Ian Desmond‘s winter did not progress as expected, as he landed with the Rangers on a one-year, $8MM deal after turning down a $15.8MM qualifying offer from the Nationals. Even more surprising than the magnitude of the contract was the fact that he’ll be shifting off of the shortstop position in Texas. As Desmond begins preparing to move to left field, at least for the time being, here are some reactions to the signing:
- Desmond seems determined to make the best of the situation, as Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports reports. He expressed frustration in the impact of the qualifying offer system on his market, but even as he said “it’s clear that something needs to change,” he made equally clear that he won’t let that get in the way of his new opportunity. “I’m extremely excited,” Desmond said. “I’m extremely grateful, also. … As for swallowing my pride and learning a new position, that’s not going to be a problem.”
- From the Rangers’ perspective, too, the move represents — at least in some part — an effort to make the best of a trying situation, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports. The injury issues surrounding Josh Hamilton left the team without a clear solution in left field, and now Desmond will be tasked with that job. GM Jon Daniels made clear that Elvis Andrus will be the team’s shortstop, and also that Desmond is slated for regular duty in left — meaning that Hamilton’s own role will be determined when he’s back in action. “This move is about 2016, about adding a winning piece and a winning man,” said Daniels. Meanwhile, Desmond added that he’s long thought about playing in the grass, and is most committed to the same ideals that Daniels described. “I made the decision when the offseason began I wanted to be part of something more than just our names on the back of our jerseys; I wanted to win,” he said. “I felt that if to do that, I needed to move positions, I would consider it.”
- ESPN.com’s Keith Law rates the signing as a rare miss for the Texas front office, arguing that Desmond’s bat isn’t good enough to justify the sacrifice of the 19th overall pick in the upcoming draft. There are a variety of options on hand who might be expected to provide similar overall production, he reasons, citing several traditional outfielders as well as conceivable converts such as Jurickson Profar, Ike Davis, and Joey Gallo. Law does note that there’s some potential value in Desmond’s versatility, including that he could present a theoretical alternative to Andrus at short, as well as the clubhouse presence he brings.
- Jeff Sullivan of Fangraphs, meanwhile, sees the sense in the signing for Texas. By his reckoning, Desmond has a reasonable amount of upside, has shown the kind of athleticism and work ethic to believe he’ll turn into a solid outfielder, and could conceivably step in on the left side of the infield or move around the field if a need arises. For Desmond, argues Sullivan, the deal obviously represents a disappointment in light of the reported extension offer he rejected from the Nationals, but that was a justifiable decision at the time.
- The Mets never strongly pursued Desmond, even before they added Asdrubal Cabrera, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). New York “didn’t see the value early,” Heyman writes. The Rays and other clubs were in on Desmond at the end, according to Heyman (on Twitter). Meanwhile, the Orioles checked in on the free agent, but they never made a formal offer, he adds.
- Other organizations did, however, show earlier interest, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney writes. The issue, per the report, may have been that Desmond and his representatives simply held out too long. It’s not entirely clear whether that approach was driven by hopes of getting a significant contract or disinterest in signing in a “super-utility” role, but Olney seems to suggest that some possible avenues to a bigger deal were not taken when they were available.
- It’s not hard to understand why Desmond would have sought a contract and playing situation commensurate with his high overall level of performance, of course, but Olney notes that his new role in Texas may close the door on the possibility of a major future signing as a premium up-the-middle player. It will certainly be interesting to see whether he gets a chance to show his form elsewhere on the diamond. Scouts tell Barry Svrluga of The Washington Post (on Twitter) that Desmond has the athleticism to be an outfielder, but they also feel that he could have stayed at shortstop without issue.
Well…. Can’t be much worse than the Hanley Ramirez experiment. Good news for him, however, is Arlington is a great place to rebuild value as a hitter. If he has a big year, look out. A FA that can play OF and SS in a dry 2016-2017 FA market is a valuable player.
