By Aidan Joly
It goes without saying that the free agent system in Major League Baseball is broken. Contract extensions are coming fast and furious this spring. From veterans like Justin Verlander to rookies like Eloy Jimenez to superstars like Mike Trout, everyone is signing deals to stay loyal to their teams.
The one I want to discuss came on Thursday afternoon, when Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies signed a seven-year, $35 million extension that will last him through the 2025 season with club options for 2026 and 2027. So, at best, that’s a nine-year, $46 million deal.
That is insanely cheap for a player of his caliber.
Albies is only 22 years old and already has an all-star appearance under his belt. He’s a power hitting, up-the-middle type of player that is sure to become one of the best players in baseball very soon. In his first full big-league season last year, he had a 3.8 bWAR in his age-21 season. According to Baseball Reference, players that that number can be compared to at that age include Cal Ripken Jr., Joe Morgan, Ron Santo, Gary Sheffield, Carlos Correa and Roberto Alomar, among others. That’s not a bad list to be a part of.
Last year, Astros second baseman Jose Altuve, who Albies can be compared to a little bit as to current players, signed a five-year deal that is worth $151 million. For those keeping score, that’s a difference of $116 million for two players that play the same position and are probably 1-2 for the top second basemen in the league.
It makes sense that the two sides would want to get this deal hammered out. The Braves are probably set to win for a while with a young core of Albies, Ronald Acuna, Dansby Swanson, Sean Newcomb, and others players working their way up through the minors. Plus, he is very close friends with Acuna, who signed his own extension worth $100 million earlier in April. Because of the fact that you can’t become a free agent until after you hit six years of service time in the majors, he would have to have had arbitration after the 2020 season, where he would have been set for a big payday, even if it was only for a one-year deal.
Putting this deal into some other terms, Jimenez’s deal earlier this year was for six years and $43 million, coming before he made his debut for the White Sox. The Phillies made a similar deal for Scott Kingery last spring, signing him to a six-year deal worth $24 million before he played a big-league game. Plus, Kingery was nearly two and a half years older than Albies when he signed the deal. Another player with that same age difference is Indians infielder Jose Ramirez, who signed one of the most team-friendly deals in March of 2017 for five years and $26 million, with options that could make it seven years and $50 million. For a guy like Albies who is slated to become one of the best players in the league to get this type of deal is laughable.
However, these team-friendly deals make sense in a way. Ramirez and Albies are two of many big leaguers that came to America at 16 years old from all parts of the world to play. Albies came to the Braves’ organization from Curacao at the age of 16, signed for $350,000 and made essentially nothing in the minor leagues, so he wants to get this deal done now to get guaranteed money, so it can’t be taken away from him because of potential injuries or underperformance.
This is a bad deal for him, but a good one for the Braves. I think this is a major representation of that the free agent system is broken with a good number of players still unsigned now about 15 games into the season and that players are now more willing to stay with teams for a long time, even if they don’t get the money that you would get in free agency.
AJ Hoops 