Quote:
Originally Posted by fleury
I'd call it a puzzling move. While I don't have the eye of a baseball exec, I'd sum up my opinion that his upside is of an average MLB player overall. By locking him up, they likely have confidence he'll develop into something much better. The head scratcher is, why now? Why not wait until year end when it's a little more clear what direction he goes?
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Not likely. He is what he is. 20+ home runs, decent defense in the outfield and now being paid 12 million dollars a season. He was a 2 WAR outfielder last year. Similar WAR outfielders are Gregory Polanco (~7 mil/season), Shin Soo Choo (20 mil/season) and Brett Gardner (was making ~11 mil now at 7.5 mil/season).
They barely have anyone under contract next year. They need to fill positions. And they're going to find apparent value while filling those positions.