How is a guy who is going to be an everyday LF have a .674 OPS last year and supposed to be exciting? Desmond’s value as a hitter comes from playing SS, those are bad numbers for an everyday OF. Outfielders have to have at least a .750+ OPS or else they’re a liability. Desmond’s been falling off at the plate and I don’t see how moving to a league with no clear bad teams is going to help him or the team.
So you only cite is one off year as who he is as a player? Many guys have an off year in their career. Before last year, Desmond had 3 straight Silver sluggers, and over those 3 years a combined OPS of almost .800 never hitting under 20 homeruns. There is a lot of upside in desmond.
How is there upside with Desmond? The best years of his career are behind him already and he’s only 30. I’m not saying he didn’t deserve them or he’s a bad player but he did get the Silver Slugger at SS. That’s not a huge accomplishment given the SS in the NL at the time. Plus he’ll be too focused on transitioning to the OF (where he’s never played) to be a huge offensive threat.
Being the best hitter at your position isn’t a huge accomplishment? I’m going to have to disagree there.
Who was his competition? A hurt Tulowitzki? There are not many offensive threats at SS
Hanley Ramirez, Jimmy Rollins, Jeter, Hardy, Reyes, were all offensive threats until last year.
How has it taken this long to mention Brandon Crawford?
That’s my whole point, he’s not getting any Silver Sluggers as a LF. And lets be real here, SS awards are basically dictated by homers. Desmond’s got power, no doubt, but all of his hit tools are otherwise pretty below average.
I mean, I guess $8M for a 20-25 home runs from LF with a .300-ish OBP isn’t the worst contract in the world, but Desmond loses a massive amount of value by changing positions and there’s a bunch of guys at AAA who could put up those numbers for minimum wage.
Crawford’s only been a legit offensive threat for one season.
Dont be foolish, this wasn’t a “off year” it was a contract year.
Yes, and he wasn’t injured at all. He’s just….kinda bad at hitting.
He lives to constantly screw himself out of money! Great place to land, but can anyone say “bumpy landing “?
Desmond’s 3 straight silver sluggers don’t mean squat because he earned them as a SS and the 3rd one was a gift — that fits in perfectly with Just Another Fan’s argument. Desmond is decent as a SS but well below average as an OF. His numbers have been tailing off the last few years. His combined OPS over the last three seasons is well below the .800 you reference. In fact his 3-year slash is decent for a SS but average for a corner OF — .256/.311/.423 for a .734 OPS. Those numbers, more than the qualifying offer, are why he was squeezed out this past winter.
It’s not really clear how David Murphy with a 283/.318/.421 slash can’t get an MLB contract but Desmond turns down first a guaranteed ~$90 million then $15.8 million and still gets $8 million to play LF with his average-at-best for a LF numbers. He might be simultaneously the worst judge of his own market value and the luckiest guy to still get decently paid in MLB history. Has anyone left more money on the table in MLB history without getting injured than him?
David Murphy is arguably as good a LF as Ian Desmond, but Ian Desmond’s still a very decent SS. I’m betting Texas will trade him to a team who’s SS gets hurt, especially if Hamilton somehow comes back or Brinson and Mazara continue to destroy minor league pitching.
In this argument you state that his numbers are both well below average for an OFer and also average for an OFer. If we got an average OFer on a one year deal that will allow our prospects the time they need to develop I don’t see how it’s a bad deal. If he has a bounce back season we will be able to offer him a QO again next season (unless they change the system) or if we fall out of contention we should be able to trade him. He not only offers us a starting caliber option at LF but also gives us major league depth in case one of our infielder goes down which very well could happen.
Desmond is only a starting caliber LF because the GM said he would start there and the Rangers have no other options. Just because he was average or a little above at SS doesn’t mean his defense will translate to the OF.
