Phillies Re-Sign Carlos Ruiz: Three Years, $26 Million

[Caligula]

Take it easy kid. :rollseyes:

You are the one cheering bad contracts and have the urge to keep players long past their prime. Be a man and tear down your posters.

 

[navamind]

I Choo-Choo-Chooch You.

 

[powerchord86]

I Choo-Choo-Chooch You.

lol Well played.

 

[northeastphillyguy]

I am glad that we signed Chooch. He has a decent batting average for a catcher and he knows the pitching staff well. Plus, I think that he will be a good mentor to any young catchers that the Phillies bring up.

 

[Omar 382]

How do you know they have NO flexibility? That TV contract they're going to sign is an inevitability, they will have more money to spend and whether they spend it right or not is not the debate, it's the simple fact that as long as they have plenty of money, they will go after the biggest FA's/trade chips out there

I would give up my left nut if they could land David Price in a trade, even if meant them eventually having to pay a lot of money to him - a guy like Cliff Lee will be done in about two years, so that money will be off the books and the Phillies will have to find another ace - that's why I think a move for David Price would be smart now - it would help them now AND in the future

And what the hell is Jose Molina going to do to help this team? He is terrible - he's only good for defense and this team needs more bats, Carlos Ruiz is way better with the bat than Jose Molina

At least the Phillies haven't broke the bank and overpaid for a top free agent yet - if they signed Ellsbury to a 7 year deal worth 140+ million, your heads would explode, so be thankful that hasn't happened yet

You're totally missing the point. The argument is not Ruiz v. Jose Molina. It's Ruiz 3 years 26 million v. Molina 500k. Not that I would even want Molina, I'd rather sign Brayan Pena or Wil Nieves to a similar contract to back up Rupp. But even in the Molina v. Ruiz argument, it is obvious which one would have been the better signing. How many 35, 36, and 37 year old catchers do you know that have played 100 games?

I don't even mind contracts that will be decent for the first couple of years, but then bad at the end. I'd say roughly 70% of long term contracts end in the player playing poorly in the final year of the contract. You take the good with the bad. If Hamels has a 3.50 ERA for 2013-2017. but then has 4.50 ERA in 2018, we would still be happy with the contract. But this contract looks like an albatross even looking at just 2014. Ruiz will get hurt, and only hit around .270 with 8 home runs and 45 RBI's. If we get lucky, a combination of Rupp/Pena or Rupp/Nieves could do a similar job. Sure, we're giving up a great deal on defense, but we're also saving a ton of money.

By the way, I hope Ruiz hits .350 and has an MVP season. Of course, I don't wish that he doesn't just for the sake of me being right. I already know I am right. Signing 35 year old catchers to 3 year contracts is an awful idea, even if there will be some aberrations.

 

[Caligula]

I would be okay with the Ruiz signing if the team wasn't already filled with shitty contracts and players in their mid-30s. But the Ruiz contract is another example of shitty front office planning and evaluation.

 

[Four4Four]

I'll take the Carlos on roids please....... Without the roids....I'll pass

 

[Progeriakid]

They definitely need to change the stadium name this season to Senior Citizens Bank!! Remember when these old hasbeens are battling the Marlins for last place again this year we can point our collective fingers at ole braindead himself, Ruin Tomorrow Jr, the worst fucking GM in all of baseball, never thought I would say this but he makes Ed Wade look like a goddam genius! This man is a Cancer and needs to go, immediately!

 

[Omar 382]

I am glad that we signed Chooch. He has a decent batting average for a catcher and he knows the pitching staff well. Plus, I think that he will be a good mentor to any young catchers that the Phillies bring up.

I am hopeful that we can convince Pedro Feliz to come out of retirement. He had a decent batting average for a third baseman and knows most of the Phillies regulars well. Plus, I think that he will be a good mentor to Asche and Franco.

 

[Omar 382]

I'll take the Carlos on roids please....... Without the roids....I'll pass

You're forgetting the part where Carlos Ruiz never took steroids.

 

[navamind]

Ruiz was a good player before 2012. He batted .281/.376/.417 with a 113 OPS+ from 09-11. He also had a .400 OBP in 2010. Easily one of the best catchers in the league that year.

 

[Omar 382]

Ruiz was a good player before 2012. He batted .281/.376/.417 with a 113 OPS+ from 09-11. He also had a .400 OBP in 2010. Easily one of the best catchers in the league that year.

I don't think anyone here would disagree with you.

