On Tuesday night the Boston Bruins announced they signed restricted free agent Danton Heinen to a two-year deal with a $2.8 million cap hit. The NHL salary cap for the 2019-2020 season is $81.5 million, and the Bruins have about $8 million available. Now that Heinen is signed, what will be done with Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo? McAvoy played 54 regular season games with 7 goals and 21 assists, totaling 28 points. In the post season he played 23 games with 2 goals and 6 assists for 8 points. Carlo played 72 regular season games, tallying 2 goals and 8 assists for 10 points. In the postseason he played 24 games with 2 goals and 2 assists for 4 points total.
Photo by Winslow Townson
Navigating the Cap
Last season Brandon Carlo was not as productive in points as Charlie McAvoy, but they’re both effective on the ice and bring speed and physicality to the team. Both are also now restricted free agents who want (and deserve) bigger contracts. With so little cap space, however, this will be a difficult task. The Bruins have a few options to explore, the most likely will be to trade players who are older and less productive. Defenseman John Moore, 28, is a likely candidate with a cap hit of $2.75. After 61 games played in the regular season, Moore got only 4 goals and 9 assists for 13 points. He played 10 postseason games and went pointless. Likewise, injury-prone defenseman Kevan Miller, 31, has a cap hit of $2.5 million and missed much of last season and the entirety of the postseason.
Trading Backes
David Backes is the subject of much discussion in this regard. He’s 35 with an annual cap hit of $6 million. He’s not as productive as he once was, and was a healthy scratch during stretches both in the regular and postseason. Trading Backes would free up a lot of space to sign McAvoy and Carlo, but can the Bruins find a team willing to take on those cap hits? There are teams out there with a large enough gap. Teams like Colorado, Winnipeg, and Ottawa all have over $20 million available, and could be good trade targets.
Photo by Rich Gagnon/Getty Images
Bridge Contracts
Another option would be bridge contracts. While McAvoy and Carlo likely want larger, long-term contracts, they could be signed to short term contracts with the understanding that they’ll be revisited in a couple of years, once contracts expire for players such as Backes, David Krejci, and Tuukka Rask.
McAvoy is the Priority
One more potential solution, though not necessarily the most desirable, would be to only sign one of the two. If that’s the case, it has to be Charlie McAvoy. His production, ice time, and style of play makes him an obvious franchise player. You can count on the fact that the Bruins will sign McAvoy no matter what.
The 2018-2019 NHL season is rapidly coming to a close. The Boston Bruins have clinched the Eastern Conference and are four wins away from winning the Stanley Cup. This would be their first time in eight years and the seventh time in franchise history. The Cup is close to coming back to Boston. No matter what happens, the off-season is looming in the near-future, and with it contract negotiations.
Photo by Joshua Kloke
Contract Extension
One of the biggest off-season moves for the Bruins is extending defenseman Charlie McAvoy, who becomes a restricted free agent at the end of this year. McAvoy has been a reliable staple on the blue line lately, partnered with Zdeno Chara. He recently turned down a long-term offer by the Bruins, suspected to be due to recent offers to similar players such as defenseman Esa Lindell. Lindell was extended by the Dallas Stars on a 6 year, $34.8 million contract, giving him $5.8 million a year. He scored 11 goals this season and put up 32 points. Making that more enticing is his youth. Lindell is only 25. McAvoy wants a similar contract and why not? The kid’s young with plenty of potential that he’s sure to live up to.
Value
Charlie McAvoy was an integral part of the USA team in the 2017 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship. He received the Player of the Game honor in their gold-medal game win. McAvoy’s also got youth on his side, at 21 years-old, and his stats are impressive this season. He’s missed 28 games due to a concussion, a lower-body injury, and a one-game suspension. Despite that, he has 8 goals and 35 points thus far. McAvoy has the ability to become a superstar on an already star-studded Bruins roster.
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Salary Cap Era
Unfortunately, we live in the salary cap era. Dallas can afford to pay Lindell $34.8 million over 6 years because they have the cap space. The Bruins aren’t as fortunate. GM Don Sweeney is still filling the hole that was dug by former GM Peter Chiarelli. McAvoy would be in the upper-echelon pay scale of Bruins players with a contract similar to Lindell’s. He’s a great defenseman who looks to only get better, but is he worth paying as much or more than someone like David Pastrnak? More to the point, is he worth paying so much against the cap that the Bruins can’t afford to keep some of their other top-tier players for much longer? The Chicago Blackhawks did that a few seasons ago with Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews and it hurt the team.
