Written by Derek Harvey at Bloguin
Coming into the offseason, I expected the relief market to develop quickly. There just aren’t a ton of options in free agency including absolutely zero “proven closers.” So it really shouldn’t come as a surprise that we’ve seen Danny Farqhuar, Joaquin Benoit, Craig Kimbrel, and Francisco Rodriguez change hands already. It should also come as no surprise the Reds are looking to move Aroldis Chapman before the Winter Meetings. Furthermore, we shouldn’t be shocked when we see some ridiculous contracts get handed out to relievers that seem to be worth half as much as they’ll get.
So far the Red Sox are the leaders for overpaying closers this winter. They sent a package of four quite notable prospects to the Padres for Craig Kimbrel. But whoever signs Darren O’Day is likely to pay a pretty penny as well. At least they will only have to expend cash. O’Day is said to be seeking a four year deal in the range of $28-36 million. That falls in line with my prediction of upwards of 4/40. I still think that higher range is realistic.
Heard today that the #Dodgers are pursuing Darren O’Day “big time.” It was the 2nd person in a week to mention it.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) November 19, 2015
If that’s true about the Dodgers then money is no obstacle. I can actually understand giving that kind of money to Darren O’Day. He’s been an excellent reliever for a long time. There is precedent for that type of contract too. Last year David Robertson got 4/56 and Andrew Miller received 4/36.
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