Jose Iglesias Opts Out Of Deal With Marlins
Shortstop José Iglesias has triggered an opt-out clause in his minor league deal with the Marlins, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (Twitter link). Feinsand adds that Iglesias is returning to free agency, indicating Miami has chosen not to override the opt-out by adding him to the big league roster.
The veteran infielder lingered on the open market for the bulk of the offseason. He caught on with the Fish on a minor league pact during the second week of March. Iglesias collected three hits in 15 at-bats over seven exhibition games. He had a chance to retest free agency a couple weeks later after the Marlins informed him he wouldn’t make the Opening Day roster.
Iglesias passed on the first opt-out and agreed to stick in the organization. He never appeared for Triple-A Jacksonville, though, and he’ll now return to the open market in search of a new opportunity. Iglesias is only a season removed from being a regular shortstop in the major leagues. He played in 118 games and tallied 467 trips to the plate for the Rockies last year, hitting .292/.328/.380 with a meager 12% strikeout rate.
The 33-year-old still brandishes excellent bat-to-ball skills. He’s never been one to take many walks or hit for home run power. Iglesias’ best seasons were built around high batting averages and strong marks for his shortstop defense. Public metrics have soured on his glove since he’s gotten into his 30s. Statcast has pegged him as a league average defender in each of the past two seasons. Defensive Runs Saved, meanwhile, has graded him a staggering 26 runs worse than average at the position since the start of the 2021 campaign.
A team that feels Iglesias is still a viable shortstop defender could have interest in his services. The Dodgers recently lost Miguel Rojas to the injured list and have considered using Mookie Betts at shortstop for the first time in his MLB career. They’d make sense as a speculative fit for Iglesias, who has over 8000 big league innings. Teams like the Reds and A’s have gotten very little out of the position through the season’s first couple weeks.
That’s also true of the Marlins. Miami’s shortstops own a meager .226/.269/.290 line over 67 plate appearances. General manager Kim Ng and her staff nevertheless prefer to stick with their MLB options rather than turning to Iglesias. The Fish have given the bulk of the work there to Jon Berti, with Joey Wendle and Garrett Hampson picking up a few at-bats.
Reds, Rangers Join Teams Seeking Overdue Rights Fees From Diamond Sports
The Diamond Sports Group bankruptcy continues, with a handful of new teams seeking missed payments. According to reports from Daniel Kaplan of the Athletic and Alden González of ESPN, the Rangers and Reds joined an MLB motion seeking overdue rights fees this week.
MLB first filed that motion in early April on behalf of the Twins and Guardians. Diamond, the corporation which operates the Bally Sports networks that carry local broadcasts for nearly half of major league teams, informed those clubs it wouldn’t meet its scheduled payments on April 1. The D-Backs filed a separate motion shortly thereafter seeking missed rights payments.
Diamond apparently also recently failed to meet its obligations to the Rangers and Reds. Despite the missed payments, the Bally Sports networks have continued to operate and carry local broadcasts in each market through the season’s first few weeks. Kaplan reports that the Rangers’ deal calls for Diamond to pay the team $111MM this season. The precise value of the first missed payment is unknown.
González writes that the Reds’ situation is a bit different from those of the other clubs. The Reds have an ownership stake (the precise extent of which is unreported) along with Diamond in the Bally Sports Ohio network that carries games in Cincinnati. As a result, they’re bucketed separately from the other franchises involved in the litigation. According to González, Diamond entered into a 15-day window to meet its obligations to the Reds, beginning Monday. If it fails to do so, the team would be able to get out of the deal and turn in-market local broadcasting responsibilities over to MLB.
The other clubs will have to wait a while longer for resolution. The bankruptcy court has scheduled a hearing for May 31 to consider MLB’s motion for those teams’ overdue fees. Diamond is expected to continue all broadcasts until then. The Reds’ partial ownership offers a potentially quicker endpoint in their case, though that’s only if Diamond doesn’t meet its obligations to them in the intervening two weeks.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has stated on numerous occasions that the league is prepared to take over local broadcasting for teams whose contracts are defaulted. For any local broadcasting deals that fall through, MLB would be able to make games available in-market through streaming and cable platforms free of blackout restrictions.
A’s Turn Attention To Las Vegas, Agree To Land Purchase For Nevada Stadium Site
The Athletics appear on track to relocate to Las Vegas by 2027. According to a report from Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the A’s have agreed to a land deal to purchase 49 acres (with an option for an additional eight acres) just west of the Las Vegas strip. The land deal is the only official step to this point. There is no formal stadium agreement yet, but it’s clear the franchise is firmly turning its attention away from its current home.