What Can Be Done
One potential solution is extending the time on the contract. An amount such as $30 million over four years is unrealistic, but over six or seven years could be manageable. It comes down to McAvoy and what he’s willing to accept versus what he feels he’s worth. Would he be willing to take a pay cut to stay in Boston? Furthermore, what happens if the Bruins win the Stanley Cup? The way McAvoy plays combined with his ice time would be factors in that win, giving him a much larger bargaining chip. However, the salary cap is ruthless and inflexible. Only time will tell but this will certainly be an interesting and potentially exciting off-season.
I had the pleasure of chatting with former Red Sox second baseman Jeff Frye. Frye played in the Major Leagues for eight seasons, three of which came in Boston. He was a career .290 hitter, .295 with the Red Sox. Nowadays, Frye works as a sports agent at Frye McCann Sports and does some pre and postgame work for the Texas Rangers.
BSE: You began your career as a 30th round draft pick; what was it like clawing your way up to the Majors?
Jeff Frye: I never even thought I really had a chance of making it to the Majors to be honest. Every Spring Training I would drive down from Oklahoma with my buddies and wonder if this was the year I was getting released. Obviously, everybody’s goal is to play in the Major Leagues, but when you’re a 30th round draft pick and you don’t even start really your first season, it’s not looking too promising.
BSE: I actually saw a video of you online talking about how you changed your stance and upped your offensive production. That was pretty neat to see.
Jeff Frye: It was kind of a fluke deal. I’d done really well in A-Ball, won the batting title in low A-Ball and hit like .270 in high A-Ball. Went to AA and the defense was so much better, and the pitching was so much better at AA and I was struggling for probably two months. Just goofing around one evening after a game in the hotel, and I was imitating a lot of the Rangers star players at the time, Ruben Sierra and Juan Gonzalez, they had big leg kicks. I was imitating those guys and the guy I was playing with, who was actually my roommate, Rick Wrona, he says why don’t you hit like that in a game? The next day I started hitting that way and man, it gave me a huge boost in confidence. I started hitting, I could drive the ball and had more leverage. I just kept doing that the rest of my career.
1992: Jeff Frye of the Texas Rangers with his high leg kick. (Photo by Robert Beck/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
BSE: There’s been a lot of talk lately about the pay for Minor Leaguers, do you think they need to be doing something about that?
Jeff Frye: Yeah, I mean they should’ve done something about it a long time ago. My first year was 1988, and I started out at $700 a month. The Major League minimum was right around $100,000, or 109,000, something like that. Now the minimum’s over $500,000 and starting pay for a first year Minor Leaguer is $1,100 [a month]. It hasn’t progressed.
BSE: You made it to the Major Leagues in 1992 and played a decent amount. Your first Major League home run was actually leading off a game.
Jeff Frye: It’s actually funny, way back in 1992 there weren’t too many games on tv. I think it was a Saturday game, one of the few games that was actually televised. I actually led off the game off Arthur Rhodes with a home run. Our game actually wasn’t the one they were covering, but they clicked over and showed the start of our game. I actually became friends with Arthur Rhodes after that.
BSE: You missed all of ’93 right?
Jeff Frye: Yep, offseason basketball injury. I was playing basketball and tore my ACL, and I kind of lied about what happened to the Rangers. I didn’t have a guaranteed contract so I told them I was jogging.
BSE: In 1994 you came back and batted .327, you had a good season in ’95 and played in 90 games. How come you were in AAA in ’96 for Texas?
Jeff Frye: Well, the new manager they brought over, Johnny Oates from Baltimore, wasn’t a big fan of mine for some reason. He brought Mark McLemore over from Baltimore with him, who also played second base. He was trying to get his guy in there, the guy he felt comfortable with, and I felt like I had earned the spot with what I’d done the year before. Toward the end of the [’95] season I was so frustrated I went on a radio show and the guys were asking me what was going on. I told them how I felt and the Rangers got word of it; Johnny Oates got word of it, and I was pretty much banished after that.
BSE: You were released in June of 1996 and the Red Sox picked you up the very same day, so they must have seen something in you.
Jeff Frye: It was an arranged deal. Billy Martin Jr. is a longtime friend of mine, Billy Martin’s son, he was representing Kevin Kennedy. He called Kennedy up, the Red Sox were struggling, I think they had Wil Cordero and Jeff Manto playing second. Kennedy was looking for a second baseman and he was familiar with me. Billy Martin Jr. said, “well hey, the guy you need is in AAA.” So, they inquired about me, and the Rangers had the choice of either calling me up to the big leagues or letting me go, so they ended up letting me go.
BSE: Your Sox debut was the same day John Valentin hit for the cycle.
