"not worthy of its own thread" offseason thread

[dmarx114]

I'm pro competitive balance. So whatever format limits the advantages of big market teams is what I favor.

The current system seems to be working a little bit towards that since the Dodgers and Yankees are curtailing spending this year with next year in mind.

[Popeye_Card]

I'm pro-baseball. I just want a sustainable, competitive product out there. Preferably one that remains affordable, and stops gouging taxpayers for publicly funded stadiums.

The development time (i.e. years in the minors) does set MLB apart from the other major sports, plus the generally large rosters and long grind of a season. So I'm not really in favor of any system that opens up players for free agency too soon--that's not good for competitive balance. 6 years has been pretty comfortable. My main beef is that players go from making the minimum, to just over the minimum, to arbitration salaries (about half what they should make), then usually to their market value, ultimately with some years on the end where they are overpaid. I know we aren't supposed to care that rich owners are overpaying players, but in a practical sense that means those less productive players are still going to play when their spots could be filled by younger, better players.

[MrCrowesGarden]

[Jocephus]

Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reports that the Giants have agreed to terms with Austin Jackson on a two-year, $6 million contract.
Heyman says the deal can be worth a total of $8.5 million if Jackson hits all of his incentives. Jackson had to settle for a minor league contract last winter after hitting just .260/.311/.361 over the previous three seasons, but he earned a multi-year deal after batting .318/.387/.482 in a part-time role with the Indians. The soon-to-be 31-year-old should handle the bulk of the at-bats in center field for the Giants, although he could eventually be pushed by Steven Duggar.
Related: Giants
Source: Jon Heyman on Twitter
Jan 22 - 7:18 PM

[MrCrowesGarden]

I realize teams don't want to be lining up to pay for Austin Jackson's career year, but that's a really good deal for the Giants. Like, if that's what serviceable or average players are going to cost, that's something to take advantage of.

[Socnorb11]

He can't repeat the .385 BABIP from last year. Zips has him projected for an 88 OPS+

[MrCrowesGarden]

And? Even if he's only half as good as he was a year ago, that's a good deal.

[Socnorb11]

I hope that Cards are never in a position where they have to commit 2 years and $6 mil to a bad defensive outfielder that's projected to post an OPS+ of 88. That's what Memphis is for, in my opinion.

[MrCrowesGarden]

He's also projected to post a .759 OPS per B-R.

[Socnorb11]

OK