Back in September, the Marlins offered Dan Uggla a three-year deal “in the range of” $24MM, according to Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald. Uggla should earn $10MM through arbitration next season after hitting 33 homers and posting a career-best .877 OPS in 2010, so the team’s initial offer seemed inadequate, as I pointed out at the time:
“The Marlins' offer does not appear to be worth taking, but the sides have six months before the 2011 season, so the team's proposal is by no means final.”
The Marlins have since doubled the value of their offer and are now prepared to spend $48MM over four years, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. If we assume Uggla is set for a payday of roughly $10MM in 2011, that means the Marlins are offering nearly $13MM per year for Uggla’s age 32-34 seasons. Those would otherwise be free agent years for the second baseman, who can hit the open market after 2011.
Uggla may be able to earn more than $38MM for his 2012-14 production if he hits free agency instead of signing an extension. But the Marlins are willing to offer the money now. For Uggla to have a shot at a $50MM payday next offseason, he would have to stay healthy and continue hitting 30 homers a year.
Uggla hasn’t accepted the Marlins’ offer and if he still wants the five-year $58MM deal he was reportedly seeking earlier in the fall, he may not accept it. That’s his prerogative, of course, but Florida’s offer now seems fair.
Seems like a catch-22. It’s a fair, market-value offer, but everybody knows that if teams get desperate and the free agent market is dwindling, a player’s value can be greatly inflated. Uggla could be the beneficiary of just such a market place. However, $48MM right now seems like a good deal. It’s a question of who is hedging their bets; Uggla or the Marlins?
This kind of crap makes me happy that I’m not a delusional millionaire.
$12M per through his 34-year-old season would easily make Uggla the second highest paid second baseman in baseball. And he’s not even close to the second best second baseman in baseball.
I don’t want to wish ill on anybody, but I’m kind of hoping he has a down year and is forced to “settle” for three years, $21M.
Won’t happen. Even if he’s hurt all season before he hits free agency, a team will overpay him and they’ll hope he has a bounceback season
Doubtful. Do you think anyone would be willing to pay Josh Beckett 4 years and 68 million dollars after this years performance? The same could happen to Uggla, or anyone. I tried to argue this point to no avail after the Beckett signing this off season. Many on this board don’t seem to see the value in security. Hopefully examples like Beckett will make the picture more clear.
Doubtful. Do you think anyone would be willing to pay Josh Beckett 4 years and 68 million dollars after this years performance? The same could happen to Uggla, or anyone. I tried to argue this point to no avail after the Beckett signing this off season. Many on this board don’t seem to see the value in security. Hopefully examples like Beckett will make the picture more clear.
I’m curious to know who you think is the second best 2B. I imagine you think Cano or Utley is atop the list, but Uggla is no worse than third…
Utley, Pedrioa, Cano, then Uggla. If you factor in defence/offence.
Factor in defense and Phillips enters the conversation at the least
Brian, my mistake. Phillips is totally in there too.
Including defense, Brian Roberts has to be in the conversation, this past year notwithstanding. Offensive numbers are comparable to Uggla’s (via OBP, not SLG; Roberts has fewer HRs and more 2Bs and 30+ SBs vs 0), and he’s a decent-to-good defender.
Including defense, Brian Roberts has to be in the conversation, this past year notwithstanding. Offensive numbers are comparable to Uggla’s (via OBP, not SLG; Roberts has fewer HRs and more 2Bs and 30+ SBs vs 0), and he’s a decent-to-good defender.
Wait a second…did you even see Utley’s defense in the NLCS?
Wait a second…have you ever heard of small sample size?
Wait a second…that small sample size just happened to be in the playoffs where defense counts most.
Wait a second… Do you watch more baseball than just the 2010 NLCS? 😉
Uggla’s D is nowhere near Utley’s. Seriously, folks. C’mon. Uggla’s a great offensive force at 2B, but his defensive skill set has and never will be “among the best”. Utley, Cano and Pedroia are the elite. Phillips is in the conversation. Perhaps Roberts, too. Not Uggla, if we factor-in defense. I’m an Uggla fan – works hard, consistently produces, guts it out every day, and apparently is a good teammate if he can help keep Han-Ram in check (no easy task) – but let’s be realistic. He’s a bopper not a gold-glove stopper.
