2026 MLB (Non-Tigers) Thread

[Motor City Sonics]

Hey, it's February 9th -   Spring Training starts this week.  It's time for a new thread. 

 

 

I was reading where Anthony Rendon won't play in 2026, but still get paid, but I guess the Angels restructured his contract so they will pay him over several years. 

I had nightmares NIGHTMARES that the Angels released him and the Tigers said "Hey, let's take a chance on this guy"

I think I may hate this player more than Roger (Let me throw at guys heads) Clemens and Chris (Cry Baby) Sale.     It's just that he so blatantly ripped off an MLB team and was just so open about it.  He never wanted to play.  He just took the money.   I don't even believe he has a real hip injury.   I wish the Angels could sue him.   And I don't even like the Angels and they could be the worst team in the AL - and I kind of hope they are.    

We've had some bad contracts around here (Jordan Zimmermann comes to mind,  Prince Fielder too, but at least we got the Rangers to swallow some of that and got a solid Ian Kinsler for him).     But that Rendon contract and his attitude towards not wanting to play baseball makes it the worst  - in my opinion.     So many of us would just kill to be able to have the ability to do this and he just wastes it and is totally open about it.   Yep, I hate him more than Rog and Sale.   

 

[Tenacious D]

You could add Miggy and Javier Baez to the failed contracts list. Justin Upton, too.  Going back further, Damion “you try and trade him” Easley and Bobby Higginson.  And we dodged a bullet when Juan Gonzalez rejected ours.

[Motor City Sonics]

2 hours ago, Tenacious D said:

You could add Miggy and Javier Baez to the failed contracts list. Justin Upton, too.  Going back further, Damion “you try and trade him” Easley and Bobby Higginson.  And we dodged a bullet when Juan Gonzalez rejected ours.

Javy is a bad contract, but he can still redeem a little of it.   Justin Upton was bad.    But the Miggy one, I get it.   Sure, he was awful at the end, but the thought of him doing his retirement tour in another uniform didn't sit well, so it was worth the risk for the PR sake of it. 

[chasfh]

2 hours ago, Motor City Sonics said:

Javy is a bad contract, but he can still redeem a little of it.   Justin Upton was bad.    But the Miggy one, I get it.   Sure, he was awful at the end, but the thought of him doing his retirement tour in another uniform didn't sit well, so it was worth the risk for the PR sake of it. 

One year of awful, I could have accepted. Seven years of awful is more than an entire career for more than half the guys who have ever played in the big leagues.

[Tiger337]

I would have had no problem seeing Cabrera do those 7 years with another team.  Like Chas said, one awful year is OK, but 7 is way too much.  I loved to watch his great years.  He was the best Tigers hitter of my lifetime, but I really wasn't all that attached to him.  It wasn't like he was a lifetime Tiger like Kaline or Whitaker or Trammell.  In fact, he won his only World Series on another team.  His off-field activities were not very endearing either.  

[Motor City Sonics]

I just wanted to take another opportunity to slam Rendon because I think he's lying about the severity of his injury.  I really do.  He may have been hurt, but I just don't believe him.  The dude hates baseball.  

I mean, I know there are guys out there that are only in it for the money.   To suggest that all of these guys are Kirk Gibson-win-at-any-cost guys is silly and if teams are too stupid to dig into a player and get even a hint of their true intention, that's on them, but this guy just says it out loud and that's why I can't stand him.     The cost to take a family of four or five people to a baseball game is insane and you know what, those fans that go to the game deserve your best.     But we know guys don't always give it.  I understand that, it's a long season, it's a slog, but to be just so flippant about it when you get paid like he does - it just insults everyone.   Absolutely everyone.      Ya wonder why fans hate him?     Fake it.  

He conned the Angels.  From the start.   And the Angels have spent stupidly for a long time (gotta be tough to watch your crosstown rival these days), but there is another angle that frustrates me about this too.   You've got a guy on that ballclub who was on track to be the next superstar of the game and he can't stay healthy, but he's tried and tried.  When Mike Trout first came around we were talking comparisons to Babe Ruth and Willie Mays and now it's just trying to get 110 games out of him.  He got to 130 last year, but he struggled and you could see it when he tried to run.   His legs are betraying him and he's still only 33.   As much time as he's missed he has 404 home runs and he's still only 33.   What might have been.  If he'd have stayed healthy, he'd be challenging Barry Bonds career HR record before 2030.  He's the opposite of Rendon.    I hope the Angels to him a solid and trade him to a contender at some point, because it's not likely to be them any time soon. 

