Continuing with the Cubs tradition of signing relatively safe picks for next to nothing, the Cubs have signed Dioner Navarro to a 1-year, $1.75 million contract. SportsBettiing.ag might say this is a good sign, but I'm just wondering why they're paying him that much money. ;
Dioner Navarro spent most of 2012 in the Reds minor leagues and signed for only $0.8 million. The year before in Los Angeles he earned $1 million. It seems rather odd that a backup catcher who isn't very good these days would earn a contract worth as much as he made over the previous two seasons. Unless there was a long line of teams waiting to sign Navarro to something higher than $1.5 million, it's difficult for me to understand.
That said, it's only $1.75 million. With the exception of 2008, Navarro has basically been a replacement level player or worse. Over the last 4 years he's been worth -1.0 WARP, -0.5 fWAR and -0.6 rWAR.
Dioner Navarro is the new Koyie Hill except he makes more money. In fact, he makes only about $150,000 less than Koyie Hill earned with the Cubs in 3 seasons.
Matt Garza received some good news on his elbow. He's officially cleared to resume doing whatever it is that pitchers in the offseason do.
CHICAGO — Cubs pitcher Matt Garza was given the go-ahead to resume his normal offseason routine in preparation for Spring Training after getting a clean scan on his right elbow, the team announced Thursday.
Garza, who turns 29 on Nov. 26, was shut down after his July 21 start because of a stress reaction in his right elbow. He underwent a scan this week that revealed he was healing as expected, and he was cleared by team orthopedic specialist Dr. Stephen Gryzlo to resume his workouts.
Hopefully that lasts. I'm not as skeptical as some are about his health. I figure his injury wasn't that severe and if it was one that required surguery it almost certainly would have been done already. So I don't think there's any reason to think it's more severe than we've been told.
Comments
Yeah, that. But it’s less than $2MM so it’s a drop in the bucket. Big resounding “meh”.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
P @Toirtap
Alfonso Soriano on 3 ballots: 6th, 9th, 10th.
MishQuote Reply
Posey won the NL award. I’m assuming Cabrera won the AL.
mb21Quote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
Yeah, if the Cubs are going to miss when it comes to salary, I’d much prefer it happens when it’s only this much, but still, that’s a lot of money for a backup catcher who has actually provided less value in previous years than when the Cubs kept bringing Hill back. I guess what irritates me the most is that Navarro only made $1.8 million the last 2 seasons combined and he played in only a few games this year.
No big deal though. Just a minor complaint.
mb21Quote Reply
The Book Blog ————-> done at the end of the year
That sucks.
mb21Quote Reply
@ mb21:
I should have kept reading. (dying laughing) It’s basicaly only been Tango anyway and he’ll start a new site so no loss.
mb21Quote Reply
@ mb21:
Not a big deal. Tango is the only one left and he’ll keep blogging elsewhere.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
mb21 beat me to responding to himself.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
@ mb21:
Just announced. Waiting for them to release the vote breakdown on the BBWAA site.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
http://bbwaa.com/12-al-mvp/
Wasn’t even close. Thought more people would vote for Trout.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Verlander essentially duplicated his previous MVP campaign and fell to eighth place.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
navarro has pictures of thoyer at a donkey show? only way this amount of money makes sense. i’ll echo the sentiment of “who cares becasue it’s only $1.8m” but still….that guy sucks. no way is he worth half of what they’re giving him.
unless…he calls a really good game and they are doing this as a preemptive move to entice one of his former battery mates to join him? maybe?
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
do you think it would have been closer if trout wasn’t a rookie? i.e. maybe people said “well trout already got ROY so i can go ahead and vote for cabrera to spread the wealth around” or some such bullshit? i’m pretty surprised at how not-even-close it was.