“For a while we were on parallel paths (with Oakland), but we have turned our attention to Las Vegas to get a deal here for the A’s and find a long-term home,” team president Dave Kaval told Akers. “Oakland has been a great home for us for over 50 years, but we really need this 20-year saga completed and we feel there’s a path here in Southern Nevada to do that.”
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred confirmed the news in a statement to the Review-Journal: “We support the A’s turning their focus on Las Vegas and look forward to them bringing finality to this process by the end of the year.”
Oakland mayor Sheng Thao confirmed that negotiations between the A’s and its current city are ending (via Sarah Ravani of the San Francisco Chronicle). There’d been reports of progress between the sides in recent months as they negotiated over a possible Howard Terminal stadium in Oakland’s Jack London Square. With the revelation that won’t come to be, the mayor excoriated franchise leadership, accusing them of using negotiations with Oakland merely “to try to extract a better deal out of Las Vegas.”
“I am deeply disappointed that the A’s have chosen not to negotiate with the City of Oakland as a true partner, in a way that respects the long relationship between the fans, the City and the team,” Thao said. “The City has gone above and beyond in our attempts to arrive at mutually beneficial terms to keep the A’s in Oakland. In the last three months, we’ve made significant strides to close the deal. … In a time of budget deficits, I refuse to compromise the safety and well-being of our residents. Given these realities, we are ceasing negotiations and moving forward on alternatives for the redevelopment of Howard Terminal.”
Howard Stutz and Tabitha Mueller of the Nevada Independent first reported late Wednesday night that the A’s and Las Vegas lawmakers have neared agreement on a stadium deal. Both the Nevada Independent and the Review-Journal report the plan is for a 35,000-seat facility with a partially retractable roof. Kaval confirmed to Akers the site is located roughly a mile north of Allegiant Stadium, home to the Raiders, and around a mile west of the Golden Knights’ T-Mobile Arena.
“It’s really in the sports district,” Kaval said. “So you have all the stadiums kind of clustered in one spot. I think that creates a powerful zone, a kind of energy to it that will benefit the community and also help us be successful running a baseball team.”
The club has not yet gotten official sign-off from state and local legislators. Both reports indicate that Nevada governor Joe Lombardo and top state lawmakers are in general support of the A’s plans, however. The team will make a formal proposal to state and local officials at a later date, though there no longer seems to be much doubt regarding its eventual approval. That the A’s have already entered into the land agreement points to the franchise’s comfort in getting a stadium deal done.
Once an agreement is finalized with the Nevada legislature and governor’s office, the A’s will be able to formally apply to MLB for relocation. Given Manfred’s comments, there’s no reason to believe that won’t receive a stamp of approval. MLB has previously set January 15, 2024, as a deadline for the A’s to have a binding stadium agreement in place if they’re to retain their status as revenue sharing recipients.
Assuming a deal with Las Vegas is indeed finalized by next January, Kaval confirmed plans to begin stadium construction at some time next year. The goal is for the facility to be ready for the opening of the 2027 season.
According to Stutz and Mueller, the plan is for the A’s to cover costs of the stadium. They’d be aided by the creation of a new taxation district covering the area which would allow for the reinvestment of sales tax proceeds and various tax credits. That plan still needs formal legislative approval from both the state and county. The parties will surely work on the specifics over the coming months.
It’s a monumental development for the sport, one that all but ensures the franchise’s forthcoming relocation. It’ll be the first time a club has changed cities in nearly two decades; the most recent relocation occurred in 2005, when the Montreal franchise moved to Washington and rebranded from the Expos to the Nationals. Previously, there’d been no relocations in MLB since 1972.
If the club’s final season in Oakland indeed turns out to be 2026, it’ll end a nearly six-decade run. The A’s first moved to Oakland in 1968, relocating from Kansas City. They’d go on to win four World Series, including a stretch of three consecutive titles within their first six years. They’ve played in the Coliseum for the entirety of that run. Now the fifth-oldest active park in MLB, the Coliseum has been a source of derision from the likes of players, fans and broadcasters in recent years.
