Headlines

  • Cardinals Sign Miles Mikolas To Two-Year Extension
  • Keston Hiura Will Not Make Brewers’ Roster
  • Rhys Hoskins Diagnosed With Torn ACL, Will Undergo Surgery
  • Jed Lowrie Announces Retirement
  • Jose Altuve To Miss About Two Months Due To Thumb Surgery
  • Rockies Sign Jurickson Profar
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2022-23 MLB Free Agent List
    • Top 50 Free Agents
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2023
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Arbitration Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Are Mutual Options Baseball’s New Fad?

By Mike Axisa | March 5, 2010 at 6:02pm CDT

One thing that's become abundantly clear over the last two offseasons is that teams are all about mitigating risk. Long-term contracts have disappeared for players considered to be anything less than elite, and older players have a hard time finding guaranteed big league jobs in any capacity. As shorter contracts have become the norm, we've seen more option years included in deals.

Players are generally reluctant to agree to club options because, obviously, they'd like to retain some control of their future. On the other side of the coin, teams don't like giving out player options because of the risk and cost uncertainty. However, we've seen more mutual options given out this offseason than at any point in the recent past. 

With a mutual option, both sides need to agree to continue the relationship for the option to take effect. If either side declines, then the two sides part ways, so no one has a chance to get burned. It's not uncommon to see an arrangement where the player forfeits the buyout if they're the one to decline the option. Looking at our 2011 free agent list, I see no fewer than a dozen players who agreed to mutual options this offseason, including Trevor Hoffman, Vladimir Guerrero, Jon Garland, Russell Branyan, and Nick Johnson.

For all intents and purposes, mutual options are pointless as far as being an actual option. The one benefit they do provide is the guarantee of more money in the form of a buyout. Even better, these buyouts generally do not count against this year's payroll. Think of it as a way of borrowing from the future to help in the present. Whether or not this trend continues remains to be seen, though it certainly seems to have its advantages.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Discussion

A.J. Pierzynski’s Next Contract
Main
Odds & Ends: AL East, Mauer, D’Backs, Sheets
View Comments (9)

Comments

  1. Guest

    13 years ago

    It certainly helps keep player-management relationships in tact if execised. A lot of times it helps the team more if the player is given a club option but the player has a better chance to sign sometimes if you give him a player or mutual option.

    Reply
  2. Holy_Roman_Emperor

    13 years ago

    Baseball players go for mutual options….

    Baseball fans prefer commemorative plates……..

    Reply
    • lefty177

      13 years ago

      i must say, i love the Jeff Foxworthy joke!

      Reply
  3. joebo

    13 years ago

    I can’t recall a single instance of a mutual option being exercised by both sides. When was the last time it happened?

    Reply
    • Guest

      13 years ago

      Varitek and Moehler.

      Reply
      • Guest

        13 years ago

        varitek’s situation was a little different though

        Reply
  4. smokescreenjones

    13 years ago

    lol

    Reply
  5. Rich_in_NJ

    13 years ago

    It is often said that an oral agreement that will subsequently be put into writing is an agreement to agree. A mutual option is an agreement to maybe agree in the future, but then again, maybe not.

    Reply
  6. EdinsonPickle

    13 years ago

    Wasn’t Varitek’s option a player option?

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.
Log in Register

ad: 300x250_1_MLB

    Top Stories

    Cardinals Sign Miles Mikolas To Two-Year Extension

    Keston Hiura Will Not Make Brewers’ Roster

    Rhys Hoskins Diagnosed With Torn ACL, Will Undergo Surgery

    Jed Lowrie Announces Retirement

    Jose Altuve To Miss About Two Months Due To Thumb Surgery

    Rockies Sign Jurickson Profar

    Braves Option Vaughn Grissom, Braden Shewmake

    Jose Altuve Leaves WBC Game After Hit By Pitch

    Edwin Diaz Undergoes Surgery To Repair Patellar Tendon

    Out Of Options 2023

    Cade Cavalli To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Edwin Diaz Helped Off Field With Right Knee Injury

    José Quintana Out Until At Least July Due To Rib Surgery

    Trevor Bauer Signs With NPB’s Yokohama DeNA BayStars

    Craig Stammen “Highly Unlikely” To Pitch Again Following Shoulder Injury

    Diamondbacks, Corbin Carroll Agree To Eight-Year Deal

    Nationals Sign Keibert Ruiz To Eight-Year Extension

    Rockies Showing Interest In Jurickson Profar

    Andrew Painter Diagnosed With UCL Sprain; Ranger Suarez Dealing With Forearm Tightness

    Marlins, Jose Iglesias Agree To Minor League Contract

    Recent

    Mets To Select Tommy Hunter’s Contract

    Reds Release Hunter Strickland

    Angels Release Luis Barrera, Nash Walters; Chris Devenski To Remain In Organization

    Phillies, Aaron Nola End Extension Negotiations Until After The Season

    Marlins Notes: Iglesias, Gurriel, Sanchez, De La Cruz, Cooper

    Luis Severino Suffers Lat Strain, Likely Headed To Injured List

    Giants Notes: Perez, Sabol, Hjelle, Johnson, Haniger, Cobb, Bishop

    Cardinals Sign Miles Mikolas To Two-Year Extension

    Tigers Notes: Lorenzen, Wentz, Vest, Haase, Rogers

    Pirates Have Continued Interest In Extending Bryan Reynolds

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Offseason Outlook Series
    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Go Ad-Free
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2023
    • 2022-23 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2023-24 MLB Free Agent List
    • MLB Player Chats
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    ad: 160x600_MLB

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • Feeds by Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    hide arrowsFOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top
    Close

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version