Bauer to Dodgers - 3 years/$102 million (w/ opt outs)

[A Swing and A Drive]

I don't think opt outs are exclusively pro-player. If a player performs so well in the first year that he wants to opt out it gives the team the option to go in a different direction if they want. It also means they got good value for the season they had the player.

 

This is a great point and probably why the opt-out has become almost common place in Star Free Agent Contracts in the last 10 years.

[TURBO]

As usual, the rich get richer. That rotation is just plain sick.

 

[pacopete4]

I think our rotation will have similar numbers overall when adjusting to home parks. Spend, spend, spend and most often they don’t see the return.

[Eye Black]

The best thing about the deal is that Bob Nightengale reported he signed with the Mets yesterday.

This made me chuckle.

 

[brooks_quichenick]

The best thing about the deal is that Bob Nightengale reported he signed with the Mets yesterday.

This made me chuckle.

 

 

 

[owbc]

Damn, this seems like the kind of deal brewcrew07 wants us to make. Too bad we got outbid by the Dodgers.

[MrTPlush]

I really don’t think this deal is bad at all for the Dodgers. A huge long term deal would have been $30mil+ a year. So for $10mil extra the basically get to take away any long term risk and any age risk.

 

And of course they have a huge payroll to do it.

[StearnsFTW]

The sport is broken.

[TURBO]

The sport is broken.

 

...and the sad thing is, it isn't going to be fixed. ever.

[StearnsFTW]

The sport is broken.

 

...and the sad thing is, it isn't going to be fixed. ever.

 

Sure doesn't look good. It just gets worse and worse.

[SoCalBrewfan]

This system is broken, and you can only conclude that there are enough people who like it that way that it's never going to get unbroken. Maybe it will be a little less broken around the edges, but never really a fair fight.

 

Even if Bauer isn't the sub 2 era guy from last year, the Dodgers will shrug off the bad money as they have before and it's a short term risk not a ten year albatross. If he opts out it probably he means he had another amazing year, and they probably have another title to show for it.

[pacopete4]

I said it in another post. I would take a stoppage of baseball to fix the economics of the game.

[TURBO]

I said it in another post. I would take a stoppage of baseball to fix the economics of the game.

 

As much as it would suck, I 100% agree...

[SoCalBrewfan]

But who is the side in any potential labor dispute advocating to level the playing field? The owners might drift in that direction to contain costs, but it's not because of fairness; the richest franchises would cheerfully screw over the little guys to get an advantage. Meanwhile the players have no incentive to keep spending in check and even if they don't like the discrepancies the free spending of big markets exerts upward pressure on salaries. The small market owners aren't really a meaningful bloc at this point, as far as I can see. Statheads used to like to point to the possibility of winning in small markets, the As sometime and the Rays of late, but David getting lucky doesn't mean Goliath wouldn't win best of seven.

 

Sorry, was in the mood for a rant I guess...

[tmwiese55]

Anyone know what percent of owners would have to vote to approve a drastic change similar to the NFL in terms of cap and revenue sharing? Leaving out the players union negotiation aspect, just the owners. If it's only 50% I don't see how the small markets wouldn't go for it. Even if it's 2/3 vote (which for some reason that's what I have in my head) I can't believe 20 teams wouldn't be in favor of it. I've always had that in my mind so I figured the players must not want it since they want those big market team to be there to kind of cash in their lottery tickets.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I really don’t think this deal is bad at all for the Dodgers. A huge long term deal would have been $30mil+ a year. So for $10mil extra the basically get to take away any long term risk and any age risk.

 

And of course they have a huge payroll to do it.

 

There isn't a bad deal they can make because it doesn't matter. They can do whatever they want.

 

Baseball is going to eat itself. The Dodgers had the NL MVP, so they bought the AL MVP. They won the World Series, then bought the NL Cy Young winner. It's broken.

 

This stuff, and their appalling TV rules, are going to continue the sport's demise. At some point, either the owners realize this can't go on, or the MLB bubble pops, and a new league rises from the ashes, one that can't sustain the current player salaries and the players have no option but to play in a cheaper, more balanced league.

 

That would be way down the line, obviously.

[brewcrewdue80]

Who would pay Bauer more than 45mil in a season?

[owbc]

I really don’t think this deal is bad at all for the Dodgers. A huge long term deal would have been $30mil+ a year. So for $10mil extra the basically get to take away any long term risk and any age risk.

 

And of course they have a huge payroll to do it.

 

There isn't a bad deal they can make because it doesn't matter. They can do whatever they want.

 

Baseball is going to eat itself. The Dodgers had the NL MVP, so they bought the AL MVP. They won the World Series, then bought the NL Cy Young winner. It's broken.

 

This stuff, and their appalling TV rules, are going to continue the sport's demise. At some point, either the owners realize this can't go on, or the MLB bubble pops, and a new league rises from the ashes, one that can't sustain the current player salaries and the players have no option but to play in a cheaper, more balanced league.

 

That would be way down the line, obviously.

 

The Dodgers’ success is everyone’s success from the owners’ perspective. Everybody gets a chunk of their revenue. The Pittsburgh Pirates are basically the Washington Generals at this point. The Globetrotters can’t play themselves, right?

[brewmann04]

They have a lot of money tied up in their rotation.

[owbc]

They have a lot of money tied up in their rotation.

 

They have a lot of money

[brewcrewdue80]

Its just insane to me a guy will take the mound at about 1.33 mil a start and its guaranteed even if he has elbow surgery during any of the 2 seasons. Bauer could go blow out his elbow preparing for the season and take TJ surgery and a nice 400day vacation. Then pitch maybe in August or Sept in 2022 showing any kind of promise. Opt out and plead his value is still 33+mil a season next contract.

[Axman59]

They have a lot of money tied up in their rotation.

 

For 2021 yes.

 

But in 2022 the only starter who is guaranteed money is Bauer. And if he he opts out they have zero guaranteed money in their 2022 rotation. But what they do have is a bevy of good young starters already present or coming who don't have any guaranteed money such as Walker Buehler, Julio Urias, Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin, and Josiah Gray. [Edit - I forgot that David Price has $16m guaranteed for 2022, unless they trade him.]

 

Andrew Friedman is truly releasing the Kraken. More money than God, cheap young talent on the roster with more coming, and the good sense to maintain payroll flexibility. I could see them winning 2 or 3 more World Series championships in the next 4-5 years.

[Oxy]

Who would pay Bauer more than 45mil in a season?

 

mmm, with another Cy Young, perhaps somebody gives him 6/200? Or perhaps somebody gives him the EXACT same deal he just signed? This is the first modern big money deal that maximizes upside and minimizes downside for BOTH the team and the player.

[Oxy]

Its just insane to me a guy will take the mound at about 1.33 mil a start and its guaranteed even if he has elbow surgery during any of the 2 seasons. Bauer could go blow out his elbow preparing for the season and take TJ surgery and a nice 400day vacation. Then pitch maybe in August or Sept in 2022 showing any kind of promise. Opt out and plead his value is still 33+mil a season next contract.

 

Still less insane than giving him a 6/200 or something like that which has been commonplace in his position for the last 20 years or so-- where all those possibilities still exist except there are no negotiations for new circumstances (injury).

[Eye Black]

Dodgers have a full 40-man roster and haven’t yet made a move to make room for Bauer. Assume that’ll need to come fairly soon via either a DFA or trade.