This could be similar to the Werth signing. Paying more because of the team's situation. You can draw parallels to the Astros and the Nationals when they signed Werth. They signed Werth knowing they needed some established talent and were willing to spend. They had youth(Strasburg and Harper along with other guys) that were going to reach the majors in a couple of years or contribute. The only question is will the guys in the farm be ready in time to justify this signing.
7 yr, $130MM is not too terrible given the market and compared to his original target ($153MM). It comes out to $18MM/yr. Even if the last year or two is a total waste, it could be a good deal for the next 4-5 years if he can stay healthy. And if salaries continue to escalate at their recent pace, then $18MM in 2019 or 2020 wouldn't be a big deal.
Terrible deal in years 4-7, but well worth it in years 1-3 and the Rangers can afford it. Choo was the best leadoff hitter in the NL last year. Must be nice to spend $120 million on your top 10 players.
At this point, the Astros would have to overpay any free agent to come here. This is not an "it" destination for any player in their prime or about to enter their prime. Maybe that changes with some winning seasons... Or maybe the Astros realize that if they can get winning seasons without big name free agent spending, they may not need to emulate some of these teams. One thing is for sure... A lot of teams out there have money to spend.
Strange move. I thought I'd read that the AL West is stuffed with left handers and Choo is horrible against left handers.
Where the hell do the rangers get all this money? What happened to the days when they were horrible and the Astros were the biggest team in Texas?
Their new tv deal pays them $150M annually and a $100M up front payment. That's where they got all this money.
Without a tv deal, the Astros are closer to the A's and Rays than they are to the Rangers, Angels, and Mariners.
Heres the deal, Jon Daniels is a big ol idiot blowing the Rangers to hell in a hand basket. By the time they run him out of town the Rangers will be bankrupt with no farm system to speak of. Glad to see Nolan abandoned that sinking ship.
Of the various big-name deals signed this season (Choo, Ellsbury, Cano) and the recent ones of their division counterparts (Pujols, Hamilton), I would pick Choo as the best of the bunch. But the overall reality is that the economics of the teams with the new generation TV deals is simply different than what was reasonable 5 years ago.
They won't be bankrupt. If they average 30,000 people a night, at an average ticket price of $25, that's $61M a year. Add that to the $150M a year tv deal, and that is $215M a year. They could certainly have a $150M payroll and still be profitable. This doesn't even account for revenues from the national tv deal for MLB, the MLB network, merchandise sales and concession sales at the games. Their war chest is very, very full to pay all of these salaries.
Are they spending less on the farm system? Are they not signing their draft picks? Is there allofasudden a salary cap that prevents them from doing both (spending on the big league club, and continuing to develop the farm). I know Drayton started sacrificing farm spending for spending on the MLB club, and that was a mistake, but not sure the rangers are doing that as well.
Plus they have three million fans coming through the turnstiles along with two billionaire owners with money to burn who actually give ***** about their fanbase and who want to win a WS title.
Sorry but Nolan didn't jump ship - he was forced to walk the plank. It was a powerplay by Daniels and Ray Davis and when the dust settled ol' Nolan found himself down in Davy Jones' Locker.
Pretty much like the Jayson Werth deal. Choo is a better player than Werth and with all the limits on how MLB teams can spend money, teams will just use it on free agents. Here's a Yahoo article detailing it(not too informative though): http://sports.yahoo.com/news/baseball-s-big-spending-spree-could-eclipse--2-billion-011632054.html
All that being said, fans will not fill the seats to watch the team Daniels the genius has put together. Winning filled those seats, losing will empty them.
Make one thing clear. With the revenues coming in that I already mentioned, the owners will be able to pay these salaries without dipping into their own check books. Payroll will be made off of annual baseball revenues.
You cant tell me if Nolan wanted to stay that he wouldnt be back. Yeah he was weaseled and chose to move on, its the Rangers loss and the fans. Just an example of the lack of class this franchise has, again its all egos and no leadership. Does this remind you of another poorly ran franchise in Dallas?(Jerry Jones)?