I wasn’t defending Uggla’s defense prowess at all but after watching Utley’s defense I have to say not too impressed. Would rather have better defense in the post-season or the regular season? Now I’m not a Pittsburg fan so I don’t know what he was like before he came to the Giants but after watching Freddy Sanchez for the last 2 seasons he has to be up there for great defensive 2nd baseman. You have to admit Gold Glove awards are not always given to the person with the best defense because the award is sometimes indicative of how well you swing the bat and one player might not get as much love as the next. Rafael Palmeiro doesn’t play most of the season and gets the award…wait what? Plus you can’t sit through 162 games for one player and judge every play so sometimes the most well known players are just given the award. I just hope that Andres Torres gets his recognition this year because in centerfield there was no one who could cover as much ground as that guy. I mean most of the season he was playing in between Burrell and Huff.
I’ve never been impressed with Utley’s defense. IMO, Utley’s defense is overrated and Uggla’s is underrated. Most people that say Uggla is a hack at second just watched the All Star game. Sabermetrics have never made much sense to me, Utley can be + so many runs and Uggla can be – so many, but they both end up with the same number of errors. I know FLD% doesn’t tell the whole story, but neither do sabermetrics.
Most of the time managers don’t even go off the new statistics because most of the time a great baseball play is seen with your eyes and not numbers. But the gold glove award has always been a popularity contest and I hope it changes for the foreseeable future because the system is so jacked that Derek Jeter is awarded for his defensive play in 2010…
Sorry updating.
Utley, Pedroia, Cano, Kinsler, Uggla, Phillips, Roberts.
How’s that?
Prado is somewhere in the conversation too…
Pedroia and Kinsler are probably third and fourth
A lot of times when I see these situations, I think a lot of it has more to do with the years than the money. Uggla is probably looking more at getting a contract to take him to his age 35-36 season (worth a fair value) than taking a contract that is going to put him back on the market (and in the same place) at age 34. Baseball is quickly skewing towards youth, and it seems like more players care about security (again at “fair” market value) in years, than security in dollars.
Just an observation….
I’d like to see them give him 3/40 or 4/52.5…He has earned it and there are definite incentives on both sides if they can work out a deal.
i would of turned down the 3/24 too, and i would think about the 4/48 offer, but if i were Uggla i would probably see what i can get on the market next winter.
Maybe its not about the money. Maybe he just wants to play somewhere else? Maybe he wants to play in front of more than 500 fans? New stadium or not, south Florida isn’t exactly baseball country.
I don’t believe this will happen but anything is possible in the MLB. Uggla won’t resign with the Marlins so the Marlins listen to offers. The Twins have a hole at 2B and plenty of good prospects to trade for him. They could get Uggla for a David Bromberg, Slowey, and Revere package and resign him for 4 yr/$48 mill. The only difference is that Uggla would then have the chance to win championships with the Twins, whereas he wasn’t going to with the fish.
It is a fair deal for Uggla. Yes he has a great bat, but a terrible glove in an important defensive position. Uggla should take that guaranteed money
I’m guessing this gets worked out…maybe a 5th year option with a couple million buyout…increased incentives for awards etc. If they are this close I think it will get worked out
Yup. They’re pretty close now and Uggla hasn’t flat out rejected it, which makes you think his agents are negotiating that 5th year. Personally, I think PA-incentive based contracts are respectable and responsible.
It looks like Loria is finally opening his checkbook again (do people even write checks these days?), this offer looks a hell of a lot better than their first offer. Uggla and his agent should ponder it for a while. He could be seeking that 5th year though, making it 4 years past his free agent year. I say the Marlins offer him a 5 year, $53 million deal and front load it some, so that way if he regresses offensively or defensively or both in those final two years, the cost won’t be as hard to swallow.
Front loading is hard for clubs that have little money. The Marlins are hoping to grow into money, so the reverse is more likely for this contract, I think. Of course, I’m not in the negotiations or anything, but I’d figure a PA-incentive-based-option 5th year (yes, that in fact is the technical term) would have some benefit for both sides.
I hadn’t thought of an option like that but that would probably work great for them both. The Marlins are a tough team to have a front loaded contract. Looking at the major salary commitments for next season (on Cot’s) it looks like both Johnson and Hanley get $4 million raises each, so another $4 million raise on top of that for them might be difficult anyway. Still, at least they are close on something right now.
