Backpage blessings - Bowen getting work in CF, going 0'fer, but hitting with authority when making contact; Ercolani staying in mid-90's against tough competition although, in age, is comparable to HS pitchers drafted in 2023. Won't turn 20 until a month into the 2024 season, and was average at best in 15 Starts/65 IP at A level Bradenton - should he be in the AFL this year?
Saw the blurb that Joey Votto wants to play at least one more season. He is 39 and just finished his last year of a 10 year Contract. In the last 6 years he has been paid $150 mil ($25 mil per year), and has averaged about 1.18 fWAR per season or an average of $9.44 mil of Value. In the last 3 years he has played in 129 games in 2021, 91 games in 2022, and 65 games in 2023. I think his contract had an Option Year which was for $20 mil in 2024 - is he expecting Cincy to offer that to him for 2024?
I think the Pirates think that Ercolani needs reps badly. He is pretty raw, and I would suspect that the Pirates believe that if he can sort out his mechanics and find a consistent release point, he could move up the minors very quickly. So... why wait? Get him reps and see if he can sort it now. No difference between now and later.
Backpage blessings - Bowen getting work in CF, going 0'fer, but hitting with authority when making contact; Ercolani staying in mid-90's against tough competition although, in age, is comparable to HS pitchers drafted in 2023. Won't turn 20 until a month into the 2024 season, and was average at best in 15 Starts/65 IP at A level Bradenton - should he be in the AFL this year?
Saw the blurb that Joey Votto wants to play at least one more season. He is 39 and just finished his last year of a 10 year Contract. In the last 6 years he has been paid $150 mil ($25 mil per year), and has averaged about 1.18 fWAR per season or an average of $9.44 mil of Value. In the last 3 years he has played in 129 games in 2021, 91 games in 2022, and 65 games in 2023. I think his contract had an Option Year which was for $20 mil in 2024 - is he expecting Cincy to offer that to him for 2024?
I think the Pirates think that Ercolani needs reps badly. He is pretty raw, and I would suspect that the Pirates believe that if he can sort out his mechanics and find a consistent release point, he could move up the minors very quickly. So... why wait? Get him reps and see if he can sort it now. No difference between now and later.