A new trend has spread through Major League Baseball, one both good for teams and good for young players.
For the past few years, teams have made a point to sign their young, upcoming stars to long-term contracts, whether they have proven themselves in the majors yet doesn’t have much impact.
The most recent -- and as a Seattle Mariners fan, my favorite -- is Mariners center fielder Julio Rodriguez. Rodriguez has played all of 110 major league games, taken all of 427 at bats and hit exactly 21 major league home runs, yet Friday he signed a contract that could end up being the most lucrative in the history of American professional sports. Of course by the time the contract ends, who knows what the big-time contracts will look like.
Rodriguez’s contract guarantees him at least $210 million and could make him as much as $470 million depending on team options, player options and how he ends in MVP voting during the next 15-to-17 seasons. If everything works out the way Rodriguez and the Mariners hope, the 21-year old will be in Seattle until he’s 38 with an extra $470 million in his pocket.
But Rodriguez is just the latest in a growing list of young players signing mega extensions that used to be reserved for 27-to-30 year olds hitting free agency.
The Tampa Bay Rays’ Wander Franco signed a 12-year deal last offseason -- at 20 years old and after 70 games and 281 major-league at bats -- that will make him between $185 million and $223 million, the offseason before, the San Diego Padres signed Fernando Tatis Jr. to a 14-year, $330 million deal. While there are major issues through the first couple of years of the Tatis deal, the Padres will still have one of the best young players in baseball locked up for 12 years after he returns from his current suspension.
The Rays were largely the start to the trend, hoping to keep young stars Evan Longoria and Matt Moore around instead of losing them to free agency like so many Rays before them.
Ronald Acuna Jr. got an eight-year, $100 million deal, that could turn into a 10-year, $124-million deal, with the Atlanta Braves, starting a string of similar Atlanta-friendly contracts with the Braves’ young players. Third baseman Austin Riley just signed a 10-year, $212-million deal, Matt Olson signed an eight-year, $168-million extension after he was traded to the Braves last offseason, rookie center fielder Michael Harris just signed an 8-year, $72-million deal, while second baseman Ozzie Albies is talked about in baseball circles as a young player who took a substantial underpayment at seven years and $35 million.
All these deals may seem like too much to give young players who are yet to prove themselves long-term against major league competition, but I think it’s more important what they give to fans.
Many fanbases, most notably the Oakland A’s and the Rays, have watched numerous young superstars come through their minor league systems, got to see them for five or six years and then watched as they were traded away for prospects or left in free agency as their original organization was unable to meet the contracts offered by more lucrative teams.
Player after player, fans knew they had a few years of a fun superstar, that might not even line up with a successful team, and then had to watch them go.
These deals give fans the hope the team wants to build and the knowledge they have a superstar to cheer for for a long time. Plus the last 15 years have shown it’s a bad idea to give a 10-year contract to a 30-year old -- Albert Pujols’ Los Angeles Angels contract or Ryan Howards’ Philadelphia Phillies extension anyone? -- but a 14-year deal to a 21 or 22 year old buys out their arbitration years -- keeping their relationship with the organization from souring through tough contract fights -- keeps them from walking away in free agency at the start of their prime and gives the player the financial stability and knowledge that their team is committed to them for the long term.
Who could be next? There are a number of great rookies in the majors this year. The Baltimore Orioles seem like a good candidate with Adley Rutschman, who helped power their mid-season turnaround and instantly helped a team that has been terrible for years fight for a playoff spot. The Cleveland Guardians could get a team-friendly deal on Steven Kwan to keep a fun player at the top of their lineup in front of Jose Ramirez who they just signed to the biggest contract in team history, showing both they are committed to success.
Or the Royals could sign Bobby Witt Jr. or MJ Melendez, showing fans there’s hope at the end of the dark tunnel the team has gone through since the departure of the core that went to the 2014 and 2015 World Series.
Knowing your team will have a home-grown superstar for their entire career is an incredible feeling, and I hope Royals fans get to feel it soon.