What athlete has retired like he’s suggesting with multiple years left on their contract? Almost every player thinks they have more left in the tank than they really have. Maldy, Brantley, Beltran, Abreu, Yuli, and countless others in addition to Biggio and Bagwell.
Yeah, I don’t think you understand how these pro athletes think and operate if you think this will happen.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...rs-pete-alonso-alex-bregman-news/77499267007/ What's the latest Alex Bregman news? The Houston Astros certainly wanted him back and offered a six-year, $156 million deal, but when talks stalled, they decided they couldn’t afford to wait any longer until moving on. Bregman, 30, a two-time World Series champion, certainly is drawing plenty of interest, but just not at the $200 million price range … at least not yet. Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora has been vocal in his desire to sign him, and the team has spent only $52.5 million. Yet, with Rafael Devers not wanting to move from third base, Triston Casas at first base, and Vaughn Grissom and top infield prospects on the way at second base, GM Craig Breslow is hesitant. The Detroit Tigers, with manager A.J. Hinch lobbying for him, certainly have an opening. If they sign him, the Tigers could be the favorites to win the AL Central. But there’s still a wide gap in contract talks. The Toronto Blue Jays, who continue to be left at the altar among free agents, have shown the strongest interest, but just how much more do they have to pay him than the next highest bidder with their high tax rates and distance from his home in Phoenix? The Philadelphia Phillies would have interest, but only if they traded third baseman Alec Bohm, and their steep asking price is why Bohm still remains with the club. The Mets could be the most intriguing team in the Bregman/Alonso sweepstakes. Several executives believe that if the Mets don’t sign Bregman and move third baseman Mark Vientos to first base, they’ll sign Alonso. And if they don’t sign Alonso, they’ll shift to Bregman. The biggest obstacle for Bregman is that the St. Louis Cardinals also have a premiere third baseman on the market, and Nolan Arenado said he’ll waive his no-trade clause to the Red Sox and Mets. Spoiler Will anyone take the Toronto Blue Jays’ money? The Blue Jays keep offering mountains of money, but can’t find anyone to take it. They offered more than $700 million for Juan Soto. They were willing to spend at least $250 million for ace Corbin Burnes. They were out-bid for Max Fried. They have an offer for slugger Anthony Santander and they're showing strong interest in Bregman and Alonso, too. Yet, they have spent only $15 million in free agency, begging for free agents to take their money in a critical season where anything short of a postseason berth is catastrophic. This is the final year before Vladimir Guerrero and Bo Bichette leave town as free agents. Bichette is as good as gone, with no real interest in returning, friends say. Guerrero and the Blue Jays are at least $100 million apart, with Guerrero seeking at least $450 million. If Guerrero doesn’t receive an extension by spring training, he’ll test free agency, and likely will be wearing a Red Sox uniform in 2026. If Guerrero doesn’t return to the Blue Jays, he would love to be with the Red Sox, friends say, which may be why the Red Sox are hesitant in their pursuit of Bregman.
Did Boras screw Bregman? Feels similar to the Correa situation a few years ago; have to wonder if Breggy ends up having to settle for a deal like that with a lower annual value than he wants but multiple opt out years.
Height got nothing to do with it....can he throw the ball from LF to HP (3B? 2B?)) without a cutoff man?
You could say the decision to sign the earlier extension didn’t help Bregman now at all. He would have certainly gotten his bigger deal after the huge second half of 2022, his original slated FA year. And yet we applaud when other players (including Bregman) sign the earlier extension. this situation is just mitigating the chances of any agent recommending that “team friendly, player friendly” route.
I wonder if Bregs thought the Astros would do him right by signing him for life ala Altuve. But then he'd have to know that it would be at a discount rate and not market.
FWIW, Altuve didn't take a discount on his "for life" contract. I think most people would argue he's going to be overpaid for most of that contract. Altuve was signed for non-economic reasons that don't really apply to Bregman. Bregman is A face of the franchise, but Altuve is THE face of the franchise. Bregman is more on the Springer level - I would argue Correa was more of a face-of-the-franchise player and they didn't even try to keep him.
I’d still have put Bregman above the other two, and they valued him as such with the offer. No homegrown replacement option (Tucker, Pena), and no “other” categories either (Springer age, Correa health), and plays elite defense at a level far above the replacement 3B option. I do believe this team can afford more than one “franchise” player, and they’re going to need to have more than one of those guys for contention reason. I don’t think they just chose Altuve and will not consider having another, but it will be on their terms, not just the players’.
I agree - I just don't think it's their priority to have franchise players. Altuve was kind of a one-off unique case that probably felt had to be done no matter what. We don't know how his health will hold up, but I think the next big test of the face-of-franchise issue will be whenever Yordan's FA come up. But still a few years before they need to worry about that.
FWIW, when I said they need more than one “franchise” player, I meant they need more than one guy capable of winning an MVP award, not just be a token “face”. They don’t care about token faces… but they absolutely should care about potentially having MVP players during their prime MVP-capable years, with the possible overpay that comes with that (as they chose to do with Altuve). They were also in position to retain Altuve as they also had an early extension with him and still had all leverage. Early extensions (as they did with Bregman/Yordan) do put teams in the best position to re-sign that player at the next stage of their FA process (which will be a 2-3 years past the normal FA process)…. But if these events leads to less and less players doing early buyout type extensions, not sure if they’ll ever be in the running for another candidate after Yordan. But by then, there will likely be a cross-roads of sorts with CBA stuff as the buzz is the players will likely get a chance at earlier FA (4 years vs. 6 years) in exchange for some sort of concession on a cap/floor/revenue sharing system that makes sense and brings overall spending in-line with inflation-related market corrections.
