MLB Mailbag: Lux, Giants, Orioles, Rockies, Blue Jays
Today's mailbag gets into the Gavin Lux trade, the Yankees' infield, the Giants' ability to add a bat, how the Orioles could trade for a top starter, what a Blake Street Bombers Part 2 lineup could look like for the Rockies, why some free agents don't sign in Toronto, why the Astros aren't getting more flak for trading Kyle Tucker, and more.
Kyle asks:
What's your take on the Lux trade to Cincinnati? As a Mariners fan I'm a bit irked they wouldn't beat the Reds offer (M's have comp A pick #33, Reds traded #37 and a prospect for Lux). Are the M's being too risk averse?
Leonard asks:
I heard on MLB TV that the Reds really like Gavin Lux’s versatility to play multiple positions. Isn’t that one of the reasons the Dodgers traded him? (Besides the surplus of middle infielders). Lux is an average 2B. He couldn’t make the throws from SS. He didn’t show that he could play 3B or the OF well enough, either. Comments?
Jeff asks:
After the Gavin Lux trade, how much playing time do you think Noelvi Marte gets this year?
Dante asks:
Do you think the Lux trade for the Reds was in anticipation of another move, something like a trade from infield depth for Luis Robert? I understand the desire to add good players, but they do seem to have stockpiled a lot of infielders, and the team seems to need some pop in the middle of the lineup.
Elliott asks:
After the Gavin Lux acquisition, who is the best fit for the Reds' next move? Probably a right-handed hitting outfielder at this point?
Colin asks:
I have always liked Gavin Lux although he has not yet developed into the star he was projected to be. That said, I wonder if the trade clears the way for Mookie Betts to return to his more natural position of second base with Rojas and Kim splitting duty at shortstop? I would note too that it clears a roster spot for Sasaki, if they are fortunate enough to sign him. Your thoughts?
Jason asks:
What do you make of the Gavin Lux trade? Did the Dodgers have enough of him or did they like Alex Freeland enough to platoon with Kim?
Lux is a 27-year-old platoon second baseman. He saved his season with a hot streak that I'd say ran from July 11th through September 4th. In that period, Lux posted a huge 181 wRC+ in 161 plate appearances. He then posted a 80 wRC+ in 62 plate appearances for the rest of the regular season, adding another 43 postseason PA with a .177/.286/.294 line.
Prior to his eight-week hot streak, Lux was one of the ten worst-hitting regular position players in baseball over a span of 264 plate appearances. On the season, Lux was heavily shielded against left-handed pitching, facing southpaws only 10.3% of the time. That's for good reason - he posted an absymal 17 wRC+ against lefties in those 50 PA.
In comments on MLB.com, Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall pointed to this October 4th article from Jay Jaffe of FanGraphs to help explain Lux's second half efforts to swing harder and do more damage. Lux's changes were real; he clearly started swinging harder. You can read more about those changes in this August 8th article from Fabian Ardaya at The Athletic.
Lux has a 108 wRC+ against righties over 1,210 plate appearances in his career. The eight-week streak isn't enough to convince me he's changed, especially since he struggled again for the last 105 PA of his season.
All that said, Lux is a 27-year-old former first rounder. There is upside here where swinging harder leads to a 120 wRC+, he holds his own against lefties as he did in 2022, and he becomes a 4-5 WAR player and borderline star. Maybe he can become adequate at positions than other second base, too. I don't think the Reds are likely to get that out of him when the Dodgers couldn't, but perhaps being back in the midwest and out of the spotlight will help.
Defensively, Krall said Lux will play second base, some outfield, and DH, and the team would "give him a look" at third base and shortstop. Lux famously had issues making the throw from shortstop; it's hard to see how third base would be any better. He showed seventh percentile arm strength this year, probably ruling out right field. Lux dabbled in left field as recently as 2022, so I could see him getting time there. The idea of Lux being versatile is overstated the way it once was when Jurickson Profar couldn't find a position. So yes, I agree with what Leonard said in his question above.
As a second baseman, Lux was slightly below-average in Statcast's OAA this year. So I believe what the Reds have in Lux is two affordable years of a platoon second baseman who needs to be on the bench 27% of the time but is capable of a 108 wRC+ against righties. That's a useful player.
But what if I told you there was a free agent, also controllable for two years, who would sign for $3.5MM and could pretty much do the same things as Lux, but has also demonstrated he can play third base well?
