Brewers set to lock up Braun

[ReasonablySober]

Seven year extension, buying out his first two years of free agency.

Eight years total, $45 million. **** steal of the century.

Link.

[Chach]

I'm lukewarm about this deal. If Braun waited until the off-season, he could have made another $10-20 million over the life of the contract. Sure there is risk involved but waiting another 4 months versus 4 years is vastly different. If you are a player like James Shields, who wasn't highly regarded and doesn't have the best pure stuff then sure, you take the guaranteed money. But Braun was highly touted college player, #5 overall selection, killed in the minors and did so in the majors as well. For guys like him and Longoria who lock themselves up so quickly without trusting their other-worldly abilities is crazy. Hanley did it the right way, in my opinion. He played in the majors for a few years to establish a track record, he has a shoulder issue but has seemed to push through that and prior to hitting arbitration, he signs a gigantic deal. He signs it far enough in his career to have more bargaining power and quick enough to cut off any potential career threatening injuries in the future. So even though the Red Sox get screwed by that deal, I love it. I'm happy that team are finally spending money, don't get me wrong. I just think the players could stand to make a little more if they waited a few more months to sign these deals. mahalo
~Chach~

[ReasonablySober]

You hated the Longoria deal as well. Yes, these guys are likely costing themselves tens of millions of dollars, but deals like these are great for the game of baseball because they allow small market teams to lock-up their young talent.

Some guys won't go this route; Fielder is a Boras guy and I think hell freezes over before he signs a long term deal.

[Chach]

Don't get me wrong, these deals are much preferred over the Yanks/Sox/Mets/Dodgers signing every top young free agent. It's great for the game that small market teams can retain control over these great young players, I just think that waiting a year or two can result in the same effect for baseball (stars staying in small markets) and the player making more money in the end.

My personal taste on this new trend of early long term deals would look like this (for worst to favorite):
Longoria
Braun
Tulo
Sizemore
Hanley

This is without hindsight and is relative to when the deal was signed. The years worry me a bit for Braun and he is moving down the defensive spectrum so even if Tulo's defense falls apart, he could move elsewhere. Sizemore's deal looks like crap today but it was really the trailblazer deal for this trend and the years were short enough that he is still going to be able to net a long term mega deal during his prime. If Braun's deal had less years or more money, I'd rank it higher.

But this is strictly from a player's perspective and not coming close to their full earning potential. From an owner's standpoint it's completely reversed. mahalo
~Chach~

[ReasonablySober]

Had Braun waited a year or two and signed a Hanley-esque deal, the Brewers probably can't afford to keep one of their better youngsters. With this deal maybe they can afford to throw a significant amount of cash at Gallardo in the coming two seasons.

So the effect on small market teams probably isn't the same had he waited.

[GswStorm3]

Smart move, Giants need to take the same approach with Lincecum.

[Chach]

Had Braun waited a year or two and signed a Hanley-esque deal, the Brewers probably can't afford to keep one of their better youngsters. With this deal maybe they can afford to throw a significant amount of cash at Gallardo in the coming two seasons.

So the effect on small market teams probably isn't the same had he waited.

That's bullplop. If your ownership can't afford to add an extra $2 million in payroll a season for Braun to make another $15 million over the life of that deal then you guys have owners worse than the old Expos. Hanley is an MVP candidate with comparable stats to Braun except he steals more and plays a much harder defensive position. I wouldn't use his deal as the guideline to Braun's deal because of that but I can't see why the Brewers can't afford an 8 year, $60 million contract versus $45. With the amount of young talent on that team and the amount that will be coming up through the pipelines, the new stadium, the fact that they are contenders, and are making money through revenue sharing makes me not buy it.

http://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/33/biz ... 37147.html

The Brewers had an operating income of over $19 million. This doesn't include any local broadcasting revenue or revenue sharing or anything because the Yankees supposedly "lost" almost $50 million last season but that's a bookeeping job because they also own the YES network and you know the Yanks didn't lose that much. I wish I could find a table with revenue sharing dollars. I just don't buy that signing Braun in November to a slightly more richer deal (not necessarily a $10 mil/season sized deal) would hold back the Brewers future signings. mahalo
~Chach~

[MickeyDavis]

The Brewers payroll this season is over $80 million. Attanasio has raised it significantly since he took over. However, it can only go so high before the profit dries up. Don't forget Attanasio is not the sole owner of the Brewers. He is the head of an ownership group. And that group, even though they know they will cash in whenever the team is sold again, wants to make a profit every year.

So as the Brewers have to start paying, or trading, some of their young guys, the question is, how do you keep raising revenue to cover it? There are ways to increase revenue to be sure.

1. A new stadium. We have that already.

2. Increased attendance. We are at 35,000. There is room to improve, but not a whole lot.

3. Raise ticket prices. Doable but again, not by a whole lot.

4. Increased TV/Radio revenue. The team is locked into their current deals until 2012. And even then it's the size of the market (which is small) that determines this revenue. Not much room to grow here really.

5. Other marketing revenue. There are ways to increase this of course. A World Series title or even a deep playoff run would certainly help.

The bottom line is every dollar counts for teams like us. If we make a mistake on a contract we can't just go out and sign someone else. If our young guys keep progressing we'll have to decide which ones to keep, and which ones to trade away. And hope that our farm system can keep plugging the holes.

[A.J.]

Smart move. Teams are doing a good job locking up youngsters long term.