Just when you thought it was safe to spend $18 million a year for five years of a great player, the price structure of contracts for very-good players just went through the roof.
With Jayson Werth signing on the dotted line of the Washington Nationals for $126 million over 7 years ($18 per) and Adrian Gonzalez slowing a trade to the Red Sox with a demand for 8 years at Mark Teixeira money ($22 million+ per), the price for Adrian Beltre and Carl Crawford just increased. Beltre looks certain to get a Torii Hunter sized 5 years at $18 million per and Crawford may get $160 million over 8 years ($20 per).
It is not that this is too rich for LAanaheim's blood. Arte Moreno can afford a big investment, especially past 2011 when over $40 million+ in contracts comes off the books (Scott Kazmir, Gary Matthews Jr., Juan Rivera, Joel Pineiro, Fernando Rodney), but everyone else in baseballville knows that the price for this offseasons' s top shelf talent just got higher.
The method that hardcore fans use to analyze a contract's worth may be the first casualty of 2011... has inflation beaten Ben Bernanke to the ballgame?
0 recs | 69 comments
Werths is insane
Crawfords will be too…..great.
M.Napoli For President in 2012 - December 5, 2010 via mobile
Damn you Washington . . .
I kind of liked you before today.
AndyHogan14 - December 5, 2010
Stole the words from my mouth
Halos2011champs - December 5, 2010 via mobile
Really?
What’s there to like about the f’n nationals?
Never understood the angel fan love directed to anonymous shitbag national league teams.
clover_black - December 5, 2010
I wouldn't say I have directed any love towards the Nationals
But, I don’t know, they’re a perennial loser and I like underdogs (especially when the Phillies are in their division).
This has reminded be that I always liked the Montréal Expos a lot more . . . haha.
AndyHogan14 - December 5, 2010
*and now like that team a lot more
(Montréal)
I apparently don’t know how to write.
AndyHogan14 - December 5, 2010
They have some good young players
Plus there’s the underdog thing. There’s no real reason NOT to like them, since they dumped Jose Guillen a few years ago.
Gorbachav5 - December 5, 2010
One of my favorite baseball players is Ryan Zimmerman
That’s my main reason.
Slyintine - December 5, 2010
Rec'd
ryanfea - December 5, 2010
Im kind of used to rooting for a loser- maybe you dont remember but the angels used to be terrible
So I kind of feel a connection to crappy teams and dont feel any different rooting for them than I would a football team- I dont really care about the outcome of their games, but if I have to see their games, I would rather see a team like the padres, nationals, etc… win.
Balls and Strikes - December 6, 2010
The angels used to be terrible?
Is there anything on the internet I can verify this with?
Should I start rooting for the clippers?
clover_black - December 6, 2010
okay, that did come off sounding pretty jerky. it wasnt intended that way
Some on here are too young or too new of fans to remember the late 80s and 90’s.
And no, I dont root for the teams but if I’m hanging out somewhere and a nationals/ mets game were on, I would absolutely pull for the nationals to win. I cant watch a game and not pick a side.
Balls and Strikes - December 6, 2010
Dear Nationals
F*CK you very much.
Signed,
Angels Fans
red floyd - December 6, 2010
We need to explore the trade market
We can’t go about it by gutting our system, we need to look at teams with lots of money tied into a player that we could take off their hands. The price for CC is ridiculous, I’d rather give that kind of money to Cliff Lee and trade a pitcher that’s under team control. I’d hate to see him go, but Ervin Santana is owed 8 million next year, 11.2 in 2012, plus a 13 million option with a 1 million buyout for 2013.
Considering the numbers he put up last year, he might be a viable trade chip packaged with Napoli and a prospect if we want to land a top position player and a pitching prospect in the high minors.
Any thoughts on who would make a realistic package for us to send for a bat?
jtkelly86 - December 5, 2010
Prince Fielder, put the dude at CF.
Move Petey to LF.
SenorChuckles - December 5, 2010
Not sure what gutting our system has to do with signing a FA...
I think CC will be overpriced now, no doubt. However, sign Cliff Lee? Really? Dude is 32 and will demand an equally gargutuan contract. Is it WERTH it? I dont think so…
I say don’t sign either.