Jeff Frye: Funny thing is, Val and I played together in the Jayhawk League, a collegiate league back in the day. He came down to Fort Smith, Arkansas to play for our team. I grew up in Oklahoma so I was playing for that team and we became friends and then we were teammates in Boston….He taught me a lot, I was really raw. I hadn’t had much coaching to that point, I mean a routine grounder to second base was a bang-bang play at first, I didn’t know to charge the ball. Working with Val, he taught me a lot.
Jeff Frye from around the time he met John Valentin.
BSE: You mentioned how the Red Sox were struggling when they got you; they were 22-34. Went 63-43 afterwards and if I remember correctly had the best record in baseball after the All-Star Break.
Jeff Frye: Yeah, we had a great combination of me and Darren Bragg at the top of the lineup. I told Kevin Kennedy, I want to hit and run every single time there’s a runner on first base. I asked him if he’d allow me to put on my own hit and run with Darren Bragg, which doesn’t happen very often, you know? So, I developed a sign with Darren Bragg…because he was always hitting in front of me. I bet I had 30 base hits that year on hit and run, with Braggy running and me just hitting the ball in the hole.
BSE: I had Kevin Kennedy comment to me once about the rejuvenated team in the second half and he singled out you, Bragg and Reggie Jefferson for key contributors to that run.
Jeff Frye: Reggie was a hitting machine, we called him “the Hit Cat.” He was the one guy that I’ve ever seen…that actually worked on hitting the ball in batting practice to where it’d be a hit in the game. I’d never heard of that before, I was just trying to hit the ball hard. He was a great hitter.
BSE: What were some of the big changes coming from Texas to Boston?
Jeff Frye: Obviously the temperature was a big change. I think probably the biggest change was the pressure that you played under, and the excitement level. I never really had that in Texas, when I was there, we were never really in a pennant race. Coming to Boston we had the rivalry with the Yankees.
BSE: Speaking of the Yankees, I think you were the one on base in front of Trot Nixon when he homered off Clemens in that big Pedro vs Clemens game, right?
Jeff Frye: Oh yeah, there’s a great story to that if you want to hear it.
BSE: Oh, absolutely!
Jeff Frye: The at-bat that I got on base I got an infield hit, but earlier in that at-bat there was a pitch in on me that hit the knob of the bat and I acted like it hit my hand. I was jumping around and waving my hand, and Jimy Williams came out and argued with the umpire. Jimy called me over, and my nickname was Frito, and he goes, “Frito, did he get you?”
“No Jimy.”
“Alright, good try!”
I ended up hitting a one-hopper off Clemens’ glove that he probably should have fielded, and they gave me an infield hit. Trot hits the homer, so we go to the bottom of the ninth, I think we had a two-run lead and they scored a run. Then they had the tying run on third, groundball to me, and I’m getting ready to throw to first base, game over, and I look and Mike Stanley stepped on the base and slipped and was almost falling down. So, I double-clutched, and threw, and barely got, I think Paul O’Neill, by half a step. Joe Morgan was even commentating, I think it was an ESPN game or something, he commented about it. So the next day I talked to him about it and he said, “Oh, I didn’t realize that.” If I had thrown it, initially, it would have gone right by him.
Yankee Stadium– May 28 2000– Boston Red Sox second baseman Jeff Frye greets Trot Nixon at home after the right fielder slammed a two run homer in the ninth off NY Yankee pitcher Roger Clemens to win the game. Staff photo by Jim Mahoney
BSE: Any particular games from your playing career stand out?
Jeff Frye: The game where Darren Lewis and I hit back-to-back home runs in the ninth off Mike Trombley of the Twins in Fenway. He hit a home run to tie the game, then I hit a home run to walk-off the game. Two guys who aren’t known for hitting home runs. I remember the headline in the paper the next day; “Banjo Hitters Come Through for the Red Sox.”
In 2001 I hit for the cycle for the Blue Jays against the Rangers.
BSE: Second one in Toronto history.
Jeff Frye: Yeah, that was a little bit controversial because I could have had a double in my last at-bat but stopped at first. We were winning by nine runs in the eighth inning and I went up to Cito Gaston, who was our hitting coach, and said “what do I do here if I hit one into the corner, or the gap?” He said, “stop at first and tell them I told you to.” As I hit the ball I was so nervous. It was a really frustrating year for me, but to have the opportunity to hit for the cycle. I was always the guy who was unselfish, would move runners over and things like that. I finally had the chance in my career to do something a little bit selfish, instead of getting a double I stopped at first, man I got a lot of flak for it. The manager of the Rangers commented on it, and Tim Kurkjian.
BSE: I mean, it wasn’t a close game, what did they care?
Jeff Frye: Yeah, that’s kind of how I felt. Plus, I’d already asked Cito! Cito had already won four pennants as manager of the Blue Jays and two World Series, so.