Stadium situations for the A’s and Rays have become a significant concern for the league. The Rays have made progress in the past few months on a potential deal to stick in the Tampa area beyond the expiration of their lease in 2027, though nothing is yet official. With the A’s now set on relocation, it seems there’ll be official resolution on both situations within the next three to four years. Manfred has previously suggested the league wouldn’t consider expansion until those stadium issues are sorted out.
The A’s departure comes at a time when the organization has slashed spending and embarked on a full rebuild. No team opened the season with a lower player payroll than their approximate $56.8MM mark, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts. The on-field results have been dismal. They’ve started the season 3-16 and been outscored by a league-worst 86 runs.
The franchise’s likely move from Oakland to Las Vegas aligns with very different trajectories for the broader sports landscape in those cities. Oakland will have lost each of its NBA, NFL and MLB franchises dating back to 2019. The Warriors stayed in the Bay Area but moved to San Francisco; the Raiders preceded the A’s in departing Oakland for Las Vegas.
Meanwhile, the Nevada metropolis will have picked up franchises in each of the NHL, NFL and MLB since 2016. Vegas was granted the Golden Knights as an expansion franchise seven years ago before the Raiders’ relocation took effect in 2020.
KBO’s Hanwha Eagles Sign Ricardo Sanchez, Release Burch Smith
The Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization announced they’ve signed left-hander Ricardo Sánchez to a $400K contract (h/t to Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News).He takes the roster spot of righty Burch Smith, who was released after suffering a strain in his throwing shoulder. Sánchez is a client of Beverly Hills Sports Council.
Sánchez, 26, has been with the White Sox after signing a minor league deal in February. The Venezuelan-born hurler has thrown 6 2/3 innings over three appearances at Triple-A Charlotte, allowing four runs. He’ll apparently be granted his release to pursue this opportunity in South Korea. The $400K guarantee is quite likely a notable jump over what he had been making in Triple-A.
The bulk of Sánchez’s professional experience has been spent in the minors. His MLB résumé consists of three outings for the Cardinals in 2020. He’s logged 123 innings at the Triple-A level, allowing just under five earned runs per nine. Sánchez has a slightly below-average 20.2% strikeout rate and a serviceable 8.2% walk percentage over that stretch.
Smith signed an $800K contract with the Eagles last winter. It didn’t pan out as either team or player had hoped thanks to injury. Smith only lasted into the third inning of his season debut before suffering the shoulder strain. It’s not uncommon for KBO teams to release foreign-born players who suffer an injury given the league’s limit of three foreign players per team. Félix Peña and Brian O’Grady are the Eagles’ other foreign players.
It’s a tough break for Smith, who seems likely to return to free agency. (According to Yoo, he’s presently on waivers.) The 33-year-old has pitched in parts of five big league campaigns. He owns a 6.03 ERA over 191 innings, mostly in relief. Smith’s last MLB action came in 2021, when he posted a 5.40 ERA over 43 1/3 frames for the Athletics.
Rockies Notes: McMahon, Montero, Trejo, Gomber, Senzatela
The Rockies reshuffled their infield during Spring Training. After losing Gold Glove second baseman Brendan Rodgers to a potential season-ending shoulder injury, Colorado announced plans to kick Ryan McMahon over from third to second base. McMahon’s versatility freed the hot corner for Elehuris Montero, but the Rox are considering pulling the plug on that experiment after a rough first few weeks.
Manager Bud Black announced yesterday that Colorado was “going to take a step back and take a look at our situation at third” (link via Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post). McMahon has gotten the nod there in each of the last two games after starting his first 16 contests at the keystone. That has pushed utilityman Alan Trejo into the lineup at second base and relegated Montero to the bench.
The moves come in response to defensive struggles for the 24-year-old Montero. He’s been charged with three errors while recording only 13 assists in 88 innings at the hot corner. Statcast has pegged his glove as two plays below average in that limited sample. Defense has long been a question mark for Montero, who developed a reputation as a bat-first corner infielder as a prospect. Saunders writes that Colorado could consider optioning him back to Triple-A Albuquerque to get more consistent work on defense.
McMahon is one of the sport’s best defensive third basemen. There’s no question he’s a sizable upgrade with the glove over Montero. The move subtracts one of Colorado’s more interesting young hitters from the lineup, though. Trejo, who could stand to receive the biggest uptick in playing time, is a stable glove-first infielder but doesn’t bring much to the table offensively.
Montero initially joined the organization a little over two years ago in the Nolan Arenado trade. He and left-hander Austin Gomber were the top talents in a return that was widely panned from Colorado’s perspective. While Arenado has performed at an MVP level in St. Louis, the Rockies haven’t yet gotten much big league production from Montero.