BryanHarvey'sMoustache - December 6, 2010
ahhh
vitzeng - December 5, 2010
Rev, hate the post title
On first read I thought the Angels had signed Worth. Bummer.
angelslogic - December 5, 2010
'Werth'
angelslogic - December 5, 2010
I guess
the satisfaction of playing on a world class team like the angels in California Weather is not worth a discount?
DAD OF VLAD - December 5, 2010
mike *cough* trout
river-z - December 5, 2010
I don't think the contracts go any higher than that...
Washington paid a bad team tax to get him and the other teams know it. Crawford isn’t getting more than that unless he’s going to the Royals.
Nashdiesel - December 5, 2010
Jayson Werth...similarity scores thru Age 31
Could you imagine being the Nat’s and having Werth pulling a Juarning Track 2010 season next year? I would laugh SOO hard…whilst Werth laughs all the way to the bank! Juarning Track is now gonna want a new contract for just less than Jayson numbers. hahahahahahaha
K3YEROUT - December 5, 2010
The title is correct, with some minor tweaks:
“Werth’s signing will cause agents to stick contract proposals up the Angels’ ante.”
sheisalovelyladyandmyapologiestoher - December 5, 2010
I'm not convinced this isn't an outlier
The reaction around baseball looks like a collective WTF. Maybe agents will get more aggressive, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that teams are going to respond. The Nationals claim they have to overpay because they suck. Soon it might be the other way around, and other people probably know this.
A big Boras client never signs this early. The Winter Meetings haven’t even started yet. No one knows the free agent market better than Boras, and he must have been absolutely overwhelmed to skip out on his traditional posturing moves. Take the cash now, before the buyer comes to his senses. Smart man.
Suboptimal - December 5, 2010
i hope you are right
for the sake of my 2014 bleacher seats.
Rev Halofan - December 5, 2010
One ridiculous, over-inflated contract does not necessarily infer a imminent FA market trend.
I was going to bolster my argument by citing as an example that just because the Giants GM lost his f-ing mind and signed Barry Zito for obscene money & years in 2006, did not necessarily mean other GM’s were going to be a bunch of mindless lemmings and do the same with the remaining FAs… but then I remembered that Juan Pierre & HGH were signed to similar insane deals that same winter.
Quad Fin Rider - December 5, 2010
Also Vernon Wells for 7/126
Same deal as Werth, although Wells was four years younger. He wasn’t a free agent, however, so I’m not sure which deal is more ridiculous.
Oh, don’t forget Soriano for 8/136 either. Man, what a winter that was. You’d think people would have learned.
Suboptimal - December 5, 2010
Yup...
…It just means they will be trying to trade him to the $kankees w/in a year or 2 a’la ARoid.
Good luck with that.
K3YEROUT - December 5, 2010
Can someone explain how this helps them?
They gave up Dunn, who essentially did the same thing Werth is doing and that didnt help them. Yeah Werth is a better defender and a better average but not 126 million better. Now we get to pay the price for it. CC or Beltre might not be Angels now.
angelskid2210 - December 5, 2010 via mobile
Big gamble for Washington.
I’m very leery of players signing mega contracts that call for them to change roles. They are going to expect Werth to be the leader of the ballclub, which is something he never had to do with Philly. With Torii Hunter, he was the unquestioned top dog with the Twins, so his transition was smooth. Could Werth be a Paul Molitor type of player that blossoms in his 30’s? The Nats will have 7 years to find out.
sheisalovelyladyandmyapologiestoher - December 5, 2010
+1
K3YEROUT - December 5, 2010
Hmmmmmmmm maybe the Angels will
or how about we trade for__________Naw, more than likely we sign________wait, maybe we go after_______. Somebody wake me up when something actually happens! Something of significance.
Dono Romantico - December 5, 2010
may not seem to concern the angels but...
this is a damn big contract and definitely “werth” noting(pun intended); especially when angels fans can use this contract to gauge Crawford’s potential contract.
angelsownredsux - December 5, 2010
I guess this means that Josh Willingham gets squeezed out of the OF
I wouldn’t be opposed to having him as a stopgap until Mike Trout is ready. Tony would be smart to look for a trade rather than committing 8 years to Crawford.
blochead - December 5, 2010
That is some positive fallout from the Angels' perspective
Willingham is a good hitter when he’s healthy. Not worth a long-term liability, but he could end up being very valuable for someone next year.
