Bryce Harper

AL Notes: Harper, Betts, Severino, Baldelli, Harvey, Kennedy

By Steve Adams and Jeff Todd | February 15, 2019 at 12:26am CDT

It’s mostly of historical interest now, but Astros GM Jeff Luhnow acknowledged that the club had a deal all but locked down to land Bryce Harper last summer. (Via Mark Berman of FOX 26, on Twitter.) Reports indicated that the Nationals would have received a strong haul of talent had they agreed to give up Harper at the non-waiver deadline; instead, the club announced on deadline day that it would not part with its star, who is now (still) a free agent. Lest anyone get the wrong idea, the Houston organization’s prior interest certainly doesn’t indicate that Harper is of interest presently. There has been no such connection this winter. Luhnow did suggest, though, that the pursuit is evidence of the team’s commitment to “look at all alternatives” and possibly swing major deals at the trade deadline.

Those who enjoy concocting wild trade scenarios will also take note of Luhnow’s intriguing aside: “I think fans would be surprised at the types of players at times that we’ve gone after and how close we’ve come on some of them.” Here’s more from the American League:

Star Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts discussed his approach to handling the business side of the sport, as Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald reports. Betts says he believes in staying patient. “When you start rushing into things, that’s when you get some deals that may not be the right ones,” he said. Of course, Betts has to this point set himself up for a potentially record-setting run through arbitration by not only going year-to-year, but by also increasing his performance level in successive seasons. He just settled for a whopping $20MM, setting a record for a second-time arb-eligible player. Whether he’ll consider a long-term deal in the future isn’t clear; Betts would allow only that he enjoys playing in Boston and would “have to see how it goes.”
In other AL East contractual matters, the Yankees’ reported chatter about a long-term deal with staff ace Luis Severino does not seem to be gaining traction, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). It seems that the sides will instead focus on preparing for an upcoming arbitration hearing, though that can always change at the last minute — whether due to agreement on a single-season salary or something more significant. If the case goes to a panel, the arbitrators will need to decide between Severino’s proposed $5.25MM payout and the club’s $4.4MM counter. There’s added significance given that the Super Two qualifier still has three more potential arb years to come, making his starting salary quite important.
While terms of his contract weren’t announced or reported at the time, Twins skipper Rocco Baldelli inked a four-year contract when being hired for his managerial debut, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports (subscription required). The deal also has multiple club options. It’s a show of faith in the rookie manager and a departure from the manner in which Minnesota has previously operated, as Aaron Gleeman of Baseball Prospectus notes (Twitter link). Under previous management, the Twins typically only issued two-year pacts to skipper Ron Gardenhire, who was one of the game’s longest-tenured managers when he was dismissed from the organization. And Paul Molitor, whom the the Twins ousted to make way for Baldelli, was one season into a three-year contract when the Twins ultimately changed course.
Angels right-hander Matt Harvey will be out for the next week to 10 days due to a strained glute muscle, tweets Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. It’s a minor injury and one that isn’t expected to hinder Harvey’s readiness for Opening Day, but it nonetheless bears some monitoring as Harvey looks to rebuild stock in Anaheim on a one-year, $11MM contract. The injury is all the more notable given the Halos’ rash of pitching maladies in recent seasons. The team is already expecting to be without right-hander Nick Tropeano to open the season.
The Royals are considering utilizing veteran starter Ian Kennedy as a bullpen piece this season, and the righty spoke with Rustin Dodd of The Athletic about the potential role change (subscription required). Kennedy took a team-first attitude and said he’s willing to pitch for the Royals in any role, so long as it helps the team win more games. Looking elsewhere on the roster, Dodd writes that Danny Duffy, Brad Keller and Jakob Junis are likely locks for the rotation, while non-roster invitee Homer Bailey will compete for a starter job but likely not a bullpen role (per Yost). The Kansas City Star’s Lynn Worthy also addressed the situation, speaking with newly signed Brad Boxberger about pitching roles. While Boxberger would “love” the opportunity to close, it doesn’t seem as though any such promises were made to him. Ultimately, Yost declined to discuss specific roles and stressed the importance of having multiple options who can be trusted to close out games and thrive in high-leverage spots.