Gomber at least provided the Rox with back-of-the-rotation innings in 2021. He worked to a 4.53 ERA — a respectable figure for a pitcher calling Coors Field home — through 115 1/3 innings during his first season with the club. He had a harder time last year, struggling to a 5.56 ERA while getting kicked to the bullpen midseason. The former fourth round pick has returned to the starting five this year but gotten off to a very tough start..
After giving up nine runs in a loss to the Pirates this afternoon, Gomber owns a 12.12 ERA through four outings. He’s allowed five home runs in 16 1/3 innings of work. The 6’5″ hurler candidly acknowledged after today’s appearance he’s having a hard time maintaining confidence through these struggles (link via Danielle Allentuck of the Denver Gazette).
Gomber took responsibility for his disappointing performance and pointed to his subpar command in the early going, but he also noted he’s felt some pressure given the monumental trade in which he was acquired. “I’m not trying to be (Arenado),” Gomber said. “I’m just trying to be myself, but I feel like I’m having a hard time staying in that lane right now.”
It’d obviously be unreasonable to expect Gomber (or any player in that deal) to offer the kind of value Arenado brings to the table. Yet the Rockies are certainly expecting more than the southpaw has shown so far. They’ve been desperate for reliable rotation work. Rockies starters entered play Wednesday 28th in the majors with a 5.40 ERA; they’ll end the night with the league’s second-worst mark.
While the rotation figures to be problematic all season, Colorado should at least get a boost whenever Antonio Senzatela gets back on the mound. The righty has been targeting a May return from last summer’s ACL tear. According to the MLB.com injury tracker, he’s expected to begin a minor league rehab stint with Double-A Hartford on Sunday.
Dave Frost Passes Away
Former big league pitcher Dave Frost recently passed away, the Angels confirmed this afternoon. He was 70 years old.
A Long Beach native, Frost attended Stanford. The White Sox selected the 6’6″ hurler in the 18th round of the 1974 draft. He pitched his way to the big leagues with Chicago three years later. Frost made his MLB debut against the Halos as part of a four-appearance rookie season. Over the 1977-78 offseason, the Sox dealt him to California alongside outfielder Brian Downing and right-hander Chris Knapp for three-time All-Star Bobby Bonds (as well as then-prospects Thad Bosley and Richard Dotson).
Frost would play the bulk of his career in Southern California. He pitched for the Halos between 1978-81, leading the team with 239 1/3 innings across 36 outings in 1979. Frost pitched to a 3.57 ERA and threw 12 complete games that year, the best season of his career. He ultimately tossed 445 1/3 frames for the Angels in parts of four campaigns, posting a 3.90 ERA while striking out 181 batters.
After the ’81 season, Frost qualified for free agency. He signed with the Royals and spent one injury-riddled year in Kansas City. After posting a 5.51 ERA across 81 2/3 innings, he was released. Frost would play one more season in Triple-A but never got another big league look. He ended his playing career at age 30. The right-hander appeared for three MLB clubs over a six-season career. He tossed 550 2/3 frames with a 4.10 ERA, picking up 222 punchouts and winning 33 games.
MLBTR sends our thoughts and condolences to Frost’s family, friends, loved ones and former teammates.
Josh Donaldson Underwent MRI For Hamstring Injury
Yankees third baseman Josh Donaldson announced this morning that he went for an MRI on his ailing right hamstring (relayed by Bryan Hoch of MLB.com). Specifics of the injury still aren’t clear, though he’s being shut down for an indeterminate period of time.
It’s a disappointing setback for a player who was initially expected to return to the majors this week. The Yankees sent Donaldson on a rehab assignment with Double-A Somerset yesterday. He took three plate appearances but apparently felt renewed discomfort. Manager Aaron Boone told reporters last night that Donaldson was still experiencing some hamstring tightness (via Chris Kirschner of the Athletic).
Donaldson has been out since April 6. He’s gotten into only five games this year. While he’s been out, the Yankees have given the majority of the third base reps to DJ LeMahieu. Utility players Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Oswaldo Cabrera have also gotten some action, but they’ve each seen more playing time in the outfield in the early going. Donaldson is hoping to get back on track after a down first season in the Bronx, in which he hit only .222/.308/.374 across 546 plate appearances.
