Baseball salaries and contract years lower again.

Right no in baseball off season this year there has only been 2 contracts for 5 years or more and only 1 for over 100 million dollars. It's truly amazing how many players with major league experience have had to accept minor league non guaranteed contracts with invites to spring training or one or 2 year deals this year. With the possible exceptions of Harper and Machado there will not be huge long term big money elsewhere this year onward it's a buyers market again. Are the days of 10 year big money deals done unless you have 2 or 3 clayton Kershaws and 2 or 3 studs like Harper in same off season available time will tell.

There are a lot of possible reasons for it. 1) Now that "tanking" has become somewhat acceptable, there is a huge divide between the teams with a shot at a championship and those that have none. The have-nots sell off their better players to the haves so there is less need to sign free agents. 2) Most players, by the time they actually become free agents, are already past their prime and teams have finally realized that it's bad economics to pay big money to a player for 5-10 years based on what they did in their prime but are unlikely to do again in the future. 3) More teams are re-signing their better players before they become free agents. 4) Harper is a real gamble IMO. Based on WAR, in seven seasons he has had one historically great season, three good but not great seasons (3-5 WAR), and three seasons where he was only a game or two above replacement. His defense is disastrous, and he has had trouble adjusting to the shift. I doubt he has many 6+ WAR seasons in him, and to pay him $300,000,000 for 10 years in the hopes he repeats 2015 is a risk most teams don't want to take. To me all the indicators except his age are downward trending.

Half agree, I wouldn't pay Harper 300M over 10 years, but would 150M over 5 years. I hope the Giants sign him, lol. He's 26, like you said, and should be entering peak years, not so worried about his results in his early 20s. Projections to get better
are on his side.

I'd love to see both Harper and Machado still looking for a job in June.

Analytics have proven that it isnt cost effective to give players huge 7-10 year type contracts. Pujols, A-Rod, Ellsbury, Texiera, Heyward, and several others are examples of bad contracts. Its not so much the money as the years which hamstring organizations in their flexibility. You can win with players making much less than that by instead investing in player development and scouting where a team can also have control of that players prime years. Machado & Harper are in their prime and to me their max should be at about 200-220 over 5-6yrs. Thats 35-40m a yr. How can anyone say 40m a yr is not enough? Teams are not bidding against one another either. A factor not mentioned is that it used to be teams made that big FA splash to generate fan interest, but with cable contracts and merchandising revenue streams, that need is not as great to get a Reggie Jackson, Clemens, Bonds headliner-type FA.

I was struck during the recent basketball trade talk that the basketball “max” contract is a great idea. It helps owners, of course, because they can pay the biggest salary allowable and avoid difficult negotiate and hurt feelings. It hurts wise guy agents from promising the moon. The union should support it in return for other concessions since it theoretically protects the average player. It wouldn’t surprise me if the baseball union agrees to a max contract rule in exchange for earlier free agency and other concessions. Maybe each team will be required to have at least one max contract or other minimum payroll rules to maintain competitive balance and the average player’s salary.

I was struck during the recent basketball trade talk that the basketball “max” contract is a great idea. It helps owners, of course, because they can pay the biggest salary allowable and avoid difficult negotiate and hurt feelings. It hurts wise guy agents from promising the moon. The union should support it in return for other concessions since it theoretically protects the average player. It wouldn’t surprise me if the baseball union agrees to a max contract rule in exchange for earlier free agency and other concessions. Maybe each team will be required to have at least one max contract or other minimum payroll rules to maintain competitive balance and the average player’s salary.

That all sounds smart.

Although on the whole bigger market teams always have the advantage but with teams able to demand not only prospects but international signing money now that international drafting is more regulated and being able to now include draft picks and signing bonus for incoming players and that signing rookie player is no longer dumb smaller market teams can build or rebuild faster and seem more willing to acquire veterans at the trade wire and try to win now. Houston and Kansas city are both examples of smaller markets building from within making shrewd trades to win it all. And I hope they do expand rosters to 27 or even 28 to allow 13 man pitching staffs and enough position players for late inning thrillers and force 20 second clock and allow DH fulltime in both leagues to giving aging players with a good batting eye but less ability in the field to remain in the game longer. We the fan get to route for our heroes longer and we dont have to see our favorite teams ace pitcher loss for season breaking his leg baserunning or his arm broke because he was hit by a 100 mph fastball and get rid of damn shift. Sorry I have loved baseball and I dont want another doubt 1994 season ever shain.

Houston a small market?? Right. Fourth largest city in the nation. Texas has the strongest economy of any state in the union right now

Poor Harper and Machado. They are royally getting screwed. I don't know how both of them will be able to survive without a 300 million dollar deal.

Nobody should care if these millionaires get their extra millions or not. They are getting paid millions of dollars to play baseball. Harper can get 1 million for all I care. A battle between billionaires and millionaires that us little people should not care about.

For the good of baseball there needs to be a cap like in hockey. 200 million ceiling and a 140 million dollar floor. That way teams are forced to spend money. If you own a baseball team and don't want to attempt to field a team then just sell your team or baseball could just get rid of the teams. Baseball and other sports should be 24 teams. The quality of players would be better. Not the watered down garbage we have to watch nowadays.

Baseball is the only sport where players don't play to win. They play to get their stats so they can cash in. Not anymore cry baby baseball players.