Baseball poised to pay out big in 2018

Quick, off the top of your head, list the 10 players in baseball around whom you would most like to build a baseball franchise. Of the names that sprung to mind, surely some of these were included: Bryce Harper, Josh Donaldson, Andrew McCutchen, David Price, Jose Fernandez, Manny Machado, Jason Heyward, Dallas Keuchel, Clayton Kershaw and Matt Harvey.

That group includes two reigning Most Valuable Players, one current Cy Young and two multiple-time Cy winners. Only one (Donaldson) has ventured into his 30s. Just one ( Heyward) has not finished in the top five of an MVP or Cy Young vote: Heyward just signed a $184-million contract at age 26.

Here is the mind- blowing, sport- shifting denominator they have in common: They could all be free agents following the 2018 season.

If t he f l urry of dollars dropped on free agents over the past two weeks stunned you, just wait. The free agent class of 2018 is three years away, but it is not too soon to start imagining the effects it will have on the league and the small- nation- GDP money it will unleash.

Three causes created the possible bonanza: a rare confluence of young talent, the new trend of player opt- outs in contracts and a rash of Scott Boras clients timed to hit the market at the same time.

As the Players Union continues to convince players to be selective in taking team-friendly extensions before reaching free agency, megaclasses of free agents may become more frequent. For now, 2018 seems to be the first, and it happens to include Harper, the most marketable and perhaps most talented player in baseball, at age 26.

Second, the names Heyward and Price may stick out — didn’t they just sign massive deals? Sure did. So did Kershaw in January 2014. But optout clauses for players at the top of the class have become more norm than exception. Price, Heyward and Kershaw can opt out of their contracts after 2018, which would place them in a separate free- agent class than expected, essentially artificially stacking it.

A large number of the players primed for free agency happen to employ Boras as their agent, and Boras hardly ever advises clients to take contract extensions before all 30 teams can bid on their services.

The free-agent money set for the 2018 offseason promises to be bonkers. The free agents, especially position players, likely will wait for Harper to reset and shatter the market. One highranking National League executive said Harper could command a 15-year, $450-million extension from the Nationals right now, without any other teams bidding. It sounds obscene, but it is easy to fathom a $500-million contract for Harper.

Mike Trout could have been a free agent in 2018, too, but before the 2014 season he chose to sign a six-year, $144.5 million contract that runs through the 2020 season. Now, that deal secured the financial future of generations of future Trouts, and he can still get paid after 2020. But for the 2019 and 2020 seasons, he will make $34.1 million per season at a time when his peers are scoffing at such a number. ( If you think that sounds preposterous, again: just wait.)