deciding his injury originated in spring training while he still was on the major-league roster.

 

Prior was moved to the 60-day DL to allow the Cubs to activate and promote catcher Koyie Hill on Friday.

 

I would have let them file the grievance! He didn't earn a ML spot, didn't pitch at all this year, and will be on track for free agency! That's counterproductive for the team...

[Sarcastic]

Suntimes

 

The Cubs made several procedural moves recently involving Mark Prior to ensure his continuing major-league service time while on the disabled list.

 

Prior initially was placed on the minor-league disabled list when he was experiencing shoulder problems, then was placed on the major-league 15-day disabled list when he underwent surgery. The move helped avoid a grievance by the players association to preserve Prior's accrued service time, the team deciding his injury originated in spring training while he still was on the major-league roster.

 

Prior was moved to the 60-day DL to allow the Cubs to activate and promote catcher Koyie Hill on Friday.

 

I would have let them file the grievance! He didn't earn a ML spot, didn't pitch at all this year, and will be on track for free agency! That's counterproductive for the team...

 

Does this mean that he starts accruing ML service days from the beginning of the season, and that he will be on track to be a FA after 2008? The only positive I can see in this is that he probably won't be very good the year after his surgery, so it shouldn't be hard for the Cubs to resign him to a short deal, should they choose to do so.

 

There are a couple of explanations for why the team might do this:

 

1) They are really afraid of the MLBPA.

2) They don't care about Prior at all anymore, so they'll just let him go.

3) They think they'll be able to resign him easily, for the reasons I stated earlier.

[10man]

The most likely scenario is that Prior is signed to the Dempster special: $1M for 1 year with a team option for another $1M to $1.5M

[Sarcastic]

The most likely scenario is that Prior is signed to the Dempster special: $1M for 1 year with a team option for another $1M to $1.5M

 

He's already under contract for this year and the next, isn't he?

[RynoRules]

There's a potential flip-side to all of this - the quicker he accrues service time, the quicker he can go free and the Cubs can stop worrying about his med bills without pissing off the fanbase by releasing him. Not saying I agree, just saying.

[Amazing_Grace]

I'm at the point right now I can't really care about Prior one way or the other. He's missing yet another season with yet another injury. There's probably only a 50/50 chance he'll ever make it back to a major league roster and he's not all that valuable. I think the Cubs have just finally realized Prior's worth is not that great. 10man is right to compare him to Dempster, a guy who was a very highly rated prospect, had a great season and then flamed out due to injuries. What's Dempster worth now, eh, and why deal with a grievance over a worthless player?

[RichHillIsABeast]

I'd sign Prior up for a low cost 3-4 contract. I'm not sure how much it would take, but he could use a little security right now. If it doesn't pan out, oh well. We've thrown more money at less talent.

[NCCubFan]

The most likely scenario is that Prior is signed to the Dempster special: $1M for 1 year with a team option for another $1M to $1.5M

 

He's already under contract for this year and the next, isn't he?

He's under the Cubs' control for next year (arbitration eligible) but not under contract since he exercised his opt-out clause a couple of years ago to become arbitration-eligible.

[ltb]

The most likely scenario is that Prior is signed to the Dempster special: $1M for 1 year with a team option for another $1M to $1.5M

 

He's already under contract for this year and the next, isn't he?

 

not anymore.

this move makes prior a free agent after 2008.

 

he will accrue service time from this point on, which is plenty - he only needed something like a month's worth of service time to have enough to become a free agent at the end of next season (assuming he gets service time for all of next year).

[SouthSideRyan]

The Cubs most certainly would have lost the grievance if they tried to stash him on the minor league DL all year. He was pretty clearly injured all ST, never appeared in the minors, they wouldn't have stood a chance.

[Balsa]

The Cubs most certainly would have lost the grievance if they tried to stash him on the minor league DL all year. He was pretty clearly injured all ST, never appeared in the minors, they wouldn't have stood a chance.

Not only that, but they would have a very much pissed off MLBPA on their hands.

