What the hell is Sabean doing?

[HoustonGM]

yeah??? playing & being around the real thing surely hurt his development more than either not playing since minor league ball is over or playing in some hack developmental league.

I'd say playing and practicing in developmental leagues is better for his development than sitting on a major league bench, NOT playing.

[dickay]

I'd say playing and practicing in developmental leagues is better for his development than sitting on a major league bench, NOT playing.

I'd disagree 100% depending on the situation, again of which i'm venturing Sabean and the Giants are closer to than you.

[HoustonGM]

You also have to take into account that this is using up a 40-man roster spot, for a player that isn't likely to contribute for at least another year or two.

[kenny1234]

OK - then who was in the SF system that should have been called up instead? We have no idea what the motivation was for bringing him up. Maybe they thought that a month in the majors would give him the motivation to get better over the winter. Maybe he had a marginal injury and the time sitting on the bench in SF was better than sitting on the bench in A-ball. Unless he was holding back a prospect that would benefit more by being in the majors - do you actually think this will affect his development?

[HoustonGM]

OK - then who was in the SF system that should have been called up instead?

They didn't need to call anybody up.

We have no idea what the motivation was for bringing him up.

It's a pretty good guess that there was a verbal agreement during contract negotiations, much like the Nationals and Ross Detwiler last season.

Maybe they thought that a month in the majors would give him the motivation to get better over the winter.

Maybe, but I don't see how.

Maybe he had a marginal injury and the time sitting on the bench in SF was better than sitting on the bench in A-ball.

The A-ball season ends September 1st. If he had an injury, calling him up would really be completely weird, because wasting a 40 man roster spot on an injured player that doesn't need to be on the 40-man is..just...weird.

Unless he was holding back a prospect that would benefit more by being in the majors - do you actually think this will affect his development?

I don't know if it will affect his development. It could go either way. I do know, though, that it takes up a spot on the 40-man roster on a player that wasn't going to contribute this year, and is unlikely to next year as well, and that's a spot that could be used on a player that is ready to contribute at the ML level.

[5dodgers5]

For me, in this situation it's not so much the development as it is the starting his option years too early. If he had waited till next year, when he'd be closer to major league level, he would have the 2009, 2010, and the 2011 seasons in which he can freely move his player up and down from majors to minors and vice versa. The ability to move a player from the majors to minors can be invaluable at this stage in his career.

[HoustonGM]

For me, in this situation it's not so much the development as it is the starting his option years too early. If he had waited till next year, when he'd be closer to major league level, he would have the 2009, 2010, and the 2011 seasons in which he can freely move his player up and down from majors to minors and vice versa. The ability to move a player from the majors to minors can be invaluable at this stage in his career.

Yep, another consideration.

[dickay]

Yep, another consideration.

trivial and certainly not worth the 5+ pages of discussion. All things taken into account, I still don't see why its a bad move as the Giants surely are closer to the situation. Who's to say they had someone else to bring up for that 40th spot that would have 'contributed'?? And you have to weigh in the experience this kid is gaining and offset that vs. any contributions the other player you're so concerned about would be giving.

In the short, the kid wouldn't be playing anyway in the minors, the season is over. There are winter leagues, I don't know if they started yet or not. This kids makeup, they decided for whatever reason he could benefit from getting to see what the pros are like. Who cares?

[ohms_law]

For me, in this situation it's not so much the development as it is the starting his option years too early. If he had waited till next year, when he'd be closer to major league level, he would have the 2009, 2010, and the 2011 seasons in which he can freely move his player up and down from majors to minors and vice versa. The ability to move a player from the majors to minors can be invaluable at this stage in his career.

To me, this is the primary criticism of the move. It's just extremely short-sited for Sabean to have done this (and it's not the first time, either). A real waste of a resource.

[dickay]

To me, this is the primary criticism of the move. It's just extremely short-sited for Sabean to have done this (and it's not the first time, either). A real waste of a resource.

I agree that is the most, well only IMO 'legitimate' criticism of the move....but each player needs to be taken individually and i'm quite sure there are hundreds of players where those options years are really useless as they never progress to a level where they are necessary. Now it's already been stated this guy isn't one of the top prospects in the game...the team possibly felt starting the clock early was a acceptable tradeoff for getting the kid some experience around the pros, something that could accelerate or kick start his development.

It all depends on the makeup and psyche of this kid...again something the team knows much more about than *most* of us.

[kenny1234]

For me, in this situation it's not so much the development as it is the starting his option years too early. If he had waited till next year, when he'd be closer to major league level, he would have the 2009, 2010, and the 2011 seasons in which he can freely move his player up and down from majors to minors and vice versa. The ability to move a player from the majors to minors can be invaluable at this stage in his career.

I'll agree with this criticism - though I'd point out that he'll actually have three more years of options.
[quote]
If a player is on the 40-man roster but not on the active major league roster, he is said to be on optional assignment—his organization may freely move him between the major league club and the minor league club. If a player is on the 40-man roster and not the active 25 man roster for any part of more than three seasons, he is out of options and may not be assigned to the minors without first clearing waivers. However, if a player has less than 5 years of professional experience, he may be optioned to the minors in a fourth season without being subject to waivers.[\quote] That's from Wikipedia (not the best source so if it is wrong I apologize)

I don't know what the odds are that the extra option year really matters - I still think that this was a move to motivate a struggling player to really work at it this winter. And we'll never know if it worked.

[dickay]

[QUOTE=kenny1234;1180715]I'll agree with this criticism - though I'd point out that he'll actually have three more years of options.

If a player is on the 40-man roster but not on the active major league roster, he is said to be on optional assignment—his organization may freely move him between the major league club and the minor league club. If a player is on the 40-man roster and not the active 25 man roster for any part of more than three seasons, he is out of options and may not be assigned to the minors without first clearing waivers. However, if a player has less than 5 years of professional experience, he may be optioned to the minors in a fourth season without being subject to waivers.[\quote] That's from Wikipedia (not the best source so if it is wrong I apologize)

I don't know what the odds are that the extra option year really matters - I still think that this was a move to motivate a struggling player to really work at it this winter. And we'll never know if it worked.

good find