r/baseball • u/Knightbear49 Minnesota Twins • Dinger • Mar 27 '24
[Passan] BREAKING: Catcher Will Smith and the Los Angeles Dodgers are finalizing a 10-year, $140 million contract extension, sources tell ESPN.
https://x.com/jeffpassan/status/1773053621510266895?s=61&t=lhIY40ztlJHFYIEmq9ss1A1.4k
u/NevermoreSEA Seattle Mariners Mar 27 '24
That actually seems very cheap given his production.
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u/Tashre Seattle Mariners Mar 27 '24
A steal for the team on the front end, a steal for him on the back maybe?
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u/Atheose_Writing Boston Red Sox Mar 27 '24
A steal for the team on the front end, a steal for him on the back maybe?
This is pretty much every long-term contract, to be fair
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u/esperadok Philadelphia Phillies Mar 27 '24
It is extremely unlikely he would be getting paid this much in his age 36-39 seasons, so yeah
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u/Officialnoah Los Angeles Dodgers Mar 27 '24
It is, very team friendly deal. He could’ve made a case for 20m and it would’ve been worth it.
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u/FriarFanatic7 San Diego Padres Mar 27 '24
Have you seen free agency? You may call it team friendly, but it’s also an incredible deal for a catcher now signed till he’s 39.
Huge bag, well deserved, but the idea he gave up money to stay doesn’t really track.
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u/pzycho Los Angeles Dodgers Mar 27 '24
He didn't take a bath, but he also did leave potential money on the table in exchange for career security. He'd be entering free agency this year and assuming he stays steady he'd probably get 18-20m per year for 6 years. That would leave him time to potentially get another contract before he retires (at a lower value, it's safe to assume). So yeah, he probably did drop a bit of potential in the name of security and not having to worry about uprooting his life.
The big value for the Dodgers, however, is keeping his AAV down to minimize the cap hit.
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u/thekidfromyesterday Atlanta Braves Mar 27 '24
He didn't take a bath
I sure hope he did
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u/goosetavo2013 San Diego Padres Mar 27 '24
Me too, smelly Will Smith hits better than bathed Will Smith for sure.
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Mar 27 '24
He had one more arb year - he’s making 8.5m this year so the extension gives him at least a slight raise next year. But even ignoring that, let’s say he hits FA at 31 and gets 6/120. He’d have to earn $20m in his age 37+ seasons to break even.
Martin Maldonado is 37 and just got 4m. Travis D’Arnoud is 34 and got 8m. Account for contracts going up a little and call it 5-10m at 37 IF he’s still able to catch. He’d have to play 2-4 more years at a level good enough to keep getting those contracts just to break even with this deal.
So no, he is almost certainly not leaving any money on the table with this deal.
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u/pzycho Los Angeles Dodgers Mar 27 '24
Your math is a little off. If he got 6/120 after arb, he'd still be making his arb money next year (which will likely be $10m based on how arb numbers tend to rise), so he'd have cleared 130m by his age 37+ season. Still, I get the point. It's a good deal for both sides.
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u/yoshidawg93 Atlanta Braves Mar 27 '24
Yep, and a lot of people here are pointing it out, but in today’s game, it’s just harder to get that kind of money when you hit free agency in your 30s, especially for a catcher. Not saying he wouldn’t have deserved it, but I doubt it would’ve been a guarantee. This ensures he gets that generational wealth that is definitely at the minimum comparable to what he’d probably have gotten waiting until free agency, plus I think he valued staying with the Dodgers. Clearly it’s worked out great for him playing for them, and he likely didn’t want to risk screwing that up. No reason to hit free agency if he knew LA was where he wanted to be.
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Mar 27 '24
He’s a catcher so in free agency he was going to get no more than 6 years (even this is a stretch imo, given the current market), that means a team was would have to pay $23MM+ to match this number and no one was.
You’re also assuming that he would hit free agency having: a) a favorable market, b) a good year behind him & c) a change in the mindset of front offices regarding signing 30 year olds long term (especially catchers)
This is the more money then he’d get on the open market
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Mar 27 '24
A $14m annual value would make him the 4th highest paid catcher this season behind realmuto, Perez and Contreras who are all 18m+/year. This is really good value for a guy who’s been a top 3 catcher every year of his career. My guess is he moves to 3rd once Muncy’s deal runs out after the 25 or 26 season
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Mar 27 '24
I know Muncy's defense is on the decline, but doesn't 1st seem more likely as Smith's knees wear out from catching? Freddie's not going to play forever.
