For a variety of reasons, including the Padres’ belief that Fernando Tatis Jr. didn’t need the clostebol and just made a foolish mistake, word is it’s “highly unlikely” the team will try to challenge his $340 million, 14-year contract.
Though teams are disallowed from invalidating contracts over a PED suspension, the previous mistake of the motorcycle accident or accidents that cost Tatis two-thirds of the season may have provided an opening to try to turn some or all of the contract from guaranteed to non-guaranteed. The difficulty in beating the union in a grievance and the relatively low salary this year ($5 million) were weighed, but the strong belief in Tatis as a player apparently was the biggest factor not to act. Of course, future transgressions could alter the team’s thinking.
The Padres (10-12 since the deadline) are trying to figure out why the team is going south following its great trade deadline. They believe it can’t be the manager this time, since they have Bob Melvin.
One thing we were reminded of again was that Tatis took out a big loan from Big League Advance with the promise to pay a big percentage of future earnings. Though it’s understandable many underprivileged prospects go this route, it’s curious why the son of a former MLB player who averaged $1.6 million over a 13-year career would need money and chose to do this. He reportedly gave up approximately $28 million — for a probable pittance. Yes, there’s been a lot of questionable decision-making going on in the Tatis household.
Joey Gallo’s move from Manhattan to Manhattan Beach, his new residence, has paid off (1.010 OPS in L.A.). He said he feels more comfortable seeing people in flip flops, and that his new rent is comparable to his “small” apartment on NYC’s Upper West Side. (Gallo never complained while here, to his credit, and rents are high, but if your apartment is small, and you make $10 million, get a bigger one.)
The Orioles are building something good. No. 1 pick Jackson Holliday hit .409 with 10 walks and two strikeouts in his first pro-ball stop before his move to low-A Delmarva. And Adley Rutschman already looks like a superstar. The Orioles should lock him up if they have the money.
It was interesting to see Joe Maddon with a critical take on analytics since he was the Rays manager when they helped start the analytic revolution. He did have some points. Are we old-school here thinking managers should make some in-game baseball decisions?
Meantime, kudos to Cubs manager David Ross, who’s kept that outmanned team playing hard (19-13 since the break).
Arte Moreno’s best baseball decision was buying the Angels for $184 million in 2003. And selling may be an even better decision.
The Angels have a chance to become the first team to fetch $3 billion. Assist to Shohei Ohtani there.
Player of the Week: Albert Pujols, Cardinals DH. Runners-up: Justin Verlander, Astros SP; Lars Nootbar, Cardinals OF
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