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
EnricoPallazzo wrote:
Agreed. Navarro probably isn’t worth the MLB contract he signed.
mb21Quote Reply
@ EnricoPallazzo:
I don’t think it would have mattered. Cabrera was the triple crown winner and I don’t think Trout had a chance even though he was the far superior player in 2012. As someone mentioned on The Book Blog, combine the two leagues and Cabrera doesn’t win the triple crown and Mike Trout probably wins the overall MVP award. Funny how that works out.
mb21Quote Reply
@ EnricoPallazzo:
@ mb21:
Business tax break (dying laughing)
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ mb21:
I still think you underestimate the boost Cabrera got by making it to the playoffs. Also playing the whole year at the MLB level. Also RBI has long been the favored stat for MVP candidates.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Getting to the playoffs is HUGE for the MVP race. The only players to get the MVP without the playoffs this century are Barry Bonds (2001, 2004), Alex Rodriguez (2003), and Albert Pujols (2008). That should tell you everything you need to know right there.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
@ Rizzo the Rat:
In most years making the playoffs is a big deal, but when someone wins the triple crown my guess is that’s what really matters. I could be wrong, but I don’t think Trout ever had a chance. If Cabrera fails to win the award, I think Trout wins.
Cabrera had a really good season. Other than Trout who was way better than anybody in baseball, only Cano was better (and that could be arguable) in the AL. Normally when the 3rd best player gets the award it’s not that big of a deal because there isn’t the gap that there was between Trout and the rest.
Oh well.
mb21Quote Reply
wait omar vizquel is STILL playing? holy shit.
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
@ mb21:
What I’m saying is that Cabrera would have won even if you took away his triple crown.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
@ EnricoPallazzo:
what’s funny is that i think i’ve said that every year for like 6 years in a row. and i’ve been genuinely surprised every time.
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
@ EnricoPallazzo:
Well, he limps out onto the field occasionally, if you call that “playing.”
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
@ Rizzo the Rat:
I don’t think he would have. I think most of these guys recognized that Trout was far and away the better player. The difference is that one won the triple crown in my opinion.
mb21Quote Reply
@ Rizzo the Rat:
(I realize, of course, that he’s still way better at baseball than I am.)
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Yeah, little high. What’s the catcher market like this year? Maybe it’s the same thing where Youkilis is supposed to get more than he’s worth this year because the 3b market is so crappy. If it was a minor league contract, I can see them boosting the offer to get him to sign early so they can make roster space by not protecting Clevenger for the Rule 5.
Carne HarrisQuote Reply
@ mb21:
Best player has never really been the point, except for those extremely rare players I mentioned earlier. Even then, they have to really prove themselves (A-Rod should have won in 2000, for instance).
Cabrera had all this going for him:
1. Playoffs
2. Played the full season
3. RBI’s
4. Long-established superstar who’s never won before
Even without the crown, he’s an MVP-voter’s dream.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
@ Carne Harris:
They still haven’t specified how long the deal is or what kind of deal it is. But even if it were a major league deal can’t they avoid paying him if he doesn’t make the team out of spring training?
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Carne Harris:
I don’t think the lack of demand at a position has ever really increased the amount players gets. At least not all the way around. Maybe the top guys (Maybe!), but certainly not all the way down to the replacement to below replacement level.
mb21Quote Reply
@ Rizzo the Rat:
If Cabrera doesn’t win the triple crown, he doesn’t get 22 first place votes. How many would he lose? I have no clue, but he would lose some and those would go to Trout. Like you, I’m only guessing, but my guess is that he loses enough that Trout wins.
I understand that best player doesn’t much matter, but most of the time they’re close to right. Let’s just use WAR (too simple, but I’m making a point), say two players are a win apart, there’s reason to believe that the person in 2nd might actually be the better player and if he made the playoffs or had more RBI then it makes his case stronger. That’s why more players who reach the postseason win the award. It’s not that reaching the postseason counts as 90% of the damn vote or something.
This year is interesting for a couple reasons. You have a relatively unknown player who put together an outstanding season for a team who actually performed better than Cabrera’s team, but didn’t reach the playoffs. He didn’t play a full season either. You also have a known superstar who, as you say, hasn’t won the award and put together an damn good season for a team that did reach the postseason.
In two years when Trout is a household name there’s no chance he’d lose this award to a player who made the playoffs if that person does not win the triple crown.
