Darvish to Cubs
Posted: Sun Feb 11, 2018 6:52 pm
I know there has been a lot of discussion about how the free agent market has been depressed this year.
For example, I often hear how over 100 free agents have yet to sign for next year. Well, some of those players include the remaining three free agents who played with the Pirates last year; Chris Stewart, John Jaso and Benoit (used to be 4 before LeBlanc signed a minor league deal). In short, not all (actually most) free agents are star players.
Continuing, while many of the better free agents have yet to sign, I have a hard time accepting that a 5 year offer to J.D. Martinez for $100 mil or so, a 5 - 7 year offer for Hosmer for real money, and how Darvish had to sweat over which $100+ million contract to accept when he has not won more than 13 games in the last 5 years shows that the world and free agent market is collapsing.
It appears that a small bit of sanity and rationality has entered the free agent market and that players with real warts can no longer expect to receive deals like the past ones lavished on A-Rod, Cano, Lester and such. Frankly, I look at the contract offered Darvish as an overpay, particularly when the Cubs had to offer him a 2 year out if he chooses.
And, if you were a GM, would you really want to offer Arrieta a 5 year deal?
Moustakas is an okay third baseman, but is he worth 5 years at $16 mil or so a year?
In my opinion, things swung too far toward issuing too many players too long of term contracts. If contracts in the range of 3 - 5 years become the norm, I believe all could benefit, including many players.
For example, I often hear how over 100 free agents have yet to sign for next year. Well, some of those players include the remaining three free agents who played with the Pirates last year; Chris Stewart, John Jaso and Benoit (used to be 4 before LeBlanc signed a minor league deal). In short, not all (actually most) free agents are star players.
Continuing, while many of the better free agents have yet to sign, I have a hard time accepting that a 5 year offer to J.D. Martinez for $100 mil or so, a 5 - 7 year offer for Hosmer for real money, and how Darvish had to sweat over which $100+ million contract to accept when he has not won more than 13 games in the last 5 years shows that the world and free agent market is collapsing.
It appears that a small bit of sanity and rationality has entered the free agent market and that players with real warts can no longer expect to receive deals like the past ones lavished on A-Rod, Cano, Lester and such. Frankly, I look at the contract offered Darvish as an overpay, particularly when the Cubs had to offer him a 2 year out if he chooses.
And, if you were a GM, would you really want to offer Arrieta a 5 year deal?
Moustakas is an okay third baseman, but is he worth 5 years at $16 mil or so a year?
In my opinion, things swung too far toward issuing too many players too long of term contracts. If contracts in the range of 3 - 5 years become the norm, I believe all could benefit, including many players.