Just in case Pedro's agent Scott Boras didn't notice, Joey Votto signed a three-year, $38M contract with the Reds that carries him through his arbitration years, but doesn't cost any free agency seasons.
And Prince Fielder just inked a $15.5M deal to settle his third arb year before he hits the market. We know Pedro's agent is aware of that contract, since Boras negotiated it.
We think Joel Hanrahan and Evan Meek's reps may have heard that Matt Capps just put his X on a $7.15M deal to buy out his final arbitration year.
Neil Huntington, Frank Coonelly and Bob Nutting are cognizant of the cost of business nowadays. We're waiting to see what happens when some of their current kids are due their payday, like the above and McCutch, who has Jay Bruce's 6-year, $51M contract as a template.
In the Central Division, the Cubs and Cards have always had $90M+ payrolls; now the Brewers and Reds are starting to pony up, too. The time is fast approaching where Pittsburgh is gonna have to up their ante; sooner or later, ya gotta pay to play.
Either that, or sell the team to someone who has deep enough pockets that they are willing to "pay to play". Not that merely writing zero's on a check is any guarantee of winning all by itself, but there is certainly a minimum threshold or basement level that must be met in order to field a legitimately major league team.
ReplyDeleteI'll say again that I have no problem in principle or in theory with the Pirates' clear adherence to the Rays-Marlins model. Rather, I have a problem with the notion that Opie, Frankie, and Bobby are a triumvirate that's capable of emulating Florida and Tampa Bay. I sure hope so, because if they are not, we're looking at many more years of losing. How long would it take yet another ownership group---even one with deep pockets---to put its own program in place, and how long would it be before their ideas bore fruit, if ever?
We'll see in a couple of seasons, Wil, when they'll have to either pay or dump some decent ballplayers. As for the rest...geez, I guess this was your letter day, lol!
ReplyDeleteGorzo is a reputed slacker as far as physical conditioning goes. "Jerk" might be a little harsh, but it's been said that he doesn't focus on the game as much as management would like.
Pavano probably got about what the Bucs would have offered, I'd guess (2 years, $16.5M), so I can't blame him for staying put.
Ohlie? The Bucs, if it goes to a hearing, will work the win, innings, injuries angles, but I think they may just be trying to establish a baseline for him.
The arb judge can award either the team offer or player's, and nothing else. But if the two sides agree before the hearing, the salary can be any figure in between the two points.
So maybe the FO was waiting to see what he was asking for. Again, we'll see soon enough.