BSE: I think the first base coach was yelling at you to stop too, right?
Jeff Frye: Yeah, Garth Iorg. I was screaming as I rounded first, “what do I do? What do I do?” And he goes, “stay here! Stay here!” So, I took a big turn and went back to first. Kelly Gruber walked onto the field, man it was a cool feeling.
Kelly Gruber, left, hugs Blue Jays’ Jeff Frye after he cycled with a single against the Texas Rangers in Toronto August 17, 2001. Gruber was the first Blue Jay to cycle twelve years ago. (Photo by Vince Talotta/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
BSE: Was that your proudest accomplishment?
Jeff Frye: Yeah. I mean, I do remember a couple games in Boston when I first went there. I made an error on a routine groundball when Clemens was pitching. Man, the crowd was all over me and were yelling to go back to Texas. Not too long after that I had a game where I was 4-4 and I’d lined out my fifth at-bat and I got a standing ovation. One time Jimy Williams pinch-hit me for Trot Nixon. I was like, “man Jimy, are you sure?” They announced me in Boston, “now batting for Trot Nixon, Jeff Frye,” and the whole stadium booed. So, I’m walking to home plate, and I’m not happy, so I take my helmet off and tip it to the crowd as I’m walking to home plate. I got a base hit and got to first base and I tipped my hat to the crowd. I ended up scoring a run, and then I came up later in the game and hit a two-RBI double off the wall and they loved me.
BSE: Nowadays you are an agent for some of the ballplayers?
Jeff Frye: Yeah, I’ve been an agent for 17 years.
BSE: Wow, that’s a long time. You think your playing days helped in this position?
Jeff Frye: Yeah, definitely. A lot of stuff I do is amateur recruiting, so if I go in and talk to the family about their son, I can basically tell them everything their son is going to experience, I’ve already experienced. Not many other agents can make that claim.
BSE: With the way free agency has gone the past couple years, what are your thoughts on that? Do you think it needs any fixing?
Jeff Frye: Absolutely, something’s going on. Now that Bryce [Harper] and Manny [Machado] have signed it’s like everything is back to normal, but we still have so many great players who haven’t signed. We have difference makers who don’t have jobs and spring training is already going on. This has been a couple years running now. I don’t want to say there’s collusion, but I saw a story about Mark Reynolds, he didn’t have any offers from anybody, then one day within like an hour he had a call from four different teams and the same offer from every team.
BSE: That’s pretty fishy.
Jeff Frye: Yeah, something’s going on. I’m kind of fearful of what we’re facing in a couple years with the player’s and the commissioner’s office.
BSE: Any thoughts on some of the new rules in the game? The change of pace?
Jeff Frye: Yeah, I’m not a fan of that at all. I don’t think the pace of play is why people aren’t watching baseball. I had a hard time watching the playoffs last year, it’s boring with everyone striking out, walking or swinging for the fences. They aren’t cutting down on their swings with two strikes. The Red Sox weren’t that way last year and look what happened; I think Cora did a great job. I don’t think we can look at all these stats, launch angle and exit velocity and things, and measure how valuable a player is. I would have never had a chance, my exit velocity and launch angle wouldn’t even register. I was told to hit the ball on the ground. Nowadays you’re not supposed to hit the ball on the ground….You know last year was the first year in the history of baseball where there were more strike outs than hits? And the shift; they’re talking about eliminating the shift or limiting shifts. Well, if you see four guys on the right side of the infield, hit the ball the other way! Why cater to the guys who can’t make adjustments? He can’t hit the ball the other way so let’s change the rules so it benefits him. Well, that’s not how it’s supposed to work.
BSE: So, you mentioned you’re not a fan of the stats, so called stats, they use nowadays.
Jeff Frye: No, not at all; that’s an understatement. I go round and round with Brian Kenny. I haven’t delved too deep into what stats are put into WAR, but I’m pretty sure if I’m up with a runner on second and move the runner over to third, I don’t get much credit for that. If the next guy hits a groundball to second and gets an RBI, that’s because I helped him get that RBI. I should be credited in some fashion, it’s all about winning.
BSE: Yeah, it was designed initially to just be a tool to help determine how good someone was, not be an and-all-be-all. The problem is, some guys now treat it like gospel, if one guy has a higher WAR than another it automatically means he’s a better player. That’s the big problem with it.
Jeff Frye: Yeah, I remember Tim Naehring said to me one time, way back in the day, the three most important stats are hits, runs and RBI, and the best players in the game average more than two per game. So, any combination of hits, runs or RBI over the course of the season, and if you look at the numbers at the end of the year, the guys who are the best players at the end of the year have the highest percentage.