No, it’s absolutely the QO. Without he’d be looking at 60+ million. Desmond has a terrific track record and had 1 terrible half of a season, he was good in the second half (not only his hitting but his defense also improved). He’s an average to above average starting SS with upside for more, he had 3 4+ win years until this past year. I agree his profile is of a guy that is risky as he ages but he’s worth a lot more than he got.
I agree. Also if Beltre or Andrus go down for extended amount of time and Gallo isn’t ready, Desmond’s value will truely exceed his contract. As long as he hits like he has for is whole career, not the one bad half season he had last year. Also, people will be praising the Texas gm. for signing Desmond. And making all these Desmond bashers eat their words. I’m a Cubs fan but also a baseball fan and I think Texas made a smart signing and got a bargain. And Desmond will prove he is worth 8 million and a lot more. Just one baseball fan’s opinion.
So your sayin a first round pick in this case is worth 52 million.
The first round pick contrary to what some baseball writers are saying like Rosenthal totally changed his market and doesn’t have a set $$$ value. There were teams that weren’t interested in Desmond that would have been if not for the pick (Padres being the biggest example as well as Tampa Bay Rays/and surely other teams as well. It completely shrinked his market.
He has only himself and his agent to blame. The QO pays in the neighborhood of what the top golfers, NBA players, and NFL players get. 15 months ago he turned down an offer that would have paid him more than Tom Brady makes. Turned down a contract that would have paid him more than Adrian Peterson makes, in the neighborhood as what LeBron James makes. Think about how much mid-tier MLB players are making compared to the top players in other sports. Their greed is what is to blame here, nothing else
Every market is different. He and his agent obviously didn’t get the best result, and may have misread things, but your comparisons hardly prove he’s somehow a particularly greedy person. All they show is that the MLBPA has been better, historically, at getting its best players lined up for significant contract guarantees.
No, he has a broken system to blame.
It’s more his fault and his agents fault for the situation he put himself in. He turned down a huge contract 15 months ago. One that would have paid him in the range of all but the top athletes in the NBA, NFL, and golf. The QO of almost $16M is a crazy amount of money for an mid tier athlete. He only has himself and greed to blame for this
“He was good in the 2nd half”
His OPS was .777. That’s meh. That’s about a one year 8 mill deal.
Still not sure how Washington saw $100mil of value in this guy.
I guess it’s better to be lucky than smart.
He was a top 2 player at his position till this past year, it is not hard to see.
Desmond led SS in fWAR from 2012-2014. That’s 3 seasons, aka a peak. He has never been good outside of those 3 seasons. He’s also not playing SS this year, so his bat goes from above average to poor.
Washington absolutely dodged a bullet with this, and Trea Turner falling into their lap was extreme luck. No one in their right mind would rather have Desmond over Turner in 2016.
3 years is a big sample and it’s not like he was that old last year.
I’d rather have Desmond over Turner in 2016 not that Turner isn’t likely to be good, he just probably won’t be immediately (also doesn’t sound like Wash is interested in starting his clock early).
Last year left fielders had a 99 wRC+ though RF at 107, I don’t see any reason why Desmond can’t be about average. And Desmond should have been signed by a team needing a SS, he isn’t hanley, he was roughly average last year with glove and quite a bit better in second half.
Because he has Tattoos of Bryce Harper on his penis
He’s better than the OFs that were left, and he’s better than what Texas had with Hamilton out. Affordable signing, even with the pick.
Drives me crazy that be blamed it on the QO. Just man up and say you or your agent did not properly judge the market. You can’t cry about it afterwards. He was made a substantial extension offer by the Nats and then was offered a 15.8 million dollar offer rejecting both. I’m for the players but that doesn’t mean you should always get every single dollar. If he would have came out with a reasonable 3-5 year deal he would have got. Like Stephen Drew and Morales before him, he deserves this big piece of humble pie.
The QO is a way for the player and agent to make excuses for making terrible decisions with contracts
The QO is a way for ownership to make excuses for being cheap, pocketing revenue, and not trying to improve there good team.