[Soul]

There's a potential flip-side to all of this - the quicker he accrues service time, the quicker he can go free and the Cubs can stop worrying about his med bills without pissing off the fanbase by releasing him. Not saying I agree, just saying.

 

Yes, I've been wondering when the Cubs will move on and this looks like it's finally happening.

 

Hard to get worked up over this one. The guy can't stay healthy and pitch to save his career, and this simply looks like the Cubs just want to do right by him and let him finish out his time here with dignity.

 

The last time I saw Mark Prior pitch his fastball was worse than most high schoolers and his breaking pitch was more likely to hit 2 feet before the plate that it was to fool any hitters. If there's reason to think he's going to come back to his former self, I certainly haven't heard it. Let's finish our time with him on a good note, rather than breaking it off with angst and bad feelings.

[TruffleShuffle]

There's a potential flip-side to all of this - the quicker he accrues service time, the quicker he can go free and the Cubs can stop worrying about his med bills without pissing off the fanbase by releasing him. Not saying I agree, just saying.

 

Yes, I've been wondering when the Cubs will move on and this looks like it's finally happening.

 

Hard to get worked up over this one. The guy can't stay healthy and pitch to save his career, and this simply looks like the Cubs just want to do right by him and let him finish out his time here with dignity.

 

The last time I saw Mark Prior pitch his fastball was worse than most high schoolers and his breaking pitch was more likely to hit 2 feet before the plate that it was to fool any hitters. If there's reason to think he's going to come back to his former self, I certainly haven't heard it. Let's finish our time with him on a good note, rather than breaking it off with angst and bad feelings.

 

He finally had surgery. Given how talented he was before the injury, isn't it worth seeing if he can come back from that next year? The risk is low and the potential reward is high.

[soccer10k]

There's a potential flip-side to all of this - the quicker he accrues service time, the quicker he can go free and the Cubs can stop worrying about his med bills without pissing off the fanbase by releasing him. Not saying I agree, just saying.

 

Yes, I've been wondering when the Cubs will move on and this looks like it's finally happening.

 

Hard to get worked up over this one. The guy can't stay healthy and pitch to save his career, and this simply looks like the Cubs just want to do right by him and let him finish out his time here with dignity.

 

The last time I saw Mark Prior pitch his fastball was worse than most high schoolers and his breaking pitch was more likely to hit 2 feet before the plate that it was to fool any hitters. If there's reason to think he's going to come back to his former self, I certainly haven't heard it. Let's finish our time with him on a good note, rather than breaking it off with angst and bad feelings.

 

He finally had surgery. Given how talented he was before the injury, isn't it worth seeing if he can come back from that next year? The risk is low and the potential reward is high.

 

Agreed. He's under the Cubs' control so why waste that. Stupid move by the Cubs.

[Wheelimus]

There's a potential flip-side to all of this - the quicker he accrues service time, the quicker he can go free and the Cubs can stop worrying about his med bills without pissing off the fanbase by releasing him. Not saying I agree, just saying.

 

Yes, I've been wondering when the Cubs will move on and this looks like it's finally happening.

 

Hard to get worked up over this one. The guy can't stay healthy and pitch to save his career, and this simply looks like the Cubs just want to do right by him and let him finish out his time here with dignity.

 

The last time I saw Mark Prior pitch his fastball was worse than most high schoolers and his breaking pitch was more likely to hit 2 feet before the plate that it was to fool any hitters. If there's reason to think he's going to come back to his former self, I certainly haven't heard it. Let's finish our time with him on a good note, rather than breaking it off with angst and bad feelings.

 

He finally had surgery. Given how talented he was before the injury, isn't it worth seeing if he can come back from that next year? The risk is low and the potential reward is high.

 

Agreed. He's under the Cubs' control so why waste that. Stupid move by the Cubs.

 

Not sure if there was a choice. As others have said, he was clearly injured in spring training and hadn't been in the minors for many years before. They would have lost the grievance.

 

The one and only way to accomplish the goal of keeping him under team control until 2009 would have been to force him to go to the minors and try to get by with what he had injured. Even then they still might have lost.

[Lefty]

He's gone after this year because the Cubs don't want to pay him $2.3 million for an extremely iffy 2008. They're doing him a favor by giving him some leverage over his next team.