BSE: I remember a few years ago I was watching MLB Network, and two of the guys were having a big conversation about WAR while John Smoltz just stood there quietly. Right before commercial Smoltz slides in, “Jason Heyward has a higher WAR than Giancarlo Stanton, that’s all you need to know about WAR.” It was perfect, just casually makes a short statement that exemplified a part of the problem.
Jeff Frye: I watch that all the time too, he’s my favorite; he and Billy Ripken, neither one buys into that. Look at the contract the WAR stat got Jason Heyward, and how has that paid off? Immediately it was bad.
BSE: I don’t know if it was the year before he was a free agent, but Heyward hit maybe .276 with 13 homers and was a top 10 player in all of baseball according to WAR. (He hit .293 with 13 HR in 2015).
Jeff Frye: Yeah, because his defensive stats were so great.
BSE: Yeah, which is important, but how does it make you better than someone hitting .310 with 35 homers or something?
Jeff Frye: Yeah, well obviously it doesn’t because look at what’s happened since he signed.
BSE: One last thing, you’re doing some pre and postgame work for the Rangers, correct?
Jeff Frye: Yeah, I started last year on Fox Sports Southwest and I did like 17 games I think last year. I’m scheduled to do, I don’t know how many this year, but that’s been a lot of fun.
BSE: Well, that’s all the questions I have for you, anything you’d like to add?
Jeff Frye: Still a Red Sox fan, happy they won they won the World Series. I’ve reached out to the Red Sox because I’d…like to do their fantasy camp, I thought that’d be cool to get to see some of my old buddies, so maybe down the road I’ll get to do that.
BSE: Well, I appreciate you taking the time to talk with me today.
Jeff Frye: Yeah, no problem man.
Featured picture (Photo by Sporting News via Getty Images)
Devin McCourty was one of the Patriots who was flirting with retirement before the Super Bowl. Along with Rob Gronkowski, the eldest McCourty brother was unsure prior to the big game whether he would return to Foxboro in 2019.
He put all of those rumors to bed on Thursday, however, when he went on the Sports Spectrum Podcast.
“Yeah, I’m going to play,” McCourty stated.
The veteran safety went on to say, ” I think once you get a chance to step away for a couple of weeks, you’re like I still do want to be around these young guys that come in.”
There was a growing suspicion that if the Patriots won Super Bowl 53, the 31 year-old would ride off into the sunset with a third Lombardi. McCourty has a multitude of off-field activities, including his sickle-cell charity work. It made sense that a Super Bowl win would give the safety a good ending to a great career and an opportunity to focus his efforts on charitable pursuits.
McCourty signed a 5 year extension after the 2014 season, and at the time was the highest paid safety. If he does return to the Patriots, he will have a cap hit of $13.45 million for the 2019 season. This is obviously extremely high for an aging safety and not the team friendly contract the Pats prefer.
Assuming New England hangs on to McCourty, a contract restructure will undoubtedly be on the agenda. He is still a productive player, recording 82 tackles, 4 forced fumbles, and one pick-six this past season. More importantly, he is the heart and soul of the secondary, and is a perennial team captain.
Devin McCourty reached the top speed in the NFL during this Monday Night interception against Buffalo.
The smart move for New England is to keep McCourty for his last season under contract. Of course, this hinges on a restructure, which would reduce his 2019 cap hit. Hopefully he will be open to the idea, since he already has plans on winning number seven for New England.
“If you play this game only for Super Bowls, you’re going to be very empty. Because as soon as you win it, it’s all about how you can win it next year. … You have to play for so much more,” he told the Sports Spectrum Podcast.
The new league season starts on March 14th, so this is when you can expect the majority of deals to go down. The Patriots would like to see if McCourty would take a pay cut before this however, so they can have a better idea of where they’re at financially.
This offseason promises to be a crazy one, and the Patriots are right in the thick of it. Restructuring Devin McCourty should be a top priority for New England, along with resigning his brother Jason. Hopefully with Devin back in a Pats uniform, the youngest McCourty will sign on for another year.
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He’s two years removed from playing a full season and clearly his knee has been an issue. However, Dustin Pedroia still has a lot of skills and traits that can still be useful to this team. He’s still locked up for a fair amount of time. He’s going to make roughly 40 million dollars over the final three years of his contract. Can he still produce at a level that merits having that contract on the books? That is yet to be determined, but first and foremost, Dustin has to get healthy. The now 35-year-old second baseman is fortunate for many reasons. Mainly, with Kinsler departing, he faces almost no competition on the roster for his position. If he can get strong over the winter and be ready for the spring, he’ll have his chance to make an impact for Boston like he did back in 2016 and preceded by various season earlier.