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Apply To Join The MLB Trade Rumors TikTok Team
We are assembling a team of people to post to our new MLB Trade Rumors TikTok account. The gig will also involve posting to YouTube Shorts.
The initial goal is to try a bunch of stuff on these platforms and see what works. The videos we post will be related to MLB trades and free agency and the articles we post on MLBTR, but I’m open-minded as to how that will look. The pay will be on a per-video basis. Here’s what we’re looking for:
- Experience using and posting to TikTok and YouTube Shorts
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- Creativity to come up with content ideas when there is not breaking news
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- Strong knowledge of MLB and hot stove concepts. We will email a set of questions to select applicants as a test.
If you are interested in joining the MLBTR TikTok Team, please email mlbtrhelp@gmail.com and explain your qualifications.
MLB Mailbag: Braves, Red Sox, Cubs, Mariners, Torkelson, Alonso, Bregman
Welcome to the first mailbag of 2025! In this one we get into what the Braves, Red Sox, Cubs, and Mariners might do, the future of first basemen Spencer Torkelson and Pete Alonso, outfield options for the Astros, various Alex Bregman destinations, and much more.
John asks:
Braves fan here wondering if the Braves will re-sign AJ Minter?
Bill asks:
With market choices dwindling whom might Atlanta pursue in the pitcher/outfield categories? Or will they rely on young pitching hopes and current outfield options?
Phillip asks:
What do you see the Atlanta Braves doing? We need another outfielder, starting pitcher, and 2 relief pitchers. Are we going to be thrifty or are we going for quality?
Bruce asks:
Can you predict what the usually unpredictable Alex Anthopolous will acquire to play LF and SS and SP down the 2025 Atlanta Braves?
In attempting to guess how the rest of the Braves' offseason will go, it may be helpful to first project their payroll. President of baseball operations and GM Alex Anthopoulos said in October payroll would be going up.
The Braves' actions thus far this offseason do not match those of a team planning to increase payroll: declining Travis d'Arnaud's option, dumping Jorge Soler, moving money around with the Reynaldo Lopez and Aaron Bummer extensions (though not in a way that helps their CBT payroll), non-tendering Ramon Laureano, and most importantly, failing to sign any notable free agents. It's also true that Anthopoulos' October comments came before the Braves learned more information about the timelines of Ronald Acuña Jr., Spencer Strider, and Joe Jimenez. I could see how that would affect payroll allocation, but not why it would affect the total payroll.
The Braves appear to have a $220MM CBT payroll at present, and on December 11th David O'Brien of The Athletic wrote that the Braves "don’t seem inclined to go too far above that $241 million [luxury tax] threshold." That's after running a $276MM CBT payroll in 2024. Perhaps in his October "payroll is going up" comments, Anthopoulos was threading a needle where the team's 26-man Opening Day actual payroll will increase, but their CBT payroll will not. Last year's Opening Day actual payroll was $222MM and the team is at $197MM at present. It's also likely the team would like to keep powder dry for midseason additions.
Given O'Brien's comment, we probably shouldn't project much more than $25MM in additional AAV to be added this offseason. The second tax threshold of $261MM could be a ceiling on the CBT payroll. So how might Anthopoulos improve the team with many major names now off the board?
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Marc Narducci: My Hall Of Fame Ballot
Marc Narducci spent 37 years covering all sports for The Philadelphia Inquirer before retiring in July 2021. He covered everything from high school sports to the Phillies winning the World Series and the Eagles winning the Super Bowl. A lifelong southern New Jersey resident, he remains a freelance writer and broadcaster. Once again, Marc reached out to see if MLB Trade Rumors would be interested in publishing his Hall of Fame ballot. I am happy to do it and hope it can be an interesting topic of debate for our readers. Here’s Marc…
It’s always an honor to be published by MLBTradeRumors.com, among the most respected baseball publications around. For those who haven’t read the previous years, just a little housekeeping. I don’t vote for those associated with steroids, which means Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez, don’t receive my vote.
I have also not voted for Carlos Beltran who admittedly was the mastermind of the 2017 Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal, which altered the perception of that World Series winning team. Those actions cost him his job as a manager and for now, this vote. I don’t feel all the Astros should be punished, but as stated before, that’s a story for another day.
I never criticize how a fellow voter votes. That doesn’t mean our votes aren’t subject to criticism, including mine. Each voter has to do what he or she feels is best.