“Improving a team” means using a first round draft pick, not wasting money on a washed up former all-star.
He’s not washed up based on 1 half of a year. And Improving a team this year means being willing to give up a first round pick (or second rounder if protected) for the betterment of your franchise short and long term (looking at you LAA/NYY/Cleveland (though they were more cheap)
Are you his agent?
Well said. I agree 100%
Yep, it’s also really hard to feel bad for a guy who will make more money this year than every poster in this thread will combined.
I can’t remember a time in the past 10-15 years where a player turned down so much guaranteed money (over $100 million for 7 years, then ALSO turned appx. $15 with the qualifying offer. What a pattern of horrible decisions. Not only should his agent be fired, fans all around the league should boo Desmond every time he steps foot in the batter’s box. How much $$ is enough? Not only is he earning $8 million on a 1 year contract (obviously a lot of money to those who don’t play professional sports) he is going to be an outfielder/utility player moving forward and will never again see his earning potential reach any higher. Athletes all over should use Desmonds horrible decisions moving forward when thinking about negotiating or rating their self worth.
On top of that he blames the system! It’s the systems fault he didn’t get 140 million as a free agent this offseason.
It amazes me GoRav114.
I understand a player being extremely confident, but there is a difference between being confident and plain stupid/greedy.
And he wasn’t stupid/greedy
No, it’s the system’s fault he didn’t get a chance at an unfettered market. There’s no question at all he’d have drawn far more interest and a much bigger contract without the QO. You can call that acceptable or not, but denying the effect is unsupportable.
Well, actually, he had a bad season, and that was partly to blame, and two, after having a bad season, maybe taking the 15.8 million, (since it’s an average salary for the top 125 players) and rebuilding value in that way, would of been the best course of action, of course, hindsight is always 20/20.
Jeff Todd…”it’s the system’s fault”???? Aren’t you looking only at the player/agent’s perspective of what they want the system to do? If you think “the system” is designed to give the players as much money as humanely possible, then yes the system does not do that. Does that mean the system is broken or at fault for not giving every player their entire wish list? That’s absurd. “The system” is also for the owners and teams. That’s why it’s “the system”. The system allows the players to make a ton of money, while at the same time giving teams the right to protect the value of some of their assets, and to put a little bit of control on the salaries owners pay out. It’s not very restrictive, especially, it’s not as restrictive as Desmond paints it. Frankly, he and his agent made a strategic mistake. It’s costing him millions and rather than accept responsibility for his mistake, he’s blaming”the system”. What he really wants is a do-over to collect on that $105 million contract or at a minimum the QO money and another chance ar a big contract next off-season.
Really? You want people to boo him because he turned down more money than you think he is/was worth.?
I’ve never been more impressed by another player than Desmond, who has always been a stand-up guy, seems to be a great family man, and draws glowingly positive reviews from teammates/media/etc.
Can’t fathom why turning down an extension would ever be cause for universal revile, but it’s particularly ridiculous to suggest in his case — especially when he’s expressed no bitterness about the situation at all.
+1 for jeff Todd.
Yeah, booing him makes no sense at all…unless you are going to boo him for striking out 200 times and having a sub .700 OPS.. His performance will be reason enough.
I’m not a big fan of booing guys who put in a good effort — take Dan Uggla, for example — but if he doesn’t produce, then by all means treat him as any other player.
This is truly one of the stupidest comments I have seen on MLBTR and that is saying a lot.
Maybe he was tired of Papelbon.
How does a sane person who is barely above average in the sport turn down upwards of 120 million dollars???
Because when he turned that down, he was a well above average hitter. Quit acting like one off year negates everything else he’s ever done. Chris Davis hit .199 in 2014, but lead the league in HR and RBI one year before, and he ended up rebounding nicely. Desmond can and probably will do the same.
Obviously one off year negated everything else he’s ever done. He’s playing left field for 8 million. Lol
Ok please do not compare a real masher like Davis to a guy who’s bat only looked good at SS and looks horrible anywhere else.