Bryce Harper Not Considering Short-Term Deals

By Jeff Todd | February 12, 2019 at 11:45am CDT

Even as he continues an already lengthy stay on the free agent market, star outfielder Bryce Harper is “not signing — or even considering — short-term deals,” according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link).

There has been some indication of late that some clubs may be pursuing Harper on less-than-lengthy contract terms. In particular, the Giants’ entry into the market for Harper seemed to raise the prospect of such an approach. By some accounts, at least, the San Francisco organization is not only a real potential suitor but is interested only in committing to Harper for a limited term.

Just where Harper and his camp are drawing the line isn’t clear. Regardless of the guaranteed term of an eventual contract, any deal is quite likely to come with complicated opt-in/opt-out arrangements, potentially including both club and player opportunities to lengthen or shorten the deal.

The parameters remain unclear. It does seem reasonable to conclude, though, that Harper won’t be amenable to offers premised on the idea of earning a big salary now while reentering the market at a still-youthful age. That possibility may well be contemplated in a contract, as noted above, but a longer background guarantee seems to be a necessary part of the picture as well.

Presumably, that indicates that Harper believes a suitably lengthy offer is still achievable. All indications are that the Phillies would still be amenable to a major commitment, though the team’s standing offer (if any) isn’t known. It seems the Nationals have withdrawn the ten-year, $300MM offer they originally dangled, though the team’s current threshold is not clear. Other teams that remain connected to Harper include the Padres and White Sox, with a few unspecified teams still rumored to be engaged on some level.

Quick Hits: Arenado, Int’l Prospects, Jones, CarGo, Bauer, Storen, Marlins

By Mark Polishuk | February 11, 2019 at 12:11am CDT

Nolan Arenado’s extension talks with the Rockies could create a big impact around baseball, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand writes in an exploration of both the short-term and long-term effects of an Arenado deal. Most obviously, an extension would remove arguably the biggest name from the 2019-20 free agent class, which would be a boon to other stars who will be hitting the open market — in particular, Anthony Rendon would see his biggest competition in the third base market disappear. (Of course, Rendon could also ink his own long-term deal to stay with the Nationals.) More immediately, an Arenado extension could also set a new benchmark for Bryce Harper and Manny Machado, should Arenado and the Rockies come to an agreement before Harper or Machado land contracts this winter.

Some stray items from around baseball as we head into the new week…

Ten of the top names available in the 2019-20 international signing market are profiled by Baseball America’s Ben Badler, all of whom have teams already unofficially attached to their services even though the market doesn’t properly open until July 2. Dominican outfielder Jasson Dominguez and Dominican shortstop Robert Puason are projected for the highest bonuses, each expected to land something around $5MM, with Dominguez linked to the Yankees and Puason connected to the Athletics.
While the Indians are still looking for outfield help, the team isn’t currently “aggressively pursuing” Adam Jones or Carlos Gonzalez, MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi reports. Both veterans were only moderately productive in 2018, both with below-average offensive numbers (as per wRC+) and Jones with some of the worst defensive metrics (minus-18 Defensive Runs Saved, -14.8 UZR/150) of any center fielder in baseball. That said, both players could still represent an upgrade for Cleveland’s shaky outfield, though it appears the Tribe is checking other options for now.
Trevor Bauer’s arbitration hearing took place on Friday, Cleveland.com’s Paul Hoynes reports, so details should soon emerge about the outcome. There was a $2MM gap between Bauer and the Indians in exchanged figures, as Bauer’s camp is looking for a $13MM salary in 2019 and the team is aiming for an $11MM salary. This will be the second arb hearing in as many years between the two sides, as Bauer defeated the Tribe in the hearing last winter to land his desired $6.525MM salary for the 2018 season. Like Kluber, Bauer has also been a major figure in trade rumors this offseason. He has one less year of team control than Kluber and a less-extensive track record, though Bauer is also almost five years younger than his rotation mate.
The Royals have interest in veteran righty Drew Storen, The Athletic’s Jayson Stark reports (Twitter link). Storen didn’t pitch last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in September 2017. The 31-year-old was a key figure in the Nationals’ bullpen from 2010-15, though he suffered through a disastrous half-season stint with the Blue Jays in 2016 before righting the ship after a July trade to the Mariners. Prior to his injury, Storen had a 4.45 ERA, 7.9 K/9, and 2.09 K/BB rate over 54 2/3 innings out of the Reds’ bullpen in 2017. Storen won’t carry a heavy price tag as he makes his return from TJ surgery, making him a target for payroll-conscious Kansas City.
“Every trade, we’re trying to get back international money,” Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill told reporters, including Barry Jackson and Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald. It’s clear that the international market is a cornerstone of Miami’s rebuilding process, and the club has been successful in landing extra money for their int’l draft pool in recent trades with the Astros, Reds, Nationals, and (as part of the J.T. Realmuto trade package) Phillies. These extra funds have already paid dividends, as the Marlins signed highly-touted Cuban brothers Victor Victor Mesa and Victor Mesa Jr. last October.

