10/29: A-Rod: King of Free Agency
Posted by: Patrick
That's some nice news I wake up to. A-Rod has opted out of his contract. I thought he had until 10 days after the World Series? Why the rush? If he is really concerned about the direction of the team - about the manager, about Pettitte, about Jorge and Mo - why couldn't he wait a little bit to see how that played out? Numerous reports indicate that we're getting ready to make aggressive offers to both of them. Granted, Pettitte may not have been cleared up in the next 10 days (edit: it would have been, Buster Olney just said that he has to let the Yankees known within 10 days), but it's possible that he might have and that after the manager was in place and after Jorge and Mo were signed (assuming it happens), he'd be more likely to return.
So, why now? Some speculate that A-Rod simply doesn't want to be in New York. The Yankees wanted to meet with him to discuss the offer. Hank Steinbrenner called him and left messages on his phone. No response. He wouldn't agree to meet with them and he wouldn't return their calls. This would seem to support the notion of not wanting to be in New York.
He leaves New York - the largest stage and the most storied franchise - without a World Series and with poor performances in October. The Yankees have been clear in their intentions not to participate in the free agency bidding of Alex Rodriguez.
Hindsight's a funny business, but I think there will be some discussion as to whether or not this strategy was the best way to go, since it ended as it did. Plenty were in support of it, but was it wise to, essentially, threaten A-Rod and Scott Boras publicly? Couldn't they have just privately had this in mind (i.e. "we will not negotiate if he opts out") and communicated it to A-Rod and Boras the importance of the Texas money? Instead of announcing it to the world? I'm not saying it would have mattered, but by publicly announcing it, not only do you risk offending A-Rod and Boras, but you paint the Yankee organization into a corner. We can't bid on A-Rod now without looking foolish, so we allow the best player in the game to walk because of things we said. Even if it was the right call at the time, it didn't work.
The only way that I could see A-Rod returning now is if Boras has badly overestimated the market. Let's say, for example, that no one is even able to offer him the $27 million he would have made this year. So, then the Yankees offer him an 8 year, $26 million dollar a year contract, totaling $208 million. With the Yankees, if we added 5 years to his deal at $30 million (which, really, we probably would have gone higher), his current deal would have been worth $231 million and we would have received $21 million from Texas, so it would have cost us $210 million. So, we'd actually be saving $2 million dollars and he'd be making $23 million less. In that sort of situation, it'd be taken, publicly, as him crawling back to us. That would enable us to make the deal. Is that going to happen? Unlikely. Boras is at the top of his field, he has to know that A-Rod will command $30 million from someone. As such, A-Rod is gone.
Of course, some people wouldn't want him back, not even at 8 years and $26 million a year. Maybe not even the Yankees. Hank Steinbrenner has said that it's clear that A-Rod didn't want to be a Yankee. For all of his talk, he did produce this line, which gave me a chuckle:
In the end, this is disappointing. No matter what happens, we're taking a big step down at 3rd base. I liked Alex and I wanted him to succeed in New York. I rooted for him and was happy when he did well. I felt that, generally speaking, many Yankee fans didn't realize what they had in him. He's a great player and a future Hall of Famer. But, he's no longer a Yankee. Life goes on. I've read a couple comments where someone suggested the Yankees should just go young this year and make it a rebuilding year. To be honest, there is probably never a reason for the Yankees to do that - ever - assuming we don't mess things up too bad. With our money and moderate restraint in our farm system, we should be able to field a competitive team every season with a mix of younger and older guys. Let's not lose sight of that.
Via Steve.
So, why now? Some speculate that A-Rod simply doesn't want to be in New York. The Yankees wanted to meet with him to discuss the offer. Hank Steinbrenner called him and left messages on his phone. No response. He wouldn't agree to meet with them and he wouldn't return their calls. This would seem to support the notion of not wanting to be in New York.
He leaves New York - the largest stage and the most storied franchise - without a World Series and with poor performances in October. The Yankees have been clear in their intentions not to participate in the free agency bidding of Alex Rodriguez.
Hindsight's a funny business, but I think there will be some discussion as to whether or not this strategy was the best way to go, since it ended as it did. Plenty were in support of it, but was it wise to, essentially, threaten A-Rod and Scott Boras publicly? Couldn't they have just privately had this in mind (i.e. "we will not negotiate if he opts out") and communicated it to A-Rod and Boras the importance of the Texas money? Instead of announcing it to the world? I'm not saying it would have mattered, but by publicly announcing it, not only do you risk offending A-Rod and Boras, but you paint the Yankee organization into a corner. We can't bid on A-Rod now without looking foolish, so we allow the best player in the game to walk because of things we said. Even if it was the right call at the time, it didn't work.
The only way that I could see A-Rod returning now is if Boras has badly overestimated the market. Let's say, for example, that no one is even able to offer him the $27 million he would have made this year. So, then the Yankees offer him an 8 year, $26 million dollar a year contract, totaling $208 million. With the Yankees, if we added 5 years to his deal at $30 million (which, really, we probably would have gone higher), his current deal would have been worth $231 million and we would have received $21 million from Texas, so it would have cost us $210 million. So, we'd actually be saving $2 million dollars and he'd be making $23 million less. In that sort of situation, it'd be taken, publicly, as him crawling back to us. That would enable us to make the deal. Is that going to happen? Unlikely. Boras is at the top of his field, he has to know that A-Rod will command $30 million from someone. As such, A-Rod is gone.
Of course, some people wouldn't want him back, not even at 8 years and $26 million a year. Maybe not even the Yankees. Hank Steinbrenner has said that it's clear that A-Rod didn't want to be a Yankee. For all of his talk, he did produce this line, which gave me a chuckle:
“Does he want to go into the Hall of Fame as a Yankee,” Steinbrenner said, “or a Toledo Mud Hen?”
In the end, this is disappointing. No matter what happens, we're taking a big step down at 3rd base. I liked Alex and I wanted him to succeed in New York. I rooted for him and was happy when he did well. I felt that, generally speaking, many Yankee fans didn't realize what they had in him. He's a great player and a future Hall of Famer. But, he's no longer a Yankee. Life goes on. I've read a couple comments where someone suggested the Yankees should just go young this year and make it a rebuilding year. To be honest, there is probably never a reason for the Yankees to do that - ever - assuming we don't mess things up too bad. With our money and moderate restraint in our farm system, we should be able to field a competitive team every season with a mix of younger and older guys. Let's not lose sight of that.
Via Steve.
