Another TB Swindle

[zls44]

Matt Moore, 5 years/$14 million. That's a disgrace.

It's one thing to sign young talent cheap, but to restrict their earning potential because of YOUR OWN FAILURES is ridiculous. 5 years? Really? You need to stretch $14 million over 5 years?

Please move this team to someplace in the East that will give a .

 

[sinkhole]

Congrats,this may be the worst post Cali post on the Baseball board.

 

[zls44]

Congrats,this may be the worst post Cali post on the Baseball board.

Tampa's financial problems are Tampa's problem. No need to take it out on the players.

 

[kibblesnbits]

Tampa's financial problems are Tampa's problem. No need to take it out on the players.

They didn't. Under the CBA teams have exclusive control of a player for 6 years. Most teams (including wealthy ones like the Yankees and Red Sox) give essentially minimum contracts ($500K or less) that the player must take for the first 3 years until he reaches arbitration eligibility. Then for three years more they can fight in front of an arbitrator or work out a longer term deal which usually locks in the player through the first couple of years of potential free agency. In this case it looks like Moore gets 2x as much ($1M per year) for the first three years and has essentially been guaranteed what would be good arbitration awards for his 4th and 5th years ($3M and $5M). In addition, he gets either $7M or a buyout of $2.5M in the 6th and final year of team control. In exchange, the Rays got $9M and $10M club options for the first two years of potential free agency (if exercised that makes the total deal 8 years, $37.5M).

That seems like a pretty good deal for both sides as it is extremely rare for a player to get so much money so early in his career. Did the Yankees sign Chamberlain, Hughes or Cano to guaranteed, multi-year contracts after they'd played just a month in the major leagues? Did the Red Sox similarly commit guaranteed money to Lester, Ellsbury, Buchholz, etc. at such a young age? No, they made them prove themselves on short money contracts for a few years then signed (or hope to sign) them to longer term deals later.

Moore certainly could have gambled that he could make more money later by taking small, single year contracts until he is closer to free agency and more established but he obviously wanted the security of a longer term deal right away. It's good for him and good for the Rays. That is a very smart organization and an extremely talented/lucky 22 year-old kid.

 

[zls44]

Moore certainly could have gambled that he could make more money later by taking small, single year contracts until he is closer to free agency and more established but he obviously wanted the security of a longer term deal right away.

He would have gotten the money. He's that good. This is like bringing back the reserve clause. He has no control, no leverage, and will be making a pittance of what he deserves.

He didn't want security, he got swindled by his team and a stupid agent. His agency is notorious for crap like this, selling their clients short. They have no ambition as an agency- just look at how shallow the pool is where they pull clients from.

 

[kibblesnbits]

He would have gotten the money. He's that good. This is like bringing back the reserve clause. He has no control, no leverage, and will be making a pittance of what he deserves.

He didn't want security, he got swindled by his team and a stupid agent. His agency is notorious for crap like this, selling their clients short. They have no ambition as an agency- just look at how shallow the pool is where they pull clients from.

He's a fantastic prospect - one of the best I've seen - but no one knows the future. Some pitching phenoms don't deliver as expected (see Chamberlain, Joba). Others get hurt (Prior, Mark). Moore's left arm could fall off tomorrow - he hasn't had TJ yet - and in a few years he'll still be a 27 year old with $7M or so in the bank. If he plays out the entire contract he'll be a 30 year old free agent with $20M plus already secured. He'd still be well positioned for a huge pay day.

No one made the kid select a particular agent or sign this contract. After just one month in the big leagues he's basically set for life. Other players take the risk and sign short contracts. Papelbon made it clear several years ago that he'd take his chances because he wanted to be a free agent at the first available opportunity. It paid off for him. On the other hand, the year to year approach wasn't quite as successful for Chien Ming Wang (one bad step ruined a very promising career).

Edit: I just looked at Cole Hamels' history. In his third year, coming off a 15-5 record, the Phillies paid him just $500K. It was only entering his fourth year, his first eligible for arbitration, that he received a 3 year $20M contract. That was after winning the World Series and NLCS MVP awards. In his case I somewhat understand the reticence to offer anything long term earlier because I believe he had some injuries in the minors, but it goes to show that even wealthy teams utilize their CBA leverage and generally don't do what the Rays do - offer long term guaranteed contracts to players without a well-established track record. They are taking a chance but it could pay off big for them. Let's see if the Yankees offer Jesus Montero a 5-8 year deal after the highly hyped prospect had a .996 OPS for his first month in the big leagues.

 

[sinkhole]

He's a fantastic prospect - one of the best I've seen - but no one knows the future. Some pitching phenoms don't deliver as expected (see Chamberlain, Joba). Others get hurt (Prior, Mark). Moore's left arm could fall off tomorrow - he hasn't had TJ yet - and in a few years he'll still be a 27 year old with $7M or so in the bank. If he plays out the entire contract he'll be a 30 year old free agent with $20M plus already secured. He'd still be well positioned for a huge pay day.

No one made the kid select a particular agent or sign this contract. After just one month in the big leagues he's basically set for life. Other players take the risk and sign short contracts. Papelbon made it clear several years ago that he'd take his chances because he wanted to be a free agent at the first available opportunity. It paid off for him. On the other hand, the year to year approach wasn't quite as successful for Chien Ming Wang (one bad step ruined a very promising career).

Edit: I just looked at Cole Hamels' history. In his third year, coming off a 15-5 record, the Phillies paid him just $500K. It was only entering his fourth year, his first eligible for arbitration, that he received a 3 year $20M contract. That was after winning the World Series and NLCS MVP awards. In his case I somewhat understand the reticence to offer anything long term earlier because I believe he had some injuries in the minors, but it goes to show that even wealthy teams utilize their CBA leverage and generally don't do what the Rays do - offer long term guaranteed contracts to players without a well-established track record. They are taking a chance but it could pay off big for them. Let's see if the Yankees offer Jesus Montero a 5-8 year deal after the highly hyped prospect had a .996 OPS for his first month in the big leagues.

Moore, Price, Shields, Hellickson and one of Niemann, Davis, Cobb or Torres. Its gonna be a very interesting season in the AL East.