And now, here is this year’s ballot, which includes five names.
The Holdovers
There are three holdovers I voted for last year and again got my vote this year.
There is no question injuries slowed down Utley’s career and many feel he didn’t have the counting stats to get in, but he was a six-time All-Star and only four HOF second basemen have more home runs than Utley’s 259. Those four are Rogers Hornsby (301), Craig Biggio (291), Ryne Sandberg (282) and Joe Morgan (268). I’m big on second basemen who show great power, which is why I voted for Jeff Kent (377 career home runs) when he was on the ballot. Also, we tend to look at excellence, even if it is shorter-term. As mentioned last year, from 2005-2009, Utley’s slash line was .301/.388/535 and he averaged 29.2 home runs, 110. Runs. 101.4 RBI, 151 games and 675 plate appearances. His BWAR during that time was 7.7. Just nine HOF second basemen have a higher career B-War than Utley (64.5).
Utley won a World Series in 2008 with the Philadelphia Phillies and the next year hit five home runs in the 2009 World Series against the Yankees, tying an MLB record with Reggie Jackson in 1977 and George Springer in 2017. He was a career 275/.358/.465 hitter with an 823 OPS and 117 OPS+. Utley also won four Silver Slugger awards. Will it be enough? Last year in his first season on the ballot, Utley received 28.8% of the vote, so he has a long way to go.
This is Wagner’s 10th and final season on the ballot after coming close last year by earning 73.8% of the vote, missing by five votes. Those who don’t feel Wagner is a HOF player point to his low number of appearances and World Series statistics. Both are valid.
Wagner pitched just 903 innings. His postseason production, even though it only consisted of 11 1/3 innings over 14 appearances, was poor to say the least. He had a 10.03 ERA.
The reason for voting for Wagner was his excellence. According to the Baseball Hall of Fame, his career WHIP of 0.998 is the lowest among all retired relievers with at least 700 innings pitched, and his career 2.31 ERA is lowest among retired left-handed pitchers with at least 500 innings pitched in the live ball era. His ERA+ of 187 is second all-time to only Mariano Rivera.
According to HOF expert Jay Jaffe, Wagner’s 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings (minimum of 900 innings pitched) is the best in MLB history. There are now others ahead of him, but they have pitched fewer than 900 innings.
Wagner finished with 422 saves, second highest among left-handed relievers and eighth overall. According to MLB.com, he converted 422 of 476 save opportunities (.887).
He was a seven-time All-Star and played on teams that advanced to the postseason seven times.
Wright falls in the Utley category of not having the counting stats due to injury. This is his second year on the ballot, and he only received 6.2 percent of the vote last year. Still, Wright was a dominant force when healthy. Wright was a seven-time All-Star during a nine-year period from 2005-2013. During that time, his slash line was .302/384/.505 with a 138 OPS+. He averaged 23 home runs, 90 runs and 93 RBI while also winning two Gold Gloves and two Silver Slugger awards. Wright finished in the Top 10 for MVP voting four times. During that nine-year period, he was among the best players not only at his position, but in baseball.
According to the Baseball HOF, Wright is one of our four third basemen in history (along with Hall of Famers George Brett, Chipper Jones and Mike Schmidt) who retired with at least 350 doubles, 200 home runs and 150 stolen bases. He ended with 390 doubles, 242 home runs and 196 stolen bases.
He was a career .296/376/.491 hitter with a 133 OPS+. Only seven HOF third baseman have a higher OPS+ than Wright. Due to injuries, he was never a full-time player past his age 31 season.
The Newcomers
This is one player who is sure to create some debate. Among his biggest selling points were his career wins (251) and winning percentage (.609) in an era where wins aren’t valued the way they used to be. He is tied for 47th all-time in career wins.
Some would use his 3.74 ERA against Sabathia, which is fair. His career ERA+ was 116, solid but not spectacular.
On the positive side, he was the ace for the three teams that he played for (Cleveland, Milwaukee and the NY Yankees) and led all three to the postseason. (Later In his career he wasn’t the best pitcher on the Yankees, but for the first five years in New York, he was the ace).
