Harper and Machado's contracts are not measuring sticks or signs of a loosening market.
There was a rush in some quarters to suggest that Machado’s signing by the San Diego Padres was a sign that a market that had drawn the wrath of many players for its lack of competitiveness was in the process of a reset – a late reset mind you, but one nonetheless – and that it was in fact notable that a team like the Padres was willing to become a player in free agency.
That was, I think, an overly optimistic assessment, just as the recent cooling off of rhetoric on the part of commissioner Rob Manfred and the Major League Baseball Players Association over rule changes and pace of play initiatives offers little hint about future labour conflict other than, maybe, removing some relatively minor issues from the table.
Harper and Machado’s contracts are not measuring sticks or signs of a loosening market, nor will they take away from the idea that owners and players need to come to an agreement about adapting to the new economic reality created by a game that is skewing younger and younger and more reliant than ever on multi-million dollar analytics that have removed emotion from negotiating.
Thursday was the day Bryce Harper got paid. Nothing more. It says far less about where our game is than what Boras will be able to get another of his unemployed clients: pitcher. And if you’re a Blue Jays fan wondering how this affects Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. – once he’s ready to be a major-leaguer, of course – the answer is not as much as the $32.5-million Nolan Arenado will make as part of his extension with the Colorado Rockies.
If you’re one of those people who believes it’s never too early to panic, well, that’s your immediate nightmare. Not Harper. Not yet.
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