I think Uggla is looking at the stadium situation and is thinking it’s going to be a one-year wonder. Because of that, he wants to be drastically overpaid or he’s not going to stick around. He’s giving the Marlins three choices: 1) Pay 15+mil p/a and 5+ years, or 2) Go to arb, get 10mil and walk next fall, or 3)Non-tender me and I’ll get my payday now, in a different uni.
I don’t blame him if that’s his thinking. After year one, nobody is going to that ballpark. It’s really not very accessible, unless you live in Little Havana, and the neighborhood around it ain’t that great. The Palm Beach and Ft. Lauderdale portions of their fan base just aren’t going to venture 45-70 miles south (that’s one way) in I-95 rush hour traffic just to catch a game.
I think he has them over a barrel and he’s going to make them pay dearly.
Really, you have to wonder what those Florida clubs are thinking regarding the location of their stadiums. The Rays are in a horrible location as well and suffer because of it. And to think they were winning…
How is a ballpark in downtown Miami not really accessible? Granted it’s not smack in the middle of Miami, but seriously… how long was the Orange Bowl around, 60 years? It’s not like a stadium is a new adventure for the area. I’m so over these excuses from so called Marlins fans. I live in North Broward and plan on taking Tri-Rail to MetroRail to Miami Intermodal Center to Shuttle to Stadium… at least that’s what appears to be the working cycle for getting to the ballpark right now. Cheaper, quicker, no traffic, less things for me to worry about. Stop crying and support your team for once.
How is a ballpark in downtown Miami not really accessible? Granted it’s not smack in the middle of Miami, but seriously… how long was the Orange Bowl around, 60 years? It’s not like a stadium is a new adventure for the area. I’m so over these excuses from so called Marlins fans. I live in North Broward and plan on taking Tri-Rail to MetroRail to Miami Intermodal Center to Shuttle to Stadium… at least that’s what appears to be the working cycle for getting to the ballpark right now. Cheaper, quicker, no traffic, less things for me to worry about. Stop crying and support your team for once.
Like I said…Marlins will end up trading the guy.
Yep, that’s option number 4, but probably not until after silly, er, free-agent season. Hell maybe not until the deadline next year, although that would be pretty damn dumb IMO.
Honestly, Im not surprised or really angry that Uggla turned it down. Lets face it, he has been one of the most productive 2B in baseball for years. He is the ONLY 2B EVERY to have 4 30+ HR seasons. While HRs arent everything, he has provided production in a lineup that has been sub par at times when he was there.
Anyways, at his age, IMO, he is looking more for security than dollars. Take off a few million a season and add that 5th year(really only 4 more years than what he has now), and he accepts. Even if you dont think he can stay at 2B by 35, he can play 3B, 1B or LF.
I think he stays at 2B. His fielding isn’t good enough to be at a corner infield spot. And LF? I think that’s a stretch. The only other position that could be possible is DH in the AL and that’s years from now.
I’ve heard 3b thrown around in the past with Uggla and I think if you can play 3b you can probably play 1b. Would he be good at either defensive position? No idea. LF is probably the easiest position to play.
And yea, he has DH written all over him after his next deal
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It’s been thrown around but never executed. The Marlins should have converted him to 3B last season. Their IF would have been way better.
1B- G.Sanchez; 2B- Coughlin; SS- Hanley; 3B-Uggla.
That leaves an OF spot open for Cameron Maybin and that makes the lineup way better.
lol @ Maybin making a lineup better. Maybe in Triple A.
And anyway, Cogs is supposed to be anchoring third, he won’t be in LF anymore… Morrison has that locked down. Morrison, Maybin (fml), and Stanton in the OF.
Trade him.
i hate to say it, but i have to agree. get some pitching while his trade value is high. it does not appear he wants to be here (miami) anymore.
Trade him to the Twins. David Bromberg (top 20 Twins prospect), Kevin Slowey, and Ben Revere (top 5 prospect)
Do you seriously think the Twins are going to pay him what he wants?
New Target Field is bringing in a lot more revenue than was expected so yea they could pay him a good amount of money if it means locking down the 2B position for multiple years.
Uggla to the Giants anyone?