Rays sign Evan Longoria to 9 year contract

[mikev]

Six guaranteed years, 3 optional

Man, i wish I was a baseball player still.

[Erik W.]

The problem is they think he's Eva Longoria's twin and that by having him around they'll attract her to the ballpark.

[darkenigma510]

Does this mean Evan L should end up on the DL anytime now?

[1998 Yankees]

Originally Posted by mikev

Six guaranteed years, 3 optional

Man, i wish I was a baseball player still.

For once I'm with you, mikev (whether you like it or not ). A multi-year deal for a guy who has 6 major league hits, one home run, and three RBI's. Wow.

[Skipaway]

Teams just have too much money on hand these days.

[English_Ray]

Originally Posted by darkenigma510

Does this mean Evan L should end up on the DL anytime now?

Unfortunately there's not currently any more room on the Rays' DL. Least not until we get Kaz, Garza et al back.

This is a lot of money I know, but even having watched him in just a handful of games, signing him up for the long term looks the smart thing to do. He already just looks like he belongs in the majors. I think that quite a few teams would love to have a 2-3-4-5 of Crawford, Upton, Pena and Longoria. I know I like having it!

[darkenigma510]

well for what its worth, the early season sims of this year's teams showed that the Rays should win 80-85 wins, or at least be hugely improved

[ctorg]

Originally Posted by Skipaway

Teams just have too much money on hand these days.

No kidding!

So, if I understand things right, he's basically signed all the way through what would have been his arbitration years, and then he has three optional years beyond that.

If he turns out to be a great player, very nice deal for the Rays. If he's a flop, well, it's 17 million over six years. Not too bad, right?

[dsvitak]

Originally Posted by ctorg

No kidding!

So, if I understand things right, he's basically signed all the way through what would have been his arbitration years, and then he has three optional years beyond that.

If he turns out to be a great player, very nice deal for the Rays. If he's a flop, well, it's 17 million over six years. Not too bad, right?

So you keep him until the arbitration years, then trade him for three top rookies. I think that this is the stupidest move in years.

[Base Stealer]

Originally Posted by English_Ray

I think that quite a few teams would love to have a 2-3-4-5 of Crawford, Upton, Pena and Longoria. I know I like having it!

I hope this can become one of the best lineups in a year or two...

[Dagrims]

Originally Posted by dsvitak

So you keep him until the arbitration years, then trade him for three top rookies. I think that this is the stupidest move in years.

$17/6 or $18/2 for Frank Thomas. Which one is dumber?

[CalvinHobbes]

Originally Posted by Dagrims

$17/6 or $18/2 for Frank Thomas. Which one is dumber?

Hands down the Frank Thomas deal. Paying 3 mil a year for a young player, even half as good as the scouts think is a huge savings for the club.

Frank is just about washed up, that deal was so stupid.

[CHOWDERHEAD]

Originally Posted by English_Ray

I think that quite a few teams would love to have a 2-3-4-5 of Crawford, Upton, Pena and Longoria.

Very much so. That is a fine core of hitters.

[Skipaway]

Originally Posted by CalvinHobbes

Hands down the Frank Thomas deal. Paying 3 mil a year for a young player, even half as good as the scouts think is a huge savings for the club.

Frank is just about washed up, that deal was so stupid.

It doesn't work that way at all though, since one is a free agent and the other is not.

When you bargain with Longoria, you are simply betting on how much money he could make from arbitrations. There is no real competition, since the team would get Longoria for six years regardless of the contract.

When you bargain with Thomas, you are competing with other buyers on a market.

[Dagrims]

Originally Posted by Skipaway

When you bargain with Thomas, you are competing with other buyers on a market.

...and when you pay him $18M over two years, that's a dumber move than paying Longoria $17M over six years, since there's a very good chance they'd end up paying more over the six years were he to go to arbitration in years 4-6. I don't think there's much of a downside for the Rays in doing this deal. There's also very little downside for Longoria to do the deal, since he's likely to try to renegotiate a new long term deal after year four if he does as well or better than projected.

[YankeePride]

Originally Posted by dsvitak

So you keep him until the arbitration years, then trade him for three top rookies. I think that this is the stupidest move in years.

Not neccessarily.

The hope is that the young players they lock up help the franchise move in the right direction.

The franchise moves in the right direction and starts making more money.

More money means they can keep an Evan Longoria past his 9-year deal when he is a mega-star.

There is a plan in place in Tampa. It's the first time they had a real plan since their inception.

I'm happy for that organization and it's fans. It's about time.

[Skipaway]

Originally Posted by Dagrims

...and when you pay him $18M over two years, that's a dumber move than paying Longoria $17M over six years, since there's a very good chance they'd end up paying more over the six years were he to go to arbitration in years 4-6. I don't think there's much of a downside for the Rays in doing this deal. There's also very little downside for Longoria to do the deal, since he's likely to try to renegotiate a new long term deal after year four if he does as well or better than projected.

When you pay Thomas $18m over two years, you are choosing between $18m and Thomas. You either have the player, or you don't.

When you are giving Longoria $17M over six years, you are choosing between paying him $17M and paying him whatever the arbitration would come up with. You'll get Longoria either way.

The first one is like if you want to order a steak or not. The second one is like deciding how much you want to tip, since you already have the steak. I don't think you can really compare the two, and different situations surely could give you different answers.

[ctorg]

Originally Posted by Skipaway

The first one is like if you want to order a steak or not. The second one is like deciding how much you want to tip, since you already have the steak. I don't think you can really compare the two, and different situations surely could give you different answers.

You're right about it except that it's more like saying "I'll agree to pay $10 for this steak right now" before the meal when the steak may be worth anywhere from $1 to $25.

[kenyan_cheena]

Evan Longoria stars in...

Desperate Ballclub

[JWay]

if we're using 6.5 its a great move, if its ootp8..well...umm...hope you get lucky Tampa!