MacPahil: Young players are not untouchable...

[RynoRules]

Orioles' president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail spoke to reporters today, and MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli says he indicated that no young player on the team's roster is untouchable (Twitter link). He did, however, say that it would be hard to give up a young guy, even for a big bat.

 

Even with the majors' worst record at 29-60, the Orioles do have a promising young core to build around, led by Brian Matusz and Matt Wieters. Others like Chris Tillman, Adam Jones, Jake Arrieta, Josh Bell, and Felix Pie also fit into that fix. Nick Markakis remains extremely productive, though the big money in his contract kicks in next season, when he'll earn $10.25MM. Baltimore would find plenty of interest in the 26-year-old if they were to make him available.

 

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2010/07/macphail-no-young-player-is-untouchable.html

 

Zambrano and cash for Markakis. :good:

 

:)

[Old Style]

Zambrano for Pie.

[daske17]

Zambrano for Pie.

 

I'm assuming that you mean for the delicious pastry, because that's a trade I could get behind.

[UMFan83]

I don't see the appeal for Markakis. He's a good player, gets on base which is great, but his .801 OPS last year and .839 OPS this year don't do it for me in a corner OF spot for $10+ million

[CubColtPacer]

This could be an interesting paragraph...from the Baltimore Sun:

 

Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail said on Thursday that the Orioles are in position to potentially claim a player who another team puts on waivers to potentially shed a big contract. That happened last year when the Chicago White Sox claimed talented Blue Jays outfielder Alex Rios, a gutsy move that has paid off with Rios regaining his All-Star form. We all know how many problems the Orioles have in attracting proven free agents so it could be a way for the team to get a solid, albeit well-compensated player without giving up any young talent. “A claim would be something that would definitely be attractive," MacPhail said. "The trade for a big-time player, if it’s going to subtract from the core guys you are trying to build around, that becomes more problematic. It’s something you obviously would have to look at.”

[Sammy Sofa]

Huh...that definitely could be very interesting.

[rawaction]

I don't see the appeal for Markakis. He's a good player, gets on base which is great, but his .801 OPS last year and .839 OPS this year don't do it for me in a corner OF spot for $10+ million

 

Hmm. Let's see:

-26 years old

-.897 OPS at age 24

-elite BB/K ratio with 50 walks to just 51 Ks

-leads the league in doubles

-power stroke is coming back as he had 24 doubles thru June 30, with only 3 HRs, but has hit 3 HRs since and only 4 doubles

-baseball reference lists Carl Yaztremski as his 3rd best comparable thru age 25, who just happened to blow up and put it all together at age 27.

 

There's a ton of appeal for Markakis and I think it's well worth paying $10Mil/year and trading prospects that may never make it for a LH hitting, plus defending, corner OF entering his prime year.

[rawaction]

This could be an interesting paragraph...from the Baltimore Sun:

 

Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail said on Thursday that the Orioles are in position to potentially claim a player who another team puts on waivers to potentially shed a big contract. That happened last year when the Chicago White Sox claimed talented Blue Jays outfielder Alex Rios, a gutsy move that has paid off with Rios regaining his All-Star form. We all know how many problems the Orioles have in attracting proven free agents so it could be a way for the team to get a solid, albeit well-compensated player without giving up any young talent. “A claim would be something that would definitely be attractive," MacPhail said. "The trade for a big-time player, if it’s going to subtract from the core guys you are trying to build around, that becomes more problematic. It’s something you obviously would have to look at.”

 

Soriano?

[17 Seconds]

I don't see the appeal for Markakis. He's a good player, gets on base which is great, but his .801 OPS last year and .839 OPS this year don't do it for me in a corner OF spot for $10+ million

 

Hmm. Let's see:

-26 years old

-.897 OPS at age 24

-elite BB/K ratio with 50 walks to just 51 Ks

-leads the league in doubles

-power stroke is coming back as he had 24 doubles thru June 30, with only 3 HRs, but has hit 3 HRs since and only 4 doubles

-baseball reference lists Carl Yaztremski as his 3rd best comparable thru age 25, who just happened to blow up and put it all together at age 27.

 

There's a ton of appeal for Markakis and I think it's well worth paying $10Mil/year and trading prospects that may never make it for a LH hitting, plus defending, corner OF entering his prime year.

 

Markakis is a bad defender.

 

I'd take him, but he's not that great. It's hard to get too excited about a corner outfielder who doesn't hit for a lot of power, doesn't steal bases, and isn't a good defender.

[rawaction]

I don't see the appeal for Markakis. He's a good player, gets on base which is great, but his .801 OPS last year and .839 OPS this year don't do it for me in a corner OF spot for $10+ million

 

Hmm. Let's see:

-26 years old

-.897 OPS at age 24

-elite BB/K ratio with 50 walks to just 51 Ks

-leads the league in doubles

-power stroke is coming back as he had 24 doubles thru June 30, with only 3 HRs, but has hit 3 HRs since and only 4 doubles

-baseball reference lists Carl Yaztremski as his 3rd best comparable thru age 25, who just happened to blow up and put it all together at age 27.