 

[Caligula]

Ruiz was a good player before 2012. He batted .281/.376/.417 with a 113 OPS+ from 09-11. He also had a .400 OBP in 2010. Easily one of the best catchers in the league that year.

You do not pay for past performance. You do not pay top dollar at a position that will not help the team. Resigning Ruiz does not improve the team. A decent vet at league minimum, like Molina, was the move they should have made.

 

[jvett77]

Chooooooooooooch!

This news was extremely good to hear. The front office did this right. As I said in another post, the Phillies are better with the experienced Ruiz and the talented young backup Rupp. It's the perfect balance. Carlos, 35 next year, is has come into his own as a hitter and catcher. We won't have to worry about this position for the next few years. Ruiz is worth the $8 million a year because he is a solid catcher. This is the approximate $ figure a few of us here discussed in an earlier thread but I can't find it.

 

[navamind]

You do not pay for past performance. You do not pay top dollar at a position that will not help the team. Resigning Ruiz does not improve the team. A decent vet at league minimum, like Molina, was the move they should have made.

I agree the signing makes little (if any) sense.

 

[Cedrique]

You do not pay for past performance. You do not pay top dollar at a position that will not help the team. Resigning Ruiz does not improve the team. A decent vet at league minimum, like Molina, was the move they should have made.

You don't pay for past performance, but clearly the Phillies have and continue to do so. They seem to run the team more like a family than a business focused solely on winning. It's like they are content to have a good team for a short stretch every 20 or 30 years (this last stretch was nice because it lasted a few years) and Ruiz is the last of the players from that group to be rewarded for his performance. We won't ever know what the guys that were kept would have been worth in the free agent market but it seems to me that Rollins, Utley, Ruiz, Howard, even Hamels probably all got more than they would have gotten from another team. I like Ruiz and I'm looking forward to seeing how he does this year but that contract is ridiculous and I think it is absolutely a reward for past performance. If they wanted to do that they should give him 20 million over 2 years or better yet pay him what he is worth for either one or two years and put 10 million in a briefcase and send it to Panama so rewarding him doesn't count against the luxury tax and commit them to having him for 3 years. I don't know if Rupp is ready to start this year but I sure as hell don't think that if he develops into a good major league catcher it will take 3 more years.

 

[jvett77]

You do not sign a 35 year old catcher, that will not make or break the season, to a multi-year contract. This shit isn't hard to understand. They have a bloated payroll and now Ruiz is part of that problem. They have NO flexibility. Having an infield filled with overpriced, middle aged, injury prone players is a shitty plan. They actively sought out this plan. Ruiz is part of the problem.

They should have signed a vet like Molina to a league minimum one year contract. But, no. They decided to take the retarded direction and fans defend it.

Why would the Phillies even consider a "vet like Jose Molina" ? He is flatout no good. He is 38 next June, hit .223 in '2012, .233 in 2013, life OBP .287, in 15 yrs he hit 39 homers, life wRC+ of 68, with K% of 20%. This guy is done. He makes Ruiz look like a hall of famer. Go Carlos!

 

[Omar 382]

This news was extremely good to hear. The front office did this right. As I said in another post, the Phillies are better with the experienced Ruiz and the talented young backup Rupp. It's the perfect balance. Carlos, 35 next year, is has come into his own as a hitter and catcher. We won't have to worry about this position for the next few years. Ruiz is worth the $8 million a year because he is a solid catcher. This is the approximate $ figure a few of us here discussed in an earlier thread but I can't find it.

How do you possibly come to this conclusion after hearing about the contract? How???

 

[Omar 382]

Why would the Phillies even consider a "vet like Jose Molina" ? He is flatout no good. He is 38 next June, hit .223 in '2012, .233 in 2013, life OBP .287, in 15 yrs he hit 39 homers, life wRC+ of 68, with K% of 20%. This guy is done. He makes Ruiz look like a hall of famer. Go Carlos!

I'm pretty sure Caligula would want Molina as the backup to Rupp. But even if he wanted him as a starter, anybody with 5 brain cells would rather have Molina's contract than Ruiz's.

 

[jvett77]

How do you possibly come to this conclusion after hearing about the contract? How???

He's been making $5 mill/yr. Do you want quality at catcher or not? He's been exceptional for the past few years except for some happy pills and a few injuries. We've got a guy who will hit .280, is very good defensively, and handles the pitchers well.

The Phillies are an $800 million organization. We don't play in a shabby field next to the railroad tracks. This deal will pay off easily as the '14 Phillies get back those 400,000 attendees we lost this season (7,000/game) with 85-90 wins (if the pitching can come through).