MLB clubs embrace financial sanity
Judging by the free agent signing activity this MLB off-season, it looks like the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers are the last of the big league big spenders.
You can scratch the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs from what has been an ever-shrinking list of ballclubs that formerly saw money as no object when it came to either acquiring winter free agents or inking members of their own squad to contract extensions.
The BoSox and Cubbies, for all their money, have seemingly come to their senses and are no longer willing to shell out obscene megabucks to available players or their own players who are soon to become FAs.
Boston dealt extremely costly lefty hurler David Price to the Dodgers rather than pay the remaining years on his huge US$217 million, seven-year contract.
Boston will still have to pay a portion of Price’s salary, a small price, though, for a pitcher who had spotty results in his time in Beantown considering the humongous amount he was being paid.
Meanwhile, Boston decided that star outfielder Mookie Betts wasn’t worth the mega-deal he was likely to attract next off-season when he would become a free agent.
So, when the Dodgers showed interest in acquiring Betts for a year in hopes of retaining his services with a big bucks offering when he became a free agent, the BoSox jumped at the opportunity to trade him to LA.
In return, the Dodgers sent promising young outfielder Alex Verdugo to Boston, who will now control his rights for the next three seasons.
These were not just random salary dumps. For Boston, they likely signalled a new way of doing business.
The Red Sox were determined not to exceed the MLB luxury tax on team payrolls higher than $208 million.
They had come precariously close with deals like the ones they gave pitchers Chris Sale ($145million, five years) and Rick Porcello ($82 million over four years).
While the pair were solid, they did not turn in performances commensurate with their huge salaries.
In other words, the BoSox finally realised players like these were not cost-effective.
Even they, rich as they are, could no longer afford to spend money carelessly in this manner.
Better late than never as far as coming to their fiscal senses in this regard.
The Cubs, meanwhile, decided to tighten their purse strings by not offering a contract extension to star third baseman Kris Bryant, a free agent next off-season.
They too had been burned in overspending for a number of free agents in the past — see Yu Darvish, a righty hurler who has hardly been worth the $120 million for six years service they gave him.
The Cubs, like Boston, finally realised that very good ball players are just not worth overpaying for in the future.
So, the Cubbies began shopping Byant around in trade talks, hoping to land prospects and a lesser talent more in line with what they would be willing to pay Kris.
If they can’t trade Bryant, the Cubs will take their chances to sign him to a more manageable contract in the future rather than for an insane figure.
The Cubs, too, are indicating that the days of overpaying their stars are over.
After they were burned in the Darvish deal and the one made they had made previously with outfielder Jason Heyward — $184 million, eight years — who grossly underperformed for what they were paying him.
The Cubs, too, seem to have at long last come to their senses.
Even their immense incoming revenues could no longer support their player contract spending habits.
All other MLB clubs had earlier come to their fiscal wits and decided to look to build from within and sign more financially prudent deals with outsiders.
All, that is, except the previously mentioned Dodgers and Yankees.
Just when it looked like the Bronx Bombers were starting to cut back on their free agent free spending habits, they gave out a record $324 million over nine years to former Houston Astro hurler Gerrit Cole this off-season.
After 10 years without a World Series title, the Yanks once again appear willing to throw caution to the wind. Cole is a terrific hurler, but Wiggins’ World doesn’t see the expenditure as cost-effective.
All other free agents signed more sensible contracts with their new ballclubs this off-season. There were no other make-no-sense, mind boggling MLB mega-deals this winter.
It looks like MLB financial sanity is finally settling in. Its big spender list has never been this small.