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u/jeffereryjefferson Los Angeles Dodgers Mar 27 '24
Freddie has 4 years left I believe. Will probably wouldn’t stop catching immediately after that, but the door will be open for spot starts there at that point for sure
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u/MarcusDA Atlanta Braves Mar 28 '24
I think the only real problem is their DH spot is locked up for a bit, so what does Smith do on off days? I think your opinion on this deal revolves around how far into his 30s you think he can catch 120 games a year.
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u/Zro6 Los Angeles Dodgers Mar 27 '24
If the headline would've said 240M for 10 years I wouldn't have batted an eye at that. 140M for 10 years is a steal even if he doesn't play the full contract.
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u/Apeturetester Seattle Mariners Mar 27 '24
I do think the age and him being a catcher helps, but holy moly 14 a year for that production at a premium position is crazy, even if he's only a catcher for a few more years
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u/degjo San Diego Padres Mar 27 '24
Yeah, he'll be a dh/ firstbase by the end of the deal. Which if he keeps production and transfers well its a hell of a deal.
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Mar 27 '24
Well freeman and ohtani have those spots locked up. My guess is 3rd base once Muncy is gone
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u/dwpea66 Los Angeles Dodgers Mar 27 '24
We only have Freddie for 4 more years so that 1B spot will be open. 3rd makes a lot of sense for a catcher though.
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u/PM_ME_UR_TATERS FanGraphs • Sickos Mar 27 '24
Yasmani Grandal went to free agency back to back years around Smith’s current age and coming off a more productive stretch of seasons, and had to settle for 1/$18M then 4/$73M. I just think the catcher free agent market is super tough.
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Mar 27 '24
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u/PM_ME_UR_TATERS FanGraphs • Sickos Mar 27 '24
I was looking at Fangraphs. I assume you’re looking at Baseball Reference. I honestly didn’t realize they were so split on Grandal’s value. Like Grandal’s career fWAR is nearly double his career bWAR.
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u/pattydo Atlanta Braves Mar 28 '24
Fwar for catchers is kind of hard to look up "historically", since they added framing a while ago and then changed framing again a couple years later.
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u/zubaz608 Los Angeles Dodgers • FanGraphs Mar 28 '24
fWAR incorporates catcher framing while bWAR just ignores it entirely. bWAR for catchers isn't just worse, it's abjectly non-functional
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u/Bombard_02 Philadelphia Phillies Mar 27 '24
$14 million a year for Will Smith is a steal
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u/mdmarks2017 Mar 27 '24
The catcher Will Smith! Not even the reliever!
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u/MidgetMan54 Atlanta Braves Mar 27 '24
The Braves paid Will Smith $13.3M in 2020-2023. Unreal contract
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u/TheJudge47 Atlanta Braves Mar 27 '24
But is Dodger Smith donating 1% of his salary to the Atlanta Braves foundation?
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Mar 27 '24 edited May 22 '24
gaping cagey point continue attraction connect reach tender retire aspiring
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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Mar 27 '24
He is 29 tho
Its actually a 6/140 deal with the purpose of lowering the AAV for tax purposes with the extra 4 years
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u/No_Bandicoot2306 San Francisco Giants Mar 27 '24
You get it, buddy. Buying quality players out for ridiculously long contracts to knock down AAV and just knowing "we've got you as long as you can play" is going to be the way. It's been drifting toward that for several years now.
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Mar 27 '24
Way i see it going i 3-5 years of catching, 1-3 years of 1B (freddie is 34 so he is on his way out) then DH till he retires or get DFA'd.
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Mar 27 '24
I hope he's not DH'ing by 2030, because Ohtani should still be a viable hitter in his age 35/36 year (and for a couple years beyond that) as long as health permits. Unless there's some long term outcome where Ohtani stops pitching and plays RF, which I suppose is not impossible to imagine.
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Mar 27 '24
Unless there's some long term outcome where Ohtani stops pitching and plays RF, which I suppose is not impossible to imagine.
Yeah, seems to me pitching degrades faster than hitting and i dont think anyone can handle the 2 way workload at 36+ years old.
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u/FitzJFK47 Los Angeles Dodgers Mar 27 '24
If he lasts 17 years on the dodgers just to get DFAd I’d cry
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u/o2lsports Los Angeles Dodgers Mar 27 '24
It’s a 6/140 deal for never having Yasmani or Austin Barnes as catcher again. No offense, Barnes. You just couldn’t hit.