The lefthander was a six-time all-star and the 2007 Cy Young Award winner with Cleveland. He finished in the top 10 of Cy Young voting four other times. He was a workhorse, having made 30 or more starts 12 times. Sabathia helped lead the Yankees to the 2009 World Series championship during his first year with the club. During that year he was the ALCS MVP, going 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA in two starts against the Los Angeles Angels. In 10 of his 19 seasons he played on playoff teams and has a career 10-7 record and 4.28 ERA in 26 postseason games. Sabathia is one of three left-handers with at least 3,000 strikeouts. He recorded 3,093 strikeouts, which is 18th all-time.
Just as Adrian Beltre was a slam-dunk first-ballot selection last year, so is Ichiro this year. He has the credentials to be a unanimous selection. Probably the best stat is that Ichiro had 200 or more hits and won a Gold Glove in each of his first 10 seasons with Seattle. In 2001 he became the second player to win both the Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player award in the same season. What’s more impressive is that he didn’t make his MLB debut until the age of 27. In those first 10 seasons, he his slash line was .331/.376/.430. Before coming to play with the Seattle Mariners, he had 1,278 hits while playing in Japan. He finished with 3,089 career MLB hits and a .311/.355/.402 slash line. Ichiro won two batting tiles when he hit .350 in 2001 and .372 in 2004. He also stole 509 bases in 626 attempts (83%) in his career and was a 10-time All-Star, all coming in his first 10 seasons. In 86 postseason plate appearances, he hit .346/.400/.436. Mainly a right-fielder, Ichiro played 1,970 career games in right, 322 in center and 117 in left. He also had great durability, playing 150 or more games 13 times and 160 or more on nine occasions.
2024-25 MLB Free Agents
The following players are currently eligible for free agency. Each player’s 2025 age is in parentheses. Generally, our cutoff for this list is 50 plate appearances or 20 innings pitched in the Majors in 2024.
Updated 4-4-25
Catchers
Yan Gomes (37)
Yasmani Grandal (36)
First Basemen
Jose Abreu (38)
Anthony Rizzo (35)
Jared Walsh (31)
Second Basemen
Whit Merrifield (36)
Shortstops
None
Third Basemen
Danny Mendick (31)
Miguel Sano (32)
Cole Tucker (28)
Left Fielders
David Dahl (31)
Adam Duvall (36)
Robbie Grossman (35)
Whit Merrifield (36)
Center Fielders
Aaron Hicks (35)
Right Fielders
Adam Duvall (36)
Avisail Garcia (34)
Whit Merrifield (36)
David Peralta (37)
Designated Hitters
Matt Carpenter (39)
Robbie Grossman (35)
J.D. Martinez (37)
Starting Pitchers
Ty Blach (34)
Aaron Brooks (35)
Anthony DeSclafani (35)
Domingo German (32)
Marco Gonzales (33)
Jordan Lyles (34)
Sixto Sanchez (26)
Spencer Turnbull (32)
Alex Wood (34)
Right-Handed Relievers
Chase Anderson (37)
Daniel Bard (40)
Adam Cimber (34)
Jose Cisnero (36)
Domingo German (32)
Brent Honeywell Jr. (30)
Joe Kelly (37)
Keynan Middleton (31)
David Robertson (40)
Touki Toussaint (29)
Spencer Turnbull (32)
Left-Handed Relievers
Ty Blach (34)
Brooks Raley (37)
Will Smith (35)
Drew Smyly (36)
Notifications Fixed For Trade Rumors Android App
As you may know, we have a free Trade Rumors app for both iOS and Android. The app allows you to set up custom feeds and notifications for any combination of sports, teams, and players across MLB Trade Rumors, Hoops Rumors, Pro Football Rumors, and Pro Hockey Rumors.
Just to be clear, the app is something you download from Apple or Google’s app store and it puts an icon on your phone, similar to how you might have the Uber or Instagram apps on your phone. But we also have a good mobile website, for the many people who simply type mlbtraderumors.com into their phone’s browser (such as Safari). The mobile website is easier for our developers to update, which is why it has steadily progressed over the last ten years.
Anyway, back to the apps. A few months ago, notifications somehow broke on the Android app. Today, we put out an update that fixes that. If you’re an Android app user, please download that update from the Google Play store. I want to give a shoutout to Dan B. and the many other Android power users who have written in about this issue and responded to my emails to verify notifications are now working!
Aside from the notifications, the app allows for easy scrolling and swiping between articles. You can create a multi-sport experience tailored to your specific interests, or you can limit your app entirely to one sport by removing the others.
