574 replies to this topic

[Mackus]

Mets will leave ~$1.3 million on the table if they fail to sign Rocker. They didn’t draft any back up plans in rounds 11-20.

 

Probably a bit of a weakness in their overall draft plan, but also kind of implies that their concerns with the Rocker physical are sincere.

 

I read today that the Mets didn't need to offer Rocker anything to get compensation because Rocker declined to participate in MLB's MRI program that shares physical records with all teams.  I didn't know of that rule. Seems like it's fairly common that the players do not volunteer for the MRI program, though.

[Slidemaster]

Probably a bit of a weakness in their overall draft plan, but also kind of implies that their concerns with the Rocker physical are sincere.

I read today that the Mets didn't need to offer Rocker anything to get compensation because Rocker declined to participate in MLB's MRI program that shares physical records with all teams. I didn't know of that rule. Seems like it's fairly common that the players do not volunteer for the MRI program, though.

I can't imagine it would be on his MRI that would be of concern besides the possibility of needing Tommy John, which at this point is practically an inevitability for young, hard- throwing pitchers. That might have been a reason not to sign him 10 to 15 years ago, but at this point it should just be considered part of the cost of doing business. You probably aren't drafting an elite arm who throws in the mid-to-high 90s out of high school or college that has a pristine UCL.

The only thing that would give me great pause is if it was some sort of shoulder problem, but that seems less likely.

[BSLChrisStoner]

https://twitter.com/...939480911560713

[TwentyThirtyFive]

Mets lose out here too. Clear they wanted him. Clear they planned to go overslot. Must be a significant issue despite what Boras says. Feel bad for Rocker. Hopefully he still gets good money next year. Guessing he had some kind of insurance should something catastrophic happens.

[BobPhelan]

Apparently he’s not going back to school but will work out privately to get ready for the 2022 draft.

[Mackus]

I can't imagine it would be on his MRI that would be of concern besides the possibility of needing Tommy John, which at this point is practically an inevitability for young, hard- throwing pitchers. That might have been a reason not to sign him 10 to 15 years ago, but at this point it should just be considered part of the cost of doing business. You probably aren't drafting an elite arm who throws in the mid-to-high 90s out of high school or college that has a pristine UCL.

The only thing that would give me great pause is if it was some sort of shoulder problem, but that seems less likely.

 

I haven't read anything recently to back this up, but I think your perception of the severity of Tommy John surgery on a guy's career prospects is pretty far off base.  It's certainly very different than my perspective.  It's not a death sentence, like say a shoulder injury still is, but it's also not just a year out of your routine that nearly everyone fully recovers from.  Would be interested in reading more on this if anyone knows of anything topical and recent.  Here's the first google result I found:

 

https://globalsportm...y-john-surgery/

[Mackus]

Apparently he’s not going back to school but will work out privately to get ready for the 2022 draft.

 

Imagine Boras is paying for all of that.

[TwentyThirtyFive]

Interesting to see what happens with him. It'll all come down to how teams feel about the medicals. Has he had TJ already?

[Mike in STL]

Apparently he’s not going back to school but will work out privately to get ready for the 2022 draft.

Can he sign as a FA at anytime since he's been drafted and met the college requirement?

[Mackus]

Can he sign as a FA at anytime since he's been drafted and met the college requirement?

No. If that was the rule nobody would ever sign

He's draft eligible again next year.

[Slidemaster]

Sucks for the Mets and Rocker.

[Slidemaster]

I haven't read anything recently to back this up, but I think your perception of the severity of Tommy John surgery on a guy's career prospects is pretty far off base. It's certainly very different than my perspective. It's not a death sentence, like say a shoulder injury still is, but it's also not just a year out of your routine that nearly everyone fully recovers from. Would be interested in reading more on this if anyone knows of anything topical and recent. Here's the first google result I found:

https://globalsportm...y-john-surgery/

I know it's not 100%, but I was under the impression that the number if guys who make it all the way back far exceeds those who don't. With the number if risks a pitcher already takes every time he takes the mound, and how often pitching prospects flame out, I feel as though starting your professional career with a brand new ligament isn't the end of the world. It seems like 30+% of these guys have TJ at some point anyway - maybe more. May as well get it out of the way early if the prognosis is good.

[Mike in STL]

No. If that was the rule nobody would ever sign

He's draft eligible again next year.

Kinda seems like BS. Maybe an undrafted FA system could be introduced that makes it worth draft picks signing, but in special cases like this the player can sign elsewhere for an amount less than the slot value they were drafted at. It would probably have to be 50 times more complicated, cause, thats what baseball rules are. 

 

The Mets are being compensated with the 11th pick in next years draft. The player is left out to dry. Doesn't seem fair. The Mets can say they don't like his elbow. Rocker has had independent doctors say his elbow is fine. So the Mets get to have the draft pick compensation, and smear the kid publicly because of medicals which can only hurt his draft stock in 2022. It's pretty dirty. 

 

Maybe a rule where if you don't sign the pick, and the pick reenters the draft, signs for less money, and makes X amount of ML appearances, the original team owes the player a check making up the difference in the slot values, as a sort of back pay. Only in the case where a team refuses to offer a certain amount. Not the player refusing to agree. 

[Mackus]

Kinda seems like BS. Maybe an undrafted FA system could be introduced that makes it worth draft picks signing, but in special cases like this the player can sign elsewhere for an amount less than the slot value they were drafted at. It would probably have to be 50 times more complicated, cause, thats what baseball rules are. 

 

The Mets are being compensated with the 11th pick in next years draft. The player is left out to dry. Doesn't seem fair. The Mets can say they don't like his elbow. Rocker has had independent doctors say his elbow is fine. So the Mets get to have the draft pick compensation, and smear the kid publicly because of medicals which can only hurt his draft stock in 2022. It's pretty dirty. 

 

Maybe a rule where if you don't sign the pick, and the pick reenters the draft, signs for less money, and makes X amount of ML appearances, the original team owes the player a check making up the difference in the slot values, as a sort of back pay. Only in the case where a team refuses to offer a certain amount. Not the player refusing to agree. 

 

The entire draft concept is BS.  Illegal and un-American, if you take it far enough.  But the anti-trust exemption allows MLB to do basically whatever it wants, and the players union isn't going to use any of their negotiating capital to fight for things for high schoolers and college players that aren't yet part of the union, so the rules for draftees, international FA, and foreign league posted players keep getting more and more team-friendly.

 

Unfortunately for those who aren't yet in the club, nobody who has a seat at the table is interested in the type of solutions you're proposing.

[dude]

Wanted to catch up on this one...re: Rocker

 

Everyone needs to do what they feel comfortable doing....but at the end of the day, Boras is playing poker here and lost the hand.  Maybe they'll get a better hand later they can play, but this doesn't look like it will go well for Rocker.

 

The separation in situations like this versus the Orioles is that no-one questions Cohn's commitment to the Mets.  It's easy to question what the Orioles do because they have built up no trust in their commitment.

 

If there is information that makes passing on Rocker a thing, I'm OK with that.  It's easy to not-trust Scott Boras because he's only going to care about Scott Boras....I'm not saying I wouldn't draft or sign a Boras guy, but it's never going to be on his ridiculous terms.  Just not worth it and the history is pretty over-whelming.

 

This could easily wind up being another Brady Akin situation (Casey Close was Aiken's agent).

 

The Met's will get the 1-11 pick next year and I'm not sure how Rocker gets 6M without a MLB type physical.  Who is taking Scott Boras' word on it?  Boras can posture all he wants, but it's on him and it's on Rocker for picking him.  The Met's will keep working.