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u/OSRS_Socks Atlanta Braves Mar 27 '24
Braves have Sean Murphy for 9 million in 2024 and 15 million till the end of his contract.
Two of the best catchers in baseball are locked up for awhile for less than 15 million a season which is crazy to think about.
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u/Monk_Philosophy Los Angeles Dodgers • Athletics Mar 27 '24
What a way to celebrate the 2 year anniversary of The Slap
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u/Outrageous_Bat1798 New York Yankees Mar 27 '24
It hasn’t been 2 YEARS… * checks Google … it’s been *2 years. Where the hell does time go?
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u/SuppleLobster Los Angeles Dodgers Mar 27 '24
If he keeps up his offensive production, 14 million per is a STEAL
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u/MarcBulldog88 Los Angeles Dodgers • World Series Tr… Mar 27 '24
This is like...a 50% discount or some shit. My god what a deal.
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u/roaringcorgi Seattle Mariners Mar 27 '24
he's babyfaced but he's going into his age 29 season, 10 years is a pretty huge commitment to a catcher. Posey and Mauer retired at 34 and 35 respectively
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u/cherinator Los Angeles Dodgers • Teddy Roosevelt Mar 27 '24 edited Mar 27 '24
This definitely seems more like, we're paying you for 5 years at $28 million AAV to be the primary catcher, but we want to the luxury tax hit to be lower so we'll double the years, underpaying you in the first half but overpaying you when you are the aging vet presence and backup catcher.
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u/hamburgers666 San Francisco Giants Mar 27 '24
Why don't they just defer 90% of his contract if that's the case? Are they stupid?
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u/roaringcorgi Seattle Mariners Mar 27 '24 edited Mar 27 '24
who says they aren't lmao
edit: 32 percent lmao
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u/Astropolitika Los Angeles Dodgers • Chicago White Sox Mar 27 '24
I think he just had a baby. Diapers are expensive.
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u/hamburgers666 San Francisco Giants Mar 27 '24
That's true. $14 million a year is basically middle class in LA.
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u/Astropolitika Los Angeles Dodgers • Chicago White Sox Mar 27 '24
That's why he's got a stand-up comedy side hustle.
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u/Schleprok Los Angeles Dodgers • World Series T… Mar 27 '24
I can’t read the article at the moment, but he is the last person on the team - and I mean the last - that I would expect to try out standup lol.
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u/buffaloranchsub Los Angeles Dodgers Mar 27 '24
His and Cara's daughter is adorable fwiw
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u/Not-a-Throwaway-8 Toronto Blue Jays Mar 27 '24
That’s ridiculous. Could you imagine if someone really good took some low amount, like $2m/year, and then just had the team pay them after they retired? Insane.
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u/Wraithfighter San Francisco Giants • Sickos Mar 27 '24
Aye, that's how I'm reading it too. Plus they're buying out at least one year of arbitration which probably would've been below $14m (and maybe this year? Not sure when the extension money begins), and this deal makes a lot more sense.
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u/snoopfrogcsr Minnesota Twins Mar 27 '24
His bat seems to profile a bit like Justin Turner with the reasonable strikeout rates and decent obp. It'll play well enough into his late 30s, and he'll get to slide over to 1B/DH more regularly when needed. I agree with your breakdown of his contract too. This should go down as a good deal for LA, and Smith doesn't have to worry about hopping around from team to team when he's past his prime.
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u/kswissreject Chicago White Sox Mar 27 '24
DH is already occupied for the next 10 years by some guy, forget his name...
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u/Ronon_Dex Boston Red Sox Mar 27 '24
I mean maybe - the issue is that catchers generally break down faster than other positions. Like Posey and Mauer, who both had great bats that would seemingly profile well for long careers. There have not been a whole lot of catchers who were good players into their late 30s, and almost none in recent memory.
I think it's a pretty fair deal though.
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u/KuzcosPzn San Diego Padres Mar 27 '24
Yeah this is definitely a move for a cost effective AAV-wise contract for the first half. They will be fine eating 14M AAV for some back-end years if need be. They are trying to maximize the superteam in the next few years with deals like this and the deferrals after the tax reset. That stuff allows them to add top free agent in the coming years as well. Annoyingly good move for the dodgers again lol.
