The bottom line is that Brown/Crane had a max amount they were willing to pay in money and/or years. For weeks they negotiated with Boras to work something out within that budget and Boras and Bregman decided it was below their min. acceptable amount. So now Boras has to work even harder. With the Astros out, it will be harder to get bigger offers. If Alex signs for $200M and/or 7+ years we will know the Astros were not willing to give a market competitive offer. If Alex does not get 7 or it's less than $25M AAV in order to get that 7th year, then we know Boras and Bregman were greedy and over confident in his value.
Scott Boras works for the player not the other way around. I've seen a couple of players whine about him after their FA didn't work out. He takes some risks to maximize potential earnings, but if you want to play it safe he will do that. Altuve is a Boras client and there was no problem with an extension. If you want to let him swing for the fences, then that's your fault if you happen to get burned.
So far the Astros have made three poor decisions with their "rules of free agency" 1. Cole 2. Tucker 3. Correa Yes Correa. He was the bonified vocal team leader and his production is missed.
How in the hell can we call Tucker a poor choice, we have no idea what he's gonna do even next season, much less the next 10. We won a WS with Pena as the MVP, hard to call that a poor choice.
Judging by Boras attack on the Astros. Sounds like Bregman said, get as much money as you can get from them. Houston got tired of the games and went the other direction. Boras probably left with an upset client.
Because his body of work so far up until earning his paycheck tells us what his market value is and arbitrary rules for aging players is one thing not Tucks situation. What if Yordan would of said hell no to the ridiculously team friendly contract he signed. We would of let him walk also. Meanwhile patchworking with aging players on mid high contracts, to save the years.
Kermit was never going to stay no matter what. I’d rather spend the money Tucker will get on a big arm anyway. Agree on Correa though.
How much more tax will Bregman pay because he plays for a city with state income tax? I realize it depends on the state, but it has to be some serious money. What happens if he isn't offered more money than the Astros offered? Is he screwed, or can he accept what Crane offered?
Crane would certainly honor the 6/156 to Bregman if he chose to do it. Most likely they would come back with 6/165 just so it doesn't look like they were completely defeated. That's the only way Bregs is coming back home. His family would have to be involved in that because as a player I think his ego would keep him looking elsewhere (even for a shorter term contract worth more money per year). Something like 3/90 with Opt outs. Funnily enough, the Astros would jump all over that. Difference between Bregs and Correa though is Correa felt he could maximize his value even a year later with the opt out. I don't think Bregs can do the same next year. That's why he wants his money guaranteed now.
So you have to pay because it's market value? Anthony Rendon,Kris Bryant and Pujols were stars...until they weren't. As for Yordan we don't know, maybe. Altuve somehow hung around without a 10 year mega deal.
I will say that Altuve is the one player that seems absolutely loyal to this organization for taking the chance on him early on. The OG who started it all. If there was ever another Astro who I thought would have had a similar mentality I would've guessed Bregs. That's why I wonder what he is really thinking right now. Despite what the reports say that Bregs is not coming back, I think the Astros have not fully pivoted away from him just yet. They strategically traded for a replacement in Paredes but left the option open for him to play OF. And the 1b signing of Walker has nothing to do with 3b. Arenado also could've been flipped over to 1b if landed so no deal breaker there either. There is a world where Bregs comes back to Houston and rejoins this terror lineup being built, but the Astros aren't budging and his ego may very well keep him away, even though it would absolutely still be the best place for him money wise, family wise (most likely) and winning wise. I said when the season ended that Bregs isn't seeing $200 mil from any team, and he's not a big enough draw for a mediocre team to fill the seats with. Now I'm not too sure another team would even give him 6 years as he wants. 6/156 is a very fair price and 100% believe the Astros would do $10-$15 mil more on that in incentives. The ball is in Bregs court now to say he sought out the free agent market but the best deal is in Houston. Will he take it?
No. What you need to do is what is best for the team. Sometimes that is letting a guy like Springer go because a guy like Tucker has arrived. Sometimes that is letting a guy like Correa go because his salary and contract length demands will hinder the roster on the back end. It helps to have a guy like Pena that you have confidence in replacing him. Sometimes it's offering the longest, largest deal in team history to extend a guy because there is zero chance the team is as good without him and his lack of risk factors dictate a lesser chance of the contract ending badly. Sometimes it's agreeing to a deal you know will end badly because the guy is already 35 and declining, butchers a team icon and it's unfathomable to think of him in another uniform. As for Alex, this team NEEDED to resign him until they landed Walker and Paredes. We don't know what kind of an offer they made Tucker when trying to extend him, but not extending him was mistake #1. Rectifying that by trading him if the extension was not going to happen was the right move, but if they had resigned Bregman then those assets could have improved the team instead of just bringing it back to even ( or even close to even)
