Best fix for Shortstop?

[diehardtwinsfan]

What about a package for Jurikson Profar involving Perkins.

 

There isn't a person on this board who would say no to that one... Not sure Texas would do that.

[Willihammer]

I assume ownership aren't frontloading contracts for 2 reason: interest lost, and the potential for a snowball effect of establishing higher baselines for payroll quicker. The inflation of player salaries is something ownership wants to forestall, not accelerate.

[Oxtung]

I believe front loading is frowned upon by owners and I think Willihammer and drjim have hit on some big points. The future potential value of money, perhaps raising payroll quicker, and another I just thought of is players wanting to restructure their contracts during the cheap out years. Can MLB players holdout like NFLers?

 

Jim also brought up a good point about just offering to pay some of the salary when making a trade but I am unsure of the specifics of how that would work. Is it a lump sump paid at the time of the deal? Would the Twins actually pay out, let's say Greinke's, 2015 salary in 2015 and his 2016 salary in 2016 to the [insert team Greinke was traded to]? If either of those are true then they aren't feasible for the Twins as long as payroll limitations in the future remain as they have been stated now; 50% revenue, no carry over to future years, yada yada. The reason front loading works so well for the Twins right now is because they have very large amount of payroll unspent currently. That hopefully won't be true in 2016.

 

Thanks for the discussion and clarification. I truly was trying to understand your points but was struggling too.

[TheLeviathan]

I believe front loading is frowned upon by owners and I think Willihammer and drjim have hit on some big points.

 

MLB players have guaranteed contracts unlike NFL players, it's why you don't see restructuring. It's also why they don't hold out, it would shake the apple cart too much when they already have a gigantic advantage in the CBA.

 

Money is always more valuable now - 13M is worth more now than it is in 7 years. Jim's point works both ways. The difference is, I don't think MLB players even entertain the idea. Though I believe, if they were wise, they should.

[snepp]

Player ego likely plays a role as well, they don't want to be making (relative) peanuts compared to their peers in those last years.

[Oxtung]

MLB players have guaranteed contracts unlike NFL players, it's why you don't see restructuring. It's also why they don't hold out, it would shake the apple cart too much when they already have a gigantic advantage in the CBA.

 

Money is always more valuable now - 13M is worth more now than it is in 7 years. Jim's point works both ways. The difference is, I don't think MLB players even entertain the idea. Though I believe, if they were wise, they should.

 

Even if they don't/can't hold out they do grumble about restructuring and it does happen. They even demand trades. I could see a player feeling like they were underpaid late in the contract, never mind the fact they just made a boatload at the beginning of the contract. He could then make a big fuss about wanting to sign an extension which means that last year, or more, of cheap pay would be voided and potentially rewritten as a high paying year.

 

Player ego likely plays a role as well, they don't want to be making (relative) peanuts compared to their peers in those last years.

 

They sign back loaded contracts where they are paid less early on.

 

 

I guess overall we've come to the conclusion that, regardless of who is against front loading contracts, it is probably never going to happen in the risk adverse world of MLB. Anybody else have a creative way the Twins could make use of their $40-80M of unspent payroll over the next few years to improve the team when we are hopefully making a run at a World Series?

[TheLeviathan]

Even if they don't/can't hold out they do grumble about restructuring and it does happen. They even demand trades. I could see a player feeling like they were underpaid late in the contract, never mind the fact they just made a boatload at the beginning of the contract.

 

I'm just going to suggest that a reasonable conclusion like "made a boatload of money earlier" may not apply to players. Do you have an example of restructuring? I can't recall this happening. It certainly doesn't happen with much frequency.

 

As for your last question....no. At least not one that I think would actually happen. Hell, I'd praise Ryan's name and build him an altar if I thought he'd take even a percentage of the unspent payroll the next 3 years and apply it to the future. To me, that's the best situation, but even that just isn't going to happen.

[Oxtung]

I'm just going to suggest that a reasonable conclusion like "made a boatload of money earlier" may not apply to players. Do you have an example of restructuring? I can't recall this happening. It certainly doesn't happen with much frequency.

 

As for your last question....no. At least not one that I think would actually happen. Hell, I'd praise Ryan's name and build him an altar if I thought he'd take even a percentage of the unspent payroll the next 3 years and apply it to the future. To me, that's the best situation, but even that just isn't going to happen.

 

I can only think of restructuring in terms of a contract extension. An example off the top of my head is Felix Hernandez. He made $2.5m more in 2013-14 after his extension, than he did from his original voided contract. Now $2.5m isn't much but his contract wasn't front loaded so he was already making a considerable amount of money in those last years of his original contract. I'm sure there are more examples I just don't know them off the top of my head.