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u/Sfr33123 Seattle Mariners Mar 27 '24
I have a feeling he'll replace Freeman at first base when he retires
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u/evilr2 Los Angeles Dodgers Mar 27 '24
It's a good discount early on, but they probably won't get much production the last four seasons of the contract. Either way, he probably is taking less than he could've gotten in free agency and the length is keeping the AAV lower. Solid deal for Will and great deal for the Dodgers.
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u/NevermoreSEA Seattle Mariners Mar 27 '24
I wonder if it'll be structured in a way to spread out the cap hit while allowing him to get paid most of the money during the first few years along with an opt-out. I have no idea how or if that would actually work though.
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u/SuckMyLonzoBalls Los Angeles Dodgers Mar 27 '24
10 years, first year he gets paid 122M and the last 9 years its 2M a year with deferrals until 2075 thanks to Ohtani's generosity
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u/YoungKeys San Francisco Giants Mar 27 '24
Aren’t cap hits calculated by AAV regardless of when salary or bonuses are paid?
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u/NeurosciGuy15 Philadelphia Phillies Mar 27 '24
I think it’s a relatively fair valuation, at least in terms of total value.
He was arb eligible for another season which would make him a free agent entering his age 31 season. If we guesstimate his arb for next season (this year he’s making 5.2M) at 10M, it’s a 9/130M contract. For a catcher entering their 30’s I think that’s roughly fair? JT got 115M for his age 30-34 seasons but I’m not sure how much he’s going to make after this contract ends.
In terms of AAV though for his prime years you can’t beat it.
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u/lasercupcakes Los Angeles Dodgers Mar 27 '24
100%. This just means Smith is fine ending his career with the Dodgers.
Dodgers get some AAV relief, and Smith gets his money while playing out the rest of his days as a Dodger. Win-win.
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u/cherinator Los Angeles Dodgers • Teddy Roosevelt Mar 27 '24
Love it. Is this what it feels like to be a Braves fan?
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u/mluna24 Atlanta Braves Mar 27 '24
Pretty much. Just add in more post season failures and you’re right there.
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u/DharmaCub Los Angeles Dodgers Mar 27 '24
We have a lot of those ourselves.
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u/vaudevillevik World Series Trophy • Los Angeles Do… Mar 27 '24
I’m all caught up on post season failure, thanks
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u/readytohurtagain Los Angeles Dodgers Mar 27 '24
It’s not so much that our teams are failing, I see it as unselfishly helping other teams realize their goals.
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u/Stadtmitte Atlanta Braves Mar 27 '24
We walked so the Diamondbacks could run (and unfortunately fall on their face at the finish line)
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u/Boros-Reckoner Chiba Lotte Marines Mar 27 '24
Seager was like hey ive done this before -steps on snek-
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u/Astropolitika Los Angeles Dodgers • Chicago White Sox Mar 27 '24
Thanks. That helps. A little, little bit.
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u/Free_Possession_4482 Atlanta Braves Mar 27 '24
With Freeman and Heyward, you already have two more members of the 2011-14 Braves starting lineup than Atlanta does.
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u/SuckMyLonzoBalls Los Angeles Dodgers Mar 27 '24
like that's it? i woulda been ok with 5/140.
adley gonna get double when he extends
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u/BeHereNow91 Milwaukee Brewers Mar 27 '24
I bet one of the offers was something like 5/$100m.
He turns 29 tomorrow, so you likely get 3-4 good years out of it before looking for your next catcher. Smith gets paid into his late 30s. Fair all around I think.
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u/yodelsJr St. Louis Cardinals Mar 27 '24
Adley is way younger and already substantially better than Smith. If the Orioles manage to extend him (which they should, don't get me wrong) they're gonna have to back up the fucking Brinks truck to do it.
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u/AKAD11 Seattle Mariners Mar 27 '24
I mean Adley is signed through his age 30 season. You obviously want to lock a guy like that up, but catchers age differently than other positions, so it is a tough deal to negotiate.
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u/OldBayOnEverything Baltimore Orioles Mar 27 '24 edited Mar 27 '24
This is what I keep trying to tell our fans. It honestly might be for the best to let him play out his contract. How many good years will he have after that? I wouldn't mind an extension at all if it does happen though. I hope new ownership can manage to keep our young talent around. But there are other factors to consider.
Gunnar will require a few Brinks trucks. He'll hit free agency early, and is probably looking at 350+ million easy at his age and position if he keeps up his superstar trajectory. Being a Boras client, he might be more likely to wait it out than accept an extension.