Latest On Giants’ Pursuit Of Bryce Harper

By Connor Byrne | February 10, 2019 at 10:10am CDT

SUNDAY: The Giants plan on making Harper a short-term, big-money offer, but they’re uninterested in giving him a long-term contract along the lines of the 10-year, $300MM proposal he rejected from the Nationals, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.

SATURDAY: The Giants’ meeting with free-agent outfielder Bryce Harper took place this past Monday, and it lasted twice as long as expected, per reports from Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area and John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. Harper’s summit with Giants CEO Larry Baer, president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi and manager Bruce Bochy was supposed to span two hours, but it went four. After their Las Vegas visit with Harper, “there certainly was an increase in optimism” that the Giants could reel him in, writes Pavlovic, who adds there’s “an increased sense” in the clubhouse that the superstar wants to sign with San Francisco.

The Giants, for their part, are understandably bullish on Harper. On Saturday, one day after Zaidi made it known the Giants are indeed going after Harper, Baer did the same while lavishing praise on the longtime National.

“Bryce Harper is an amazing player,” Baer said. “It’s very hard, and these are competitions, and I can’t handicap it. I don’t know where we are. But we’re giving it a shot. That’s all we can do.”

Baer also made note of Harper’s age, 26, as one of the six-time All-Star’s main selling points and even referred to the Giants’ successful courtship of Barry Bonds in 1992. Then 28, Bonds, like Harper now, reached free agency after establishing himself as one of the game’s preeminent players. And the Giants managed to wrest Bonds away from Pittsburgh, where he spent the first seven years of his career, and fend off other suitors by offering him a then-record contract worth $43.75MM over six years. As Bonds did nearly 27 years ago, Harper could now be in position to set a new high-water mark when it comes to baseball contracts. It seems Harper’s aiming to approach or surpass Giancarlo Stanton’s historic $325MM pact, having reportedly turned down a $300MM-plus offer from the Nats earlier this offseason.

The Giants didn’t make an offer to Harper when they met with him, nor do they expect the protracted race for his services to end this weekend, according to Pavlovic. But as a big-spending franchise that sported the National League’s least valuable outfield in 2018, San Francisco’s second straight horrendous showing in the standings, it seems as logical a landing spot for Harper as any team in the game. And now, after winning three World Series from 2010-14 but falling from grace lately, the goal is “to bring championships back to the Giants’ fans,” Baer noted. While adding Harper may not vault the Giants back into title contention immediately, Baer’s of the belief that “one player can make a difference.”

Farhan Zaidi Discusses Giants’ Interest In Bryce Harper

By Jeff Todd | February 8, 2019 at 4:33pm CDT

Newly appointed Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said today that the organization shares “mutual interest'” with free agent star Bryce Harper, as Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area was among those to report.

Zaidi acknowledged that he, CEO Larry Baer, and skipper Bruce Bochy recently sat down with Harper, Harper’s wife Kayla, and agent Scott Boras. There was no sense playing dumb on the subject. As Zaidi amusingly noted, Baer was “made in the casino” by an eagle-eyed fan during the visit to Las Vegas.

