The Major League Baseball offseason can feel like the longest and shortest in all of sports, as the time between the season ending and beginning comes fast, but the development of the free agent market usually is slow and this season appears to be no different, as some big name players are not on the market that should be, including names like Adam Wainwright, Joey Votto, David Wright, Ryan Braun, Justin Upton and Billy Butler.
All these players SHOULD be free agents this offseason, but because of smart moves by their teams to sign them to extensions, they never hit the market and that is part of a new trend in the MLB. Gone are the days when the Yankees could poach every high priced free agent and while that still goes on, it's not nearly as much because of how teams are handling their young players. One of the smartest things MLB teams have done over the past five years is identify the best young players on their respective teams and signing them to deals.
The teams have had to overpay at times a bit to keep them, but they are trading the years of knowing they are securing their player over the extra money they would have to pay in free agency. Players are happy because they are getting security and likely more current money than they would on the market and while they give up some money on the back end, at the end of the day it really isn't much and one perfect is example is the Giants signing Matt Cain, as they overpaid him a bit for what he had been up until that moment, but now he is under team control for the foreseeable future.
At SI.com they put together a list of some players that "should" have been free agents this offseason and why they aren't on the market. The Cardinals kept Adam Wainwright on an extension that was for five-years and $97.5 million and while that's still a lot, are any of these possible free agent options any better? Matt Garza, Ubaldo Jimenez, Ervin Santana andMasahiro Tanaka? Don't think so. That makes the Cardinals look smart, knowing that Wainwright would likely be the top name on the market.
This is a new trend for teams and it will continue, especially with someone like Clayton Kershaw, who should be next to get one after winning two Cy Young's in three seasons and finishing second in the middle of the two wins. Check here for the full list.