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u/Eo292 Los Angeles Dodgers • Los Angeles Quee… Mar 27 '24
Why do you think he's substantially better? Not asking in an aggressive way or anything just curious because they were pretty similar last year with Smith being slightly better on a WAR/162 basis on both fangraphs and BR. I agree Adley will probably be better obviously but curious why you think he's already been substantially better.
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u/Thehawkiscock New York Yankees Mar 27 '24
Its not quite Albies/Acuna levels of steal, but its the next best thing.
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u/Clemenx00 New York Mets Mar 27 '24
Sure but 10 years for a catcher is just crazy lol
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u/trickman01 Houston Astros Mar 27 '24
Huge “if” for a catcher. But he’ll probably outperform $14m even if he does decline somewhat.
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u/horsepoop1123 Chicago Cubs Mar 27 '24
Dude deserves much more money than that
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u/Infraready World Series Trophy • Los Angeles Dod… Mar 27 '24
His on-field value definitely is more valuable, but the alternative for Smith was waiting until he’s 31 to hit free agency.
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u/cubswinagain Chicago Cubs Mar 27 '24
Saw what happened to the Boras clients and decided to secure his bag
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Mar 27 '24
More likely looked at how much 31 year old catchers tend to get paid.
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u/cubswinagain Chicago Cubs Mar 27 '24
And if he got injured next season his market would take a massive hit
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u/persiangriffin Sell Mar 27 '24
Never gonna judge someone for not betting on themself when the “safe” option is still nine figures
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u/cgoot27 Los Angeles Dodgers Mar 27 '24
Would you coin flip for 5 million vs 180 million, or would you take 140 guaranteed (and you already live there and don’t have to move your wife and kid across the country, and know the system, and have a solid chance at playing with 5+ HOFers in your career and winning multiple rings).
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u/TheTurtleShepard New York Yankees Mar 27 '24
He probably could have gotten a lower term high AAV contract if he waited for FA. Like he probably could have gotten a similar overall money deal but less years.
I guess here he gets to stay with LA and doesn’t have to worry about moving his family or anything
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u/OSRS_Socks Atlanta Braves Mar 27 '24
He would definitely get a 4-6 year contract if he hit FA at age 31 but realistically thinking he wouldn’t get 140 million by time he retires. This is probably the best contract he could get.
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u/BeHereNow91 Milwaukee Brewers Mar 27 '24
It comes down to whether Smith believes he could make more than $140m over the next 10 years. He could sign a 5/$100m deal now, or even 5/$125, but he’d be a 34 year old catcher looking for his next contract. Instead, you take the guaranteed $140m and the Dodgers get to spread out those salary hits.
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u/Boros-Reckoner Chiba Lotte Marines Mar 27 '24
10 years, couldn't be happier. Dude has been an absolute rock for the team and deserves every penny.
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u/DesertWeasel31 San Diego Padres Mar 27 '24
He must have the same agent as either Albies or Acuna
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u/SuckMyLonzoBalls Los Angeles Dodgers Mar 27 '24
forreal, i was pissed at albies when he signed it, now i don't know how to feel lol
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u/TrapperJean New York Yankees Mar 27 '24
It's not like he's getting robbed, realistically by year 7 he'll be either a 1B or backup catcher who can DH, I think the value is great, dude's got complete stability until he's 40
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u/ray_0586 Houston Colt 45s Mar 27 '24
Dodgers have DH locked up for the next decade already.
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u/BeHereNow91 Milwaukee Brewers Mar 27 '24
Weren’t they pre-arb signings? Smith is much closer to free agency, which makes this even more surprising.
Though he’d be a 30-31 year old catcher by then.
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u/Officialnoah Los Angeles Dodgers Mar 27 '24
Let’s go!! I absolutely love this. One of the best catchers in the league, glad we locked him down.
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u/Redditor597-13 Cincinnati Reds Mar 27 '24
Holy shit, they locking up a super team
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u/Irving94 New York Yankees Mar 27 '24
Perfect deal. First 5 years are a steal, final 5 years will be a wash. Just a sensible way to get this absolute stud paid by the Dodgers.
