Delmon Young, Major League contract?

[Nefaste]

Since it appears Weeks won't sign until Young does, I decided to go look for info on how Young's negotiations with the Devil Rays was going. All I could really find was some some slightly stale news at the Ray's official site that was a bit troubling, considering it came from the mouth of Chuck LaMar, Tampa Bay's general manager. This is from June 25th so its hard to know what's changed since then, but I thought it was interesting nonetheless:

 

 

" LaMar said there was no news on the possible signing of overall No. 1 pick Delmon Young. "And we're getting to the point where, if we don't get it done quickly, it might not happen before the end of the season," LaMar said. "Because, if we do sign him to a Major League contract, there's no reason to burn a player's option for a month or six weeks of the season."

 

Click here for the article (no other info though)

 

This is more than a bit scary, since most people thought that Weeks was a valid contender for #1 pick, giving him potential leverage to demand a Major League contract as well. I'm hoping both parties (the Brewers and Weeks) have more sense than that, but then again I wouldn't put it past them. And even if we didn't give him a Major League contract, Delmons insistence on one sounds like its going to drag into next season, and if Week's camp continues to follow the #1 draft picks lead, we're going to be waiting just as long to get something done. Hopefully this is all wasted worrying, and it all works out, but I've got to say its unfortunate we probably won't see Weeks play this year.

[Jose Cardenal]

At what point do we give up the thought of signing Weeks to a 2003 contract? Considering it would take 7 - 10 days after the signing for him to see any game action, I would say the window for a 2003 contract is starting to close.

[pogokat]

i would happily give a player another million or two to avoid giving him a major league contract...i really think the union should put an end to those...but hey, all the players union wants is more members and more money

[deeswan]

I don't think it would cost extra money to get Weeks signed to a minor league deal. I think Tampa's main motivation in considering a Major League deal is that they can spread out the signing bonus over the 3 or 4 years of the contract, as opposed to having to pay it off all at once. You only need look as far as Cincy and Wily Mo Pena to see how little sense that type of deal makes.

In my mind Weeks doesn't have a lot of leverage to try and get a ML deal. He really can't do much more at Southern and, unless Mil. is really lowballing him with money he would be crazy not to sign. In fact, if he held out for a major league deal I would have no problem in letting him go back into the draft next year.

[Kaukauna]

I think I'm missing something, but why is it such a big deal to have Weeks signed for 2003? Is it just so that we can have him at the majors a couple weeks sooner than he otherwise would have been? If people are right about Weeks, he's going to benefit us for a long time, and given that he was a college player, we aren't talking about eons until he starts paying major league dividends. It seems to be the norm for first and second overall choices to sign late in the year, like shortly after the season, so as long as we sign him, what's the rush?

[pogokat]

when you were a little kid...did your parents ever put some of the christmas presents out early?

you wanted to open them before christmas didnt you..

 

weeks is the same way...we know he will sign...we know he will play next year...but we wanna see him this year

 

i dont think it will mess up his development at all if he doeanst play till next year, but at the same time i wanna see if he can have a prince/tony gwynn/lou type start to his pro career....it makes it a lot easier to justify starting the guy at high desert next year if he had a couple of good months in beloit as well

[squarepusher]

Can we cut Rickie open, look inside, and then use Scotch tape to cover up the fact that we cut him open?

[Katuluu]

Can we cut Rickie open, look inside, and then use Scotch tape to cover up the fact that we cut him open?

 

Now that's just silly. Everyone knows such an operation would require Duct tape.

[batman]

http://www.radioalice.com/gallery/images/duct1.jpg

 

We tried this with Bob Hamelin, but it didn't work.

 

~Bill

[nikip43]

good anology with christmas presents

 

its that our 3rd rounder Sweet Lou is performing awsome

our 2nd rounder Junior is performing even better

what would that mean for our 1st rounder had he started when Lou/Gwynn had?

 

Things would just be that much more exciting for the rest of the season, and maybe if some of the non-hardcore fans in Milwaukee kept hearing updates about how their 2nd overall pick Rickie Weeks is performing, a midseason deal sending a bigger name would be more stomachable.

[mothershipconnection]

Can we cut Rickie open, look inside, and then use Scotch tape to cover up the fact that we cut him open?

Cut open and repaired with tape? Then he'd be Jeffrey Hammonds.

[BrewCrewInMN]

AH yes a Bob Hamelin reference. Wow did I love that man when was with Milwaukee. Terrible hitter, but he was fan-friendly and had sometihng like 15 pinch hits bombs....Bring Back Bob Hamelin!!!

[batman]

"Top pick unlikely to play this season" - St. Petersburg Times (07/22/03)

 

The Devil Rays still expect to get top draft pick Delmon Young on the field playing for one of their minor-league teams.

 

Just not any time soon.

 

With negotiations dragging this deep into the summer, the Rays have decided there isn't enough time left in the minor-league season to make it worth using one of Young's option years. Instead they will seek to sign him to a 2004 contract, which means the earliest he can join them will be for the fall instructional league.

 

"I don't think there's any question we'll be working to sign him to a 2004 contract," general manager Chuck LaMar said Monday. "We did everything we thought was important from our standpoint to try to get it done quickly, and not all the blame falls on Delmon and his family. It's just the system that we're in right now. There's a lot of money involved with picks that high; the top four have not signed as of yet and it's not unique to this year."

 

LaMar said he remained confident Young, who has a scholarship offer to Arizona, eventually will sign.

 

"Nothing has happened from the day we drafted him that says we're not going to get this done," LaMar said. "I think negotiations have been not only cordial but very professional, and I don't think there's any question Delmon wants to be a Devil Ray. There's no question in our mind that not only do we want him to be but we're going to get this done."

 

~Bill

[brewmann04]

Devil Rays | Young Won't Sign in 2003 - from www.KFFL.com

Tue, 22 Jul 2003 11:01:50 -0700

 

Updating previous stories, Paul C. Smith, writing for DevilRays.MLB.com, reports the Tampa Bay Devil Rays are now looking for a 2004 season contract for their rookie draft selection (No.1 overall) Delmon Young, according to the general manager Chuck LaMar. "The negotiations have been cordial and professional," LaMar said. "Nothing has happened since the day we drafted him to make us think (he wasn't going to sign)."

[brewmann04]

Does that mean Weeks won"t even sign a deal with the crew now

[Frisbee Slider]

Baseball America's story is concurrent with this thread....in that Delmon Young isn't likelyt o play in the minors this summer and both Young and Weeks are likely to get major league contracts.

[deeswan]

For Weeks I think it means he won't play this year either. I don't think it impacts one way or another on the Brewers signing him as that will come down to money. Unfortunately, the Rickie watch won't begin until next year. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/mad.gif

[cressj]

it means that Weeks will not see action until next summer WHEN he signs. It would be foolish for Rickie not to sign.

[odawg13]

There is an update on the top four draft picks and the negotiation process. It is for subscribers only, but it sheds some light on the Weeks situation.

[Al the Thinking Man]

If I'm Rickie, I accept a lot less money to sign a major league deal THIS year, if the Crew is willing to give him one. It puts him in the bigs in 2006, ready or not.