So Davis can bounceback, but Desmond cant because he’s not a masher? If Desmond returns to his former self, i’d much rather prefer him than Davis
I agree with most of the commenters here, how in the world do you turn down 107 million? In the hopes of what? Getting 110 million? Unbelievable really, it’s hard to fathom what him or his agent was thinking, your one freak injury or bad season away from nothing. It’s safe to say he’ll likely spend the rest of his life regretting this.
Great point and I fully agree (see my comments) This is something he is going to regret for the rest of his life but will never admit it. Similar to Lincecum turning down a 100+ million contract a few years back.
No it’s not, at that point he was on pace to get considerably more than the 15.3 AAV. It was below his market value at the time, of course quite a few things have gone against them since then.
Whatever, you sign a long term deal for long term security, usually there is a bit of a premium paid for said security, you must be his agent are you? Lol
Oh and 7 x 15.3 million equals 107 million, oh and that’s not fair, gee whiz, and it’s the systems fault, mmmm hmmmm.
Desmond had his eyes set on being the next Yankees SS. Once Gregorious proved he was capable of doing that Desmond probably knew he made a huge mistake by not taking the Nats money and knowing he’ll never get a contract anywhere close to what he was offered. Now he’s getting $8 million to play a position he’s never played before.
Great point, Wilson.
I heard something today that said Desmond was hoping to get $150-$200 million from the Yankees before Gregorious proved himself. I’m not a Yankees fan but even I hope their front office wasn’t dumb enough to actually consider paying him that kind of money.
That still doesn’t explain why he didn’t just take the qualifying offer.
Had his eyes set. No one has an interest playing for the yanks. They have egos and crack heads on that team.
Yankee fans are slow
No stupid point Wilson.
Freddy, grow up brother.
Crazy how difficult people are making left field sound like. I get playing anything well at the Major League level is difficult, but coming off of being a shortstop? I’m not saying he was good at the position, but a lot of people saw things in him athletically that can translate well for him in the OF. Strong arm, good legs. His routes won’t be the best to start, but I think he has a great skill set for a corner OF. The Hanley comparisons are ridiculous. Like one failed conversion from SS to OF is the set rule for all players to follow. Hanley is his own deal. I don’t picture him being any better at 1B than LF.
I’m jealous the Rangers got him for what they did. I’d have been thrilled if the A’s got him for that amount. So I guess here’s to me hoping everyone is right, as an A’s fan,
What I’m mostly curious about is next offseason. Let’s say Desmond repeats poor offensive numbers and struggles in left. Or lets say he plays a decent LF, and hits .300+, 25+ HR, 20 SB. What contract would people guess he would be looking at for both of those scenarios?
With a second straight poor offensive campaign, he’d probably get 1 year, $2-4 million with some incentives.
With a monstrous output like that one, he’d probably get 6 years, $100-120 million. I seriously doubt he’ll do that we’ll and even if he does, he wouldn’t be able to repeat that.
Realistically, I’m thinking he’ll hit about .260/.310/.440 with 20+ HR and 20+ SB. If he puts up solid but sustainable numbers that show he’s rebounded to his career levels, he’d net around 4 years, $50-60 million.
“Or lets say he plays a decent LF, and hits .300+, 25+ HR, 20 SB.”
He’s only hit 25 once and speed isn’t something that “rebounds”.
You’re an A’s fan, you already have the LF version of Ian Desmond in Mark Canha.
Just for the record: despite the decline in stolen bases, he had his best overall season last year on the basepaths, per Fangraphs’ BsR. 11th in baseball.
I agree he doesn’t look like a terribly exciting investment as an everyday corner OF, though at this rate of pay he doesn’t have to do much, and I think TEX is valuing the versatility.
