Lazorko Saves

Wow, these numbers are crazy. So my gorilla math says that current cap hit of $46 million on a $68 million payment to be made beginning in 2034 is about a 4.0% interest rate. I would be very curious what the Dodgers non-deferred offer was. 4.0% seems really low for a decade long rate of return, so either Ohtani is an extremely nervous investor or the Dodgers were way below $46 million a year in a current money/non-deferred offer. I would argue 8.0% is a very conservative rate of return that Ohtani and his agents should have been demanding. If they did, then it kind of implies the Dodgers (and no one else) offered no more than $31.5 million a year! Not likely. Bottom line, in my opinion, Ohtani's and his agents really badly here, in spite of the glowing headlines about "biggest team sports contact ever".

You missed one scenario: The Worstest: Angels top the Dodgers offer and go $780 million over 11 years, keeping Ohtani. Ohtani's skills at the plate rapidly and he basically becomes some kind of mix between Joey Gallo and Chris Davis offensively. On the mound, Shohei returns in 2025, but the fastball is topping out at 89-90 and he's posting an ERA above 4.50. He's become the 33 year old version of Jered Weaver.

All 7.

Hey I see they're making room for the giant Jimmy Herget poster!

There's no exchange rate conversion to do, all MLB contracts are paid in US dollars, including the Blue Jays players. Same is even true with NHL contracts.

Time for me to go look at JPY-USD forex market, should be a big drop as a lot of Japanese money will be leaving the country to the US to swap out red gear for blue gear.

Bonilla was pre-cap, so that as purely for cash flow. The Kovalchuk deal was 17 years for $102 million, when he was 27 years old. The team knew he wasn't going to be playing on into his mid-forties, so the length was pure fiction just to lower the salary cap hit. The NHL voided the contract immediately because it was a clear salary cap circumvention.

No....freakin'...way. That is just insane then. MLB is really so dumb as to have not learned from the NHL and Kovalchuk, which happend all way back in 2010? Then all big deals are going to look like the Bobby Bonilla contracts. If this is really how it works, then Perry's got to get on the phone with Yamamoto's agent and start talking about a 25 year deal for $400 million. That's what it's going to take to get him then.

Wait wait wait. Are ya'll telling me that MLB hasn't closed the Ilya Kovalchuk loophole? That somehow Ohtani's cap hit will be something like $25m? There's no way. They have to have learned from the NHL and the Kovalchuk contract and put that into the luxury tax calculations. Luxury tax hit has to be $70m a year, regardless of deferrals. Right?

I'm not even upset now. I am glad my team is not paying $70m for one player until age 39. If somehow he would have signed for something like $42m a year or less, I might have been upset that we missed that. But not upset at all here whatsoever.

I think you meant to say, it's a fine 9th inning battery, after we're getting blown out and we put one of these guys in to pitch.

Agree. White wouldn't even be picked first in a church league softball draft right now. I think from the point of view of the Braves, Stassi will be worth more than the net $4.5 million they are paying for this whole deal.

Yeah it's weird, there's no real big money saved either way, and the guy owed the most is the worst player (White). I think I got the buyouts wrong, here's the numbers B-R has. White, $17m thru 2026. '24 $7m, '25 $8m, '26 $2m buyout Fletch: $14m thru 2026, '24 $6m, '25 $6.5m, '26 $1.5m buyout Stassi: $7.5m thru 2025, '24 $7m, '25 $0.5m buyout Angels on the hook for $17m Braves on the hook for $21.5m We net $4.5m plus a controllable 27 year old RH pitcher

White is owed $19 million. Fletch is owed $15.5 million. Max Stassi is owed $7.5 million. This minor league right hander we're getting is a 27 year old still bouncing between AA and AAA. What is going on with this trade?

Envious of the photoshop skills here. This is an art form. Beautiful.

Hmm. He might like this idea. Can be decline free agency? Have the Angels considered just offering him arbitration again?

Good point. How likely is an in person appearance by the player at the first press conference before the medical exam?

See, I told ya the "mystery team" was the Barstow Aztecs!

Yep. I've haven't binge-eaten this much popcorn since crude oil futures went to negative $37 a barrel back in April 2020.

Let me be the first to say...man, it's gonna be nice to go back to a 5 man rotation.

Live shot of the reporter at the airport:

I don't know, Shohei's plane the mystery plane doesn't land for another 45 minutes or so.

Oh, I just realized there's no Del Taco in Toronto, so that makes me 99% sure the Blue Jays are out. That means it's down to: 1. Angels, 2. Dodgers, 3. Barstow Aztecs I just hope the Blue Jays don't take Shohei to Alexandros in Toronto. If they did, Shohei will sign there. We can't compete with their chicken and pork combo gyro.

Tommy John