The difference between them in production is just far too great for them to vote for any other player, but this year wasn’t typical (unknown player, triple crown). There’s a reason Barry Bonds won the award even when he didn’t reach the playoffs. It’s because the difference between he and the rest of the league was too large to justify any other winner. The triple crown and Trout being relatively unknown gave them all the justification they needed.
mb21Quote Reply
mb21 wrote:
They’re getting better, but they’ve been way off in the past. Ryan Howard, Justin Morneau, Juan Gonzalez (twice!), Mo Vaughn… What do they all have in common? Playoffs+RBI. And I do think some journalists think playoffs are a very important criterion (and I’ve heard some admit as much). Hell, even Rogers Hornsby failed to get a League Award when he hit .424 /.507/.696 because he didn’t play in October.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
I know they have deals that say, “Iff you make the major league team, you get 1.75mil,” but other than that I’m pretty clueless how that works. Probably contract to contract.
Interesting they haven’t said the years yet. Maybe it’s two years and he took the guaranteed money. Wishful thinking probably.
Carne HarrisQuote Reply
@ Carne Harris:
I think this is the same link as MB posted.
http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20121115&content_id=40302400&vkey=news_chc&c_id=chc
Should be a one year deal. I thought that if guys don’t make the team out of camp but aren’t on the disabled list the team can recoup the bulk of the salary. I suck at transactions.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Who’s the resident OV graffiti artist?
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Rice Cube wrote:
i’ll give you 1000 pennies for a single hundred dollar bill. 1000 pennies! let me know.
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
@ EnricoPallazzo:
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Carne Harris:
Minor league contracts that pay a a certain amount if the player reaches the big leagues. Pretty sure Navarro signed an MLB contract so that’s guaranteed money.
mb21Quote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
i see what you did there.
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
Not for MLB contracts. Those are guaranteed.
mb21Quote Reply
Hey what happened to the Blue Jays-Fish megadeal? Has that been officially announced/approved/whatever yet? The Twitter reports on it here at OV have been pretty quiet recently.
SVBQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
(dying laughing)o(dying laughing)
GWQuote Reply
@ mb21:
Comment number 4 at the Book Blog link.
(dying laughing)(dying laughing)(dying laughing)(dying laughing)(dying laughing)
SVBQuote Reply
@ mb21:
I guess at that amount there’s really no way that’s a minor league deal. Oh well.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
On the AL MVP ballots. Everyone who writes primarily for an internet outlet voted for Trout except Tim Kurkjian of ESPN. SSS, of course. Trout’s other votes were from the Providence Journal, Tampa Trib, and some guy who probably got laid off from an LA paper and is listed as “At large.”
SVBQuote Reply
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/11/quick-hits-hamilton-upton-kinsler-hunter-choo-.html
Lulzy.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Suburban kidQuote Reply
At least they get a nice going away present
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ Berselius:
Twinkies can survive nuclear warfare, but they can’t survive a strike.
WaLiQuote Reply
@ SVB:
It’s all but finally final. They had to get a million guys to do physicals, some of which weren’t in the country so it takes time. I think Reyes is back in the country today and will do his physical.
mb21Quote Reply
How much money do you guys think Laird signed for? His 2012 contract makes the Navarro one look even worse. Laird signed with Detroit last year as a backup for $1 million and he was a better player (not by much though) than Navarro.
mb21Quote Reply
David Ross earned less money than Navarro will and he’s a much better player.
mb21Quote Reply
meat eaters ————–> sex crimes
mb21Quote Reply
Ummm…i don’t want to ask a really dumb question but do Hindus believe in Adam and Eve?
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
@ EnricoPallazzo:
Sorry, that is a really dumb question.
WaLiQuote Reply
BerseliusQuote Reply
Hostess Closed ——-> Nation’s Obesity Problem Resolved
mikeakaleroyQuote Reply
@ mikeakaleroy:
But Bruno loves his ho ho’s 🙁
WaLiQuote Reply
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzaQjS1JstY
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ WaLi:
Bruno loves the ho hos, and Wishbone loves the bitches.
mikeakaleroyQuote Reply
uncle dave, in roughly seven hours:
uncle daveQuote Reply
@ uncle dave:
Sex change?
mikeakaleroyQuote Reply
@ mikeakaleroy:
Hey, I already have the beehive.
uncle daveQuote Reply
Melky Cabrera —-> Blue Jays, 2 years, $16 million reportedly
MishQuote Reply
WaLi wrote:
ok well what is the fucking answer?