Right, there seemingly is a lot more noise being made about him for non-baseball reasons. But on-field his bat isn’t a sound play in LF, and is way better at SS, where he’s still very solid at. I’m guessing Texas will trade him the moment another teams SS goes down with an injury.
I really like Mark Canha. Who I’m not sold on is Danny Valencia. I will gladly eat my words if he plays the way he did after coming to us last year, I’m just not buying it.
While the free agent compensation system could still be adjusted, there’s no reason to completely overhaul or remove it, as it was mostly Desmond’s own fault for not taking the qualifying offer in the first place, seeing as he wasn’t likely to get an AAV of $15.8M on the open market even without the draft pick attached. The same has also been true of most of the players notably “hurt” by the system over the last few years.
The compensation system still serves a valuable competitive balance role in helping smaller markets recover from losing their best players to free agency and is certainly better than the old A/B player type system that was statistically flawed and left no alternative to the fringe B type players. Also, if more players were smart enough to accept the QO, GMs wouldn’t be as likely to offer them to the fringe players in the first place.
I don’t think the main purpose of the QO is to get players to keep accepting the QO and permanently stay with the original team, or until that team is done with them. Players earn free agency and after playing 6 years in one place, they get the right to play where they want, or at least a chance to negotiate to do so without major limitations. The QO is a major limitation.
Yes, after this season I think a lot more players will accept the QO. And in turn, maybe the GMs will think harder about offering one. But I think that is missing the point.
I would like to see the compensation system go to where the signing team doesn’t lose a first rounder, but the team losing the player gets an added sandwich pick. If the system were to stay where the pick is lost, I’d like to see it be that teams can only offer that player a QO once. So say Desmond accepted, plays a 7th year in Washington, even if he has an MVP type year Nationals have to let him go at that point for nothing. And for players who are seeking their 2nd FA contract, in order to sign a player and hold QO rights at end of contract the contract must have been for 3 years or longer. So in Desmond’s case Rangers wouldn’t be able to offer a QO to Desmond. As it is right now, if you are traded mid season you can’t be offered a QO. So guys make out huge because they were dealt? I don’t get it.
No, that’s not the main purpose, but it is a necessary side affect to give the players an alternate say over the matter than just being saddled with the draft pick with no recourse like they were in the old days. No, it’s not completely fair in the fringe cases, but it’s their GMs’ fault for getting too greedy, so the next best thing for the player is to just take the QO to screw over their greedy GM by possibly blowing his budget, get a really high salary for the next year, and then hit free agency again the next offseason where either the GM probably isn’t stupid enough to make the same mistake twice or increased performance improves his free agent stock past that fringe level.
Removing the draft pick penalty is a possible change, but it’s not really a practical one. The compensation system’s secondary competitive balance function is to punish the big markets that sign a lot of big free agents. The smaller market teams probably wouldn’t be too happy that teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, and Dodgers can keep buying up star players while still keeping their first round picks, leaving only the luxury tax as a penalty for their huge spending sprees. Although, a writer on Fangraphs did have an interesting solution in that the draft pick penalty would be waived if the player settled for a one year contract.
The trade exemption was added in to keep teams from getting draft pick compensation after only having a player for two months. It’s more important to be fair to the teams in that way than the individual players who get a unfair bonus by being dealt..
Face it, the system’s goals of competitive balance among the teams have always had priority over the fairness provided to the individual free agents. There is no perfect way to make it fair to all free agents, and the current system is still quite a bit better than the old one. Players just need to suck it up and sacrifice their right to possibly change teams for one additional year by taking the QO whenever it makes sense to do so.
After Gallardo was signed, Texas stood to have the 19th and 30th overall selections in the draft. How I’m god’s name did there front office not just bring in 3-5 fringe MLB players into Spring Training to compete against several pre-existing internal options to play left field until Hamilton is healthy? Even is Desmond has a rebound year, he will only be slightly above average for a corner outfielder in production. I just do not get this line of thinking at all. Incredibly poor decision by Texas. I cannot believe that anyone in there right mind is attempting to defend the Rangers logic.