Pedroia’s Achilles Heel
Unfortunately for Pedroia, he just can’t shake the pain in his left knee. Father Time isn’t on his side either, by any means, but the two-year-old knee injury has to be frustrating Dustin. In 2016 he hit .318 with an OPS of .825. Both of these numbers are exceptional, even all-star worthy. Then Manny Machado came along.
The collision between the two in April of 2017 appears to be what initially led to the injury for Pedroia. Machado’s late slide, that he claims as unintentional, took out the left leg of Dustin and frankly he has never been the same since. Pedroia has always been one that has struggled with the injury bug here and there. Nothing has ever compared to this, though.
Playing with the speedy, dirt-dog style that he does, his knees have already been taking a beating over the years. This has the potential to possibly sideline him for a good chunk of another season. Which would be similar to his 2018 where he played in only three games. Even worse, this has the potential to be it for Pedroia, at least with Boston.
Having paid him 16 million dollars last year for basically nothing, and 15 million in 17 for a half season isn’t good business. That equates to roughly 23 million in dead money, plus another 40 still on the Red Sox plate in the future. He’s going to have his chance in 2019 but he has to take it, or he could see himself out a similar door to Hanley Ramirez.
Can He Still Be Effective?
Like I said earlier, his last full season in 2016 was very good. Even in 2017, in limited action, he was a decent ballplayer at .293/.369/.760. IF, which is a big if, he can be ready to go for Opening Day AND stay healthy, the numbers seem like an attainable goal. It’s nothing special, and probably not worth the dollar amount he’s making, but it’s more than they got last year.
With Ian Kinsler highly unlikely to return, the door is wide open for Pedroia to take the reigns back. For him, it’ll be a transition to a different role, one as more of only a team leader and less as a contributor. When he could last year, he was always on the bench. He acted like an assistant coach at times for Alex Cora, something that likely had a huge influence on the team that won the championship.
If he can put up the aforementioned triple slash line from 2017, and continue to evolve into a mentor for the young guys like Rafael Devers and eventually Michael Chavis, he’ll be somewhat worth the money they’re paying him. As far as the team goes, they won 108 games and a World Series this year. Adding Pedroia back into the fold can only be a plus for this Red Sox team, and to me, it’s definitely an upgrade from Kinsler.
“I still feel like that’s where I’m gonna be for the rest of my career.” Joe Kelly’s recent comments have made it clear how he feels about Boston. Are the Red Sox going to grant him his wish of being with the team the remainder of his career? With Eduardo Nunez and Steve Pearce both locking themselves in with Boston for 2019, the money is starting to go on the books. Craig Kimbrel returning is seeming more unlikely by the day. So, going forward, the champs are going to need someone to hold down the back end of the bullpen. And I’m not saying Joe Kelly is the answer, but he’s definitely an admirable candidate.
Joe Kelly has firmly planted himself in Red Sox lore. From fighting Tyler Austin and the Yankees in April to pitching tough as nails in October, to dropping the puck at a Bruins game in November. Kelly has been endearing himself to the fans all season long, myself included. How can you not love this guy and the attitude he brings?
Admittedly, Kelly did struggle in the dog days of summer. Every time he came in the game, he was allowing inherited runners to score or giving up runs left, right and center. If he struggles like that in the ninth inning of games, in Boston, the seat will get hot real quick. So is it worth paying Kelly a good chunk of change to close out games? Personally, I think it’s a safe bet. He obviously won’t command the 4-5 years at 70+ million that Kimbrel likely will. This is huge for a Red Sox team who’s trying to make other moves.
Joe Kelly Has The Boston Mentality
He’s never been short of confidence. Having this persona, allows him to be a guy with the guts to get the job done in the tough moments. Closing out games in one of the biggest sports markets isn’t easy. It requires these aforementioned guts to get the job done. The light shines brighter than in almost any other city in America. Putting money in the wrong place for the man to fill the job could be costly.
Despite the temporary summer struggles, I’ll take the grit of Joe Kelly any day of the week. If he comes back it would almost certainly be as the closer. Many other teams in the league could use an upgrade at the position and likely could also pay more than Boston can. Selling Kelly on having the closer’s role would likely be a huge factor in pleasing Joe, and keeping him with the Red Sox for the foreseeable future.
There are other options on the table via trade and via free agency. If the Red Sox choose to spend their money in other ways, I could see Matt Barnes also taking over the reins. Whatever ends up happening, if Joe Kelly does in Boston it’ll be as the closer. After October, I think that should be a comfortable feeling.