[cubfan1955]

He's gone after this year because the Cubs don't want to pay him $2.3 million for an extremely iffy 2008. They're doing him a favor by giving him some leverage over his next team.

If they took a chance on Wade Miller they should take a chance on Mark Prior, even at that amount.

[10man]

He's gone after this year because the Cubs don't want to pay him $2.3 million for an extremely iffy 2008. They're doing him a favor by giving him some leverage over his next team.

If they took a chance on Wade Miller they should take a chance on Mark Prior, even at that amount.

Meh. I don't think he should get anymore than Wood's $1.75M

[cubfan1955]

He's gone after this year because the Cubs don't want to pay him $2.3 million for an extremely iffy 2008. They're doing him a favor by giving him some leverage over his next team.

If they took a chance on Wade Miller they should take a chance on Mark Prior, even at that amount.

Meh. I don't think he should get anymore than Wood's $1.75M

They can't cut his salary that much per MLBPA.

[Sarcastic]

He's gone after this year because the Cubs don't want to pay him $2.3 million for an extremely iffy 2008. They're doing him a favor by giving him some leverage over his next team.

 

They still have him under control for 2008. They definitely can't trade him since he has no value, and they aren't going to pay him to recover for a year and then cut him without letting him throw a pitch. Even this organization isn't that inept. I suspect that if he can't pitch in 2008, they may not ask him to come back at any price, though.

[jersey cubs fan]

He's gone after this year because the Cubs don't want to pay him $2.3 million for an extremely iffy 2008. They're doing him a favor by giving him some leverage over his next team.

If they took a chance on Wade Miller they should take a chance on Mark Prior, even at that amount.

Meh. I don't think he should get anymore than Wood's $1.75M

They can't cut his salary that much per MLBPA.

 

They can if he agrees to it. If they go to arbitration, it'll be higher. But if they negotiate before the date for arbitration tenders, they could get him to agree to a lower base, and add incentives as an enticement.

[Lefty]

He's gone after this year because the Cubs don't want to pay him $2.3 million for an extremely iffy 2008. They're doing him a favor by giving him some leverage over his next team.

 

They still have him under control for 2008. They definitely can't trade him since he has no value, and they aren't going to pay him to recover for a year and then cut him without letting him throw a pitch. Even this organization isn't that inept. I suspect that if he can't pitch in 2008, they may not ask him to come back at any price, though.

 

That's why he is gone. The only way the Cubs control him for '08 is to offer him arbitration. My previous post was off a little. He can't play for less than $2.8 million, not $2.3 as I posted. That is 20% below what he "made' this year.

 

There is no way the Cubs offer him arbitration. They might try, though I doubt it, to offer him a two-year contract with plenty of incentives. But by that point the Cubs are on the same playing field as everyone else. Do you think the Cubs will outbid everyone? Maybe. Do you think Prior really wants to play here anymore? No way.

 

If the Cubs wanted to keep him they wouldn't have allowed him to accrue service time. That way the Cubs would have had an advantage on offering a two-year contract if they so desired. They didn't go that route so I assume they have decided to cut bait. I don't believe in curses, but we seem to be a touch snakebit.

[Sarcastic]

I'd bet that they allowed him to accrue service time because they knew they would lose the grievance and didn't want to piss him off. I'm still not convinced that a team that would spend more than $3 million on Glendon Rusch is suddenly willing to cut Mark Prior a year before his FA year after paying him to sit on the DL for a year.

[cubfan1955]

He's gone after this year because the Cubs don't want to pay him $2.3 million for an extremely iffy 2008. They're doing him a favor by giving him some leverage over his next team.

If they took a chance on Wade Miller they should take a chance on Mark Prior, even at that amount.

Meh. I don't think he should get anymore than Wood's $1.75M

They can't cut his salary that much per MLBPA.

 

They can if he agrees to it. If they go to arbitration, it'll be higher. But if they negotiate before the date for arbitration tenders, they could get him to agree to a lower base, and add incentives as an enticement.

Doesn't the MLBPA have to approve that also?