Signing(s): Whit Merrifield signs 4 year deal with KC

[Marc the Habs Fan]

This covers his 4 years he had before FA.

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[MMC]

He needs to fire his agent

 

[darko]

He needs to fire his agent

It doesn't buy out any FA years. 3 arbitration years and 1 pre-arbitration year. Merrifield gets guaranteed $.

 

[MMC]

It doesn't buy out any FA years. 3 arbitration years and 1 pre-arbitration year. Merrifield gets guaranteed $.

He probably could've made more in arbitration.

 

[Quid Pro Clowe]

Could you bet any less on yourself, Whit? Christ sake.

 

[darko]

He probably could've made more in arbitration.

Yes but probably not by much. Made 569K last season. Would've made less than 1 mill this year meaning would need to make just over 15K (not counting bonuses). Is he a 5.2 fWAR player he was last season or 2.9 the year before that? Or is he somewhere in the middle?

 

[Marc the Habs Fan]

 

[Terry Yake]

yeah good lord this guy needs a new agent

 

[bleedblue1223]

People realize he's already 30, right.

Eh, read the the deal wrong, this is an example of why players need free agency by a certain age. Late-bloomers get screwed and have to take a big discount to get security. This is the issue, not Harper and Machado getting less than they planned.

 

[Timeless Winter]

Good deal for KC.

 

[rangerssharks414]

My boy.

 

[Quid Pro Clowe]

It doesn't buy out any FA years. 3 arbitration years and 1 pre-arbitration year. Merrifield gets guaranteed $.

He could make around 8-10 mil in an arbitration year if he has another season similar to last year. He decided to take the sure thing but could miss out on 10-15 million overall in this contract.

 

[tony d]

Very good player, seemed to take 1 for the team with this contract. That's commendable IMO.

 

[bleedblue1223]

He could make around 8-10 mil in an arbitration year if he has another season similar to last year. He decided to take the sure thing but could miss out on 10-15 million overall in this contract.

I get it though. He's never made big money and if he tears his ACL or any other major injury, then he wouldn't really be left with much. Tough choice, but this guarantees financial security for himself instead still needing to work after baseball in some capacity.

 

[GarbageGoal]

I'm completely embarrassed to say, I literally do not know who this guy is. And I think I follow baseball well enough despite being completely checked out on my favorite team and their incompetence. However, I never watched the Royals last year.

Maybe that's part of the problem....?

 

[bleedblue1223]

I'm completely embarrassed to say, I literally do not know who this guy is. And I think I follow baseball well enough despite being completely checked out on my favorite team and their incompetence. However, I never watched the Royals last year.

Maybe that's part of the problem....?

Arbitration years are just cheap. Also, not much reason to watch the Royals, even for Royals fans.

 

[Quid Pro Clowe]

I get it though. He's never made big money and if he tears his ACL or any other major injury, then he wouldn't really be left with much. Tough choice, but this guarantees financial security for himself instead still needing to work after baseball in some capacity.

It's basically having million dollar potential but taking the guaranteed 500k.

 

[BKarchitect]

I'm completely embarrassed to say, I literally do not know who this guy is. And I think I follow baseball well enough despite being completely checked out on my favorite team and their incompetence. However, I never watched the Royals last year.

Maybe that's part of the problem....?

I mean he led the league in both hits and steals and had a 5.2 WAR last season so he’s probably better than 75% of the guys you have heard of.

 

[BKarchitect]

Arbitration years are just cheap. Also, not much reason to watch the Royals, even for Royals fans.

They were a lot better and more watchable the last third of the season when they gave up the pretense of trying not to suck (which of course they did anyways, hard) and just played the younger guys. Still probably 3 seasons away from being good again but they’ll be interesting again sooner than that. If nothing else, they are going to steal a lot of bases next year. And Mondesi is a really talented young player if still a bit rough around the edges.

 

[bleedblue1223]

They were a lot better and more watchable the last third of the season when they gave up the pretense of trying not to suck (which of course they did anyways, hard) and just played the younger guys. Still probably 3 seasons away from being good again but they’ll be interesting again sooner than that. If nothing else, they are going to steal a lot of bases next year. And Mondesi is a really talented young player if still a bit rough around the edges.

I live in KC, the interest in the city just wasn't there. A Cubs game had more Cubs fans than Royals fans. They did their job getting a championship in their window though. Hopefully their next drought isn't as long.

 

[darko]

It's basically having million dollar potential but taking the guaranteed 500k.

I'm not sure he would've made twice as much going through the arbitration. Maybe 5-6 mill year 1, 7-8 year 2 and 10-12 year 3. Total probably falls somewhere in 20-25 range. Probably closer to 25.

 

[GarbageGoal]

I mean he led the league in both hits and steals and had a 5.2 WAR last season so he’s probably better than 75% of the guys you have heard of.

Yeah, trust me I feel dumb. I also didn't play fantasy last year so I didn't do any deep dives into teams I never watch.

 

[BSHH]

I'm not sure he would've made twice as much going through the arbitration. Maybe 5-6 mill year 1, 7-8 year 2 and 10-12 year 3. Total probably falls somewhere in 20-25 range. Probably closer to 25.

For what it's worth, not only me agrees with your rough estimates (see Making Sense Of The Whit Merrifield Extension). Merrifield cashed in on his best season, this guaranteed money will improve his life right now so much more than any additional $ 15+m he might have made until 2023. He made the only sane decision and has fulfilled his dream of becoming a multimillionaire ballplayer already.

Gruß,
BSHH

 

[Quid Pro Clowe]

For what it's worth, not only me agrees with your rough estimates (see Making Sense Of The Whit Merrifield Extension). Merrifield cashed in on his best season, this guaranteed money will improve his life right now so much more than any additional $ 15+m he might have made until 2023. He made the only sane decision and has fulfilled his dream of becoming a multimillionaire ballplayer already.

Gruß,
BSHH

Merrifield has been very good the past 2 seasons. He and his agent would have likely done well in arbitration if it had gotten that far. Can't blame the kid for taking the sure thing, but to imply he would have been insane to not take a bridge deal isn't true. It only means he'll only have to focus on baseball for the next 4 years.