Well, we did it. The team we all knew would eventually flourish as champions, did. With the rings from 2018 secured, it is time for us all to start looking ahead at the possibility of repeating. There won’t be a huge roster overhaul, but there are some key players likely departing. For general manager Dave Dombrowski and the Red Sox, they’ll have to pick and choose who they want to move forward with, and who they’re okay with losing. Big names like Craig Kimbrel, Joe Kelly, Ian Kinsler and Steve Pearce all face pending free agency. There is a good chance one or two of those guys return but the likelihood of all four is bleak. There’s another big name from this championship winning team that I believe is the most crucial than any other in resigining.
Throughout the postseason, and into the World Series, there were many heroes for this team. On both sides of the ball, the stars to the bench players all played a role. One of the largest heroes that came from almost nowhere, ended up being Nathan Eovaldi. Whether it be a big start against New York or Houston, or a dominant effort out of the bullpen against Los Angeles, Eovaldi did it all this October. Every single time he came onto the mound, he effortlessly finessed through the brute opposing lineups.
A 1.61 ERA over 22 innings is a fairly good postseason if you ask me. No matter the scenario, Nate wanted the ball. He threw 97 pitches in game 3, and came in the next day begging manager Alex Cora to let him pitch out of the bullpen. This is a guy you want on your team no matter what, no matter the price. This is the guy that the front office needs to keep around. He has the attitude and mentality to pitch in Boston, and has already shown he has the clutch gene. Regardless of whether the team wants him as a starter or as a reliever, they must resign Eovaldi at all costs.
$$
A couple players come to mind that commanded contracts of similar length and value to what Eovaldi is bound to get. Alex Cobb was 30 last winter when Baltimore gave him a four year deal, with 57 million being earned over that contract. Tyler Chatwood was 28 last winter when he earned a 3 year, 38 million dollar deal with the Cubs. I see Eovaldi falling somewhere in in the mix with these players, possibly earning a little more than either simply due to his performance this October. Whether it is 3 or 4 years, it will end being around 15 million a year. To me, that’s a price you have to pay for a stud like Nasty Nate.
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As we head into the beginning of the NFL season news broke that star tight end Rob Gronkowski attempted to discourage the New England Patriots from trading him. On the surface and out of context this would seem to play into the big bad, evil image of Bill Belichick. The problem with rumors in the football world is that they come out in dribs and drabs. The Gronk rumors appear to come out of the end of a long offseason drama series. And the Patriots attempted to nail down what his plans were for the upcoming season. Let’s take a look at each rumor in chronological order and see if the entire picture makes anymore sense.
Rumor #1: After the Super Bowl loss Rob Gronkowski contemplated retirement.
This is understandable looking back. He was coming off serious back surgery that ended his 2016 season. Gronk injured his groin in Week 2 that no doubt lingered for multiple weeks. The frustration over penalties culminated in the body slamming incident of Bill’s cornerback White. His suspension in Week 14 was an unpleasant punishment. Then the normal aches and pains that an NFL player goes through each week in order to suit up. And a concussion in the AFC Championship game. Reaching the Super Bowl and playing a spectacular game only to fall in the end. Elite athletes that put it all on the line to achieve their ultimate goal understandably suffer a severe letdown in the immediate aftermath.
Rumor #2: Rob Gronkowski was angling for a new deal.
Rob Gronkowski is the best tight end in the NFL. Full Stop. His contract is not paying him like that. The team and the player have been locked in negotiations for several years to come up with inventive solutions to rectify this. The team of course could cave and give Gronk’s camp everything they want and be completely unprotected and set a dangerous precedent. They don’t do this for anyone. They will continue to be tough negotiators in order to get the best deals for the team. A little sweetener, such as what he received after training camp was nearly done may have headed this off, or it may have not.
Rumor #3: Patriots quietly attempted to trade Gronk heading into the draft.
The bizarre press conference in late April with Gronkowski appearing in dirt bike uniform, standing at a podium talking about his biking skills. Rumors of a wrestling career, acting career and no clear statement from the tight end that he was preparing for a 2018 season came to a head. Belichick clearly believes in attempting to get the most value out of an asset if it’s good for the team. The antics of the player may have been wearing on the front office. And prompted them to reach out to some organizations in order to gauge interest and prices. According to news reports, the 49ers, Lions and Titans were all involved. This make sense as they either have ties to the Patriots or have been recently been involved in quiet deals.
Rumor #4: Gronk makes his announcement.
Then the news that broke on Sunday just prior to the 2018 season that Gronk “protested strongly” any potential trade. This was accompanied by a powwow between the player, his agent and Patriots brass. Then on April 24th Gronkowski posted on his Instagram feed that he was coming back to the Patriots for the 2018 season. I’m sure the details regarding his involvement were all worked out ahead of time. Including his absences from voluntary team practices and his attendance at the mandatory ones. The result was that after a full participation in training camp and a healthy mindset, they inked a new set of incentives designed to give him up to a potential $4+ million dollars more.
