Evan White - the future gets him 6 yrs/$24 mil, up to $55 mil

[D-train]

There was zero motivation to make this deal.

Marco was another they just gave a 400k raise to for no reason.

I bet the Hawks would have wished they gave RW this deal. Not saying he is going to be an MVP candidate but if even if is a 1-2 WAR deal it makes sense. People talk about his lack of power but Marte had 1 HR for us his last year with us and had 32 last season. White had 18 in a terrible hitting home park. Hit 13 on the road with a .940 OPS. His .838 OPS while modest by AAA or MLB standards was 4th in that league.

[Donn Beach]

I think you are correct, there is a PR aspect to it, its like altering the course of the last few years, the wheeling and dealing, this is the new Mariners, long term commitment, but he does have to live up to it. I do see it as a fairly minimal investment for the signal it sends. Its like signing a FA, gives him some bang.

and everybody is looking at this from the Mariners perspective, how about White. If they have guessed correctly he could easily have left $100 mil on the table, where is his FA value going to be six years from now, and even his arbitration numbers. I don't think you are getting a deal like that out of Scott Boras, its an interesting combination of commitment

[D-train]

As for renegotiating the deal if he becomes a 3-4+ WAR player, they might but they will also be getting additional years at below market value.

[D-train]

Ok, I am ready for a trade. Please dump Gordon for whatever unless you want to pay $13MM for a UT.

[Donn Beach]

from a labor perspective its getting a lot of criticism...

compt to Scott Kingerly

Both players gave up all of their prime years — and potentially, their entire careers — to one contract before they were able to establish their market value with major league play. Trading the promise of your career for an up-front payday obviously makes sense for a lot of people. We’re happy for White if he’s happy about this deal. And it’s a good day for the Mariners to have a potential core piece locked in for the foreseeable future. But the decision players face isn’t just one of taking the money or go year-to-year and assume massive risk. With a strong year or two, the guarantee on a theoretical early extension could almost double, and possibly entail fewer options. I got texts from industry people about this deal last night, and they were not pleased. One agent summarized the thoughts from the labor side: “Been dealing with about five big leaguer clients talking my ear off about this awful deal and how someone needs to talk to these young kids.” The vomit emoji made an appearance earlier in the exchange

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/instagraphs ... -millions/

[D-train]

from a labor perspective its getting a lot of criticism...

compt to Scott Kingerly

Both players gave up all of their prime years — and potentially, their entire careers — to one contract before they were able to establish their market value with major league play. Trading the promise of your career for an up-front payday obviously makes sense for a lot of people. We’re happy for White if he’s happy about this deal. And it’s a good day for the Mariners to have a potential core piece locked in for the foreseeable future. But the decision players face isn’t just one of taking the money or go year-to-year and assume massive risk. With a strong year or two, the guarantee on a theoretical early extension could almost double, and possibly entail fewer options. I got texts from industry people about this deal last night, and they were not pleased. One agent summarized the thoughts from the labor side: “Been dealing with about five big leaguer clients talking my ear off about this awful deal and how someone needs to talk to these young kids.” The vomit emoji made an appearance earlier in the exchange

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/instagraphs ... -millions/

I don't know. Going from riding buses and making peanuts to a $24MM deal removing all risk of injury and poor play and setting you for life doesn't sound horrible.

[D-train]

btw I assume White has an agent. Maybe they think his agent is an idiot too.

[Donn Beach]

I am guessing its not Scott Boras

[D-train]

Guessing the Phillies were nervous about this time last year:

https://www.baseball-reference.com/play ... sc01.shtml

[Donn Beach]

don't know anything about Kingerly, seeing the Phillies played him all over the place last season, a lot in center field. He is supposed to be a second baseman i take it, Bowa saying if they would leave him at second he be a lot better. Again, I don't think the Mariners are stuck having to play White at first