The mere fact of the visit itself largely made the point already, but it’s notable that the Giants are publicly discussing their ongoing interest. Zaidi called it a “good conversation over a few hours,” while Bochy labeled it “a great meeting” and heaped praise upon Harper.

While the seeming lack of widespread interest in the 26-year-old Harper (along with the similarly situated Manny Machado) has thus far been the story of the offseason, Zaidi did not drop any hints that the Giants were only swooping in to see if the price had dropped. That may have been part of the thinking, to be sure, but the top San Francisco baseball decisionmaker said that Harper has “a lot of suitors and a lot of interest” from around the game.

Pavlovic offers some other items of note as well, reporting that the initial meeting “lasted much longer than the Giants anticipated.” As Craig Mish of MLB Network Radio tweeted previously, Zaidi also met afterward with Boras on the latter’s private jet. (No word on whether Zaidi first tried to board the wrong aircraft.) While Zaidi acknowledged that Harper could make a decision in short order, the San Francisco organization has yet to formally put a contract in front of him. It stands to reason that it’ll do so in short order. It’s hard to know at this point how likely it is that Harper will choose to head to San Francisco, but it seems the organization is at minimum a viable suitor at this late stage of the process.

Giants Reportedly Enter Mix For Bryce Harper

By Jeff Todd | February 6, 2019 at 10:33am CDT

The Giants have reportedly entered the mix for star free agent Bryce Harper. Randy Miller of NJ.com tweeted the connection, with Jon Heyman of MLB Network adding on Twitter that the club has recently met with Harper.

It is not yet clear how serious the interest is on behalf of the San Francisco organization, which is already dealing with quite a few large contract entanglements and recently turned over its baseball operations to Farhan Zaidi. Still, it’s intriguing to hear the connection. Zaidi was joined by owner Larry Baer and skipper Bruce Bochy in the sit-down, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports notes in a tweet.

Harper was already known to have met recently with the NL West rival Padres. Heyman suggests that multiple new organizations have entered the picture of late, which certainly could suggest that agent Scott Boras has sought to expand the pool of possibilities. Just what that suggests about Harper’s market and asking price isn’t clear.

It had long seemed that the Giants would be a leading potential landing spot for Harper, due to the team’s obvious need for youthful stars — particularly in the outfield — and history of maintaining high payrolls. But with the organization engineering a baseball ops shake-up after a pair of disappointing seasons, the match became much less certain.

Zaidi made his name finding value for the A’s and then scaling that process up as GM of the Dodgers. Plunking down huge dollars over long terms has not been a signature tenet of his approach as an executive. And the Giants are already loaded with underperforming contracts, some worse than others, that have left the organization with relatively little wiggle room beneath the competitive balance tax threshold.

That’s not to say that the San Francisco organization doesn’t make any sense as a Harper suitor. Even if immediate contention isn’t completely reasonable, the club has plenty of high-quality veteran players. With some creativity, the luxury tax barrier could also be dealt with. Zaidi noted at the outset of his tenure that he expects the organization’s decisions on premium talent to be “driven more by baseball need and opportunity than kind of working backwards from a payroll.” He cast doubt then on pursuit of a star free agent, but did not rule out the concept entirely.

Latest On Market For Bryce Harper

By Jeff Todd | February 4, 2019 at 10:59pm CDT

The slow drip of news regarding Bryce Harper (and fellow free agent star Manny Machado) has formed a tower of uncertainty that looms over the hot stove market — indeed, the game as a whole. At this point, it’s anyone’s guess when, where, and for how much Harper will sign. As curious as the still-ongoing free agency of these players is the dearth of developments hitting the news wire and the evident lack of widespread interest.

Under these circumstances, it’s reasonably notable to learn that “at least 8 teams are still checking in on Harper,” according to a tweet from Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). While Heyman suggests that some of those clubs do not have much interest in a long-term arrangement, it stands to reason that Harper and agent Scott Boras would welcome any bidders to help boost their bargaining power.

Despite a limited cast of publicly known suitors, it has always seemed logical that additional teams would look into a Harper deal. With at least one mystery team chasing Machado, we’ve already seen that concept introduced, but it hasn’t been as evident in Harper’s case.

