why do garbage players keep getting contracts?

[number15]

why do garbage players like Ben Francisco keep getting MLB contracts, when there are countless younger minor league guys looking for an opportunity..... he got a minor league contract, but i can bet money he will be in the majors.

same goes for Henry Blanco on the JAYS. he will provide nothing to the Jays but defense, and even that is average at best at age 41. So what if he has caught Dickey before, so has Thole (who also sucks by the way), but not worse than old man Blanco... these old fruits are taking up jobs from younger more capable guys with actual potential.

garbage.

[Mattd97]

[LBJSeizedMyID]

why do garbage players like Ben Francisco keep getting MLB contracts, when there are countless younger minor league guys looking for an opportunity..... he got a minor league contract, but i can bet money he will be in the majors.

same goes for Henry Blanco on the JAYS. he will provide nothing to the Jays but defense, and even that is average at best at age 41. So what if he has caught Dickey before, so has Thole (who also sucks by the way), but not worse than old man Blanco... these old fruits are taking up jobs from younger more capable guys with actual potential.

garbage.

These old fruits are the bridge for the younger guys that aren't ready. I suspect you are a younger Jays fan.

[The_Hater]

I can see several reasons.

25 roster spots x 30 teams = 750 players on opening day rosters. That's a lot of spots to fill.

Calling up a player from AAA probably means that you start their major league clock, so you are one year closer to playing them more $$$ through arbitration and one year closer to losing them to free-agency.

Many vets are accepting of a bench role in the majors. The alternative is the team takes away 500-600 AAA AB's from the minor leaguer and replaces them with 50-100 AB's in the majors which probably doesn't help their development.

And many of these 'garbage players' also tore up AAA themselves, Francisco included. So while it might not look like it, he's still a better player than most of the OF's currently playing AAA.

[flatjacket1]

why do garbage players like Ben Francisco keep getting MLB contracts, when there are countless younger minor league guys looking for an opportunity..... he got a minor league contract, but i can bet money he will be in the majors.

same goes for Henry Blanco on the JAYS. he will provide nothing to the Jays but defense, and even that is average at best at age 41. So what if he has caught Dickey before, so has Thole (who also sucks by the way), but not worse than old man Blanco... these old fruits are taking up jobs from younger more capable guys with actual potential.

garbage.

You call up a guy before you are sure he's ready and see what happens. (Snider)

[RyderMike]

Just like others have said, the answer is Development.

There's a reason there are so many levels of minor league ball. So you can progress and get better. It takes a special player to race through the minors and produce at the major league level at a young age (ex. B.Harper).

What happens if you rush a player before they're ready. Just look at Hutchinson and Drabek. We skipped them through AAA to avoid the PCL, and when they got to the majors before they were ready, they started to reach back for a little extra and wound up needing Tommy John.

Furthermore, if you're a rebuilding team who has a plan to contend in the future, you want to make sure those players are there. Instead of staring their clock to early, and them leaving. Or you could still have them, but on new resigned contracts (ex. $5 million) instead of their 500k contract, which would prevent adding players who are in their prime and command higher salaries, to supplement the roster in other areas of need, when a team is on a budget.

There's also the benefit of raising players together. While baseball is a more individualistic sport than, say hockey (where the benefit of developing players chemistry in the minors is more evident), there is surely some benefit of familiarity with teammates in baseball.

And lastly, sometimes the veteran leadership is needed, to not only provide some tips on the field, but also how to act off the field, etc.

[satyr9]

No, everyone in this thread except the OP is wrong. They do it for two reasons.

First, they do it because all baseball management staff are stupid. Just ungodly stupid. In order to be paid by an MLB franchise, every member of management must take an IQ test and score under 80. They must be asked to evaluate footage of Randy Johnson and Mark Hendrickson and only the ones who would pick Hendrickson first are allowed in. Failing these tests in any way and you have to apply for Arena Football or the professional Ringette league. My guess, the GM that signed Ben Francisco's contract actually thought he was hiring Benjamin Franklin to fix the lighting in the stadium, that's how stupid these people are, at least in comparison to the genius that are us the holy posters of realGM, led by our supreme pontiff number15.

Second, they did it because they hate you. They hate that you like baseball and that you understand it better than them. They hate everything about your passion and intellect for the game and so they intentionally make horrible decisions in order to throw their position in your face over and over again. They are spiteful, vindictive, and are doing everything in their power to make the man who calls himself number15 on the realGM Blue Jays message board feel anger and disbelief. They want you personally to know you are too smart and too kind and, likely, too handsome to ever be allowed to manage a professional baseball team. That your genius, compassion, and looks may get you money, power, women, uppers, downers, and almost anything your heart desires, but you will never be allowed into the idiots cabal of baseball management because of your god given talents.

/sycophantmode

[craig01]

Common sense is missing in most major league sports