I just don't like frauds (when it comes to anything, not just baseball, believe me, plenty of frauds in the radio biz),  and he's maybe just about the biggest in baseball history and he has NO shame about it.   Screw him. 

Edited 6 hours ago by Motor City Sonics

[Tenacious D]

2 hours ago, Motor City Sonics said:

I just wanted to take another opportunity to slam Rendon because I think he's lying about the severity of his injury.  I really do.  He may have been hurt, but I just don't believe him.  The dude hates baseball.  

I mean, I know there are guys out there that are only in it for the money.   To suggest that all of these guys are Kirk Gibson-win-at-any-cost guys is silly and if teams are too stupid to dig into a player and get even a hint of their true intention, that's on them, but this guy just says it out loud and that's why I can't stand him.     The cost to take a family of four or five people to a baseball game is insane and you know what, those fans that go to the game deserve your best.     But we know guys don't always give it.  I understand that, it's a long season, it's a slog, but to be just so flippant about it when you get paid like he does - it just insults everyone.   Absolutely everyone.      Ya wonder why fans hate him?     Fake it.  

He conned the Angels.  From the start.   And the Angels have spent stupidly for a long time (gotta be tough to watch your crosstown rival these days), but there is another angle that frustrates me about this too.   You've got a guy on that ballclub who was on track to be the next superstar of the game and he can't stay healthy, but he's tried and tried.  When Mike Trout first came around we were talking comparisons to Babe Ruth and Willie Mays and now it's just trying to get 110 games out of him.  He got to 130 last year, but he struggled and you could see it when he tried to run.   His legs are betraying him and he's still only 33.   As much time as he's missed he has 404 home runs and he's still only 33.   What might have been.  If he'd have stayed healthy, he'd be challenging Barry Bonds career HR record before 2030.  He's the opposite of Rendon.    I hope the Angels to him a solid and trade him to a contender at some point, because it's not likely to be them any time soon. 

I just don't like frauds (when it comes to anything, not just baseball, believe me, plenty of frauds in the radio biz),  and he's maybe just about the biggest in baseball history and he has NO shame about it.   Screw him. 

Just lazy?

[Tiger337]

3 hours ago, Motor City Sonics said:

I just wanted to take another opportunity to slam Rendon because I think he's lying about the severity of his injury.  I really do.  He may have been hurt, but I just don't believe him.  The dude hates baseball.  

I mean, I know there are guys out there that are only in it for the money.   To suggest that all of these guys are Kirk Gibson-win-at-any-cost guys is silly and if teams are too stupid to dig into a player and get even a hint of their true intention, that's on them, but this guy just says it out loud and that's why I can't stand him.     The cost to take a family of four or five people to a baseball game is insane and you know what, those fans that go to the game deserve your best.     But we know guys don't always give it.  I understand that, it's a long season, it's a slog, but to be just so flippant about it when you get paid like he does - it just insults everyone.   Absolutely everyone.      Ya wonder why fans hate him?     Fake it.  

He conned the Angels.  From the start.   And the Angels have spent stupidly for a long time (gotta be tough to watch your crosstown rival these days), but there is another angle that frustrates me about this too.   You've got a guy on that ballclub who was on track to be the next superstar of the game and he can't stay healthy, but he's tried and tried.  When Mike Trout first came around we were talking comparisons to Babe Ruth and Willie Mays and now it's just trying to get 110 games out of him.  He got to 130 last year, but he struggled and you could see it when he tried to run.   His legs are betraying him and he's still only 33.   As much time as he's missed he has 404 home runs and he's still only 33.   What might have been.  If he'd have stayed healthy, he'd be challenging Barry Bonds career HR record before 2030.  He's the opposite of Rendon.    I hope the Angels to him a solid and trade him to a contender at some point, because it's not likely to be them any time soon. 

I just don't like frauds (when it comes to anything, not just baseball, believe me, plenty of frauds in the radio biz),  and he's maybe just about the biggest in baseball history and he has NO shame about it.   Screw him. 

Mike Trout was on a track to be the next superstar?  He was best player in the game for five staight years and was a top 5 player 9 times.  It's a shame that he can't stay healthy now, but he more than earned the superstar label.