Suboptimal - December 5, 2010
Yes....
This is a good idea.
jimmuscomp - December 6, 2010
Great way to shake up the Winter Meetings.
You couldn’t have written a better script going into next week. Oh the urgency and hand wringing. They should televise this ish.
44FAN - December 5, 2010
Nice player but...
Take him out of that band box of a ball park with that stacked Philly line-up and you have a .275 hitter with maybe 20 bombs a year. No denying that Crawford got a raise today.
grahams98 - December 5, 2010
That's about 9-10 Mathises.
Sounds like a good deal. He’s worth 15 Mathises at least.
LittleCupcakes - December 5, 2010
Imagine a lineup of 9 Mathises.
That would be PREMIUM!!!!
red floyd - December 6, 2010
It's already happened, that was the 2010 Mariners.
~MMP~ - December 6, 2010
With all that money coming off the books next off season you think the Angels will try for Joey Votto if the Reds can’t extend him?
Jesse78 - December 5, 2010
yes
$200 million for 10 years.
Rev Halofan - December 5, 2010
/sarc
Rev Halofan - December 5, 2010
I would rather have Ryan Zimmerman/Evan Longoria (albeit, they're on team friendly contracts)
But if Votto can play third decent enough, I’d make a play for him.
Slyintine - December 5, 2010
How funny is it going to be when Jayson Werth...
…steps up to his press conference, donning his new Washington Nationals apparel, and look straight into the camera and says, “this really isn’t about the money, I wanted to play here…”?
bc56274 - December 5, 2010
well folks, if you didnt believe it before, believe it now.
the dollar isn’t werth what it used to be
Wally's World - December 6, 2010
YEAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!
Slyintine - December 6, 2010
replyfail
Slyintine - December 6, 2010
How about Willingham?
Possibly Trumbo + 1-2 pitching prospects could get it done?
Slyintine - December 6, 2010
In a few days this offseason turned into a fucking nightmare
1) The Red Sox get one of the best hitters in the league (I would take him over Tex) for nothing. Literally nothing. The three prospects the Sox gave up are not even high ceiling guys. It was a complete and utter fleecing. The lineup for the Angels looks like a fucking Mickey Mouse lineup while our biggest rival over the last decade gets a 3 slot hitter for basically Trumbo, Recking, and Douchebag #3.
2) The Nationals take the Sawk #1 OF target and blow the hell out of the off season by giving one of the most overrated players ever an enormo contract. Once Lee signs with whoever every single team is going to have a circle jerk on Crawford and give him 20+ million a year for far too long.
3) This team cant hit for shit, it wont sign anyone of importance this offseason, while everyone we are competing with get significantly better. Does anyone else feel like punching a baby?
PhiSlamma - December 6, 2010
Whatever happened to the comp of Adam Dunn 4/$56MM?
Chasing these Boras contracts are going to kill us.
Not that we can do anything about it, but many of us decided a couple of days ago that we should find a way to live without CCrawford.
Only some, not all, have been pounding the Beltre drum. This has been a healthy debate which could very easily swing the other way.
I contend that the Angels are not going to pay the Boras asking price for RSoriano.
A few weeks ago, I read articles in Boston newspapers stating that the RedSox were bordering on desperation to revive lost TV and radio ratings. Are we desperate yet?
A little owner collusion might be a good thing.
wumbug - December 6, 2010
Dunn is a steal at 4/56
The White Sox are looking like geniuses.
PhiSlamma - December 6, 2010
dang
why do you have to remind us that we’re still paying for GMJr
NA1NSXR - December 6, 2010
I don't see why this has upped the ante that much...
…just because one front office makes a fool of itself (i.e. Nats) it doesn’t therefore require every other front office to jump off the same financial cliff like lemmings. The Nats are idiots, let them revel in it now and pay for it later.
Yes, Werth has done very well, but he has also gone to a team that had to overpay to get him, by such a comically large amount that even Boras was compelled to drop his usual negotiating tactics. That doesn’t set a precedent, it creates a punchline that we can all enjoy for the next 7 years.
