Before he re-signed with the Royals on Thursday, third baseman Mike Moustakas did not receive any other offers during his lengthy stay on the free agent market, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. The Angels reportedly offered Moustakas a three-year, $45MM contract, but that’s not the case, according to Buster Olney of ESPN (Twitter link). It was an especially difficult trip to free agency for the 29-year-old Moustakas, who will make $5.5MM – $3.2MM less than last season – despite enjoying one of his best campaigns in 2017. Moustakas discussed his time on the market Saturday, telling Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com and other reporters that it was “frustrating.” Nevertheless, “it feels great” to be back with the Royals, he said.
More from KC and the majors’ Central divisions:
- The Twins agreed to a one-year contract with right-hander Lance Lynn on Saturday, but they were willing to make a greater commitment to the ex-Cardinal during the winter. Minnesota offered Lynn a tw0-year pact then, per Nightengale (Twitter link). As with Moustakas, it was a shockingly underwhelming trek to free agency for Lynn, whose new accord guarantees him $12MM – far less than anticipated when free agency opened in November.
- The Brewers were extremely active in upgrading their outfield during the offseason, as they added the star-caliber twosome of Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich. General manager David Stearns arguably didn’t do enough to bolster the team’s starting staff, on the other hand, having only signed the fairly cheap trio of Jhoulys Chacin, Yovani Gallardo and early spring success story Wade Miley. But Stearns seems largely content with the Brewers’ rotation options, he tells Richard Justice of MLB.com. “Because we don’t have a lot of names in our rotation, I think it’s easy to forget that our starting rotation was the strength of our team last year,” Stearns said. “One of the main reasons we got where we got was because of how good our starting rotation was, especially the second half, and all those guys are still here.” Milwaukee’s rotation was indeed among the league’s best in 2017 (eighth in fWAR, 10th in ERA), though that was thanks largely to emergent ace Jimmy Nelson, who will miss the first couple months of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery last September.
- There has been “brisk” trade interest in left-hander Danny Duffy, a Royals official tells Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Cafardo expects interest in Duffy to increase, though he writes that Kansas City wants “major prospects” back for the 29-year-old. That’s not surprising from Kansas City’s perspective, as Duffy is arguably its best trade chip. Duffy, whom the Royals extended in 2017, is under contract through 2021 at a reasonable total ($60MM), including $14MM in 2018. He tossed 146 1/3 innings of 3.81 ERA/3.46 FIP ball with 8.0 K/9 against 2.52 BB/9 in 2017.
- Reds lefty Joe Mantiply will undergo Tommy John surgery, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com tweets. Mantiply, 27, inked a minor league deal with the Reds in November after spending all of last season with the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate and posting terrific numbers over 70 innings (2.83 ERA, 7.97 K/9, 2.31 BB/9 and a 49.3 percent groundball rate). His only MLB experience to date came during a 2 2/3-inning stint with the Tigers in 2016.
Scott Bor-ass is the worst and he just wants to get his players signed for max money that way he gets more money. He doesn’t care about his clients, idk why players sign with him
So, getting rhem max money is bad?
He is not the only agent who had players struggle to sign.
Players go to him because he gets them what they want, often
Oh, remember, players set what they want and say yes or no..
Is that not his job??
Players choose their agent . Those wanting top dollar choose Boras. Not their fault owners decide to collude/tank
No, Petey, the owners did not collude. This year’s underwhelming class did not deserve big money & long term deals. Remember you even said, “”Those wanting top dollar choose Boras.” What they want & what they ultimately get is way different. I hope those who didn’t get what they want will fire Boras for apparently not doing his job. Anyone can take a number to respective teams & day, “This is what we want.” Anyone.
So did each owner and GM decide on their own all at the same exact time, in conpletely separate parts of the country, without talking to each other at all, that every single FA this offseason wasn’t worth it?
I might be wrong, yoyo, but I’m pretty sure a few guys signed for more than $100MM.
Would you hand out a $100MM deal to Arrieta, who only looked good after he left the AL, and is showing signs of decline already?
