Clubs know well that long-term contracts with large amounts of money are ‘risky’, but they cannot resist the temptation of top-class free agents. It has become a daily scene since the introduction of the FA system in 1976 that the player is found on the injured list (IL) immediately after signing or a few years later.온라인카지노
Last winter, the FA market set a record for the largest contract ever. The total ransom of the 171 people who signed the contract reached a whopping $3.7 billion. There were 9 contracts with a total value of more than 100 million dollars. However, all nine of them are suffering from injuries and sluggishness this season. Of the 9 players, there are 5 players who are or have been on the IL.
It is very unusual for players who have signed mega-ton contracts to fall into such a collective slump in their first season.
▶The representative player is New York Yankees home run king Aaron Judge (9 years, $360 million). He injured his right big toe in a fall after hitting a fence after catching JD Martinez’s tricky fly in the bottom of the 8th inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on June 4. He thought it would be ten days, but as a result of a close examination, he was diagnosed with a torn ligament. Judge, who has been taking treatment and rest, recently started playing catch. He’s back in early August at the earliest.
Judge played in 49 games before the injury and was showing off his peak condition with a batting average of 0.291, 19 home runs, 40 RBIs and an OPS of 1.078. After the jersey was removed, the Yankees fell to 14-17.
▶Jacob deGrom (5 years, $185 million), who the Texas Rangers brought as an ace, ended the season altogether. DeGrom took the mound in the opening game of this season and raised concerns by showing sluggish performance with 6 hits and 5 runs in 3⅔innings. Afterwards, he found stability and struggled by lowering his ERA to 2 points, but on April 29 against the Yankees, he voluntarily complained of elbow pain during the 4th inning pitch, and was eventually put on the injured list the next day. He had two wins in six games, a 2.67 earned run average, and 45 strikeouts.
DeGrom underwent Tommy John surgery on June 12. After the surgery, he said, “The surgery went well. I look forward to being able to do everything I need for rehabilitation. I will return in August next year.” The New York Mets, the former team, were not active in renewing the contract with deGrom last winter, as if they expected this.
▶But the Mets lost closer Edwin Diaz (5 years, $102 million). He re-signed for an all-time high for a bullpen pitcher, but he was listed on the IL before the season even started. He was injured at the World Baseball Classic. Díaz, representing Puerto Rico, suffered a central injury during a ceremony after beating Dominican Republic to advance to the quarterfinals, rupturing his right knee tendon.
▶Instead, the Mets are content with re-signing outfielder Brandon Nemo (8 years, $162 million). Nemo played in 88 games in the first half and recorded a batting average of 0.266 (91 hits in 342 at-bats), 13 home runs, 41 RBIs, and an OPS of 0.807. However, his monthly batting average is declining from 0.330 → 0.267 → 0.255 → 0.100, so worries over the second half.
▶Aside from Judge, the Yankees struggled throughout the first half because of Carlos Rodon (6 years, $162 million), who was recruited as an ace left-hander. He injured his left arm at the end of spring training. There was only news that he would return, but he did not actually return, and after three minor league rehabilitation appearances, he barely returned on the 8th and lost the game against the Chicago Cubs with 4 hits and 2 runs in 5⅓ innings. Since he pitched relatively well, the Yankees are looking forward to the second half.
▶Danceby Swanson (7 years, $177 million), shortstop for the Chicago Cubs, spent the first half of the year in relatively good health before coming to the IL on the 7th with a left heel bruise. In 83 games, he has a batting average of .258 (84 hits in 325 at-bats), 10 home runs, 36 RBIs, and an OPS of 0.753.
▶ Carlos Correa (6 years, $200 million), who stayed with the Minnesota Twins after failing to sign large contracts with the San Francisco Giants and the Mets due to an ankle injury in the past while pursuing a transfer last winter, remained silent throughout the first half. He appeared in 80 games and performed poorly with a batting average of 0.225 (69 hits in 307 at-bats), 11 home runs, 38 RBIs, and an OPS of 0.700. He didn’t make it to the IL, but he missed 11 games because of one injury or another.
▶San Diego Padres Xander Bogaerts (11 years, $280 million) also had no major injuries, but his batting average was 0.253 (80 hits in 316 at-bats), 10 homers, 35 RBIs, and an OPS of 0.731, below expectations. In particular, he fell into a slump again with a batting average of 0.200 in July, and he has to worry about the second half.
▶The same goes for Phillies Trey Turner (11 years, $300 million), who moved to the East Division, which he had longed for. He suffered no major injuries, but had a batting average of 0.247 (91 hits in 368 at-bats), 10 home runs, 32 RBIs, and an OPS of 0.687 in 88 games. OPS+ 88 and bWAR 1.1 are figures that do not match the ransom value at all.
Still, the FA market is overheating every year because there is a certain probability of success. It is a fact that is difficult to deny whether it is a performance or a box office success.
Recent successful free agent contracts include Gerrit Cole of the Yankees (9 years, $324 million), Los Angeles Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman (6 years, $162 million), Texas Rangers’ Corey Seager (10 years, $325 million), and Philadelphia Phillies. Bryce Harper (13 years, $330 million) and others can be cited.