Not paying A-Rod $30M a year makes so much sense in terms of running a baseball franchise.  Let us count the ways. 

  1. At $27M per year (with a ton of incentive clauses) A-Rod was already the highest paid player in the Game …BY ALMOST 30-50%.  Jeter makes $20M ($22M with signing bonus) in 2008, $20M in 2009 and $21M in 2010.  Giambi makes $21M in 2008.  Manny makes $20M in 2008 (team option at $20M for 2009-10).  Those were the biggest of the monster deals that came out when A-Rod signed his original deal.  His contemporaries (Soriano and Carlos Lee) last year are getting around $12-13M in 08, Soriano gets $16M in 09 and $18M 2010-14.  Lee gets $18.5M 2009-12.  Zito got $14.5M in 08, $18.5M 2009-11, $19M 2012 and $20M in 2013. A-Rod’s $27M was already 48% higher than the highest of the recent big money deals.  His salary was still 30% higher than Jeter, Giambi and Manny’s deals.  Does any GM want to go that much above market for any one player?  I suspect not.  
  2. Any GM knows that paying A-Rod $30M per year is going to effect the market value of everyone else.  Both in free agency and arbitration.  Look at what Soriano and Lee got last year. J.D Drew opted out of a deal that would have paid $11M per year for 3 more years for a $14M per year 5 year deal with Boston. By overpaying the best player, the value of the marginal players will only increase.  The GM’s know this.  Nobody wants to pay $15M per year for Carlos Silva, but that is the way they are heading if they pay A-Rod $30M.
  3. The insurance factor.  The reporting on this has been that it is virtually impossible to get a long term deal (i.e. any deal more than 3-4 years) insured and even those years are only insured for a percentage of salary.  Does any team want to risk $350M on A-rod never getting in a car accident or breaking his ankle in hard slide etc.  That is a huge risk that teams are unlikely to take.  Remember Griffey Jr. seemed like a durable player until he left Seattle.  Now I affectionately refer to him as Mr. Glass.
  4. What would you rather have?  A-Rod at $35M or Manny AND Beckett for a combined $29.5M in 08 or the entire Marlins Roster?  There are a lot of ways to spend money, and $35M on one player doesn’t seem to make the most sense.
  5. Since 1985, the highest paid player has only won the World Series 2 times. In 2004 Manny was the highest paid player at $22.5M ($500K more than A-Rod) and in 1993, Joe Carter was the higest paide player at $5.5M.  That’s it. 

So GM’s talking among each other about needs is just doing what GM’s do.  In other words, horse trade players like the would prized studs and mares at a state fair.  The fact that the GM’s are discussing their needs out in the open, as opposed to Boras claiming mystery teams are interested in a player, is not collusion, it is the free market.  The union is upset because the less other teams know about each other’s needs, the higher an agent like Boras can drive up the price. Â