So, what teams might be in the picture that weren’t previously known? That’s hard to say. The Padres have entered the mix, joining the Phillies, White Sox, and Nationals as known suitors. Beyond that, though, there’s no real indication. Jim Bowden of The Athletic tweets, in fact, that he has had no success at identifying dark horse participants in the Harper derby.

You’re free to speculate in the comments, of course, but the fact is that any number of organizations could at least be kicking around the edges of Harper’s market. With as many as four mystery clubs evidently involved to some degree, it’s all but impossible to assess the lay of the land — let alone to foresee just how Harper’s time on the open market will ultimately draw to a close.

Padres Meet With Bryce Harper

By Steve Adams | February 2, 2019 at 2:53pm CDT

Feb. 2, 2:53pm: Per Jon Heyman of MLB Network, the San Diego brass sees Harper as a “business/marketing opportunity” and “may now lean” toward securing his services over those of Manny Machado, despite their obvious need at 3B and swarm of young, controllable corner outfielders.

Jan. 31, 11:24pm: Acee has an update on tonight’s meeting, in which Padres general partner Peter Seidler joined GM A.J. Preller and skipper Andy Green to make the pitch. Per the report, the San Diego contingent was “extremely prepared and seemed sincere about wooing” Harper.

11:40am: The Padres’ entry into the Harper bidding is more “extended due diligence,” and is not as serious as their interest in Machado, writes Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The surprising lack of suitors for Harper has helped to fuel San Diego’s interest, he adds.

Meanwhile, Rosenthal tweets that the meeting will take place tonight. MLB.com’s Jon Morosi calls the Padres one of four suitors for Harper, alongside the Phillies, White Sox and Nationals, noting that one other club remains “on [the] periphery” (Twitter link).

10:44am: The Padres will meet with free-agent outfielder Bryce Harper in Las Vegas today or tomorrow, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter links). Padres ownership is “expected” to be represented at the meeting, and Rosenthal further notes that Harper and agent Scott Boras have met with other teams “in recent days,” though there’s still no signs that a deal close.

The news of a meeting with Harper comes on the heels of last week’s report that the Padres are pursuing Manny Machado and planning a similar sitdown with him, although MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweeted last night that the Padres/Machado meeting has still not taken place. Nevertheless, the Padres’ surprise emergence as a potential suitor for the market’s top two free agents is of note, and the very fact that in-person meetings are being scheduled shows a level of interest that many teams throughout the league have not expressed.

Outfield isn’t exactly an area of need for the Friars, who already have Wil Myers, Manuel Margot, Hunter Renfroe, Franchy Cordero, Franmil Reyes and Travis Jankowski on the roster. Harper, though, would nonetheless represent an upgrade in right field and would further allow the Padres to explore the trades of younger, controllable outfielders. It’s also possible that Harper’s market hasn’t progressed to the level that San Diego initially expected, and ownership has agreed to a meeting to determine whether there’s a plausible fit. The Padres did sign another high-profile Boras client, Eric Hosmer, to an eight-year deal worth $144MM last winter, and the organization surely feels it is now closer to contending than it was at that point, even if doing so in 2019 is a long shot (with or without Harper).

The Hosmer contract was already a significant expenditure for the typically conservative Padres, and signing either Harper or Machado would represent next-level spending the likes of which has never been seen by the organization and its fans. However, as I noted last week when looking at how Machado could fit into the payroll, it might not be as difficult as many would think for the Padres to accommodate an annual salary of $30MM+ (Harper spurned a 10-year, $300MM offer from the Nationals that has reportedly since been increased).

Myers and Hosmer are the only long-term contracts on the books for the Padres, and Hosmer’s contract was heavily front-loaded. While he’s earning $21MM annually for the next four seasons, Hosmer’s salary will drop to $13MM per year from 2023-25. Myers is owed $5.5MM in 2019 and $22.5MM in each of the three subsequent seasons, although the Padres have been trying to offload that contract for awhile anyhow.

