Matt Chapman was almost in the exact same position last year, took a short-term offer, and then got a 6 year $151M extension this offseason. Boras is Chapman's agent. It should have given him a great case for what Bregman could expect. They tried to value Bregman as the player he was in 2018/2019, which would easily have gotten $200M.
So you're suggested after decades of payroll growth, every team just suddenly realized they need to optimize their resources and change their strategies all in the same year? The year after two ultra-high-payroll teams made the WS? I don't disagree that spending frivously as teams have been doing is silly. But I disagree with the idea that teams all suddenly got smart. Yeah, I have no idea the accuracy of that tweet and find it being wrong to be a far better explanation than "every team suddenly got smart".
Except he hasn't lost? Should Correa have accepted the Astros' lowball offer? Should Snell have accepted a smaller longterm deal last year? I find it weird when people can't see beyond a time horizon of one-day to immediately judge a decision instead of waiting to see what actually happens.
Yes, teams are being cautious with long-term contracts for aging players unless they’re massive money-makers for both the team and MLB. It’s possible many are taking a page from the Astros’ playbook, focusing on shorter, more flexible deals while developing talent. The Astros’ success has shown that long-term spending isn’t always the answer, and other teams are likely noticing. This shift didn’t happen overnight, but the trend is clear.
The Correa offer wasn't a serious offer. The Bregman offer was at least a reasonable offer, though I figured he would get a better deal and of course might still.
Fans generally don’t care about contract details or long-term strategy; they just want their team to win and improve now. Whether Correa or Snell made the “right” decisions matters less to fans than whether their team got better. Judging decisions quickly is natural because fans live in the moment and want immediate success… preferably with a whiskey in hand, yelling at the TV like it’s a playoff game in June.
As to the "right" decision, it's super subjective. Does the player have any competitive fire or do they just want to put the most dollars in the bank? Is there a team they just really want to play for or a city they really want to live in? Are they a fame w****? It's next to impossible to say if any player made the "right" choice without knowing their actual goals. Several players would be perfectly happy playing in the middle of nowhere never being on anything resembling a contender because they can make 20 bucks more than at a perennial contender. Some would sacrifice millions to be on a true contender. Some have even weirder motivations.
Agree with all that. But the post I was responding to said Bregman gambled and lost, despite none of us having any idea how much money he actually will end up making or where he will end up.
Well considering he STILL isn’t signed and reports are he doesn’t want a short term high volume deal, it’s not hard to put 2 and 2 together that he’s not getting the money he wants. So in essence he gambled on his preconceived monetary worth and he lost. Could he still get a nice chunk of change? Sure. But it won’t be what he wanted or thought he was worth.