Austin Jackson probably cost ya 5 million no draft pick, but maybe it’s more about the clubhouse character, who knows.
Jackson also can’t play on the left side of the infield if a need arises or Elvis Andrus doesn’t turn things around.
True. The statement from the Rangers was he was going to play LF, and they do have extra talented infielders now. I have no problem with the signing at all, I think it’s a good signing for Texas.
Awful signing and waste of money. Within 2 months he’ll be riding the pine. Can’t hit. Who knows if he can play the outfield? What the hell were the Rangers thinking?
What were the Rangers thinking? That’s easy. A buy low candidate who was one of the better producing short stops in the league just 2 years ago for 8 mil a year. They say the money zobrist got and can envision the same type of role for Desmond. Desmond is athletic enough to play the outfield while still being able to fill in most infield roles. And only pay him 8 mil. Plus if he gets hot before the trade deadline, they can flip him if a contender loses their ss or, if he shows he can handle the of, can flip him to just about any contender. If he starts slow or no trade market emerges, they can extend him the qa next year and recoup the draft pick.
Remember mike pelfry (not Jon niese – sorry for the brain fart the other day) got 2/16 from the Tigers. I rather have Desmond for that money.
As a Nationals fan, we are pleased to see Ian land a good contract for 2016. Ian Desmond is a great athlete and leader in the clubhouse that will provide great benefits to the Rangers this year. We miss you already Ian !!
The hate for Ian and the rangers is crazy. The 19th pick to a team in contention with a stacked system. Need a RH bat desperately. Beltre and nothing from the right side and Mazara and Gallo lefty prospects. At best Desmond is Austin Jackson/David Murphy x20. At worst he’s a zobrist light, club house guy, trade chip, and someone reminding andrus not to be laughably bad at sorry. For a late first rounder from a contender with a solid to very good system. Do this every day.
No, at worst he’s a .674 OPS hitter playing everyday in a position he’s never thought about before.
At best he’s basically Mark Canha. I won’t even get into how hard has K% spiked over the last two seasons.
Ahhh I guess I’ll hope the great athlete with a long track record of hitting 20 and a bad half season turns into an unathletic fringe A, with less than two good months of production that’s never hit 20. That would be the most I could hope for definitely. And yes I’m sure demond can’t play left
Yes he made a mistake not taking the extension. Not only does this not make him a bad guy, it was also much more widely reported he turned it down out of not wanting to set a low bar for extensions similar to his, and not some case of greed and dreams of taking over the jeter mantle. Yankee fans are hilarious though.
That extension he turned down included a ton of deferred money. Someone posted the link in the comment section the other day. (Sorry I don’t remember who it was, but I appreciate it when people link the documents they use as a reference)
It’s not always about the money. He may have been ready for a change if scenery. He won’t be living in poverty making 8 million for one year. He probably even had other offers.
I just don’t understand why a team didn’t sign him to at least platoon at SS. His defense is still top 20 at the position.
I’m not sure why the Rockies didn’t go after him knowing Reyes may be out for a while. I think Desmond would be a decent fit for them. He would be better than Adames
Maybe some of these players will wise up and start signing the more than generous qualifying offers. THAT was the intention was to have teams have the ability to retain their players at a fair value.
Considering he signed for half elsewhere, you could say the QO is actually too high.
Every conversation now regarding the outcome of this free agency class is pure “hindsight”.
Explain to me the discrepancy in the salaries between players who all had one thing in common this past offseason, the qualifying offer? How can you justify, or reasonably have predicted that Jason Heyward would have received an 8 yrs./$184M contract while Ian Desmond had to settle for a 1 yr/$8M deal? I don’t care what form of measure you might use to value the worth of a player, whether it’s advanced metrics like WAR, scouting reports, past or recent production or any combination of those, there was no way to reasonably predict that Heyward was worth 8 times the years and 23 times the total dollar amount of Desmond. Heyward might be better but he’s not that much better!
