Quote:
Originally Posted by rats60
Players are eligible for arbitration after 3 years and start getting big money then. Kris Bryant made almost 11 million dollars last year with only 2 years experience and will make over 12 this year. Bryce Harper got 13.6 and then 21.6 million in arbitration years. Mike Trout by signing a longer term deal is getting 34 million before he can be a free agent. It is a two sided sword. Owners don't want to pay a young guy big money because he has 1 good season, they want him to prove himself over a longer period before he starts getting paid big bucks. They are also paying out big signing bonus when players are drafted. Aaron Judge will be fine if he keeps performing.
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When you have a union, the interests of the majority have to be represented. So the elite players you mentioned above made nice money and will be fine. Mookie Betts made $2 mil his first 3 years in baseball - total, $10 mil last year and $20 next year - because he’s a huge talent. But for a majority of the players your first 7 years under team control are difficult and most players don’t have that kind of leverage to negotiate but at the same time can’t leave. So they are at the mercy of the team. Then when free agency comes around most players are 30 and teams don’t want them. It was different a few years ago when a 30 year old could get $50-100 mil and never had to worry about money. Mike Moustakas is a perfect example. He’s had a decent career and is a very good player. Last year he took a 1 yr $5.5 mil deal and this year he hasn’t signed yet and no one seems to be throwing offers out there. They would rather bring up kids from the farm. If Betts was a free agent right now he would be looking at $30+ mil per year instead of $20. If Moustakas had negotiating power 5 years ago he could have had the chance to get a big multi year deal. And that’s where the next CBA is going to lead. Players are going to be free agents much sooner in their career.