Read: Free Agents, Contracts, and the Economy
Nick Cafardo, in a report for the Boston Globe, says that free agents this winter are not likely to get contracts as big as others in prior years.
Cafardo notes that because of the economy, the Tigers, Reds, Blue Jays, Rays, and Astros are intent on cutting payroll and making many stars available via trade, and that teams will be paying close attention to players who aren’t tendered contracts in December.
According to Cafardo, one general manager said that Matt Holliday “won’t get what Mark Teixeira got. No chance.” and that John Lackey “may get A.J. Burnett money, but I’m not even sure anyone would go that high.’’
…i wonder if these free agents won’t get what Teixeira got because of the economy, or because he is a notch below Teixeira in terms of his abilities, or both…Tex is performs at a high level both offensively and defensively, while Holliday and Bay are more offensive oriented players…that doesn’t take anything away from either of them because are tremendous hitters and the Mets should still heavily pursue both of them, but if Tex is being used as a standard, then neither Holliday or Bay should get what he got in dollars…of course, the Yankees bid above anyone else to get Tex, so the standard could be unfair to begin with…
For more on this, plus Cafardo’s other notes from around the Majors, check out his article here.
