We had heard a lot of $20MMish estimates for the winning bid to negotiate with Japanese ace Daisuke Matsuzaka.
However, Joel Sherman’s article yesterday quotes an NL GM who sets the over-under at $33MM. Bob Bavasi mentioned $28MM as the highest figure he had heard when I talked to him earlier this month. With more than ten teams looking to make competitive bids, $30MM+ is becoming more of a reality.
Sherman speculates that Scott Boras could ask for five years and $75MM on top of that posting fee. Now we’re talking a total of $21MM a season for the guy.
The more you think about it, 5/75 is not an unreasonable amount for Boras to demand. Boras has shown in the past with top draft picks that he is able to gain leverage in a situation where his client seemingly has none. Why shouldn’t Matsuzaka be paid like Roy Oswalt? Matsuzaka is a full three years younger.
These kinds of demands are typically only met by the Yankees. In A-Rod, Jeter, and Giambi, the Yanks have three $20MM players for 2007. Randy Johnson gets $16MM and Bobby Abreu $15MM.
My money is officially placed on the Yankees getting Matsuzaka. Other teams just won’t mess with that kind of payout and risk.