 

There's a ton of appeal for Markakis and I think it's well worth paying $10Mil/year and trading prospects that may never make it for a LH hitting, plus defending, corner OF entering his prime year.

 

Markakis is a bad defender.

 

I'd take him, but he's not that great. It's hard to get too excited about a corner outfielder who doesn't hit for a lot of power, doesn't steal bases, and isn't a good defender.

 

Where do you get he is a bad defender?

 

And the Cubs are paying more for a corner OF that doesn't hit for a lot of power or steal bases. Markakis has shown the ability to hit 18+ HRs every year in his career. It's not inconceivable that he could add more at his age.

[17 Seconds]

I don't see the appeal for Markakis. He's a good player, gets on base which is great, but his .801 OPS last year and .839 OPS this year don't do it for me in a corner OF spot for $10+ million

 

Hmm. Let's see:

-26 years old

-.897 OPS at age 24

-elite BB/K ratio with 50 walks to just 51 Ks

-leads the league in doubles

-power stroke is coming back as he had 24 doubles thru June 30, with only 3 HRs, but has hit 3 HRs since and only 4 doubles

-baseball reference lists Carl Yaztremski as his 3rd best comparable thru age 25, who just happened to blow up and put it all together at age 27.

 

There's a ton of appeal for Markakis and I think it's well worth paying $10Mil/year and trading prospects that may never make it for a LH hitting, plus defending, corner OF entering his prime year.

 

Markakis is a bad defender.

 

I'd take him, but he's not that great. It's hard to get too excited about a corner outfielder who doesn't hit for a lot of power, doesn't steal bases, and isn't a good defender.

 

Where do you get he is a bad defender?

 

That's the reputation he's gotten, and the UZR backs it up, so I tend to believe he's not very good out there.

 

And the Cubs are paying more for a corner OF that doesn't hit for a lot of power or steal bases.

 

What does Fukudome have to do with Markakis?

 

Markakis has shown the ability to hit 18+ HRs every year in his career. It's not inconceivable that he could add more at his age.

 

Except for this year, where he's on pace to hit 11.

 

Also, this is the 4th straight year that his home runs have gone down. The only reason he even hit 18 last year was because his walks were way down and he got 642 ABs because of it. His power is getting worse, not better.

 

Markakis is a fine player, I'm just saying he's not that great. He definitely hasn't turned into the great player that it looked like he was going to a few years ago. His power is going the opposite direction, and he completely stopped stealing bases.

[davell]

While it's interesting to think about, I don't see any of our bad contract guys waiving their NTC's to go to Baltimore under any circumstance. Including Z.

[Old Style]

Zambrano for Pie.

 

I'm assuming that you mean for the delicious pastry, because that's a trade I could get behind.

What if it's for Felix Pie and an apple pie?

[dew1679666265]

Markakis is a fine player, I'm just saying he's not that great. He definitely hasn't turned into the great player that it looked like he was going to a few years ago. His power is going the opposite direction, and he completely stopped stealing bases.

 

For what it's worth, Markakis' HR/FB ratio is at a career low 5.7%. His career average is 10.2%. With his LD% and BABIP hovering around normal (BABIP's a tad high), I think some of the power outage this year is due to some bad luck.

 

Markakis definitely dropped off a bit last year, but his peripherals show he's bouncing back again this year. I think buying on him now would be a good idea.

[daske17]

Zambrano for Pie.

 

I'm assuming that you mean for the delicious pastry, because that's a trade I could get behind.

What if it's for Felix Pie and an apple pie?

 

Throw in some ice cream to that and you have a deal!

[Outshined_One]

While it's interesting to think about, I don't see any of our bad contract guys waiving their NTC's to go to Baltimore under any circumstance. Including Z.

 

Do NTCs apply to waiver claims, though?

[Little Slide Rooter]

While it's interesting to think about, I don't see any of our bad contract guys waiving their NTC's to go to Baltimore under any circumstance. Including Z.

 

Do NTCs apply to waiver claims, though?

 

I was thinking about that too. Id think theyd have to, otherwise, it would be a pretty easy loophole for GMs to work around with guys with NTCs.

[17 Seconds]

Markakis is a fine player, I'm just saying he's not that great. He definitely hasn't turned into the great player that it looked like he was going to a few years ago. His power is going the opposite direction, and he completely stopped stealing bases.

 

For what it's worth, Markakis' HR/FB ratio is at a career low 5.7%. His career average is 10.2%. With his LD% and BABIP hovering around normal (BABIP's a tad high), I think some of the power outage this year is due to some bad luck.

