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Pitchers and catchers have reported to all 30 spring training camps this year and 100 free agents are still unsigned. New Cubs pitcher Brad Brach officially inked his deal last week and when talking with reporters in Mesa the right-hander explained why players are pissed off at the free agency process.
Brach is guaranteed to make $3 million in 2019, while he and the Cubs both have a contract option for 2020. The 32-year-old entered the offseason as a top-50 free agent after ending 2018 on a great run with the Braves. Brach was an all-star in 2016 with the Orioles and has a 3.05 ERA in the past seven years and despite the importance of needing a good bullpen in this modern era of baseball he didn’t sign until February.
Something’s broken in free agency.
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“You hear about interest in the first week and then you don’t get offers until late December, January and you’re just kinda wondering what’s going on. Teams say they like you, but they’re not making you any offers. Then you finally get offers and 6 or 7 teams are giving you the same offer.
“It’s just a weird process and nobody really knows what’s going on right now. Obviously I would’ve liked the experience to have been a little better. I’m just glad to be here now and glad it’s over with for at least this year and hope to pitch well enough to be here again next year.”
Brach was stuck with the Orioles to start 2018 and the lack of a competitive roster took its toll on the reliever. He had a 4.85 ERA in 39 innings with Baltimore, but after Brach was traded to Atlanta he returned to his all-star form, recording a 1.52 ERA in 27 appearances for the NL East champions.
Brach didn’t come out and cry collusion, but it’s certainly fishy that all his offers were the same. And yes, teams have become a lot smarter, analyzing how much a player is worth and what value he can add, but when the entire free agent market becomes frozen, as we’ve seen the past two years, players are going to remain skeptical about what’s really going on.
“I really don’t know [what to make of the state of free agency],” Brach said. “We talked to certain teams and they told us, ‘We have an algorithm and here’s where you fall in that scale.’ It’s just kinda weird that all offers are the same that come around the same time and everybody tells you there’s an algorithm, but you figure teams have different ones, but I don’t know.”
MLB teams are generating more revenue than ever before, but contracts for players aren’t increasing accordingly. Players are becoming more vocal and the talk of a strike is already beginning.
#STLCards pitcher Adam Wainwright on @TMASTL: “Unless something changes, there’s going to be a strike. 100%. I’m just worried people are going to walk-out mid-season.” pic.twitter.com/M8WeRVcASe
— Tim McKernan (@tmckernan) February 15, 2019
By the way, it’s always funny when fans complain about salary for pro athletes and try to compare it to what they make. Please stop. No TV network is paying billions of dollars to broadcast you doing whatever blue collar job you have.
