Great free-agent class limping toward finish line
This was going to be the mother of all free-agent classes, the one leaving baseball executives salivating, knowing that a checkbook alone could instantly turn around the fate of their franchise.
You had Cy Young winners, MVPs, a plethora of All-Stars, and a pair of 26-year-old generational superstars.
Well, this lush free-agent landscape is suddenly looking a little more barren.
Oh sure, we still have infielder Manny Machado and outfielder Bryce Harper, who are 25 years old, have been healthy all year, and should each sign record-setting deals worth at least $350 million. If not $400 million. Or even $500 million.
There hasn’t been a young, talented commodity like this hit the market since Alex Rodriguez in 2000 when he signed a record 10-year, $252 million contract with the Texas Rangers as a 25-year-old.
Machado (.312, 18 homers and 50 RBI) and Harper (.228, 19 homers, 43 RBI) just might double A-Rod’s deal. The Nationals and Phillies will be the primary suitors for Harper, and the Yankees, Phillies and Chicago Cubs are the favorites to land Machado.
Yet, once all that money flows that duo’s way, the spigot may stop with the rest of the big paychecks considering the rest of the landscape.
A free-agent class that looked so beautiful just a couple of years ago is scarred.
Look what happened alone to the bevy of prized starting pitching.
Jose Fernandez, who would have been 26 and the pitching version of Harper and Machado, is tragically gone.
Matt Harvey, who three years ago was one of the most dynamic pitchers in the game, is just a shell of himself these days, exiled to Cincinnati, trying to resurrect his career and land any contract next winter, let alone a generational one.
Three-time Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw who was supposed to shatter the market for starting pitchers, is back on the disabled list for the fifth time in five years, the third consecutive season with back problems.
Dallas Keuchel, 30, who won the Cy Young in 2015 and a World Series ring three years later with the Houston Astros, is having the worst season of his career. He’s 3-8 with a 4.45 ERA, and has a 7.33 ERA in his last five starts.
David Price is healthy and pitching well these days, but who in their right mind would convince him to forfeit the $127 million remaining in his Boston Red Sox contract the next four years by opting out at age 33?
Oh, and remember that glorious position player market? Beyond Harper and Machado, much of it can be found on the disabled list.
Toronto Blue Jays third Josh Donaldson, the 2015 AL MVP, was supposed to receive the highest freeagent contract behind Machado and Harper. Yet, he’s having the worst season of his career, hitting the DL for the second time this season.
Jason Heyward, who’s hitting .248 with a .318 on-base percentage and .362 slugging percentage since signing with the Chicago Cubs, isn’t about to walk away from $105 million over the next five years and opt out of his deal.
In the meantime, well, we can always look ahead to next year’s class, one loaded with star power.
You want a stud starter? Giants ace Madison Bumgarner, Chris Sale of Boston and Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole of Houston, and Michael Wacha of St. Louis are all eligible for free agency after the 2019 season.
You need position players? Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado will be the Machado/ Harper of his class. Diamondbacks five-time All-Star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, Cardinals outfielder Marcell Ozuna, Reds second baseman Scooter Gennett and infielders Xander Bogaerts of Boston, Didi Gregorius of the Yankees and Anthony Rendon of Washington also can hit the market.
Who knew that after all of this time waiting for the winter of 2018, we’ve been focusing our attention on the wrong free-agent class all along?
Then again, check back in a year. As we’ve learned, value can change in a hurry.
(USA Today/TNS)