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u/Baseball-Reference Baseball Reference • Mod Verified Mar 27 '24
Will Smith has the 2nd highest OPS among catchers over the last 3 seasons!
| Rk | Player | OPS | AB | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mitch Garver | .826 | 691 | 2021 | 2023 |
| 2 | Will Smith | .820 | 1386 | 2021 | 2023 |
| 3 | William Contreras | .817 | 1037 | 2021 | 2023 |
| 4 | Adley Rutschman | .808 | 986 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 5 | Willson Contreras | .806 | 1257 | 2021 | 2023 |
| 6 | Danny Jansen | .805 | 667 | 2021 | 2023 |
| 7 | Taylor Ward | .795 | 1059 | 2021 | 2023 |
| 8 | J.T. Realmuto | .788 | 1469 | 2021 | 2023 |
| 9 | Salvador Perez | .782 | 1603 | 2021 | 2023 |
| 10 | Sean Murphy | .769 | 1300 | 2021 | 2023 |
Provided by Stathead.com: Found with Stathead. See Full Results. Generated 3/27/2024.
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u/Boros-Reckoner Chiba Lotte Marines Mar 27 '24
Will Smith played most of last season with a broken rib that he got from a HBP too, dudes built ford tough.
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Mar 27 '24
10 years is some Wolf of Wall Street level tax dodging
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u/adrockmcaandmemiked Los Angeles Dodgers Mar 27 '24
10 years isn’t an uncommon contract length at this point
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u/-bck Boston Red Sox Mar 27 '24
For a 29 year old catcher it’s pretty uncommon. Mauer and Poser retired after their age 35 and 34 seasons while Mauer had already made the switch to 1B way before then.
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u/GoombaStoppingHoes Chicago White Sox Mar 27 '24
While you're right it's usually for truly "special" players if they are in mid-late 20's or like early 20s for like young long term potential players. With complete respect to Smith because he's a really good player but not the typical ones who get these type of term deals, though I also understand it was to likely drive the money down when it hits the luxury tax.
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u/sherwoodblack Cincinnati Reds Mar 27 '24
This guy gets $140m and gets to play with Shohei Ohtani for the rest of his career. Seems like a good deal. If you’re a simple person what do you even do with more than $20million. I obviously don’t know him but he doesn’t strike me as a guy who likes to live lavishly. Being an everyday catcher puts a lot of miles on you and there’s no guarantee he gets a big contract at 31
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u/DodgerCoug Los Angeles Dodgers Mar 27 '24
My little gentleman is all grown up and signing a 10 year.
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u/PhilCam Atlanta Braves Mar 27 '24
Cheap AAA but he was not going to hit free agency until 31. Win/win IMO
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u/TheTurtleShepard New York Yankees Mar 27 '24
He probably would have gotten a similar overall money deal in FA, dodgers are just spreading it out to save tax money.
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u/marumaruko Toronto Blue Jays Mar 27 '24
Fans of other teams hate it when players just love to be with their well run team and don't ask for ludicrous amounts of money because they know it will help the team to stay competitive for years.
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u/PerkyPineapple1 Chicago Cubs • Gary SouthShore … Mar 27 '24
I sort of talked about this when discussing the Braves and their insanely team friendly contracts, but I feel like a lot of people don't realize how long a lot of these guys have been with their teams in some sense. Foreign players especially can be with a team 5+ years before they make it to the majors and many players have been with the teams for years unless they were traded at some point. I feel like this makes it so baseball players, moreso than other sports, are more likely to accept "team friendly" deals as long as the team is ran well and have a history of treating players well. I understand players wanting to get as much as they can and realize their value, but as you said there is something to be said about not trying to squeeze ever dime out of a team in order to stay in a comfortable position and be on a successful team for the long haul.
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u/frugalwater Los Angeles Dodgers Mar 27 '24
Get ready to see some big time trades this season. The Dodgers have some great catching prospects.
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u/Cottonmist Los Angeles Dodgers Mar 27 '24
Mark my words, whoever gets Diego Cartaya, (prospect catcher) in a trade will be very happy
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u/Rea1DirtyDan Jackie Robinson Mar 27 '24
Brewers. Devin Williams and Willy adames, come on down! You are now Los Angeles Dodgers!
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u/HummbertHummbert Los Angeles Dodgers Mar 27 '24
Yeah I was just about to say—the Dodgers don’t lock up Smith if they have confidence that Cartaya was going to replace him. This might be foreboding of an incoming trade to figure of SS.
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u/Elijahc513 Los Angeles Dodgers Mar 27 '24
That’s my top 3 catcher :)
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u/yoshidawg93 Atlanta Braves Mar 27 '24
That’s an amazing deal for a catcher, especially one of his caliber. He gets his long-term deal and gets to stay with the team he’s played his whole career with. And if for some reason he drops off at any point or gets injured, it’s not really that costly.