Even speculatively penciling in a hefty $34MM annual rate of pay for Harper and assuming that the organization is unable to trade Myers, there’d only be three seasons in which the Padres were on the hook for all of those salaries. Combined, those three would equal $77.5MM — a huge sum for three players by San Diego’s standards, but come 2023 they’d be paying Harper and Hosmer under $50MM combined with Myers off the books. And, given the Padres’ deluge of oncoming talent from one of the game’s top-ranked farm systems, it’s likely that Harper and Hosmer could be largely surrounded by pre-arbitration players. Fernando Tatis Jr., Luis Urias and Francisco Mejia could all potentially join Harper and Hosmer as regulars in that theoretical lineup by the end of the 2019 season.

None of that is to say that a deal between the two sides is likely, but the financial component may be far easier to navigate than many would expect upon first glance. The meeting is just one step in what would surely be an arduous negotiation process, but it seems clear that current Padres ownership is at least open to the possibility of high-level spending before its hopeful core emerges at the big league level.

MLBTR Poll: Have Teams Become Too Conservative In Free Agency?

By TC Zencka | January 27, 2019 at 7:08pm CDT

As we approach February of a second straight long-gestating free agent winter, the top two free agents remain curiously unsigned. Rather than drive a bidding war, Bryce Harper and Manny Machado’s concurrent free agencies have snailed along with only the White Sox and Phillies as definitive suitors. More so than usual, there is a growing sense of discord between the owners and players, steering these economically-opposed-but-conjoined forces towards a potentially destructive labor negotiation in 2021, per Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.

Teams at both ends of the competitive spectrum are contributing to this contentious ecosystem. At one end, bottom feeders like the Orioles, Marlins, and Blue Jays are realizing the long odds of winning their divisions and choosing the judicious (and totally understandable) approach to team building, largely abstaining from free agency. At the same time, there are more than a few teams with wide-open competitive windows who nonetheless remain passive in free agency, citing financial limitations or a need for future flexibility. The competitive balance tax, intended as a punitive fee to help balance the league, has instead become a scapegoat for large market teams to avoid significant free agent spending. Public opinion lands on both sides of the fence, with owners painted as evolving at best and collusive at worst, while the players are viewed, alternatively, as a whiny group of greedy millionaires or a disenfranchised labor force facing an unemployment crisis.

Receiving the brunt of the criticism at present is the Dodgers, back-to-back National League champions whom many expected to make a play for Harper. Despite their reputation as big spenders, however, it’s been quite some time since the Dodgers played the part of spendthrift, tweets Fancred’s Jon Heyman. When they hired former Rays GM Andrew Friedman before the 2015 season, there was excitement over what Friedman could do when given the reins to the Los Angeles machine. What has conspired instead brings to light a whole new question: how much revenue can the Dodgers clear under Friedman’s watchful spending? In theory, they’ve stuck a perfect balance between large market spending and small market creativity, but the reaction hasn’t been quite so laudatory.

For example, in staying true to his ever-creative roster management, Friedman shipped the erratic trio of Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp and Alex Wood to the attraction-starved Reds for a pair of promising prospects and the remains of Homer Bailey, whom they released. We asked MLBTR readers for your opinion, and 45% thought the Reds won the deal against only 18% who pegged the Dodgers as the winner. There was another 24% who thought the trade was a win-win, but it was an overall underwhelming reaction to a move the Dodgers likely view as a creative means to acquire future assets in return for volatile performers who proffered no future value to the club beyond 2019.

The above trade, combined with their complete lack of interest in Harper and Machado gives the impression of a team disinclined towards large payroll expenditures. Accurate or not, the optics have born itself out in the public reaction – so long as Harper and Machado remain on the market, the cries for ownership to open up their wallets and “do whatever it takes to win” will not cease. And yet, the “throw money at it” approach to problem solving, long en vogue among sports franchise front offices, has gone decidedly out of style.