The Limey - December 6, 2010
I agree.
wumbug - December 6, 2010
yep
After A-Rod’s Texas contract, other teams didn’t spend in kind.
yeswecan - December 6, 2010
20 mil
is a number reserved for power patience guys.
I would not give that kind of money to Crawford. Texeira’s contract does not look too bad right now.
A Gon is rumored to be getting 161 over 8 from the Sux. He is a beast. A legitimate game changer. Crawford is not IMO.
hauldog - December 6, 2010
Absolutely
It’s not that Crawford wouldn’t help this team, but he should not be paid like he’s one of the best hitters in the game. Especially not beyond 4 years…
dmhead - December 6, 2010
That is what I am thinking as well.
hauldog - December 6, 2010
And hopefully
this is what Arte and Tony are thinking. They knew Lackey and Figgins, as good as they were for this team, were not worth all the money they wanted. I don’t see why they wouldn’t be just as objective when looking at a good-not-great player such as Crawford.
dmhead - December 6, 2010
Think about the big deals the Angels supposedly bid on, but lost out:
Alphonso Soriano
Miguel Cabrera (trade)
Mark Texeira
Paul Konerko
Wonder how many of those Moreno is glad he was outbid?
I bet his memory is still good.
Arte paid Disney $180MM to buy the Angels in 2003.
wumbug - December 6, 2010
Would love to have Cabrera
His extension looks pretty reasonable right about now.
hauldog - December 6, 2010
The Cabrera trade now looks like a complete steal in retrospect
Not a one of those six over-hyped Tigers prospects they gave up to get him & Willis ever amounted to squat.
Quad Fin Rider - December 6, 2010
Konerko is available again.
Jesse78 - December 6, 2010
Long term contracts always a gamble
And each added year only adds to the potential “albatrossisity” (new word) of a contract.
And like any gamble in Vegas, the chance of you “winning” is always much lower than the chance of ending up losing. For every long term contract one can site where the player gave a team value for each year of that contract, one can probably also site another ten contracts where the team ended up overpaying a player for a number of years or, worse, paying a player well beyond when that player was even playing for them.
Sure, it’s what the market demands and every once in a while a team finds a “deal” by tying a player to an amount that ends up being lower than they could get on the open market years down the road. But it just seems that more and more a team ends up on the losing end of that bet, especially as the number of years increase and take a player into their twilight years (see Kevin Brown). And payroll budgets get burdened waiting for turd contracts to time out and drop out of the payroll before it frees up room to get a player who can actually help a team.
I’m not a GM, so what I think really doesn’t mean squat to what teams will do this offseason. Whatever will happen will happen. i just hope it doesn’t mean the continued climb for ticket and concession prices. But I guess as long as there are fans who say “hey, I don’t mind paying $200 for decent seats and food for my family to see a two and a half hour baseball game” then players will just keep asking for more money and the teams will just keep passing it on to the paying consumer. Because in the real world, that would be the only thing that could possibly stop the skyrocketing contracts and associated ticket prices – if the fans spoke with the closing of their wallets. So far, that doesn’t look to be happening anytime soon. Maybe when a player signs a $1 billion/20 year contract and a bleacher seat is $200….
Hoppity Hooper - December 6, 2010
I think there's a delicate balance that is required of all Owners and GMs.
Fans do want some bang for their buck: a fun, quality team that’s in the hunt for most or all of the season, which has a respectable record of making the post-season and winning a divisional series or World Series now and then. But fans can’t expect that success on the cheap. If just attending a game is your desire, there are minor league teams that provide that enjoyment at a reduced price. Professional teams require professional salaries, which are paid in part through attendance at games. The Angels had a noticeable drop-off in attendance towards the end of last season – it was no coincidence that this was due to their pending elimination from the play-offs.
Bottom line: You have to spend money to make money. Arte Moreno needs to spend some cash to get the players who will deliver success for the fans at a reasonable price. If he needs to raise the ticket prices a bit – so be it. But there’s the catch. That price increase needs to be minimal and in correlation to the success of the franchise. Most of us will only gripe if we’re paying higher prices for less.
angelslogic - December 6, 2010
Bottomline is artie is all talk! He will never spend money on great players!
elgoose - December 8, 2010
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