The question is simple, are qualifying offers ruining baseball's free agency season? The answer may not be so simple but it is hard to ignore the fact that it is early March and very capable players like Stephen Drew, Ervin Santana, and Kendrys Morales are still available, likely due to teams reluctance to give up draft picks.
While players like Ubaldo Jimenez have gotten nice sized deals they had to wait for them far longer than he probably would have or should have under the old system. Nelson Cruz rejected a $14.1 million qualifying offer and settled on a one year deal worth $8 million with the Baltimore Orioles. It was definitely not his ties to Biogenesis that caused that because look at the deal that Jhonny Peralta got with his ties from the Cardinals, four years and $52 million.
Look at last years qualifying offers, Michael Bourn did not sign until mid February due to his draft pick attachment. Nick Swisher was one of the better outfield players available and did not sign until nearly January. Adam LaRoche did not sign until the second week of January and simply re-upped with the Nationals rather than going elsewhere, David Ortiz also went back to the Red Sox rather than testing the market. Rafael Soriano was the best closer on the market and did not sign until the middle of January. Go figure though, BJ Upton signed in the middle of November. Kyle Lohse signed on March 25th, that's not a typo! This is broken!
The only way the qualifying offer system works is if the teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, Dodgers, etc. are buying these players. When they are not this will severely hurt the players and in my opinion the game. It's no coincidence in my opinion that all 13 players this season rejected their qualifying offers and they all rejected them last season as well. We have this system through the 2016 season when the new collective bargaining agreement is up and I think when it comes up again this will be rejected again. Until then this is a big problem and it is ruining baseball's free agency and hot stove season.
I think the system is too new to judge. It's definitely better than the old type A type B system. I think two things have to happen to make it work. First, capable but not franchise changing players like Drew and Morales need to stop rejecting the offer and simply accept the $1 million or so. This will prevent teams from offering them to fringe players. Second, fringe players and agents need to wake up and smell the coffee. If $14 million is substantially more than you've ever made in a season, chances are you're a fringe player. Check your greed at the door and accept the paycheck that most people won't earn in an entire lifetime.
ReplyDeleteI think the system is too new to judge. It's definitely better than the old type A type B system. I think two things have to happen to make it work. First, capable but not franchise changing players like Drew and Morales need to stop rejecting the offer and simply accept the $1 million or so. This will prevent teams from offering them to fringe players. Second, fringe players and agents need to wake up and smell the coffee. If $14 million is substantially more than you've ever made in a season, chances are you're a fringe player. Check your greed at the door and accept the paycheck that most people won't earn in an entire lifetime.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's too new to judge at all. The Yankees and the Red Sox are offering more than half or right at half the qualifying offers every year. If the Yankees and Red Sox, or the largest market teams anyway, stop signing these guys they sit out there in limbo. Imagine the qualifying offer market if the Yankees didn't spend $500 million this offseason...
ReplyDeleteI don't think it is even the money as much as it is the years though. I don't think these players initially wanted a one year deal.
It's only 2 years old. It's definitely a flawed system. But consider this. Any player that was worth signing for more than $14 million on a multi year deal signed well before the first of the year. I think the qualifying offer system is somewhat of a market correction. Players like Morales, Drew, and Cruz are nice "options", not game changers. Pitchers like Jimenez and Santana are nice to have at the back end of the rotation, not somebody you want pitching twice in a 5 game series.
ReplyDeleteYou can't give a give like Brett Gardner $12.5 million a season and then say those guys, especially Santana, are not deserving of $14.1 million. Right handed power is extremely hard to come by, Cruz deserved much more than $8 million.
DeleteApparently not. Nobody gave it to him. And I don't think Santana is any better than Garza or Jiminez. They both signed for $12.5. Top tier free agents aren't being hindered by this in the slightest. Second tier free agents need to start accepting these offers and then they'll stop receiving them. If Santana accepted, could the Royals have been able to go get Infante? No, probably not. If Morales accepted, do the Mariners sign Cano? Maybe not. The players and agents are letting the teams have all the power. Agents are like lawyers. Their ego is so massive that they convince themselves and their players that there's more money for mediocre talent out there. I have no sympathy for a player that turns down $14 million for 1 year, and then cries when he can't find a better deal.
ReplyDeleteYou can be WORTH something and not get it, come on Jeff. And like I said sometimes its not the money as much as it is the security for him and his family of a multi year deal.
DeleteI understand that they're seeking the security of a long term deal. Most of them have families with young children. What I'm saying is that they're given a choice. An average of the top 100 salaries, or test the market with a Draft pick attached to you. If you choose the latter, it was your choice. You knew the rules. You can't ask for a do over, or say the system doesn't work. Nelson Cruz is a tough one because your right. Right handed power is hard to find. Maybe it's the PED suspension, maybe he's a donkey. Santana doesn't surprise me because no pitcher not named Tanaka has gotten what he's asking for in this free agent class and I heard he's not lowering his demands. Drew should have taken the offer and laugh at the Red Sox every time he took the field.
ReplyDeleteJhonny Peralta got the same PED suspension and got 4 years and $52 million. He didn't get a qualifying offer... Looks like the issue is with the draft pick attachment, the system is broken, and not the PED use.
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