Travis Shaw to Blue Jays

[tmwiese55]

Crazy how he's fallen off. I'd have thought he'd have gotten the common Lasik in the offseason that was going to fix everything haha. Maybe he already did though so all he could do was get in the best shape of his life.

 

All kidding aside. It is really odd how this happened and kind of feel bad for him, seemed like a good, well liked guy.

[monty57]

So really at the end of the tunnel Tyler Thornburg was traded for Ray Black.

 

 

Shaw is an example of the arbitration system being broken. Players in their 20s with a couple of 30+ homer seasons under their belts don’t typically “lose it” overnight. Yet, based on service time/arbitration rules the Brewers were supposed to give him a raise even after the egg he laid in 2019.

The other main alternative was lowballing him and going to a hearing and ripping him in front of the panel. They may have won their case and got Shaw at their price for 2020 but most assuredly would have caused hard feelings. So the team took the only palatable option they had and non-tendered him.

 

I guess it's "broken" if you feel that a team should be guaranteed six years of "control" over every player.

 

In the current system, most players are seriously underpaid for the first three years. The arbitration process still seriously underpays good players, while it creates a scenario where below-average-to-average players may be overpaid. If the team thinks they are going to be overpaid, then the team has the option to not offer arbitration, allowing the player to test the market as a free agent.

 

The team isn't obliged to offer arbitration, they just lose "control" of the player if they choose not to offer arbitration. I don't hate this set-up, and I am glad that the Brewers have a management team in place that looks at players objectively and is willing to cut ties with players who will be overpaid in arbitration.

 

I do agree that the evaluation system used by the arbitrators is archaic. Every team in baseball has adapted their evaluation systems, and it's well past time the MLB does the same in the arbitration process.

[Madhawk23]

Crazy how he's fallen off. I'd have thought he'd have gotten the common Lasik in the offseason that was going to fix everything haha. Maybe he already did though so all he could do was get in the best shape of his life.

 

All kidding aside. It is really odd how this happened and kind of feel bad for him, seemed like a good, well liked guy.

 

Well, I think it might be wise for us all to wait at least into May/June this year before we really start to talk about the continued demise of Travis Shaw. I know we all saw him struggle mightily last year, but I think 15 spring training AB's is a tad bit too early to completely write him off for good.

[tmwiese55]

Yea for sure, they should give him some time to start the year and hope he shows good signs. Hope he turns it around.

[Madhawk23]

Crazy how he's fallen off. I'd have thought he'd have gotten the common Lasik in the offseason that was going to fix everything haha. Maybe he already did though so all he could do was get in the best shape of his life.

 

All kidding aside. It is really odd how this happened and kind of feel bad for him, seemed like a good, well liked guy.

 

Well, I think it might be wise for us all to wait at least into May/June this year before we really start to talk about the continued demise of Travis Shaw. I know we all saw him struggle mightily last year, but I think 15 spring training AB's is a tad bit too early to completely write him off for good.

 

Not to toot my own horn here (OK, I will), but I see Shaw hit a couple of bombs over the weekend. Now, just like it was too soon to completely right him off - I also think that the opposite is also true that it's too early to predict that he's turned the corner after a couple of good AB's. But still - my initial claim stands - that we shouldn't be writing this guy off completely until we see how he's performing come May/June this year.

[tmwiese55]

I don't think anyone would disagree with your point.

[Outlander]

I would agree that giving weekly Spring Training updates on Shaw is kind of overkill and doesn't necessarily translate to regular season performance. I hope he turns it around, appears that he has kind words about the Brewers organization even if his time here didn't end well.

[Jopal78]

I don't care what you think about who has the better ceiling, but Smoak certainly has the better floor, and the Brewers simply could not afford to start the season with a black hole in the middle of their lineup and that's what Shaw was last year. That Toronto would pay so much only proves that the Jays really know they have no chance in the AL East. If Shaw returns to his 17-18 form, he'll be July trade bait. They can afford to let him struggle into June. The Brewers couldn't.

 

This post is the correct answer. Travis Shaw's track record in the majors suggests 2019 was an aberration and he'll likely bounce back near his career norms as a starting caliber third basemen. Moreover, no team in baseball really wants to let go of a 29 year old with career slash marks of .243/.327/.451 with solid defense and two years of team control remaining. In this case, the Brewers would have had to take a $5 million dollar financial risk that Shaw bounces back in 2020. Rather they decided to take a safer route with players like Smoak. He's not likely going to have an 850 OPS in 2020, but he's also not likely to have a .600 OPS either.

 

However, I wouldn't be so sure to write off Shaw with the Blue Jays. They added Ryu (5.3 WAR in '19), Roark (2.0) and Chase Anderson (1.7) to their rotation. They have a litany of young players that should be even better in 2020: Guerrero, Bichette, Biggio, and Gurriel. With the Yankees decimated by injuries, Boston re-tooling, and Baltimore completely rebuilding Toronto has a real chance to make some noise in the AL East and if Shaw bounces back their infield will be set and, more importantly, cheap through at least 2021.

[djoctagone]

we're aware of the heart issues with travis shaw's daughter. shaw was placed on the family medical leave list yesterday for an undisclosed reason. certainly hope things improve for the person(s) affected.

[djoctagone]

we're aware of the heart issues with travis shaw's daughter. shaw was placed on the family medical leave list yesterday for an undisclosed reason. certainly hope things improve for the person(s) affected.

it's now listed on the blue jays' website as placement on the bereavement list.

[djoctagone]

travis shaw has been non-tendered by the blue jays. he is now a free agent.