Continuing the trend of locking up young stars to long-term deals before they hit free agency, the Florida Marlins, I repeat the Florida Marlins, have signed DY-NO-MITE shortstop Hanley Ramirez to a 6-year $70 million contract. It is easily the largest contract in Marlins history and is a very unusual move for the cheapest franchise in baseball. The Marlins payroll for the 2008 season is only $21 million and they have a long history of salary dumping, which is why I say that hell has frozen over. The 2006 National League Rookie of the Year would have been eligible for arbitration following this season, so the Fish made it a priority to lock up the star to a long-term deal before he really cashed in. Ramirez is making $439,000 this season, but was expected to break the bank in arbitration.
These type of deals have become very commonplace in recent years. Earlier this season, the Devil Rays locked up third baseman Evan Longoria within his first week in the majors. There was an interesting article from Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated earlier this week about Braves first baseman Mark Teixeira, who is headed for free agency after this season. There was a great quote from an unnamed GM, who said, “Only late bloomers and Scott Boras clients ever make it to free agency anymore.” That seems to be the trend in baseball these days, as teams are making a big effort to lock up their stars before they hit free agency. This only proves the point I made a few months ago, saying that teams should place a lot of emphasis on player development. The free agent market isn’t as ripe as it used to be and developing talent in-house is the best way to build a ballclub that wins consistently.
Filed under: MLB - Mets, MLB - Yankees, Writer - Bill Slattery
I couldn’t agree more. As a Yankee fan, watching the way that team goes about its player transactions gives me fits.
I was incredibly happy to see them NOT get rid of Melky Cabrera, Robinson Cano, or any of their young pitchers. I can only dream, however, that they will ever officially declare a “rebuilding” season. If they could not be hellbent on winning the world series for a few years (especially when they have no shot at it anyways), they would improve so much in the long run.
-Dan
Don’t forget about Alex Rios
Yeah man, so many guys have been locked up early. Rios, Tulowitzki, Sizemore, Hanley, Longoria… I can’t even begin to name them all. And I’m sure you’ll be seeing more and more of it in the very near future.