 

Markakis definitely dropped off a bit last year, but his peripherals show he's bouncing back again this year. I think buying on him now would be a good idea.

 

Oh I'd definitely be fine with getting him if the price was right. I'm just saying he hasn't turned into the stud that it looked like he was going to be. He's just pretty good.

[CubColtPacer]

While it's interesting to think about, I don't see any of our bad contract guys waiving their NTC's to go to Baltimore under any circumstance. Including Z.

 

Do NTCs apply to waiver claims, though?

 

It sounds like they do from this discussion about the Rios deal (this comment is posted by Will Carroll):

 

The answer - confirmed by Joe Kehoskie (an agent) and by Jeff Euston (former BP Idol contestant and keeper of MLB contract secrets) - is that a no-trade clause takes precedence. It's essentially a "no move" clause if a team is blocked. If it's a limited no-trade, it's the same for waivers. In 09-10, Rios has a complete no-trade, so any deal or dump could be blocked

 

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/unfiltered/?p=1362

[TruffleShuffle]

uzr had him below average last year and well above average the previous two. this year he's close to average. i think saying he's a bad defender is pretty out to lunch.

[rawaction]

Markakis is a fine player, I'm just saying he's not that great. He definitely hasn't turned into the great player that it looked like he was going to a few years ago. His power is going the opposite direction, and he completely stopped stealing bases.

 

For what it's worth, Markakis' HR/FB ratio is at a career low 5.7%. His career average is 10.2%. With his LD% and BABIP hovering around normal (BABIP's a tad high), I think some of the power outage this year is due to some bad luck.

 

Markakis definitely dropped off a bit last year, but his peripherals show he's bouncing back again this year. I think buying on him now would be a good idea.

 

Oh I'd definitely be fine with getting him if the price was right. I'm just saying he hasn't turned into the stud that it looked like he was going to be. He's just pretty good.

 

10Mil isn't bad for a "pretty good" player. Nobody's calling him a stud. But he leads the league in doubles, that combined with the above stats shows to me that he has been unlucky. Because 26 year olds don't typically lose power as you suggested, especially if they haven't completely lost grasp of the strikezone. Still think he will be a 30 HR hitter by next year and going forward.

[dew1679666265]

10Mil isn't bad for a "pretty good" player. Nobody's calling him a stud. But he leads the league in doubles, that combined with the above stats shows to me that he has been unlucky. Because 26 year olds don't typically lose power as you suggested, especially if they haven't completely lost grasp of the strikezone. Still think he will be a 30 HR hitter by next year and going forward.

 

If his fly balls were going out as often as they have throughout his career, he'd have 10 home runs right now (roughly) and would be on pace for around 20 homers. As long as he continues to improve, I could see 25-30 homers a year.

[chopsx9]

10Mil isn't bad for a "pretty good" player. Nobody's calling him a stud. But he leads the league in doubles, that combined with the above stats shows to me that he has been unlucky. Because 26 year olds don't typically lose power as you suggested, especially if they haven't completely lost grasp of the strikezone. Still think he will be a 30 HR hitter by next year and going forward.

 

If his fly balls were going out as often as they have throughout his career, he'd have 10 home runs right now (roughly) and would be on pace for around 20 homers. As long as he continues to improve, I could see 25-30 homers a year.

 

 

If you are getting Markakis now its not because you think his production is going to remain where it is - it would be a buy low - change of scenery type scenario - and really it's only his power that has to bounce back and it's not like he was hitting 45 hrs.

 

If you are comfortable with Fukudome at 14M you should be extatic with Markakis at 10M.

[Guest]

It's best just to not use UZR as evidence, period.

[17 Seconds]

Markakis is a fine player, I'm just saying he's not that great. He definitely hasn't turned into the great player that it looked like he was going to a few years ago. His power is going the opposite direction, and he completely stopped stealing bases.

 

For what it's worth, Markakis' HR/FB ratio is at a career low 5.7%. His career average is 10.2%. With his LD% and BABIP hovering around normal (BABIP's a tad high), I think some of the power outage this year is due to some bad luck.

 

Markakis definitely dropped off a bit last year, but his peripherals show he's bouncing back again this year. I think buying on him now would be a good idea.

 

Oh I'd definitely be fine with getting him if the price was right. I'm just saying he hasn't turned into the stud that it looked like he was going to be. He's just pretty good.

 

10Mil isn't bad for a "pretty good" player. Nobody's calling him a stud. But he leads the league in doubles, that combined with the above stats shows to me that he has been unlucky. Because 26 year olds don't typically lose power as you suggested, especially if they haven't completely lost grasp of the strikezone. Still think he will be a 30 HR hitter by next year and going forward.

 

Like I said, I'd take him. I just don't see any evidence of him developing into a 30 HR guy. If he was making progress year by year I could see it, but he's holding steady with his power output (and even that is only if you consider his FB/HR ratio this year to be unlucky).