Lee's can still vest if he pitches 200+ innings and doesn't end the season on the DL because of his throwing elbow or shoulder, per Cots. If not there's a $12.5M buyout

OK, thanks. We have to wish that the options for Papelbon and Lee don't vest then, no? Byrd's is only $8M so it's not too bad.

Otherwise, it looks like Rollins is done after next season (Burnett too if he plays), and Howard/Ruiz are gone after 2016.

so would it be proper to say that if the vesting numbers are reached, the team no longer has an "option"??

Vesting options and team options are different.

So it really should read "Team Option, can vest" ??

So we're about 6.5 mil under the lux tax threshold before signing a single FA. If we sign the Cuban guy, we're paying the tax for a 75-80 win team. Lovely.

Grotewold wrote:Lee's can still vest if he pitches 200+ innings and doesn't end the season on the DL because of his throwing elbow or shoulder, per Cots. If not there's a $12.5M buyout

Sorry, I thought he had to meet both 200 IP in 2015 AND 400 IP in 14+15, but it vests with just one of the two. My bad

its ok Ed

THIS time

Bucky wrote:so would it be proper to say that if the vesting numbers are reached, the team no longer has an "option"??

Correct. It's a team option that can vest into a guaranteed contract if the designated plateau is reached.

lethal wrote:So we're about 6.5 mil under the lux tax threshold before signing a single FA. If we sign the Cuban guy, we're paying the tax for a 75-80 win team. Lovely.

$7.5M, almost all of which will get used up in a normal season of minors to majors shuffling of players. Unless they trade away salary, there's essentially no room to do anything IF they are unwilling to pay the penalty for exceeding the cap. Plus, my Player Benefits Cost is probably low. I don't know if the 2014 number has been communicated, or if that doesn't happen until the MLB year flips in early December. It'll then need a 2nd bump for 2015. I'm also $250K low on Burnett's option.

They could theoretically be over the cap on opening day, find themselves out of it in July and deal away enough salary to slide back under. Risky though, since teams at a trade table likely would be well aware of the motivation to trade.

lethal wrote:So we're about 6.5 mil under the lux tax threshold before signing a single FA. If we sign the Cuban guy, we're paying the tax for a 75-80 win team. Lovely.

Not really. We're not winning 75 games with this team + the Cuban. We'll be paying luxury tax for a 69-74 win team.

BigEd76 wrote:"Team option can vest" = the player has incentives/requirements that need to be met for the extra year(s) to be picked up by the team. For example, CLIFF had to pitch 400 IP this year + next year for his 2016 salary to be picked up, and since it won't, he'll be a FA after next season

This assumes the team doesn't want to pick up the option, which is likely correct in Lee's case and in most cases in which a vesting minimum is not reached. A team could always pick up a team option that has not vested into a guaranteed deal.

Shore wrote:

lethal wrote:So we're about 6.5 mil under the lux tax threshold before signing a single FA. If we sign the Cuban guy, we're paying the tax for a 75-80 win team. Lovely.

Not really. We're not winning 75 games with this team + the Cuban. We'll be paying luxury tax for a 69-74 win team.

Christ, what are we winning without the cuban ?!?!

Warszawa wrote:

Shore wrote:

lethal wrote:So we're about 6.5 mil under the lux tax threshold before signing a single FA. If we sign the Cuban guy, we're paying the tax for a 75-80 win team. Lovely.

Not really. We're not winning 75 games with this team + the Cuban. We'll be paying luxury tax for a 69-74 win team.

Christ, what are we winning without the cuban ?!?!

I like Tomas as a talent, but I'm not sure he's a contributor at the major league level in 2015. All of the successful Cuban imports had better numbers at the same age as he has, and he seems to have backslid (statistically) over the last couple of seasons.

I want the guy, but not because I think he's a 2015 ROY candidate.

Warszawa wrote:

Shore wrote:

lethal wrote:So we're about 6.5 mil under the lux tax threshold before signing a single FA. If we sign the Cuban guy, we're paying the tax for a 75-80 win team. Lovely.

Not really. We're not winning 75 games with this team + the Cuban. We'll be paying luxury tax for a 69-74 win team.

Christ, what are we winning without the cuban ?!?!

It will depend a lot on who is on the team and how well they play.

smitty wrote:

Warszawa wrote:

Shore wrote:

lethal wrote:So we're about 6.5 mil under the lux tax threshold before signing a single FA. If we sign the Cuban guy, we're paying the tax for a 75-80 win team. Lovely.

Not really. We're not winning 75 games with this team + the Cuban. We'll be paying luxury tax for a 69-74 win team.

Christ, what are we winning without the cuban ?!?!

It will depend a lot on who is on the team and how well they play.

In the scenario I'm talking about, which is this roster, since we're about out of money, it only depends on how well they play. And given our health luck this year, and our AARP qualifiers, I think we can expect fewer wins from THIS roster.

But, hey, BIAFG.

I ain't laughing.

BigEd76 wrote:http://www.spotrac.com/mlb/philadelphia-phillies/yearly/

Thanks, that was horrifying. I had no idea Chase was through 2018. Byrd was like Ibanez 2.0 w/ 3 yr deal, and what's ironic, is that the 5 position guys, 3 starters and closer -- if all playing at 85% of their best seasons, we'd be formidable. That's 137mm in those 9 guys... even if willing to pay significant or all of a contract to move a guy, there's just too many too many year too much money...

Chase's 2016 through 2018 are all vesting options based on plate appearances and DL time that can become team options of $5M-$11M (again based on DL time), and there's a buyout on each

MLBAM on the verge of adding new technology to every ballpark that will give those stat nerds another leg up as they figure out why players are really good and evaluate all that new data (particularly defensive data) to determine which ones are and aren't - so happy that Amaro is sticking around to give those guys metaphorical wedgies.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/exclusive- ... 54301.html