As we all continue to wait on the Max Scherzer and James
Shields sweepstakes to come to an end I had an epiphany, albeit probably not an
original epiphany but an epiphany nonetheless, about how New York could sign
one or both of these pitchers to truly “Get Greedy.” What if New York, like the
title of the post says, lowered the amount of years and increased the AAV to
land either one or both of these arms?
Let’s just throw some rough estimates out there and say the
team offers Max Scherzer anywhere from a three to four year deal worth either
$95 or $125 million. Scherzer would make his money and be the highest paid
pitcher in baseball, AAV wise, while getting one more crack at free agency at
the end of his prime. This is obviously a far cry from eight years and $200
million plus but that is still a hard amount of money to walk away from looking
at his market.
James Shields is said to be asking for a deal in the four to
five year range and in excess of $100 million but would he take a one year deal
worth $26 million or a two year deal worth $50 million? Again, looking at this
market and his reported preference to play for specific teams this may be
enough to land Shields on a short term deal and give him one more opportunity
to land a bigger contract at the end of his prime. Shields and his market may
be suffering from his lackluster postseason performance and if he could lead
New York back to the Promised Land that may increase his salary the next time
around.
It’s unlikely that either of these deals happen but it’s no
longer early in the offseason and time is ticking away. Scherzer and Shields
may have to come off their demands and take, for lack of a better term, pillow
contracts and go at it again in a few years when teams like the Dodgers and the
Yankees have loads of money coming off their books. Or they could simply
continue to sit around and wait for that phone to ring, their choice.
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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)