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
@ EnricoPallazzo:
I don’t know.
Have you checked http://www.DoHindusBelieveInAdamAndEve?.com
WaLiQuote Reply
I was raised Hindu by my parents, but I don’t recall ever hearing about Adam and Eve. Though all the scripts are in Sanskrit, so who knows. Maybe their names were Adamjenkar and Evendra.
MishQuote Reply
All the Hostess talk today made me decide to go get a Twinkie at lunch since I can’t remember when I had one.
Jesus. I wish I still couldn’t remember. Fucking horrible.
akabariQuote Reply
@ Mish:
That’s a damn good deal
WaLiQuote Reply
@ akabari:
They’re horrible. I remember them tasting good when I was a little kid, but I also remember them tasting like shit when I was stoned in high school.
mb21Quote Reply
I had a rather strange morning. My primary care physician left town a few months ago and I was referred to a new doctor. Today I went and visited said doctor. Apparently this doctor’s office doesn’t hire the typical middle-aged women at the front desk. No, these chicks were fucking hot. No big deal. I’ve seen hot chicks before. We’ve all seen hot chicks.
I happen to look across the hall at some dentist’s office. More hot chicks. Hot chicks waiting to see the dentist. Hot chicks come into see my new doctor. Hot nurses. Hot doctor.
I swear, all the hot chicks in Topeka must work in these two offices and/or visit them fairly regularly because I saw them all today. All around me, hot chicks in Topeka fucking Kansas.
It was bizarre seeing all 13 of Topeka’s hot chicks in two places today.
/cool story bro
mb21Quote Reply
@ mb21:
I bet they were just getting ready to film a porno, mb. Should have stayed longer.
MishQuote Reply
@ mb21:
One nice thing about living near a large university is that if I want to go see hot chicks, I just have to pop into a coffee shop on campus.
Not that I’ve ever done that because that would be Creepy As Shit.
I’m pretty sure my wife never reads this comments…
joshQuote Reply
Hot chicks are a gift. Appreciate the day.
Rice in limboQuote Reply
@ Mish:
(dying laughing) it crossed my mind that I was somehow in the middle of some porno and that perhaps I should be doing something other than sitting down. I didn’t even get to show my junk to the hot doctor. Maybe next time.
mb21Quote Reply
@ josh:
What’s really weird is that I have a tendency to space out and it appears as though I’m staring. I got into some trouble more than once at bars when I was younger doing just that. That was very confusing. Some guy asks what I’m looking at and I wasn’t starting his girlfriend. I didn’t even know they were there. I was very self conscious this morning and wasn’t going to let myself space out like that because it would have looked pretty bad. So I just stared at the floor or my phone because that was the only direction in which there weren’t any hot chicks.
mb21Quote Reply
@ Rice in limbo:
I enjoyed it. Better than being around a bunch of ugly chicks. (dying laughing)
mb21Quote Reply
http://www.freep.com/article/20121116/COL01/311160108/detroit-tigers-miguel-cabrera-mvp-award
Take that, statheads!
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
@ Rizzo the Rat:
Pizza Cutter’s response: http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=18941
mb21Quote Reply
@ Rizzo the Rat:
Deadspin had a great retort to that.
Rice in limboQuote Reply
What’s funny is that Miggy probably wasn’t even the MVP of his own team.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
@ mb21:
Yep, I do the same thing.
joshQuote Reply
@ Rizzo the Rat:
He hit way more home runs than Verlander did.
Rice in limboQuote Reply
@ Rice in limbo:
By, like, a LOT.
joshQuote Reply
@ mb21:
(dies laughing)
BerseliusQuote Reply
mb21 wrote:
from now on, i will consider my day to have been wasted if i didn’t get a chance to say this at least once.
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
@ mb21:
If it means anything, Twinkies used to be banana flavored shit, now its vanilla shit
akabariQuote Reply
New shit: http://obstructedview.net/chicago-cubs/cmon-whats-ol-gil-gotta-do-to-get-a-bunch-of-overpaid-players-on-the-cubs.html
Aisle424Quote Reply
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Milan PanakosQuote Reply