There is always a chance to over-reach. Nothing surprises us more than when we learn an agent or player believes he is worth an extreme amount of dollars than a general manager actually pays that eyebrow raising sum.
But the baseball off-season was harsh for a few players who did not get a new deal because of the CBA anchor of turning down a "qualifying offer" from their old team which would cost a new team their first round draft pick.
Kendrys Morales is still without a new team because he and his agent, Scott Boras, misinterpreted the free agent market. Morales, 30, would be in his prime contract years so it is up to his agent to maximize any deal. But the aspect of losing a draft pick to sign Morales turned off other teams.
He hit .277 with 23 HR, 80 RBIs and 2.8 WAR as a first baseman/DH for the Mariners. Those are respectable numbers, but not All Star numbers.
According to the Tacoma News Tribune, Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik recently told fans that the Mariners offered Morales a three-year, $30MM
extension after last year's All-Star break, but the talks never got serious. Several agents have been critical of an ESPN report where unnamed general managers discussed the deflated market for remaining free agents; the agents call it a violation of the CBA. The league is investigating the claims.
Morales and other qualified FAs won't sign until the "draft pick compensation" label expires after the June baseball draft. Even then, the market will not be in the $10 million/season range that Morales turned down last season.
There are fewer clubs willing to lose a first round compensation pick to sign an expensive free agent. There are only one or two clubs like the Yankees who are willing to risk giving $16 million qualifying offers to superstars like Robinson Cano in order to obtain a first round pick then go out and sign their own new free agent superstar because they don't really lose a first round draft choice.
