What’s Up With all These Contracts?

Is loyalty back in style all of the sudden?  The recent explosion of contracts being handed out to some of the game’s finest, at times unproven, young talent would suggest as much.  It’s good too, these franchises should reward their fans and keep the young players that they have grown to love.  They deserve the chance to watch them develop and prosper for years to come.  Of course, the organization wins by getting to keep these guys around at, what has routinely been, discount prices.  But what about the players?  Do they win?  Or have they ‘got, got’?

The trend of keeping the kids around started last season with Troy Tulowitzki.  After having one of the finest defensive season’s by a shortstop and hitting .291 with 24 homers and 99 RBI, the Rockies signed him to a $31 million extension before he ever became eligible for arbitration.  After coming out of the gate limping, and now landing on the disabled list, Tulowitzki’s agent looks like a genius, and general mangers around the league will forever bring this up as precautionary tale whenever a player become reluctant to sign an extension if things don’t end up working for him. 

Was it a good deal though?  If Tulowitzki would have continued with last year’s momentum, which he very well could when he returns, he certainly would have been able to make a lot more money through arbitration, and eventually on the open market.  If Ryan Howard, a defensive liability and suddenly one dimensional slugger, can be awarded $10 million through arbitration Tulowitzki could have certainly flirted with that.  Right now, considering that he was hitting .152 when he hit the DL, it looks like he made the right move, but he could grow to regret it like some of the other players that have recently signed extensions will.

I spoke on the Hanley Ramirez deal right after it happened but I failed to fully express how bad of a deal it was for him.  I’m all about loyalty, so I was the first person to stand up and clap when the deal was announced, but at the same time, I’m also going to call someone out when they do something that I believe was –well, signing an extension with Florida was just flat out stupid.  They look good now, real good, but that team is going to fall apart sooner rather than later. 

The reason it was such a bad deal was not only because of Florida’s current roster, nor was it due to their track record when it comes to retaining and signing new talent.  It was stupid because he signed at such a discount, regardless of the organization.  Ramirez is a proven commodity.  He was due to become arbitration eligible next season, where he easily would have been able to win a Howard sized purse, if not more, and then when he hit the open market he definitely would have became on of the game’s highest paid players.

Considering that Ramirez was only making around $500,000 it’s easy to see why he would want to cash in as soon as he could.  Now, no matter what happens, he’s set for life, which is big reason that these guys have signed on the low, but with a little patience he would have, at the very least, been able to sign a Migeul Cabrera sized contract ($165 million), if not for $200 million.  Instead, he’ll now be lucky to accumulate that much throughout his entire career.

Then you have Evan Longoria’s contract, which gives him a $17.5 million over six years, with options for the next three that could make it worth up to $44 million.  If Longoria is the player that everyone thinks he is going to be this could be the biggest steal in baseball, if not, the Rays really aren’t losing much either.  So it’s win-win for them.  As far as Longoria is concerned, I’m not so sure.  I understand why he signed, I would have too.  After one week in the Bigs he’ll never have to worry again.  All his anxieties were washed away.  He doesn’t have to worry about washing out of the league or getting injured.  On the flipside, if he proves to be a success and the team decides to exercise his option he’ll also be on the books until he’s 31, which puts him on the downside of his career.  Sure, $44 million is a lot of money, but again, if he’s as good as we think he is, he could’ve ended up being worth three times that on the open market.

Ryan Braun is the lastest to sign (8 years, $45 million) and his situation is very similar to Longoria’s, but the difference is, we know he can play ball.  The Brewers get a great ball player, and Braun gets some stability, which is the common theme here.  They skip arbitration with a few years tacked on the backend in exchange for a discount.  What’s the going rate for slugging leftfielders that can’t field?  Manny Ramirez received $160 million over eight years.  Now I’m not saying Braun is, or will be, Ramirez, but then again I’m not saying he won’t be either.

Sometimes these things tend to backfire for the club.  Along with Tulowitzki, the Rockies gave Manny Corpas an $8.25 million extension last season.  The early return has not been good.  After posting a 7.40 ERA he was relieved from his duties as the teams closer, and very well could be on his way back to the minors if he doesn’t turn this thing around soon. 

Never-the-less, it’s a nice trend that I would like to see more of.  These guys are showing some loyalty to the clubs that got them here, and for that I have to stand up and applaud.