How did Jeff Samardzija, a second tier starting pitcher who never surpassed a 2.0 WAR in any individual season and had the worst production of virtually any pending FA in his walk year that resulted in a 0.2 WAR in 2015 still receive a 5 yrs/$90M in comparison to Desmond, the top rated FA at a premium position like SS who had averaged a 3.8 WAR over his last 4 season and despite a “poor” walk year, still managed a 2.0 WAR in 2015?
Perhaps you can reasonably justify it by looking at other factors like market conditions that might include the number of teams who were in need of players at a certain position, which were contenders and who had the financial resources or desire to spend this offseason. This reasoning also fails to account for the way the market eventually panned out. Take the case of two other FA’s who also had the QO in common this offseason, Zack Greinke and Chris Davis. Without the benefit of hindsight, who out there predicted that the Arizona Diamonbacks would have landed Greinke with a 6 yrs/$206.5M contract. His deal in terms of years and dollars wasn’t unexpected, rather it was the team he signed with. Everybody had anticipated Greinke to wind up with a traditional big spending large market club, either re-signing with the Dodgers or inking a deal with the Red Sox, Cubs or Yankees, all teams in need of rotation upgrades. Chris Davis was another example that defies explanation. He was undoubtedly the premier power hitter available this offseason and was expected to get paid. But how did he manage to secure a 7 yrs/$161M contract with no other “acknowledged” suitors this past winter. How many contending big market clubs were in need of a first baseman this offseason? By all accounts, Scott Boras had the Orioles bidding against themselves, just as he did years ago when Alex Rodriguez signed that mega deal with the Texas Rangers. How did Davis wind up with a contract 7 times the years and 20 times the dollars in comparison to a player who like Desmond, who was the top player available at a more premium position, in a market that had more teams in need of a shortstop than a first baseman or DH? I could make a compelling argument that Desmond might actually be a more valuable player than Davis because of his position, athleticism and versatility. Desmond is not only a quality MLB shortstop but has the athleticism to steal 20+ bases and hit 20+ HR’s each year who might also profile at numerous other positions as he ages. Where else would Davis profile other than at DH at the back end of his contract?
To sum it up, he gambled and lost big.
To sum it up, there was no way for Desmond, Fowler, Hendrick or any other FA with a QO to reasonably expect a minimal one or two year contract as a likely outcome. Where were all the geniuses who are now lambasting these free agents and their agents in hindsight at the onset of free agency.
This site had a contest to just pick out the destinations of FA’s which was tough enough to predict. If they would have had one predicting actual contract terms, who would have been bold enough to project a 1 yr.$8M deal for Desmond, a similar one for Fowler or the 2 year deal Kendrick received.
Btw-The blame game could also be targeted elsewhere. How did the White Sox, a team allegedly in an “all-in to win” mode for 2016, one with a reputation for frugality and a horrible record of drafting and developing position players in the past decade, manage to pass on two players, Desmond and Fowler who could have been had on cheap, short term deals? Last I checked, analytic sites like Fangraphs and Zips projected the White sox with 81-83 wins in 2016. These two players might have added 2-4 WAR each over the replacement level players they currently have manning SS and RF. The Cubs re-signed Dexter Fowler with an already loaded outfield while sacrificing a compensatory draft pick they would have gotten had another team done so, because they now deem winning as their ultimate goal. The Rangers sacrificed their #19 first round draft pick to sign Ian Desmond for one year to play a position he has never manned before because they also deem winning as their ultimate goal. Meanwhile, the White Sox have a top-10 protected first round pick and signed neither despite having a need in their lineup for more offense, a shortstop and an outfield upgrade…because apparently, and despite what they claim, they do not deem winning as their ultimate goal.
So the QO offer system as a means for smaller market teams to hang on to their free agents at a fair market value or otherwise be compensated with the signing teams first round pick is working then.