Bench Coach Notes

Independent baseball analysis by Ignacio González. Exploring player value, contracts, historic teams, awards and legacies through data and storytelling.

[Bench Coach Notes @benchcoachnotes]

100% de acuerdo. Será interesante ver cuánto pesa esto en el próximo CBA.

A MLB le conviene tener más equipos vivos hasta el final; a la MLBPA, un formato que obligue a invertir más para clasificar.

Y ojo: incluso con un todos contra todos en la Americana, esos mismos dos equipos seguirían peleando por entrar. Así que el problema va más allá de premiar al campeón divisional.

[Bench Coach Notes @benchcoachnotes]

@BNightengale For anyone confused: the game will be played in Tampa because of the nor’easter hitting Boston.

And by “like the other 28 teams,” he means the Cubs and Red Sox will also play their season finale on Sunday, instead of finishing a day earlier

[Bench Coach Notes @benchcoachnotes]

A muchos parece haberles afectado negativamente el WBC —o al menos esa ha sido la explicación—, pero con Eduardo Rodríguez ocurrió todo lo contrario. Él mismo habló del enorme impacto que tuvo trabajar con Johan Santana.
Y eso es justamente lo que deberían aprovechar los jugadores top cuando van al Clásico: compartir semanas con tipos como Johan Santana, Andy Pettitte, Miguel Cabrera, Jorge Posada, Víctor Martínez, Albert Pujols, etc.
Son perspectivas y experiencias que difícilmente encuentras en un Spring Training normal

[El Extrabase ⚾️ @ElExtrabase]

¡Qué temporada, Gualo!

Enorme año para Eduardo Rodríguez.

@JuegaEnLinea. ¡El lugar más seguro para divertirse!

#Dbacks | #ElExtrabase⚾️🇻🇪

[Bench Coach Notes @benchcoachnotes]

Obviously deGrom
What’s crazy is what 2021 could’ve been for him:
15 starts, 1.08 ERA, 373 ERA+, 4.5 bWAR, 0.55 WHIP.
And maybe the craziest stat of all: he was hitting .364/.364/.394/.758.
Such a shame he couldn’t finish that season

[James Nolan @JamesNolanFS]

Which season is more impressive?

Jacob deGrom’s 2018 season or Cam Schlittler’s 2026 season?

[Bench Coach Notes @benchcoachnotes]

@SleeperMLB @SleeperRays Chandler Simpson might be the purest 3-tool player in baseball.
Hit, Run, Field
Power and arm? We don’t talk about those 😂

[Mike Petriello @mike_petriello]

I think the most incredible part of PCA's season is that through 50 games: he was hitting all of .225/.302/.357 with 5 HR.

[Bench Coach Notes @benchcoachnotes]

We can go a little further.

May 30. Busch Stadium. Game 59.

Cardinals fans start chanting “OVER-RATED” at PCA.

He responds by launching a 444-foot homer right into their section.

A canon event.

The rest is history. What a season.

https://t.co/e1k7f0vMNx

[Bench Coach Notes @benchcoachnotes]

@JesseRogersESPN Once he appears this October, he’ll become the 11th player with 10 straight postseasons:

Rivera 13
Jeter/B. Williams 12
Glavine/Chipper/Posada/M. Stanton 11
Jansen/Andruw/Maddux 10

And now, Bregman 10

[Bench Coach Notes @benchcoachnotes]

@JesseRogersESPN Small correction: Bregman debuted in 2016, and Houston missed the playoffs.

So he’s not 10-for-10 in his first 10 MLB seasons. Only Mariano Rivera and Andruw Jones did that.

But 2026 does give Bregman 10 straight postseason berths (2017–26)

[Bench Coach Notes @benchcoachnotes]

Liam Hicks’ seventh inning might be the worst inning I’ve seen from a catcher in a while.

Two terrible ABS challenges — neither was even close. Two wild pitches he probably should’ve blocked. Stolen bases. And then whatever happened on that George Lombard Jr. play.

This is the starting catcher for the team with the best record in the American League

[Bench Coach Notes @benchcoachnotes]

The short answer: not yet.

Using bWAR and a simple $10M/WAR valuation:
2023: -0.8 WAR → -$30.8M surplus value
2024: 1.9 → -$8.8M
2025: 4.7 → +$19.2M
2026: 2.1 → -$6.8M

That puts him at 7.9 bWAR through four years. He’d need about 8.3 WAR over 2027-28 — 4.15 per year — to make the $162M contract break even

[Bench Coach Notes @benchcoachnotes]

@MLB @Pirates Obviously Paul Skenes isn’t the same pitcher he was in 2025. He’s lost some velocity, etc.

But it’s still hilarious seeing people talk about his “terrible” season when he has 4.1 fWAR and 200 Ks lol.

Talk about setting the bar too high

[Bench Coach Notes @benchcoachnotes]

Con permisitooo a Luis Arráez, pero Gabriel Moreno está haciendo esto con un wRC+ de 139 y 5.2 fWAR en apenas 127 juegos. WHAT! 🤯

Ahora, también es de admirar mantener un AVG así jugando prácticamente todos los días: 150 juegos para Arráez.

Qué fortuna presenciar esta linda pelea por el título de bateo

[Bench Coach Notes @benchcoachnotes]

Difícil de entender que, con lo que aporta ofensiva y defensivamente y pudiendo jugar prácticamente en cualquier posición, el manager no lo vea así.

Ha ganado peso en el lineup últimamente, sí, pero igual ha jugado 140 de 158 juegos.

Al final los managers saben más que uno, pero… 🤷🏻‍♂️

[Bench Coach Notes @benchcoachnotes]

@LVBPNerd Según la lógica de Vladdy, Detroit todavía le debe plata a Miggy

[Bench Coach Notes @benchcoachnotes]

5/ On the field, this was a poor deal for the Angels. That doesn't diminish Pujols' extraordinary career or his 703 home runs.

It also illustrates the distinction in the Vladdy debate: a player's past helps establish his price, but the team is investing in what comes next.

Anaheim wasn't settling a bill for what Pujols had done in St. Louis. It was betting on the production and commercial appeal he could bring to the Angels.

His greatness was real. The risk was how much of it still lay ahead.

[Bench Coach Notes @benchcoachnotes]

1/ 703 home runs. One of the greatest hitters baseball has ever seen.

Albert Pujols' legacy deserves every bit of this celebration. But his career also raises an interesting contract question:

St. Louis got extraordinary value from him. Did the Angels get enough from their 10-year, $240M commitment? 🧵

[MLB @MLB]

Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds and ALBERT PUJOLS 😤

4 years ago today, the 700 home run club gained its newest member when Pujols left the yard at Dodger Stadium 👏

[Bench Coach Notes @benchcoachnotes]

4/ There was also a business side. Contemporary reporting described rising ticket and merchandise sales after Pujols and C.J. Wilson signed.

But that doesn't isolate Pujols' contribution—or tell us how much additional profit he generated over a decade.

So this is an assessment of baseball value, not a complete financial audit. We can't simply subtract our WAR estimate from the contract and call the difference a cash loss.