Angels trade Jeff Mathis to Toronto

[HollywoodLeo]

For Brad Mills

Angels, Blue Jays Swap Jeff Mathis For Brad Mills: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com

[love_that_reefer]

I don't see why AA didn't just wait til Mathis was non-tendered. Makes no sense to me.

[realmofotalk]

Because it's analogous to buying an item on Ebay for the "Buy It Now" price rather than going through with the auction where you risk overpaying or getting outbid.

[Kingdom]

They traded for Houston's manager? Nice. He can probably hit more than Mathis.

At least Conger gets a shot to back up Iannetta or take over for him when he's hitting too much and Sciosca gets pissed.

[Foster]

He won't make it to the middle of the season with the Jays.

[love_that_reefer]

Because it's analogous to buying an item on Ebay for the "Buy It Now" price rather than going through with the auction where you risk overpaying or getting outbid.

No one was going to get in a bidding war for Mathis. AA could have got him cheaper if he waited til the 13th.

[realmofotalk]

No one was going to get in a bidding war for Mathis. AA could have got him cheaper if he waited til the 13th.

I never said there was going to be a bidding war for Mathis, but if Mills wasn't worth anything to AA anyway and Mills was all it took to secure a player AA wants, then it makes sense to do the deal now and erase all possibility of having to compete with at least one other team.

[love_that_reefer]

He could have kept Mills and got Mathis at a cheaper price. Instead, AA is now going to have to pay $2 million for Mathis. It's just not fiscally smart.

[realmofotalk]

The trade was made for cost certainty, which isn't always about getting something for the cheapest price. It's not guaranteed that Mathis would have come much cheaper than his arbitration estimate if he was allowed to hit the open market.

[love_that_reefer]

No chance in hell Mathis would have made more through free agency than arbitration. That is a certainty!! If you think otherwise, you're foolish! You act as if teams would be lining up to sign Mathis which couldn't be further from the truth. He's a terrible hitter who isn't that good defensively. AA and the Jays could have done better and for cheaper.

[realmofotalk]

No chance in hell Mathis would have made more through free agency than arbitration. That is a certainty!! If you think otherwise, you're foolish!

It's a certainty that he would have made more through arbitration where he is cost-controlled than through the open market where there is no certainty? Do you ever offer a rationale to back up the shit you believe instead of expecting the rest of us to believe you when you say, "You're wrong! You're foolish! That couldn't be further from the truth!"

You act as if teams would be lining up to sign Mathis which couldn't be further from the truth. He's a terrible hitter who isn't that good defensively. AA and the Jays could have done better and for cheaper.

I'm not acting as if teams are lining up to sign him. I'm saying if he was worth, say, $1 million to you but it isn't certain that he'll sign with you if you wait, then paying an extra million and a fringe pitcher to secure his rights isn't unreasonable.

[love_that_reefer]

It's a certainty that he would have made more through arbitration where he is cost-controlled than through the open market where there is no certainty? Do you ever offer a rationale to back up the shit you believe instead of expecting the rest of us to believe you when you say, "You're wrong! You're foolish! That couldn't be further from the truth!"

Do you follow player's careers and the free agent market at all? If you did you would know that my rationale is dead on and that there is no way teams are going to pay Jeff Mathis more than $2 million to play backup!! I swear man, you just argue to see yourself argue!! There is no way on the open market teams were going to pay more than $2 million for one of the worst catchers in the league. You attack me for having nothing to back up rationale yet you do the same!

I'm not acting as if teams are lining up to sign him. I'm saying if he was worth, say, $1 million to you but it isn't certain that he'll sign with you if you wait, then paying an extra million and a fringe pitcher to secure his rights isn't unreasonable.

And I'm saying it's foolish to trade for a player that is certain to be non-tendered when you can wait and have him for cheaper. The only way this turns out to be smart is if AA non-tenders Mathis and brings him back on a lesser deal. If by some miracle you get outbid on Mathis, no big deal as there are better catchers on the market for cheaper than the $2 million Mathis would make through arbitration. You're basically wasting $1 million.

[realmofotalk]

Gerald Laird and Matt Treanor each signed for $1 million and both are older and worse than Mathis. It's not unconceivable that Mathis could have still gotten the same $1.7M that he made last season when his competition on the market are the ancient Jason Varitek, Pudge Rodriguez, Jorge Posada, and Jason Kendall.

[love_that_reefer]

See, that's where you're wrong. Laird and Treanor are better than Mathis both offensively and defensively. Go compare the numbers. Henry Blanco signed a one year deal worth $1.25 and is better than Mathis. Look at what the market bears. Josh Bard and Ramon Castro are better than Mathis too and still on the market. You will be hard pressed to find a worse catcher in all of baseball. Back to back seasons with sub-.500 OPS's and throwing out under 27% of runners. Can't get much worse than that! So not only did the Jays trade for the worst catcher in the league, they are going to overpay for him when they could have had him for cheaper.