n today’s game of baseball, overpaying for free agents is inevitable. If you want to sign your guy, you are going to make sure nobody outbids you in the process. Nowadays, it seems like every free agent is getting overpaid. Seven years and $161 million for Chris Davis? Eight years at $184 million for Jason Heyward? Seven years for $153 million for Jacoby Ellsbury? Sure, the Yankees overpaid Aroldis Chapman signing him to a five year deal worth $86 million, a deal that shattered the previous record for any relief pitcher. But the point is, they intended to overpay him. Resigning Chapman after dealing him to the World Series champion Chicago Cubs was a priority for Brian Cashman, and after getting it done, this is a signing that should be celebrated.
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But the ninth inning is a whole different animal, and these three guys are some of the best in the bigs. We saw Dellin Betances struggle to hold his own as a closer, and although he may have been able to make the adjustment, the Chapman signing was absolutely necessary. To get him, he were going to have to be paid in full. In the end, the Yankees paid to get the man they wanted, and the Dodgers paid to get their closer to return to LA. With Chapman and Jansen being two of the best in the business, their contract values should come as a surprise to no one, as they earned the right to ask for five years, and almost twice as much as the previous record for any relief pitcher.
Obviously, Chapman is the most intimidating pitcher in baseball. With a fastball that routinely touches triple digits and a World Series ring to his name, Chapman was going to get paid this offseason. And if it was not the Yankees who paid him, some other team such as the Dodgers or Marlins, would have paid Chapman. But the Yankees made a point to resign their guy, and in signing Chapman, it is a mission accomplished for the Yankees.
Photo Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van
But the ninth inning is a whole different animal, and these three guys are some of the best in the bigs. We saw Dellin Betances struggle to hold his own as a closer, and although he may have been able to make the adjustment, the Chapman signing was absolutely necessary. To get him, he were going to have to be paid in full. In the end, the Yankees paid to get the man they wanted, and the Dodgers paid to get their closer to return to LA. With Chapman and Jansen being two of the best in the business, their contract values should come as a surprise to no one, as they earned the right to ask for five years, and almost twice as much as the previous record for any relief pitcher.
Obviously, Chapman is the most intimidating pitcher in baseball. With a fastball that routinely touches triple digits and a World Series ring to his name, Chapman was going to get paid this offseason. And if it was not the Yankees who paid him, some other team such as the Dodgers or Marlins, would have paid Chapman. But the Yankees made a point to resign their guy, and in signing Chapman, it is a mission accomplished for the Yankees.
Photo Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van