deGrom

I think his current paycheck is about $5 mil. 

Anyone know if he is now a free agent?

signed thru 2018.  then arbitration eligible.  I  think he can be a free agent after 2020 season.  

Thanks, mikescott

And I think he made $7,000,000 last year.  

Assume the mets will try to sign him to a long term contract at this point.  Only way they can attract free agents is to show they are going to retain their best players.

deGrom isn't a free agent until after the 2020 season.  According to Spotrac.com, they calculate his current market value would be a 6 year deal for $187MM.  The current CBA really screws guys like him, who won't be a FA until he's 32 years old.  Given how much risk there is in waiting 2 years for the big money, if I were him I'd take a 4 year $100MM right now from the Mets if they offered.  He'd be set for life if he invested conservatively, and if things went well he'd be in line for another generous 2-3 year contract.

Jeepers, I would be set for life with $100MM even if I spent like a drunken sailor!   With enough left over to set up a neat non-profit foundation.

Guess you and I have different living standards.

mfpark said:
Jeepers, I would be set for life with $100MM even if I spent like a drunken sailor!   With enough left over to set up a neat non-profit foundation.
Guess you and I have different living standards.

 the stories of celebrities who lost more than that to unscrupulous or incompetent managers are pretty common.  Billy Joel lost TWO fortunes in his lifetime.

ml1 said:

mfpark said:
Jeepers, I would be set for life with $100MM even if I spent like a drunken sailor!   With enough left over to set up a neat non-profit foundation.
Guess you and I have different living standards.

 the stories of celebrities who lost more than that to unscrupulous or incompetent managers are pretty common.  Billy Joel lost TWO fortunes in his lifetime.

 Very true  --- but it was not a matter of investing conservatively, it was a matter of trust and not doing anything stupid.   100,000,000 after agent fees, taxes, etc equals 50,000,000 for the player.  Even still, even without investing and just earning 3%, he could  spend 1,000,000/year for the rest of his life and I think even with inflation he will be ok.  

And good pitchers seem to have a very long playing career. 

mikescott said:

ml1 said:

mfpark said:
Jeepers, I would be set for life with $100MM even if I spent like a drunken sailor!   With enough left over to set up a neat non-profit foundation.
Guess you and I have different living standards.

 the stories of celebrities who lost more than that to unscrupulous or incompetent managers are pretty common.  Billy Joel lost TWO fortunes in his lifetime.

 Very true  --- but it was not a matter of investing conservatively, it was a matter of trust and not doing anything stupid.   100,000,000 after agent fees, taxes, etc equals 50,000,000 for the player.  Even still, even without investing and just earning 3%, he could  spend 1,000,000/year for the rest of his life and I think even with inflation he will be ok.  
And good pitchers seem to have a very long playing career. 

 I'm not arguing with anyone that $100MM isn't an awful lot of money.  But there are a lot of guys who manage to blow that much or more through poor investments or getting ripped off.  The only point I was trying to make is that a guy would be set for life with that kind of dough, as long as he doesn't do anything dumb.

Understood.... But most of the celebrities that have gone bust did so hoping to cash in on risky investments or trusting all of their money to the wrong person/firm.  Just like the mets trusted Madoff.  

And then there are the celebrities /sports stars who just don't understand that 40% of their income goes to taxes (more or less).   I have done work in this field and have seen first hand some major mistakes made by musicians and actors.  I have one client that everyone thinks is worth millions and she barely survives on her small pension from SAG  and her social security.  lucky for her she never gave up her rent control apartment or she would be on the street.  

Yes, you can get ripped off  by unscrupulous fiduciaries and you can give in to your own stupid impulses and throw lots of money away.  On the other hand, you don't have to invest wisely to be set for life on a 100 mill.  You can put it in a non-interest bearing account and be set for several lifetimes.  

ml1 said:
deGrom isn't a free agent until after the 2020 season.  According to Spotrac.com, they calculate his current market value would be a 6 year deal for $187MM.  The current CBA really screws guys like him, who won't be a FA until he's 32 years old.  Given how much risk there is in waiting 2 years for the big money, if I were him I'd take a 4 year $100MM right now from the Mets if they offered.  He'd be set for life if he invested conservatively, and if things went well he'd be in line for another generous 2-3 year contract.

 You're absolutely right. Tanaka got $22m this year (out of a 7 year, $155m deal) and I think deGrom is worth more than that. So give him $25m per year for 4 years. If he wins the Cy Young, give him a 5 year deal.

Well, we are talking about the Mets here.

So, they are going to fight deGrom tooth and nail in arbitration, saying his win-loss record makes him a second tier pitcher.  This will piss him off so much that he walks in 2020 no matter what they put on the table.  They then will turn around and throw $25M a year for several years on a washed up former all star pitcher.

mfpark said:
Well, we are talking about the Mets here.
So, they are going to fight deGrom tooth and nail in arbitration, saying his win-loss record makes him a second tier pitcher.  This will piss him off so much that he walks in 2020 no matter what they put on the table.  They then will turn around and throw $25M a year for several years on a washed up former all star pitcher.

I doubt they'd approach it that way.  I think the worst case is that they'll just refuse to offer him an extension at all, and see what happens over the next 2 years.  They either end up trading him in July '18, July '19, or getting draft pick compensation if he walks after 2020.

But maybe they will decide to give him an extension this winter and sign him for $100MM for 4 years or $125MM for 5.  It looks like they'll get a big chunk of Wright's salary back in insurance (reportedly they'll take a lump sum buyout from the insurance company) over the next 2 years.  Frazier and Lagares are only signed through next year, and then Bruce and Cespedes go off the books in 2021, so if they backload a deal to deGrom in years 3-5, it can fit in the budget.  It's really not that hard to find the budget.  The question is whether or not it's too risky to sign a pitcher for 5 years.  It is risky, but with a guy like deGrom I think the risk is worth it.  

Mets management  = big market team with small market mentality.