Seeing as how we initially released this app a decade ago, it’s time for a revamp. A lot of that has to do with the coding and is beyond my understanding. We’ll also spruce up the graphics and make other improvements.
Our developers are in the process of putting together a quote for this project, and all I can say for a projected timeline is that we expect it to be finished in 2025.
It’s been ten years since we came up with the basics of this app. If you’ve used it and have ideas that you’d like to see implemented, they’re welcome in the comments!
MLB Mailbag: Burnes, Soto, Brewers, Dodgers, A’s, Astros
Today's mailbag gets into where Corbin Burnes might go, why we write about players' salaries, whether Juan Soto will opt out, how the Brewers might sort out their outfield, chances of the Dodgers signing various free agents, and what's next for the A's.
Please note that this mailbag was initially published shortly before news of the Cody Bellinger trade broke. I'm sure we'll get into that trade in the next mailbag, but since some of the Bellinger material in the mailbag was usurped by the trade, I've added several bonus Astros questions and answers to the end.
Joel asks:
Why is there not even a shred of a suggestion anywhere that the Mets have interest in Corbin Burnes? If they were willing to pay dinosaurs like Scherzer and Verlander, why not pay Burnes? Otherwise, they'll lose a lot of games 7-5.
Tony asks:
Corbin Burnes will sign with ?
Bud asks:
As a Giant fan it’s a little concerning hearing the rumors of Corbin Burns nearing a deal with the team and then a week or more of quiet. I was hoping for more moves…
Neil asks:
Will Giants sign Burnes or will it be another pitcher?
David Stearns was the GM of the Brewers when the team drafted Burnes in the fourth round out of Saint Mary's College of California in 2016. With the Mets needing three starters this winter, it was natural to expect Stearns to be interested. While it's true Stearns topped out at $15.5MM for a free agent starter with the Brewers (Jhoulys Chacin in 2016), it's also true that the Mets have way more money than the Brewers.
Even a comparison to Stearns' 2023-24 offseason would not be fair, because that was, as my colleague Darragh McDonald wrote, "a sort of bridge year." Hence the relatively affordable additions of Sean Manaea, Luis Severino, and Adrian Houser.
To date, the Mets have made the ownership-driven decision to sign Juan Soto to a record-shattering contract, while Stearns has added Clay Holmes and Frankie Montas on two-year deals (if Holmes uses his opt-out) to help fill out the rotation. Kodai Senga barely pitched this year, and David Peterson's 21 starts matched a career high. Paul Blackburn is a back of the rotation type who has battled injuries, including October back surgery. The rotation lacks reliability, which would likely be solved by Burnes.
Stearns seems more interested in the trade market of late, showing interest in Garrett Crochet and Luis Castillo this month. Speculatively, they could go after Dylan Cease as well. On December 7th, Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic wrote that the Mets had interest in Manaea, Nathan Eovaldi, Walker Buehler, Jack Flaherty, and Nick Pivetta. Around that time, Tim Healey of Newsday wrote that the Mets were not in on Max Fried and are not expected to land Burnes. It would seem that Stearns simply does not like the return on investment of huge pitching contracts (at least for the players available this winter) and does not want to spend $250MM+ on Burnes.
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Finlete Offers Fans The Opportunity To Acquire A Piece Of Emmanuel Clase’s MLB Salary (Sponsored)
The following is a sponsored post from Finlete.
As anyone who watched the Cleveland Guardians this past season can attest to, entrusting the ninth inning to a lights-out closer like Emmanuel Clase is about as good as it gets. For the Guardians, it’s a competitive edge that few other teams can match. For fans, it’s a reason to rise from your seat. For Clase, it further solidifies his surging trajectory as one of the best closers of all-time – a fact that leaves him well-positioned to become one of the highest paid relievers in the game.
Finlete, a new sports investment platform, has partnered with Clase to offer fans the chance to invest in his career and get a piece of his MLB salary in exchange. Investors will receive their first dividend in the middle of the 2025 MLB season.
Clase represents the second athlete and first active Major Leaguer to sign a future earnings contract with Finlete, following Marlins prospect Echedry Vargas earlier this year. The company expects to launch several more athletes in 2025. Fans can currently get in on the ground floor of this exciting, SEC-compliant platform.
