The Miami Marlins may finally be doing things right as an
organization. So many times in the past we’ve seen the team “buy” players and a
championship here or there only to have a fire sale the next season so team
owner Jeffrey Loria can presumably line his pockets with money. That’s another
blog post for another day though and the team is getting a bit of a pass for
the past after locking up players like Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich and
most recently Dee Gordon to long term deals. Gordon signed a five-year deal
with an option for a sixth leaving many to wonder if the Yankees should
consider doing this now with some of their young guys, namely Didi Gregorius.
Gordon was under team control through the 2018 season before
signing this new deal that extends five years and is worth $50 million before
an option year for a sixth season. Gordon will receive a hefty raise annually
from his $2.5 million he made in 2015 but don’t let it be confused, Gordon
deserved it and this is still an absolute bargain for Miami. Gordon won the
National league batting title in 2015 after leading the league with 205 hits
and 58 stolen bases. Gordon finished the season batting .333 despite missing 17
games of the season with a thumb injury. Gordon was an All-Star for the second
time in 2015 and was chosen as Miami’s MVP after leading all second baseman in
fielding percentage as well at batting.
Gordon was great in 2015 and while Didi was good he wasn’t
Gordon. I’m in no way comparing the two I am merely comparing their situations
as middle infielders who had breakout seasons respectively. I am only
mentioning this now rather than in a year or two after the team evaluates
whether they are getting the Gregorius that played the first two months of the
season in the Bronx or the Didi that played the final four months inside Yankee
Stadium. If New York wants to save a few dollars though, and it’s obvious that
they do, they may want to take the opportunity to pounce now while the iron is
hot and not smoldering.
Didi did not lead in fielding percentage nor did he lead the
league in hitting but without the first month and a half to two months of the
season he quietly had a fantastic season. Truth be told, and this may be the
Yankees homer in me talking, he should have won the Gold Glove at the position
in 2015 and should have received more praise for the offensive work he did the
second half of the season. Locking him up now would cost the Yankees in the
short term but I truly believe it would save them a lot of money and a lot of
heartache later on down the road. Using Gordon’s deal as a starting point would
not be the worst thing in the world for either side but if it’s going to happen
it needs to happen now.
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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)