When pressed about the their lack of interest in Harper, Dodgers president Stan Kasten rejected any idea of frugality on the Dodgers’ part, per Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times. Kasten repeatedly cites attendance numbers to rebuke the idea of fan discontent while also railing against the public invention of false narratives. While that does sound an awful lot like another billionaire using the “fake news” moniker as blanket refutation of public sentiment, it’s worth considering his perspective. On the one hand, the Dodgers are being targeted here not because they’ve made poor decisions, necessarily, but because their market, the current competitive landscape, and traditional expectations of free agency peg them as one of the likeliest overspenders. That they aren’t taking the bait and competing literally at all costs shouldn’t necessarily make them the poster team for the current lack of spending. They did, after all, make the largest cash commitment to a position player thus far this winter.

And yet, with those sky high attendance numbers in tow, it’s certainly possible that the Dodgers are both among the highest-spending franchises in baseball and also among those most at fault for stifling the market. Keep in mind this exploration from Craig Calcaterra of NBC Sports, this isn’t simply a Dodger issue – this is a categorical questioning of the fairness, or smartness, or rightness of team spending throughout the league. The Dodgers are the team currently left holding the bag, but the Cubs, Yankees, Giants, Astros, Indians and others could all be accused of underspending, to various degrees. Only the Red Sox and Nationals had the gall (pride? guts? willingness?) to exceed the luxury tax in 2018. Of course, it’s not “crossing the tax line” at issue, it’s that the refusal to engage the free agent market leaves wins on the table. The rigidity with which large market teams are refusing to pay the tax is baffling, especially as more and more GMs attest that there’s no mandate from ownership to do so. The party line in front offices across the league isn’t that ownership won’t pay, it’s that ownership is finally hep to the fact that big contracts means big risk that sometimes turns into a big, constant reminder of ownership’s failings. In Los Angeles, the Angels have the best player in baseball, and the best argument against these monster contracts. The Dodgers, meanwhile, have a string of six straight division titles and two straight pennants. It’s easy to understand why Kasten believes in his club’s approach.

Time remains for Harper and Machado to land the types of mega-deals they’re seeking, and they will, no doubt, end up with a sum of money that, out of context, will boggle the mind. But in context, it’s more complicated. See Grandal, Yasmani. Teams are spending less in free agency than they used to and it’s incumbent upon the game’s biggest stars to set the market. Anything less would be a disservice to the players who don’t have the same leverage.

So where do MLBTR readers stand on the state of free agency in 2019? Have teams evolved to the point that’s simply frustrating for players? Are owners valuing revenue over contention in a way that threatens the underlying infrastructure of the sport? Should players readjust their expectations? Or is this the battle that’s worth going to the mattresses?

Even, is this just what a flatter marketplace looks like? With opposing sides taking longer than usual to find a middle ground? Regardless, the debate rages on. What do you think?

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NL Notes: Mets, Harper, Machado, Rockies, Dodgers, Kenley, Reds

By Connor Byrne | January 26, 2019 at 10:35pm CDT

The Mets haven’t been connected to outfielder Bryce Harper or infielder Manny Machado – the best free agents available this offseason – in part because, “I don’t know how many teams have two $30-million players,” COO Jeff Wilpon said this week (via Tim Healey of Newsday). Wilpon was alluding to the Mets’ highest-paid player, outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, who will make just shy of $30MM per year over the next two seasons. But Cespedes is not under contract thereafter, may not even play in 2019 because of heel problems, and will have insurance cover some portion of his money while he’s on the shelf. Still, whether the outfield’s a pressing need for the Mets is debatable, as they have Brandon Nimmo, Michael Conforto, Juan Lagares and Keon Broxton headlining that group. Wilpon noted the Mets “have some pretty good lefty outfielders” in Nimmo and Conforto, lessening the need for Harper. Entering the offseason, they weren’t as fortunate on the left side of their infield, where Machado could have made a huge difference. The team has since signed Jed Lowrie, though, and it’s seemingly content to go forward with him as its primary third baseman and Amed Rosario at shortstop. However, even after reeling in Lowrie (and acquiring other pricey veterans in Robinson Cano, Wilson Ramos, Jeurys Familia and Justin Wilson), the Mets are still roughly $40MM under the luxury tax, Healey points out. Nevertheless, the big-market club is apparently content to stay out of the sweepstakes for both Harper and Machado.

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