Rumors and reports floating around breaking at different times during the offseason. Many times weeks or months after the actual events, it creates confusion. What is clear is that the franchise cornerstone is healthy, and ready to go. I’m sure there may be more rumors and hearsays in the months following another successful season. Just remember that these are business people and adults that all have a common goals. I’m going to ignore any more rumors and look to great games this season and a hopeful sixth championship at the end.
All photos courtesy of Getty images unless noted otherwise.
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Welcome back to the Celtics season tipoff countdown!
Each day, we’ll give a review of news surrounding the Celtics. We’ll also look back in history to see what happened on today’s date in team history (August 25th). To round out the day’s post, we’ll give you stats and fun facts related to the number of days remaining before the first game (52 today). Let’s get to it!
Recent Team News
Jayson Tatum recently appeared on The Bill Simmons Podcast and touched on a wide variety of topics. He talked about his hatred of the Celtics as a kid growing up in St. Louis. Kobe Bryant was his idol growing up, and as a Laker, he had to hate Boston. He then went on to discuss his summer workouts with Kobe and the episode of Kobe’s show, Detail, about Tatum (He says he watched it 70 times). Tatum says he was able to pick the legend’s brain before they got into the workouts. He said “I tried to get into his mind and see how he went about things.” It certainly sounds like Kobe’s had a big influence on the budding star.
On This Date
August 25, 1965: Bill Russell demanded and received a new contract worth $100,001. The contract came one day after rival Wilt Chamberlain became the first player ever to earn a salary of $100,000 dollars. The two legendary centers had become fierce competitors over the years of playing against each other, and the contracts took it to another level. Even the great Bill Russell can be petty sometimes!
Via NBA
Stats (2017-18)
Aron Baynes attempted 5.2 shots per game from two-point range. He converted on 2.6 of them per contest.
The team as a whole had a 52% Effective Field Goal Percentage. This stat weighs three pointers as worth more than two pointers.
Fun Facts
Seven players have worn number 52 for the Celtics. The most recent to don the jersey was Chris Babb, who wore it in 2014 for the 14 games in which he played.
That concludes today’s Countdown to Celtics Tipoff. Make sure to check back here tomorrow as the clock continues to tick towards the 2018-19 season!
The Red Sox are most certainly going to re-open extension talks with the All-Star right fielder. What could a potential extension look like?
With free agency about the blow up the entire landscape of the MLB for the foreseeable future, could the Red Sox make an unprecedented move? If so, what could shake up things for the next decade? Extending All-Star and MVP candidate Mookie Betts! The five-tool player has shown flashes of greatness. When will Betts get paid?
His career numbers as of now indicate his game is only trending upward. He sports a career .301 batting average, with 105 home runs and 374 runs batted in. to go along with 104 stolen bases. To go along with two Gold Gloves, three straight All-Star selections, and a Silver Slugger award.
Last winter, the Sox signed J.D. Martinez to a five year $110 million contract with numerous player opt-outs after this season. While there are talks of restructuring after this season, these are the present numbers. J.D. has experienced his fair share of struggles throughout his career, making Mookie the better of the two. He will command more in any contract. The rising star is becoming one of the top 3 players in the game.
Similar extensions
In 2015, the Los Angeles Angles extended Mike Trout to a six year, $144.5 million contract. The two-time MVP is one of the other top three players in the league. Now, there is no comparison between Trout and Martinez as an all around player, but offensively you could make some arguments. If Trout could command this money, what can other stars expect to want?
This year, the other top three player becomes the biggest free agency prize in years. Bryce Harper watch has been in effect all season long, with hopes of hints as to where he’ll wind up after free agency is all said and done. He could command anywhere to a rumored ten year $400 million deal. It would be the largest deal in sports history, but that deal could be shrinking after his sub-par .248 batting average. The Washington Nationals star has plenty of options moving forward.
Finally in 2014, the Miami Marlins extended Giancarlo Stanton to a 13 year $325 million contract, the largest contract ever. Now a member of the New York Yankees, Stanton has ten years left on his current contract, while he can opt out at anytime after 2020. The no trade clause is still in effect.
Let’s just suggest his arbitration increases by at least $5.5 million each season. By the time he hits his first free agency, he would make $27 million for one season. If you go by his five-tool ability, it’s easy to conceive that his extension could be in the eight year, $225 million range.
If the two sides decide to go this route will have to wait. The postseason is creeping fast. While the numbers will be different, this is how the market is. While all attention shift to the end of the season, more excitement is soon to come.
