Is this what a Major League Baseball free-agent frenzy looks like?
As the deadline nears for an impending lockout, the baseball world is ablaze with big-ticket signings, not talk about millionaires fighting billionaires. It’s fun. It’s refreshing. But it also hasn’t yet included the Yankees.
By the time you read this, Max Scherzer may have set the all-time, single-season salary mark with the Mets. That’ll follow up Starling Marte’s $78M deal to play in Queens. Byron Buxton landed $100M in an extension with the Twins. Marcus Semien and Jon Gray made big money with the Texas Rangers. Kevin Gausman cashed in with the Blue Jays. Heck, even Avisail Garcia found his way into an offer of over $50M from the notoriously cheap Marlins.
Players are taking big bucks offered now instead of waiting until after the lockout and whatever a new CBA looks like.
If the Yankees are smart, they’ll jump in the fray ASAP and land Corey Seager to play shortstop.
Here are four reasons why.
Take advantage of uncertainty: It’s not hard to identify why players are in a rush to sign. If not now, when? And will the money still be there in, say, early February? It’s difficult for top players to turn down significant money when there’s a deadline on the offer. Seager is one of the best players on the market. If he wants a deal now, the Yankees shouldn’t hesitate.
One shortstop off the board: Here comes the crunch. Teams like the Tigers, Mariners, and Red Sox can’t play off each other for long, hoping just to land one of the top shortstops for a bargain-basement price. Semien is off the board. As are the Rangers. If the Tigers truly want Carlos Correa to pair with his former manager, A.J. Hinch, then it’s going to soon be down to Seager, Trevor Story or Javier Baez for the Yankees.
AL East keeps getting better: Patience is a virtue for every general manager in the sport, but even Brian Cashman has to be sweating a little bit. Without significant moves this winter, the Yankees could be projected to finish in fourth place in the division next season. Watching the Jays bring in Gausman as a top-of-the-line replacement for Ray should spur urgency in the Bronx.
Post-lockout world could be better for players, worse for teams: Perhaps the players taking the money now will look very smart in a few months. The luxury tax could be lowered. Heck, talk of a salary cap is always out there. But maybe the players win this battle, and finances look worse for owners moving forward. That could move a player like Seager to ask for more money and make it harder on the Yankees (sometimes) frugal ownership to make the move this franchise needs heading into 2022.
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Joe Giglio may be reached at jgiglio@njadvancemedia.com.
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