I’ve heard a lot of unfounded criticisms of Boras in the past, but “he doesn’t care about them, all he wants is for them to get the largest contract possible” probably takes the cake
He’s like Saul Goodman, you can question his morals as much as you want but he’ll do anything to get his clients what they want.
An agent that only cares about getting his players signed for max money? How awful. No baseball player wants that.
The problem is not that agents are trying to get their clients most money. I just don’t think the kind of shtick that Boras tries has much leverage any more. For good or for ill, FO’s have largely moved on to evaluating talent an values on the basis of numbers and agents need to do the same, find ways to play up the value of their players in terms compatible to sabermetrics driven evaluation, find ways to marshal the data that their clients can do such and such things that are undervalued by the currently fashionable stats and ought to be paid more than what they might seem like they should be paid based on WAR or whatever. Just based on cursory evidence, some agents are indeed moving in this direction, by becoming savvy with the statistics and trying to understand their deficiencies (and how they might best exploit them. It doesn’t seem like Boras has become particularly numbers savvy, though., and this deprives him and his clients bargaining leverage.
It’s harder for all agents. If a team takes a player’s predicted future WAR and decides they’ll pay some multiple of that, that removes a big part of Boras’ job. He’s supposed to be able to convince a team to give his client’s more than the teams want to give. If he can’t do that then all he’s doing is negotiating for the fringes. If the Twins formula says pay Lance Lynn $12 million, then Lynn really doesn’t need to pay so much to an agent.
The potential advantage of a well-informed agent is that statistics, while great, are incomplete and sometimes misleading. Better-run teams know this. Better adapted (to today’s market) agents should know this. They should be able to make an argument, if data permits, that so and so is a better player than his WAR figures seems to indicate. This will take a fairly sophisticated argument and a lot of knowledge of the statistics, both the baseball stats and the mathematical stats, but this seems doable potentially for a lot of players.
Scott Boras has been trying to argue that teams shouldn’t look at WAR and other baseball statistics, that his players are worth much more than what’s on the computer screen. This argument isn’t working, even on the better run teams, since he’s not getting the contracts he feels he should get.
Exactly what I am getting at: Boras is a dinosaur who is not “well-informed.” Agents need to adapt to the new age and get informed on numbers. People who really know the numbers know that numbers aren’t everything (e.g. the Astros and their approach in recent years). But they know people BS’ing numbers without knowing what they are doing–e.g. Boras. Agents need to know the numbers better than FO does if they want to play the game now.
You just described a good agent
Brewers don’t need to win this year. They didn’t sign Cain to a multiple year deal to win now. Dave Stearns hasn’t made many mistakes yet, so I’ll trust the boys in the farm to fill out the rotation. I’m content if they have a season similar to last year because of Nelson’s shoulder.
Cain better win now as the Brewers are going to hard that deal very soon…possibly in 2018.
Brewers also added Chacoin.
Brewers also signed Chacin. Not earth shattering either, but definitely not a good omission.
I think it’s a pretty big omission…he was their main add.
Wonder if the players, and the MLBPA, realize that all of these 1 year deals flood next year’s already packed FA market. Which will drive down prices for everyone once again.
Owners plan. Players have no choice when owners collude, just like consumers have no choice
The number of free agents doesn’t affect prices. More free agents means more teams with openings.
Also more teams will be spending with the luxury tax being reset
With trade options and graduating prospects as well as the new ebb and flow of rebuilders and contenders, it certainly does affect prices. 2 teams are resetting their Lux tax penalty.
yes 2 teams are resetting their luxury tax penalty but 5-8 will be willing to go/stay over the luxury tax next offseason (yankees, dodgers, cubs, red sox, angels, cardinals, giants, phillies)
If a 2.2fWAR campaign is “one of his best”, maybe that explains the lack of interest?
Cain looks like an overpay now.
Cain wouldn’t have signed a multi-year deal if they waited him out to get him as cheap as possible.
