What they're saying about the Jason Bay signing - MLB

Remember last night when I said the Rob Neyer’s quote about the Jason Bay deal was a great example of “less is more”? Well, I found a better example: no words that say it all. Now here are some comments from people who weren’t quite as concise in their analysis:

Pete Abraham: “Look at this this way, Sox fans: Were you prepared to have Bay be the
highest-paid player on the team? Because that is what he would have
been.”

FanGraphs: The Mets can afford to overpay given their place on both the revenue
curve and the win curve. However, this contract could really hamstring
their situation in 2012/2013 as Bay declines, and it could also
severely hamper the development of Fernando Martinez. This move appears
to be one of the more significant overpays of the offseason, and it by
no means vaults the Mets into the playoffs.

Joel Sherman, New York Post: Beltran didn’t really want to be a Met, but learned to like it here. So
maybe this will work. But I have a feeling that in a few years the Mets
will have regrets and will want to be flushing Bay.

Metsradamus: This is a good move. In a vacuum, it’s a great move. If you have doubts
as to Bay’s ability to hit home runs in a large park, look at his home run chart. Check out the distances
on the home runs, specifically on the home runs that are labeled as
“lucky”. Even the lucky ones for the most part went 380. So don’t get
sucked into the “Citi Field as Cavernous” line of thinking on this one.
Citi Field was cavernous to the Punch, Judy, and Banjo hitters that
roamed the earth in Queens last season. Visitors hit 81 home runs there
in ’09. You know why? Because they didn’t suck, that’s why. So … easy
does it, Sparky.

Amazin’ Avenue: No, he’s not Matt Holliday. Yes, the contract is kind of stupid. But
Jason Bay is a heck of a consolation prize and one of those fabled
“complementary players” that help Reyes/Wright reach a championship.

The Hardball Times: “I think the Mets won’t get their money’s worth from Jason Bay, and
while he will help the team, he won’t have a dramatic impact on their
pennant probabilities. That is, the extra “stretch” in money isn’t
clearly justified here. On the other hand, Bay is a good fit for their needs, he won’t be
blocking any star prospects and shouldn’t be a burden on the Mets’
budget. So I’m glad they pulled the trigger on this deal.”

I’d post more of these, but they all basically break out the same way: Bay’s a good player who will make the Mets better in 2010, but he’s getting too long a deal for too much money and will likely be a millstone come 2012 or 2013.

My assumption is that the Mets are better positioned to have a bad contract on the books than a lot of other teams, and that winning now with Reyes, Wright, Beltran and Santana is the goal. Though I’m not overly confident of the Mets’ chances to actually put it all together with that core — be it due to injuries or the lack of effective pitching beyond Santana — It’s probably the right goal. And for that reason this is probably the right signing, even if it’s not the best signing.

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers signed Jacob deGrom to a $185 million, five-year deal in free agency last winter hoping the two-time NL Cy Young Award winner could help them get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2016 and make a push toward winning a World Series.

They also knew the risks, with the pitcher coming off two injury-plagued seasons with the New York Mets.

Even with deGrom sidelined since late April, the AL West-leading Rangers are off to the best start in franchise history – but now will be without their prized acquisition until at least next year. The team said Tuesday that deGrom will have season-ending surgery next week to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.

“We’ve got a special group here and to not be able to be out there and help them win, that stinks,” deGrom said, pausing several times with tears in his eyes. “Wanting to be out there and helping the team, it’s a disappointment.”

General manager Chris Young said Tuesday the decision on surgery came after an MRI on deGrom’s ailing right elbow, but the extent of what is required might not be determined until the operation is performed next week.

Tommy John surgery, in which the damaged ligament is replaced, is often needed to fix a torn UCL, but Young and the Rangers didn’t go as far as saying the pitcher would have that particular procedure. After being drafted by the New York Mets in 2010, deGrom made six starts in the minors that summer before needing Tommy John surgery and missing all of 2011, three years before his big league debut.

DeGrom last pitched April 28 against the New York Yankees, when he exited early because of injury concerns for the second time in a span of three starts. The announcement about surgery came a day after deGrom was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

Young said the latest MRI showed more inflammation and significant structural damage in the ligament that wasn’t there on the scan after deGrom left the game against the Yankees.

“The results of that MRI show that we have not made progress. And in fact, we’ve identified some damage to the ligament,” Young said. “It’s obviously a tough blow for Jacob, for certainly the Rangers. But we do feel this is what is right for Jacob in his career. We’re confident he’ll make a full recovery.”

Young and deGrom, who turns 35 later this month, said the goal is for the pitcher to return near the end of next season. Both said they were glad to have clarity on what was wrong with the elbow.

Texas won all six games started by deGrom (2-0), but the right-hander threw only 30 1/3 innings. He has a 2.67 ERA with 45 strikeouts and four walks. He threw 3 2/3 scoreless innings against the Yankees in his last start before leaving because of discomfort in his arm.

The Rangers went into Tuesday night’s game against St. Louis with a 39-20 record, the first time they were 19 games over .500 since the end of 2016, their last winning season.

Before going home to Florida over the weekend for the birth of his third child, deGrom threw his fifth bullpen last Wednesday in Detroit.

“I’d have days where I’d feel really good, days where I didn’t feel great. So I was kind of riding a roller coaster there for a little bit,” deGrom said. “They said originally there, we just saw some inflammation. … Getting an MRI right after you pitch, I feel like anybody would have inflammation. So, you know, I was hoping that that would get out of there and I would be fine. But it just didn’t work out that way.”

DeGrom spent his first nine big league seasons with the Mets, but was limited by injuries to 156 1/3 innings over 26 starts during his last two years in New York.

He had a career-low 1.08 ERA over 92 innings in 2021 before missing the final three months of the season with right forearm tightness and a sprained elbow.

The four-time All-Star didn’t make his first big league start last year until Aug. 2 after being shut down late in spring training because of a stress reaction in his right scapula.

His latest injury almost surely will trigger Texas’ conditional option on deGrom’s contract for 2028.

The option takes effect if deGrom has Tommy John surgery on his right elbow from 2023-26 or has any right elbow or shoulder injury that causes him to be on the IL for any period of 130 consecutive days during any season or 186 days in a row during any service period.

The conditional option would be for $20 million, $30 million or $37 million, depending on deGrom’s performance during the contract and health following the 2027 season.

“I feel bad for Jake. If I know Jake, he’ll have the surgery and come back and finish his career strong,” second-year Mets manager Buck Showalter said. “I know how much it means to him. He enjoys pitching. It’s certainly sad news for all of us.”