I have been surprised that team hasn’t finalized a deal with George given the lack of depth in the organization in the outfield. The guys on MLB have said they think he is one of two or three guys who will get their money at the end of this season - Realmuto and one other. They pegged George in the $20 million+ area.
Just wondered where your heads are on this? Does he resign with us or are the Altuve/Bregman/Verlander/Greinke contracts going to make his market value too great for Astros to resign?
A guy whose value goes beyond what we see on the field. Definitely a major cog. What they will do, and what he wants to do, I can’t answer. I suspect he goes FA and ends up somewhere else because that is what guys do these days.
Springer is already getting $21MM/season, sot he’s likely to get more like $25-27MM in any deal, and possibly closer to $30MM if someone loses their mind in a bidding war. The Astros have wanted to get a deal done, but Springer did not want to sign an extension, and didn’t even want to negotiate. That was back in March, before the 2020 shit hit the fan, so who knows now, but the ball has been in Springer’s court, and he’s been pretty clear he wants to test the FA waters. The Astros are going to have to overpay with crazy money to keep him.
And, manipulating his service time did not just potentially “delay his earnings”. It took all the risk of those future earnings and placed it away from the team and on to him. If he gets hurt/declines/does not meet expectations, he never recoups those lost earnings. Which is the case for the vast majority of players. Springer just happens to be a unicorn, wrapped in a blanket of infinitesimally small chance.
Talk about bad-faith employee/employer relationship outcomes. The union and MLB sure have made a mess of things.
This is what worries me in terms of him resigning. Of course the guy who did it, is out of baseball now. Maybe the new GM can smooth things over, but im guessing the only thing that does is a stack of cash much taller than what other clubs are offering.
I may be way off, maybe wishful thinking, but the time manipulation aside, it’s seems as if he has really enjoyed his time in Houston, has good relationships with his teammates, and the fact that he has won here, will buy a tiny bit of good will.
I think he likes it here, and as long as there is a core group of players where he can win, it’ll be a factor. But he’s won a WS ring, and he wants to maximize his income. His window is getting smaller, so the money is going to override any other objective. If he gets the same offer from the Astros and say the Mets, I’m sure the other stuff will come into play. But he’s not going to turn down money to stay with the Astros. They are going to have to come up with the scratch.
This is the thing that I wish more people inderstood. I don’t care how much you like your coworkers, the company you work for or any other consideration. If somebody else offers you considerably more money to do the same job, you’re probably moving on. Even if I am making enough money, somebody offers me more then I’m taking it.
In the words of Dwight Schrute “Look, I’m all about loyalty. In fact, I feel like part of what I’m being paid for here is my loyalty. But if there were somewhere else that valued loyalty more highly, I’m going wherever they value loyalty the most.”
We are all responsible for our own self. Yeah, it’s great to be part of a winning team, but we are responsible to our self the most. Personally, I’ve had people seem shocked that I’d leave the job I have. As though working for my boss is the best thing ever. My boss has some great attributes, but when it comes to my own welfare, I’m responsible for making the best decisions, in my own interest. And if the right opportunity came up, a resignation letter would be on the desk.
So, while I’d love for George to stay, I expect George to make the decision that is best for him.