Well damn – just when things were looking up for the Reds Mantiply goes out and screws it all up. There goes our playoff chances.
trade duffy to the mets for a reliever
The impact from all these small contract signings is going to be felt even more next year, when only the truly elite free agents are going to be confident they will have decent multi-year offers. Even B+A- FA’s are going to feel pressure to sign early. And, this may also have an impact on opt-outs, as players become less comfortable spinning the roulette wheel.
All in all, a spectacular offseason for the owners, who have managed to rewrite the rules of engagement.
Until 2021. When I think things will get ugly.
Owners save a ton of money between now and 2021, and that period will irrevocably impact potentially hundreds of potential free agents. Some will do fine, others will earn substantially less.
Shouldn’t it be argued that the FA class was weak? Name one player who didn’t have issues? I might guess Lorenzo Cain and he got 70M.
FA market was weaker. And Hosmer and JDM got plenty of money. But the price of reasonable quality FA was pushed down this offseason. That’s worth watching.
Does anyone think Duffy is a bigger trade chip than Perez?
I do
I think Perez is more important to keep then to trade. Duffy could net a better haul on the fact he is a starter. More demand
The only reason everyone trashed Scott Boras is because he’s the only agent they know.
It’s all of them- and how can you blame them for trying- that’s their job- and the more the player earns the more they make.
They overshot this season, it happens when the free agent class is underwhelming.
Another thing-
It’s always been a fact that players who sign early make more
Like explain to me how Kendry Morales got $33m in November and Mark Reynolds got a minor league deal in February
Personally, I’d rather set the market as opposed to risking it being set considerably lower.
Moose didn’t even get one single offer? That’s completely crazy.
Why is it crazy. Just because he is moose. If their is not a fit and demand why waste the money. Up grade?
He had no market. No ones going to spend big dollars on Something they don’t need. Welcome to 2018. 3rd base is tough already. Not a lot of room anywhere. Supply and demand. I blame the agent for not researching his fits. Then the teams where he does fit. Then the money the have. Pretty much market 101. He’s a FA so he’s worth this. He’s worth what someone will pay. Can’t force anyone to buy something they 1 dont need. 2 don’t want.
KC really falls into both. They are rebuilding. So it is a matter of ok well if your willing to play for this for one year I guess will take you for now. Simple as that. The roster is 25 so teams are going to jeopardize other spots to to make room plus pay big dollars on years they don’t need. Supply and demand this year was the issue. Also looking a head 1-2-5 years. That’s where the farm comes in. You work around the farm and up coming players with vets. The day of big spending – long contracts and buy everyone is long over. Fans better get use to it or change sports. It’s not going to change not even the big market teams like NY, SF, LA, Chi, StL and Wash. simple as that. He took a risk and thought with his wallet and not his head. He should have take the WA. Just like Lynn. Cobb and JA are no different and won’t be no different. It is pretty much down to maybe 3 teams. Brewers who are pretty much set so says the GM. SD n Phil. No ones going to fork over 7-6-5 years. Probably not 4 now.
QO offer typo not WA
Ok but no one is talking about any of that. He didn’t get an offer at all. No one came to him and gave him even a one year deal.
You all are missing one glaring criticism of Boras that is right in front of ur eyes. If you really want to roast him, try pointing out that someone had to give him a reason to refuse the QO. If I was able to predict that there was no way anyone was going to pay Moustakas more than the $17+ million of the qualifying offer, then how could Boras, who gets paid large if Moose makes large, end up with just $6.5 million for his client. I don’t hate boras like so many posters do, but he completely hosed his client with poor advice.
It’s obvious. Who’s going to want to lose draft picks to overpay for a player that easily and obviously wasn’t worth more than the QO?
Moustakas for more than $17 million?? Not a chance. Boras messed up.
Seems like Scott Boras has an account on this site! Smfh
The Brewers rotation is a massive dumpster fire. Expecting any of them to replicate their career years of 2017 with middling stuff at best is giant whiff by Stearns. But hey, getting additional OFs sold tickets at least in a division owned by the Cubs.