JJ Hardy Extended by Orioles - 3 yrs $40 mil w 4th yr Option

[Bombers]

@masnRoch: Source: Hardy deal 3 years, $40 mil with $6.5 mil deferred. Vesting option 4th year based on ABs #orioles

 

@NYDNHarper: Showalter was pushing hard for O's to get a deal done with Hardy. Loves his makeup, likens him to Jeter in terms of intangibles, presence.

 

On the eve of the ALCS, Hardy gets $40 million. Good deal for Hardy and an option gone for the Brewers. (Even though I doubt it ever was one)

[ewitkows]

Not after how it ended here. There's no way he'd come back

[hawing]

Woah, J.J.'s gettin' paid. I wonder if the timing will bode well for the rest of his postseason play this year.

[reillymcshane]

It's a good deal for Baltimore. I think he could have gotten a little more, plus a fourth year, on the open market (I think the Yankees would have loved to have had him). But he's got a nice paycheck either way.

 

Maybe the power is diminishing, but JJ's glove should play well for the length of the contract.

 

I always regret losing JJ, but I understand the deal.

[3and2Fastball]

That is a silly mistake by Baltimore, giving that kind of money to a 32 year old SS who has had his OPS+ over 100 once in the last 6 years and posted a .309 OBP and .372 SLG last year

[torts]

glad for him, but im just as happy now as I was when they got Gomez for him. worked out for both sides, IMO

[monty57]

worked out for both sides

 

The Gomez / Hardy trade was between the Brewers and Twins. The Twins gave up on Hardy, who had his resurgence once he went to Baltimore.

[torts]

worked out for both sides

 

The Gomez / Hardy trade was between the Brewers and Twins. The Twins gave up on Hardy, who had his resurgence once he went to Baltimore.

 

I meant sides as in players, not teams.

[The stache]

That is a silly mistake by Baltimore, giving that kind of money to a 32 year old SS who has had his OPS+ over 100 once in the last 6 years and posted a .309 OBP and .372 SLG last year

 

I sometimes think people get a little carried away with OPS +, especially when it comes to the shortstop position. Hardy was an All Star with the Brewers in 2007, and his OPS + was only 101 that year.

 

Did the Orioles overspend to retain Hardy? Probably. Two questions. Can they afford to do so? Yes. Would there have been any other free agent shortstops with a skill set comparable to Hardy's? Absolutely not. Did you look at his numbers compared to other shortstops? As far as OPS + goes, Hardy will be in the top 10 of all Major League shortstops next season if healthy, maybe top 5. That's pretty good, in my opinion. Did you know that J.J. Hardy leads all Major League shortstops with 86 home runs the last four seasons, and he's fourth in RBI with 276?

 

Over the last four seasons, including 2014, which was well below his standards, he's had the second highest WAR of all Major League shortstops. He is a 3.5-4.0 win a year player because of his glove, and his home run power. Of the guys with higher OPS +, would you rather have any of these guys? Jhonny Peralta, who tested positive for PED? Ian Desmond? Yes, he's a 20 HR 20 SB guy, but he only had a 103 OPS +. And he struck out 185 times. Desmond hit .277 with runners in scoring position, and a terrible .186 with 2 outs, and runners in scoring position. Hardy, in a down year for him offensively, hit .315 with runners in scoring position, and .341 with two outs and runners in scoring position. What about Asdrubal Cabrera? He was great in 2011, and since then, he's been going downhill. Jose Reyes? Still a pretty good hitter, but a -0.8 dWAR. The only shortstops in the Majors next year that I would take over Hardy are Troy Tulowitzki and Andrelton Simmons. Simmons showed some good power in 2013 with 17 home runs, but his average is hovering in the low .250s. He hit .289 in 49 games as a rookie in 2012, and I think eventually that will be closer to his norm. I think the kid's a .280-.290 hitter in his prime, with 15 to 20 home runs. I think he has a good eye. He doesn't strike out much at all. In 1,234 plate appearances the last two seasons, he's only struck out 115 times. He's a .253 hitter vs righties, and a .245 hitter vs lefties. Simmons turned 25 a month ago, and in 2.17 seasons in the Majors, he already has an 11.7 dWAR. How impressive is that? At his current rate, he'll have a 20 + dWAR by the time he's 28 years old. In the history of baseball, there are only 45 players with a 20 + career dWAR. Simmons has the tools, if he continues to grow as a hitter, to be one of the top 5 shortstops to ever play the game. It will be hard to place him at his career's end because defensive statistics from the dead ball era are inadequate. We'll never know just how great somebody like Honus Wagner really was defensively. But when Simmons is compared against the shortstops of the modern era, I can't wait to see what he does. And he and Tulowitzki, the best shortstop in the game by a pretty wide margin, are the only guys I'd take for Hardy.

 

http://imageshack.com/a/img537/1648/8C4ZO9.png

[Slaket13]

With the salaries escalating as they are, this is just about right most likely. Trout might get 40 million a year when his latest contract expires.

 

Crazy to think about salaries these days.

[SRB]

That is a silly mistake by Baltimore, giving that kind of money to a 32 year old SS who has had his OPS+ over 100 once in the last 6 years and posted a .309 OBP and .372 SLG last year

 

Hardy is perhaps the best defensive shortstop in baseball. He is very underrated because he has amazing fundamentals as opposed to making flashy plays.

[DuWayne Steurer]

That is a silly mistake by Baltimore, giving that kind of money to a 32 year old SS who has had his OPS+ over 100 once in the last 6 years and posted a .309 OBP and .372 SLG last year

 

Hardy is perhaps the best defensive shortstop in baseball. He is very underrated because he has amazing fundamentals as opposed to making flashy plays.

 

 

Andrelton Simmons, and I don't even think it's close. Hardy is very good, but he's not in Simmon's category.

[TURBO]

Hardy is a solid defender, but he doesn't have the range to put him in the "best defensive shortstop" category... Do I wish he had stayed a Brewer though? YES!

[SRB]

That is a silly mistake by Baltimore, giving that kind of money to a 32 year old SS who has had his OPS+ over 100 once in the last 6 years and posted a .309 OBP and .372 SLG last year

 

Hardy is perhaps the best defensive shortstop in baseball. He is very underrated because he has amazing fundamentals as opposed to making flashy plays.

 

 

Andrelton Simmons, and I don't even think it's close. Hardy is very good, but he's not in Simmon's category.

 

This season, Simmons was at +22.1 UZR, Hardy was at +20.4 UZR, the difference being Hardy has been an elite 10+ UZR defender for almost a decade at this point.

 

Like I said, he's not as flashy as someone like Simmons because Hardy makes everything look easy, but he's definitely in the same category at the very least.

[SRB]

Hardy is a solid defender, but he doesn't have the range to put him in the "best defensive shortstop" category... Do I wish he had stayed a Brewer though? YES!

 

He's been top-5 in MLB at shortstop RngR almost every season of his career. Was #2 last season behind Simmons.

 

Smart positioning can be as good as freakish athleticism.

[logan82]

Hardy is a solid defender, but he doesn't have the range to put him in the "best defensive shortstop" category... Do I wish he had stayed a Brewer though? YES!

 

He's been top-5 in MLB at shortstop RngR almost every season of his career. Was #2 last season behind Simmons.

 

Smart positioning can be as good as freakish athleticism.

His range is deceiving because he isn't fast but he has great instincts. He makes plays look easier than they actually are.