Comments on: Frank Thomas Update

By: Josh

Josh — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 18:45:08 +0000

I know that I am biased, but don’t forget about Jim Edmonds. His OPS+ is 132 (which is consistent with his career numbers) since joining the Cubs on the Padres dime.

By: Eric Stephen

Eric Stephen — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 04:34:49 +0000

Part of the reasoning from the Jays standpoint — and I don’t think it was a good decision by them — was that Thomas needed only 376 PA in 2008 to guarantee a vesting $10m option for 2009. So that has to be factored in the cost-benefit analysis.

By: Ken Houghton

Ken Houghton — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 03:12:17 +0000

The Jays get the “small subsidy.” They save the pro-rated league minimum, including during this time on the DL.

If this goes on much further, it’s a bad deal for both teams. But the only loss to the A’s is monetary.

By: Jonny Schuerholz

Jonny Schuerholz — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 02:11:07 +0000

Josh, the A’s only have to pay Thomas the pro-rated league minimum. Ricciardi’s on the hook for the original value of the contract, minus the pro-rated minimum that Beane is paying. So Thomas doesn’t get paid any differently as a result of changing teams, but the funds are (mostly) coming from his old employer.

Sort of like how Hampton used to be getting paid by Colorado/Florida but played for us…oh wait, he’s hasn’t really been playing for us, has he…oops

By: Josh

Josh — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 20:12:33 +0000

So excuse me if this is a dumb question but it’s something I’ve been trying to figure out since Thomas was released.

How does the salary work? I know the Jays are on the hook but how does resigning with another team work? I’ve read several blogs/sites about the situation and from time to time they hint that Thomas only gets what his original contract was. Do the Jays get a small subsidy in the amount the A’s are paying him (league min)? Or does Thomas get everything the Jays owed him plus the pro-rated league min from the A’s?

By: dlf

dlf — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 19:49:31 +0000

Now the A’s are getting Thomas on the Jays’ dime

They haven’t for three weeks. Big Frank has been on the DL since late May with pain in his right quad. I haven’t heard an update on anticipated return, but being on the Jays IR instead of the A’s IR isn’t likely to vault Toronto to the first division.

By: CJ44

CJ44 — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:58:57 +0000

I even think JP has gotten off easy from the Toronto media for the extent of this insanity. It is surely one of his many blunders though. Hopefully they will drop the guillotine on him and Gibbons midseason instead of drag out the whole thing for 4 more months….

By: Bob Tufts

Bob Tufts — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:00:59 +0000

Good analysis, JC!

I have been recently reading more articles on your site, as I have been looking for material like this ever since Doug Pappas died.

As a former economics major anf finance MBA, I await your pices on the price elasticity of supply and demand on the construction of new but smaller stadia in New York and elsewhere.

By: JC

JC — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:39:20 +0000

I can understand your frustration Trevor.

By: Trevor

Trevor — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:35:59 +0000

You obviously don’t follow the Jays closely; this was just one mistake, in a string of baffling decisions that JP has made in his time with Toronto. To say the fanbase is sick of his nonsense is an understatement.