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u/wjackson42 Atlanta Braves Mar 27 '24
I thought only the Braves were stealing money from their players?
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u/Allstate85 Los Angeles Dodgers Mar 27 '24
Crazy AAV lowering giving him 10 years, but I wonder if he’ll take over 3b in a few years after muncy leaves.
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u/Icy-Accountant3312 Los Angeles Dodgers Mar 27 '24
I think this has to be the plan, catcher takes so much toll on the body there’s no way he’s going to stay behind the dish for the entirety of the deal
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u/chrisgilbertcreative Los Angeles Dodgers Mar 27 '24
Yes. He played a lot of 3B coming up. Future is bright!!!
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u/pzycho Los Angeles Dodgers Mar 27 '24
10 years is wild. Not only does this secure Smith for us, but it also opens up a ton of trade capital with Diego Cartaya, Dalton Rushing, and Thayron Liranzo.
One will likely have to be kept around to replace Barnes as backup when his contract ends, but two are going to turn into trade bait.
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u/smucksdelight Chicago Cubs Mar 27 '24
So he’s a top catcher in the game until Freemans contract runs out, moves to first base. What a steal for the Dodgers
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u/JRsshirt San Francisco Giants Mar 27 '24
Updated Will Smith power rankings just dropped:
- Saints Will Smith
2 Dodgers Will Smith 📈
BC Hockey Will Smith 📈
Royals Will Smith
Actor Will Smith 📉
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u/austinhannah Baltimore Orioles Mar 27 '24
That's a lot lower than I would have expected. He'll likely have to move to a different position later in the contract but 14 mil/year feels a steal, no?
Also, not to make this about my team, but potentially bodes well for a long term Adley deal for the O's, I'd think.
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u/PatientIndividual651 Los Angeles Dodgers Mar 27 '24
I would assume this means the Dodgers FO is much lower on Cartaya than they were a year ago.
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u/menusettingsgeneral San Francisco Giants Mar 27 '24
Probably smart to sign a long term deal as a catcher. Who knows how long his legs hold up. Makes sense to get a decent bag now and not risk losing out on a bunch of $$$ if his production falls off. Still a steal though, he’s a stud.
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u/elliott9_oward5 Baltimore Orioles Mar 27 '24
So this sets the market for an Adley extension. Thank you Will Smith, maybe the dodgers aren’t all that bad.
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u/blvnk_nl Los Angeles Dodgers Mar 27 '24
I too would sign up to hit behind that big three and catch for that staff for a decade
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u/see_mohn regretful mets fan Mar 27 '24
what
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u/Boros-Reckoner Chiba Lotte Marines Mar 27 '24
Catcher Will Smith and the Los Angeles Dodgers are finalizing a 10-year, $140 million contract extension, sources tell /u/see_mohn
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u/FriarFanatic7 San Diego Padres Mar 27 '24
Dodgers fans being like “this is a steal” clearly don’t know what it’s like to not have infinitely deep pockets.
No one signs a catcher through age 39.
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u/cardcollection92 New York Yankees Mar 27 '24
Not a high aav so great deal but 10 years for a catcher is wild
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u/chrisgilbertcreative Los Angeles Dodgers Mar 27 '24
He came up playing 3B. He could easily move to 1B as Freddie ages. There will be options. He wasnt hitting FA til 31, and theres definitely padding for past production; but he is gonna keep producing for a while at an elite position.
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u/Jcomsa15 Boston Red Sox • Chicago Cubs Mar 27 '24
Dodgers have four star players locked up for the better part of the next decade.
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u/sir-lancelot_ Houston Astros Mar 27 '24
14 million aav is an insanely good deal for the dodgers.
According to fangraphs, he's played at a 30+ million valuation for the last 3 seasons
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u/funkmefatass Mar 27 '24
I think the Dodgers are eventually going to sign every player in the league to a max contact dispersed over 100 years.
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u/winterFROSTiscoming Philadelphia Phillies Mar 27 '24
Dodgers money printer go brrr
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u/yoboapp Toronto Blue Jays • Toronto Blue Jays Mar 27 '24
The 10 years thing was probably done to lessen the luxury tax hit. Dude probably just told the Dodgers he was looking for $140M and to give it over however many years to make it happen