For a guy headed to be one of the best pitchers of all-time so long as he stays healthy and doesn't get caught up in the whole PED thing doesn't seem like a bad deal compared to other players.
7 years for a total of 215 million for Kershaw.
- Thread starter crawfords corner
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How good he is is the only thing that matters. Cliff Lee, Johan, and CC got between 22-25 million for their seasons last year. When compared to them with the stuff he has, the age he is, and how he projects out it is most certainly not a bad contract. The market and the performance are the only thing that matters. Is it an absurd amount, of course it. People love their sports though and spend billions a year on things associated with it. The players deserve a huge chunk of the pie. That salary falls in line from a baseball salary perspective, plain and simple. A salary cap is about the most asinine idea you could ever bring up to the MLBPA. They wouldn't go for it, ever.
Are you saying that Santana earned his $20+M? Sure, IF HEALTHY, and relative to what other top SPs make, he is worth $30M (or $33M considering they probably could have gotten him this year at $18M through arbitration).
BUT....
Pitchers health is a difficult thing to wager on. Since the 5-man rotation about 30-35 years ago, how many pitchers have made 7 consecutive seasons with 30+ starts? I doubt very many. And that is ignoring whether or not all 7 were good seasons. Sometimes pitchers get a nagging injury that they are able to pitch through but it makes them ineffective (Lincecum).
If you can afford it, which the Dodgers can, then yes it was probably worth it, since he is hands down the best pitcher in baseball and young. But it's not a deal the Reds, Pirates, Brewers or probably 2/3's of the MLB teams could make.
I'm just surprised that at $30M the Dodgers allowed him that opt out after 5 years (but they don't have an opt out).
BUT....
Pitchers health is a difficult thing to wager on. Since the 5-man rotation about 30-35 years ago, how many pitchers have made 7 consecutive seasons with 30+ starts? I doubt very many. And that is ignoring whether or not all 7 were good seasons. Sometimes pitchers get a nagging injury that they are able to pitch through but it makes them ineffective (Lincecum).
If you can afford it, which the Dodgers can, then yes it was probably worth it, since he is hands down the best pitcher in baseball and young. But it's not a deal the Reds, Pirates, Brewers or probably 2/3's of the MLB teams could make.
I'm just surprised that at $30M the Dodgers allowed him that opt out after 5 years (but they don't have an opt out).