In other Yankees’ injury news, the club announced that offseason pickup Carlos Rodón is still being bothered by back soreness. He started the year on the 15-day injured list with a forearm strain, but it’s now the back that seems to be giving him trouble. Boone called the issue a “minor, nagging thing” this evening (relayed by Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News).
Meanwhile, Boone pegged the hopeful recovery timeline on Giancarlo Stanton at six weeks last night (Kirschner link). Stanton suffered a Grade 2 hamstring strain over the weekend; initial reports pegged the absence at four to six weeks, but it seems the longer end of that timetable is likely.
Scherzer, Boras, Umpires Discuss Foreign Substance Ejection
The sticky stuff crackdown returned to the forefront of MLB attention this afternoon. Mets ace Max Scherzer was ejected after three innings in today’s contest against the Dodgers. An agitated Scherzer was thrown out by crew chief Phil Cuzzi after an extended conversation and inspection of his hands (video provided by Fox Sports MLB).
Failed foreign substance checks come with an automatic 10-game suspension. MLB hasn’t officially levied any discipline to this point, though it’s widely expected the eight-time All-Star will be hit with a suspension. Scherzer told reporters after the game he planned to appeal if suspended (via Bob Nightengale of USA Today).
Scherzer proclaimed his innocence, saying umpires had only detected a combination of sweat and permissible rosin (relayed by Steve Gelbs of SNY). “I said I swear on my kids’ life I’m not using anything else. This is sweat and rosin, sweat and rosin. I keep saying it over and over.” Scherzer added that he anticipated a substance check before the fourth inning, saying he’d “have to be an absolute idiot” to apply anything else.
The three-time Cy Young winner said his hand had gotten “clumpy” with rosin during the second inning. That’s apparently not atypical, as Cuzzi told the pitcher to wash his hand. Scherzer was adamant he washed it with alcohol and changed his glove before reapplying rosin headed into the fourth.
Scherzer’s agent Scott Boras predictably came to his defense. In a statement to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (on Twitter), Boras attacked what he perceived as umpire subjectivity. “MLB standards and rules enforcement should mandate and require an objective verifiable standard,” Boras said. “If you want to attack the integrity of the competition, you need clear precise standards (or) else you damage the game and its players. The Cuzzi on field spectrometer is not the answer. MLB needs to employ available scientific methods (not subjective) to create verifiable certainly of its rules.”
Cuzzi and home plate umpire Dan Bellino defended their actions after the game. “This was the stickiest [a hand] has been since I’ve been inspecting hands, which goes back three seasons,” Bellino said (via Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times). “It was so sticky that when we touched his hand, our fingers were sticking to his hand.” He went on to call it “far more than we have ever seen before on a pitcher in live action” and noted that umpires are aware of the consequences for pitchers ejected for foreign substances, implying they don’t take lightly the expected suspension in making that decision (transcribed by Mike Puma of the New York Post).
Cuzzi made a similar argument, saying Scherzer’s hand was “far stickier than anything that we felt certainly today and anything this year. And so in that case, we felt as though he had two chances to clean it up and he didn’t” (relayed by Tim Healey of Newsday). Bellino called it “something likely more than rosin” in his judgment (thread via Jesse Rogers of ESPN). “We know what the rosin typically feels like on a pitcher’s hand because everyone is using the same rosin bag,” he added. Rogers notes that while rosin itself is not a banned substance, it can be impermissible if used excessively or misapplied.
Drawing that line presents a judgment call for an umpiring crew. Scherzer’s ejection was the first for a failed substance check since the end of the 2021 campaign. Yankees righty Domingo Germán had a close call during a start against the Twins last week, when umpires twice warned him for using too much rosin (link via Dan Hayes of the Athletic). Germán was allowed to stay in the game after washing the rosin to the umpiring crew’s satisfaction. That displeased Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, who was ejected for arguing against Germán being allowed to continue. Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts said that Los Angeles did not request any of the glove inspections in Scherzer’s case (via Rowan Kavner of Fox Sports).
It’s only the beginning of what figures to be a notable saga if/when MLB levies a suspension. In suspensions for violations of on-field rules, clubs are required to play a man short while the ban is being served. The Mets already have three starters — Justin Verlander, José Quintana and Carlos Carrasco — on the injured list.
MLBTR Chat Transcript
Click here to view the transcript of today’s chat with MLBTR’s Anthony Franco.
