Let me start by saying that I am going to pick on Brian Sabean about this one issue. In general, I really like what he has managed to do with the team since becoming GM and hope he stays for a long while. He has built out the Giants minor league system into one of the four best producers of MLB talent in the game (especially Pitchers). He has also made trades that have surprisingly, strengthened the team each year. Of course there are those trades that have been duds, like the Sidney Ponson, Shea Hilenbrand and the king of the duds, the A. J. Pierzynski trade that sent Nathan, Liriano and Bonser to the Twins. In contrast, he make stellar trades for Jeff Kent, Kirk Rueter, Jason Schmidt, Robb Nen and Cody Ross; while recently grabbing cast offs Huff and Burrell.
Trades aside, the deals that brought several to the team in recent years, just do not make any sense. Randy Winn and Dave Roberts were great Giants and are reportedly good guys, but hardly worth $9 and $7 mil per season. The same can be said for Aaron Roward ($9.5 mil per season where he has never earned more than $4.5 in his prime) and averaged $3.5 mil, Aubry Huff's new contract if for $22 mil over two seasons or $30 mil over 3 years (Two years @ $10 mil per and a club option for a third @ $10 mil or a $ 2mil buy out), where he has never earned more than $8 in his best years and $4.5 mil on average (There is a reason that he was only $3 mil in 2010). Edgar Renteria, who was a brilliant clutch hitter in the post season, has made us forget that he spent most of the season, as well as the 2009 season, on the DL for $9 mill per season (average $8 mil per plus a $2 mil buy out) and then there is Barry Zito who had never earned more than $8 mil and averaged $5 mil with Oakland, received a 7 year $126 mil deal with a option for $18 mil or a $7 mil buy out. That's right, it will cost the Giants $7,000,000 to send him packing in 2014 or $18,000,000 to keep him making the total deal worth $133 mil to get rid of him after 2013 or $144 mil to keep him through 2014. By the way, the option would become guaranteed if Zito pitches 200 innings in 2013, 400 combined innings over 2012 and 2013 or 600 innings from 2011-2013 and Zito has a full no-trade clause, we may have him in 2014, like it or not.
It may not be fair to put the Barry Zito deal squarely on Brian Sabean, as Peter McGowan has fallen on his sword over this one. However, knowing what we do about the Giants, it's Sabean who makes these things happen and works with a group inside of the Giants to sell it to the investors. I am certain that Sabean AND McGowan made the Zito deal happen and it is tragic. Not because of the failed promise, but that he was never going to live up to that deal. Trade Rumors and the Chronicle have both published that the largest offer for Zito was a 5 year deal for $75 mil from the Mets and a far less expensive 7 year deal from the Rangers. The Mets GM said after the Giants deal,
"We were not willing to go to the seven-year areas he said he had," said Minaya, who conducted studies on the performances of pitchers with lengthy deals. "This is one guy who has been healthy, and we all wish him well. At the end of the day, the history ... I could not recommend to my ownership to go to seven guaranteed years."
Minaya looks like a genius over this one.
ESPN reported that the deal was the highest for a pitcher in baseball history and "Only Alex Rodriguez ($252 million), Derek Jeter ($189 million), Manny Ramirez ($160 million),Todd Helton ($141.5 million) and Alfonso Soriano ($136 million) have contracts with more guaranteed money.
Huff probably could have been singed for $6 or $7 mil per season and with Belt crawling up the walls in the minors, why not sign him to a one or two year deal at $6, while Belt feels his way in. Did Sabean really think Belt would be another Ishikawa?
Renteria was told that the team would buy him out and offer him $1 mil, effectively giving him $3 mil for this season. He turned it down and went to the Reds for $2.01 mil. With the injuries (which you cannot for see) he would have filled in for Pablo at third and then short, effectively negating the Tejada and Cabrera deals (Unless Renteria got hurt); which cost the giants a prospect and Tejada's salary, which far exceed the extra $1mil. Unless Renteria was determined to go elsewhere after the Giants bought him out of the $10 mil due on the option for 2011.
I think Miguel Tejada would have taken less than $6.5 mil, but not much less. Like Zito, Aaron Rowand's deal was just too long. If it were a three year deal then we wouldn't be talking about this. He would have been gone after the 2010 season and that would be that, but they are both still here and its killing us to watch them struggle and sit on the bench. Last season the top paid guys were Zito, Rowand and Renteria.
The Beltran deal makes more sense now than it did when it was a rumor, but his trip to the DL hurts BAD. The revolving door at second base following F. Sanchez has hopefully stabilized with Keppinger (whom I really like the way he plays and he only costs the prospect who may or may not have made the Giants rotation). DeRosa's wrist has cost $6 mil per season.
With all of the unforeseen injuries and frantic signings to keep on track, which the Giants are not, the high cost of several over paid veterans seems like a foreseeable mistake that someone like Sabean should have been able to avoid. Or is it, when he screws up, he goes big or goes home?
All Salary Data comes courtesy of Doug Pappas, and the Society for American Baseball Research.
Here's a question, would you pay Lincecum 126 million and 7 years at his next contract negotiation? He has won 2 Cy Youngs, a world series ring, and he is a perennial allstar.
ReplyDeleteFogCity Answer:
I would because of his age. After a few (3 or 4) more seasons, signing a guy would require a different look where you would have to evaluate the players health and performance history. Also, he has shown that he can take the big stages and big attention that a huge contract like the would give him (which he will get if and when he goes free agent). I don't know him well enough to know how he would perform in cities like New York or Boston (lets hope we don't have to find out), but Zito had a soft landing moving from Oakland to SF, where he wasn't criticized by the media or heckled by the fans (until the third straight crappy season).
Look at Hudson in Atlanta, they have basically been paid the same money by their second teams. Hudson signed a 5 year contract and a new 3 + 1 in 2010. His first 5 year deal was for $51.5 and after proving his health and ability to change from a power pitcher to a sinkerballer signed a second 4 year @ $9 per season (3 + option for a 4th), $36 total. So the Brave committed to him a total of 9 years at $87.5 mill IF they pickup his option (which like Zito will kick in if he hits certain innings pitched)