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12/26/22

Reese Kaplan -- Avoiding Baseball's First-Ever Dirty Dozen


It's the day after Christmas and all of your friends and relatives to the best of their abilities put their minds to work coming up with what they thought was the perfect gift to honor you and enhance the richness of your life, only for you to realize that maybe that effort was more about good intentions than a realization of the giver's mindset.

The same is pretty much true of baseball transactions made by your favorite team. There are times when the thinking that went into the moves seemed to make perfect sense, while other times there was a lot of head scratching when the deal in question was announced.


Right now the issue at hand is the same one that faced the San Francisco Giants when it came to securing the services of former Astro and Twin Carlos

 Correa. If you believe the reports that leaked out (and then appear to be confirmed) there was a great question about how Correa's leg and not back could impact his ability to play at an elite level over the duration of a lengthy contract. 

 First the Giants chose the somewhat abrupt and embarrassing move of postponing the press conference to commemorate the transaction, and then Steve Cohen reached a meeting of the minds with Steve Boras on Correa's behalf in the middle of the night thus clutching the wanted-but-not-landed free agent out of San Francisco's unsure hands.

Of course, as is customary with any sports contract there is a due diligence period during which a physical exam is a mandatory part of the evaluation and decision making process. It turns out that the very same medical concerns raised by the Giants has now become a decision point for the New York Mets as well. They need to determine whether they want to take the risk of a long-term deal which could go sour in the mold of a David Wright, or do they try to paint themselves as astute business people who use the medical issue as a way of renegotiating what was originally agreed upon between both sides.

If you think about it, that would be the best of both worlds for both Correa and the Mets. If Correa was returned to the open market after wooing and agreeing to terms with not one but two baseball teams, it would mean his price would be forcibly reduced not only on an annual basis but also regarding the number of years to which a prospective employer would commit.

On the Mets side, no one is disputing the capabilities that Correa brings to the table. The fact he was willing to move off his preferred playing position in the field suggests how much Correa was willing to make a concession to ensure he would be on top of the world when it came to spending on luxury goods for the rest of his life.


So if I am a hardcore negotiator, the cards are very much in the Mets hand when it comes to strategizing on what to do now. Obviously Steve Cohen is a big boy and could shrug off the ill-fated and somewhat hasty contract offer as doing the right thing for the business. There would be a lot of disappointed fans but not more than there would be if he played on average 80 games per season at a good but not great level while earning a top-of-the-list paycheck for a half effort.

The other way to play this game is to pencil in some provisions into the contract that would enable Correa to put up or shut up regarding his health and how it does not affect his ability to play. Lawyers would have a field day wordsmithing the language of games played, statistical metrics met or time lost due to injury. It may never have been done before but there's a first time for everything. 

 If all goes well for Correa health-wise, then he would not have a major objection to putting in some language regarding his ability to play over the duration of the contract. If he's not, then there is some real concern there and it would underscore the reason Cohen might want to withstand the barbs that would come from fans and the media for teasing them about bringing in a great player and then backing out.


Not having any legal training myself, I cannot speak to what is and is not possible for contractual provisions for termination of pay or reduction of rate due to known injuries. However, if I'm in the front office's shoes then I would certainly hire the best of the best in contract law to play some real hardball about getting protections so that the money paid is well spent year in and year out for the next dozen years lest they become known in baseball legacy as the "Dirty Dozen."

7 comments:

  1. Agents will never allow their clients to sign a "put up or..." type contract.

    The key here is insurance.

    No sting for the owner of the bodies of his overpaid stars break down.

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  2. The agent stands to lose, of course, but if Correa and the Mets don't come to a meeting of the minds then he must go for round three with a very depressed price. I think this is one time some put-up-or-shut-up language should be put into the contract. If he's healthy, then it's no big deal for either party. If he's not, then the Mets shouldn't pay for the next David Wright.

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  3. The Mets probably had gotten an insurance cost estimate already. Make the policy incremental insurance cost increase since this revelation be footed by Boras and Correa.

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  4. I would suggest if he gets injured in the area of risk, they then take out 10 million per year remaining on contract and pay it off after the contract is over. So Correa gets the same dollar amount that was agreed to but it gives Cohen time to pay him off after he invests it in some of his mutual funds and it isn’t as bad. Sort of like Madoff but with someone more responsible and trustworthy with money.
    So basically if Correa gets injured in Year 7 out of 12 and have 5 years remaining we would take off 50 million to paid at a later date when contract is over. If that makes any sense?

    Zozo

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  5. While Zozo's thoughts are good for cash flow, it still allows a known injury to interfere with a player's output while paying his full salary. I would take a much harder line where the player forfeits some of the salary if the old injury creeps up.

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  6. Carlos Correa

    Typical NY Mets too fast attempt at signing a big name player without first completely investigating the prior SF Giants health concerns of Correa in more detail.

    If a reporter/journalist had surveyed 200 NYM fans on a chilly NYC street last week, I would imagine that about one-half would have had just and due concerns over signing Correa to a high priced and long-term contract knowing that he had earlier on a serious leg injury. I did.

    This is why...

    I see five really good and way above average players starting in the NYM's field for 2023. All are serious contenders (barring serious injury of course) for being an All Star at their respective position this season. Namely here are: 1B Pete Alonso 2B Jeff McNeil SS Francisco Lindor CF Brandon Nimmo and RF Starling Marte. That is a pretty darn impressive list to me. Five in eight positions.

    The other three positions that should be up for someone to grab out of Spring Training are: C, LF, and 3B. This is where I would have rather seen the NYM look first at their MiLB player ranks. It could have gone
    like this. C Francisco Alvares, Omar Narvaez, Tomas Nido, which is right now the Mets management plan for their catcher position. LF Canha ( I would not just yet hand this position automatically to him), and here's where it gets real interesting. The Mets have three other really good young potential MLB rookies (besides Francisco Alvares C) in: 1. Ronny Mauricio (3B, SS, LF, DH), Mark Vientos (3B, 1B, SS, LF, and DH), and then too Brett Baty (3B, LF, DH).

    All three are young, very good players just in need to play ball here at this level on a consistent basis so as to get fully acclimates to MLB. All three have had impressive MiLB results, and all three do have star potential going forward. All three could probably be starting on most MLB teams in 2023, if not here a NYM. So I do not think it is unreasonable to assume that two or three could be starting here on the NY Mets breaking ST camp in 2023.

    This is precisely why the NY Mets need to perhaps rethink 3B, LF, and the DH positions some more. Because this new wave of younger MiLB players could represent the long-term solution for these NYM beginning immediately in 2023.





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  7. Here be su los Metsos 2023 line-up:

    1B Alonso 2B Mauricio SS Lindor 3B Baty LF McNeil CF Nimmo RF Marte C Narvaez DH:

    Baty just needs a little more work with his around the base footwork which he will quickly accomplish.

    Mauricio kind of reminds me of a slash hitter with power, similar to George Foster excepy Mauricio can switch hit. Vientos is just a very smooth batter sort of similar to maybe Cleon Jones.

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