Well until the league does something about this unlimited spending by the bigger markets these type of signing are going to continue .
I agree the Astros probably won't overpay, but Crane has been open to pay for name players. And then trade away a guy like Pressly to reduce payroll. It's possible. My larger point is that if teams have a budget and are paying more for stars that leaves less to fill out the roster. More pre-arb and fewer $5M guys have jobs. Simple as that.
That's exactly why they should trade him to the Dodgers now while there is a chance to get 3 of about a dozen young players that can help the Astros for the next 6 years. Pena at less than $10M this year and $20M next is a huge value. The Tucker deal just increases that. He does not have the same value making $20M for a single year. AND with a potential lockout? Rip the band aid now.
If Pena has an all-star season and Boras asking 300M+ for Pena, I would get maximized his trade values and trade him next offseason to reload. We saw what happens with Tucker and sure don’t want to keep losing star FA for nothing.
But for the teams that have a budget, players have a certain value. If Player A is worth 3x Player B, then if a team pays Player A 7x what they'd pay Player B, they'll just be a losing team. So those teams on a budget that overpay the stars will suck. And the teams that load up with the middle tier players at reasonable prices would do much better and more teams would ultimately follow that path. Doesn't address the Dodger problem, but for the rest of the teams, the salary issue works itself out with smart management.
You said it With smart management. All I have seen is copycat management + other teams unwilling to spend at all.