Rob Manfred Expresses Support For Limit On Contract Length; Tony Clark Calls That Non-Starter For MLBPA
Rob Manfred addressed a key point of the league’s economic structure in an appearance at the World Congress of Sports this evening. The MLB commissioner expressed support for a limitation on contract length, calling it a desire of ownership groups around the league (link via Evan Drellich of the Athletic).
“A reform that has been of interest to ownership for a number of years is a limitation of contract length,” Manfred said in response to a question about a potential upper bound on long-term deals. “Obviously players love it, it gives them financial security for a very long period of time. The difficulty — and I think players will come to appreciate this as time goes by — those contracts result in a transfer from the current stars to yesterday’s stars. At some point, that has to be true. And I think it is an issue that is important for us to stay focused on, because it creates inflexibility that affects the quality of the teams that you put on the field.”
The notion of a maximum contract length drew a sharp rebuke from MLBPA executive director Tony Clark. “The public statements from Rob Manfred about the owners’ desire to limit guaranteed contracts is just one more in a series of statements attacking fundamental aspects of baseball’s free market system and the freedom of clubs and players to structure deals in the best interests of all parties,” Clark told Drellich. “The ability of individual clubs to act in their own self-interest in determining how best to put an exciting product on the field for their fans is not something that should be restricted. Anyone who believes that players would ever endorse an assault by management on guaranteed contracts is badly mistaken.”
It’s not shocking to hear of league interest in capping contracts, nor is it a surprise Clark framed that notion as a non-starter. Any kind of contract length cap would have to be collectively bargained. It’s impossible to envision the union entertaining that possibility during the next round of CBA negotiations four years from now.
Debates about contract length have been prevalent since the advent of free agency. Teams’ risk tolerance to commit to players deep into their 30s waned as research mounted about the likelihood of the aging curve sapping production towards the end of a deal. There’s certainly some truth in Manfred’s assertion that the back end of long-term contracts (particularly free agent deals) tend not to offer clubs’ a great return on investment.
However, overpaying for diminished production towards the back of a player’s career is a risk/reward calculation for clubs. Teams are left to weigh long-term downside versus the short-term benefit of adding a player for potential prime seasons during the early portion of a contract. Accepting some potentially unproductive seasons towards the back of a free agent deal is often the tradeoff for upgrading the roster in the short term. A contract length limit would have some element of protecting teams from their own decisions.
The game’s current economic structure is built on the premise that free agency is a right secured by players later in their careers. Pre-arbitration and arbitration salaries are designed to pay players at below-market rates for their first six-plus years. While some players debut young enough to hit free agency right as they’re entering their prime, the majority of first-time free agents get to the open market in the middle or at the tail end of their expected best seasons.
In many cases, teams are disincentivized to extend long-term contracts in recognition of the risk of diminished performance down the line. However, in some instances, the existence of another measure designed to limit spending paradoxically pushes clubs in the direction of longer-term deals.
Teams’ luxury tax calculations are based on the average annual salaries of their contractual commitments. In the past few offseasons, some high-spending franchises have elected to stretch deals over an extra season or two in order to reduce the AAV and associated tax hit. The Phillies’ deals for Bryce Harper (13 years, $330MM) and Trea Turner (11 years, $300MM), Mets’ contract with Brandon Nimmo (eight years, $162MM), and Padres’ agreements with Xander Bogaerts (11 years, $280MM) and Yu Darvish (five years, $90MM) are examples to varying degrees.
MLB was reportedly planning to intervene on contract length at one point last offseason. The New York Post’s Jon Heyman wrote that San Diego was preparing to offer Aaron Judge $400MM over 14 years, a deal that would’ve run through age-44. Judge returned to the Yankees regardless, but Heyman reported that the league would’ve viewed that contract as a circumvention of the luxury tax had it been accepted. How the MLBPA would have responded is unclear.
That intervention would have been specifically about a team going too far (in MLB’s view) to massage its tax bill. It would not have had anything to do with a categorical limit on contract length. San Diego’s 14-year extension with Fernando Tatis Jr. garnered league approval a few years ago, as it “only” ran through Tatis’ age-35 campaign.
A limit on contract length is not without precedent within the North American sports landscape. The collective bargaining agreements for the NBA and NHL each have variable maximum contract lengths based on whether a player previously played for the team signing the deal (and in the NBA’s case, an age-based provision). Those leagues each have salary caps, though, reflecting lesser leverage on the part of their respective Players Associations than the MLBPA has. The MLB players union surely won’t have any interest in entertaining this question so long as they have negotiating leverage.