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Let’s look back at the major milestones notched by Clase during the 2024 MLB season:
- 3-time AL Reliever of the Month
- 3rd straight All-Star appearance
- 3rd straight year leading AL in Saves
- 2nd All-MLB 1st Team honors
- 2nd Mariano Rivera Reliever of the Year Award
- 1st reliever to finish top 3 in Cy Young voting since 2008
- 5th lowest single-season ERA in MLB history (0.61)
- Became Cleveland’s all-time Saves leader (157)
- Set a Cleveland record for Saves in a season (47)
- Converted 34 Saves in a row
All in all, it was a banner season for the 26-year old, and one of the most dominating ever recorded in MLB history.
Now let’s talk finances. Currently, Clase is locked into a team-friendly contract extension with Cleveland that he signed in 2022. Over the remainder of the contract, he’s set to receive base salaries of:
- 2024: $2.9 million
- 2025: $4.9 million
- 2026: $6.4 million
- 2027: $10 million (club option)
- 2028: $10 million (club option)
The contract also includes the following clauses:
- 2027 club option includes a $2M buyout
- 2028 club option includes a $1M buyout
- Cy Young Award Bonus Structure
- 1st Place: $250K
- 2nd or 3rd Place: $150K
- 4th or 5th Place: $75K
- Mariano Rivera or Trevor Hoffman Reliever of the Year Award: $100K
- All-Star: $100K
- ALCS MVP: $50K
- World Series MVP: $100K
- $500,000 for 200 innings pitched or 200 appearances from 2022-2026
- Trade Assignment Bonus: $1M
Thanks to his excellence at the back end of the Cleveland bullpen, it should come as no surprise that Clase has earned nearly every major possible incentive in his contract.
Given that he’s now entering the prime of his career age-wise, barring health issues or a sudden drop in effectiveness, he should be in a strong position to become one of the highest-paid relief pitchers when he reaches free agency in 2029 (assuming his 2027 and 2028 club options are picked up).
Those who invest in Clase’s career through Finlete will get a piece of his earnings for the rest of his career. That starts with the $30+ million he currently has left on his contract and gets even more exciting once he reaches free agency. The greater his success on the field between now and then, the greater the size of his next contract will likely be, and the greater the potential return for investors.
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The world of sports investing is changing rapidly, that much is clear. The line between fan and investor is blurring, and Finlete is at the forefront of it all. This is your chance to join a superstar athlete on their journey in a meaningful and potentially lucrative way. See the game from a totally new perspective and own a tangible piece of the action.
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MLB Mailbag: Vlad Jr., Yankees, Seiya Suzuki, Sasaki, Giants
We (Steve Adams and Tim Dierkes) are on the scene at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas for Day 2 of the Winter Meetings. At the time of this writing, Tuesday has been quiet in terms of completed deals, but plenty of action is yet to come. We carved out some time from meandering the lobby to field subscriber questions on Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s potential contract, what the Yankees might do after losing out on Juan Soto, the Cubs and the Seiya Suzuki trade situation, the idea of signing Roki Sasaki to an extension, what's next for the Giants, and much more.
Jeff asks:
Jays fan question - if 26 year old Soto is worth 765M, isn't 26 year old free agent Vlad Jr now worth ~500M? How bad has Ross Atkins bungled his window to sign Vlad at a more reasonable price, over several years of dithering? All the talk had been a Devers comp in the mid-300s, but that ship has surely sailed, right?
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s likely rising price tag was a big topic of conversation around the lobby of the MLB Winter Meetings in Dallas Monday night.
It's worth noting that Guerrero will turn 27 shortly in advance of his first free agent season, as opposed to Juan Soto spending the entire first year of his new deal at the age of 26. We have rarely seen a prominent free agent hit the market at 27, perhaps with the exception of Carlos Correa's weird three-year post-lockout contract. Otherwise you're looking at international free agents like Jose Abreu or Seiya Suzuki, or Cody Bellinger who took a one-year deal at that point.
Steve and I spoke to our esteemed former colleague Ben Nicholson-Smith last night about a potential Vlad Jr. price tag, and Ben mentioned Rafael Devers as a comp just as Jeff did in his question. Indeed, Devers' contract only covers free agent years and started with his age-27 season. That was a ten-year, $313.5MM extension. Due to deferred money, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe wrote that the CBT hit on Devers' deal is "just more than $29 million." In other words, the present value of Devers' deal was below $300MM. It was also not signed on the open market.
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