The Atlanta Braves made another move Tuesday night to lock up their young core long term, agreeing to an eight-year, $72 million extension with outfielder Michael Harris II.
The deal for 21-year-old Harris runs through the 2030 season and includes team options for 2031 ($15 million) and 2032 ($20M).
The Harris II extension was a very surprising but wise decision by the Braves. If Harris II is as good as this moving forward they locked up their 21 year old CF for 10 years and $107 million. This coming weeks after extending Austin Riley to a 10 year $212 million dollar deal. The Braves now have Riley, Harris II, Ronald Acuna Jr, Ozzie Albies, and Matt Olson signed long term.
I wonder what this means for SS Dansby Swanson. He is a FA at the end of the season but the Braves decided to extend Harris and Riley first despite them being under team control for years. With the emergence of new top prospect Vaugh Grissom they might feel like he is a better long term option than spending $25 million a year on Swanson.
That's not even the best news of the day for Atlanta. Mike Soroka made his first rehab start last night and looked dominant. He is expected to join the Braves rotation in September which would be a huge boost for their playoff hopes.
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Completely agree. Now look where we are with Judge. Glad they prioritized guys like Hicks...smh
He would have already been under team control for 6 of those 8 years anyway - but now they've got options for two years on top of that. And I'm sure this goes a long way for the cementing the relationship with the player.
I guess we can be glad, at least, that we don't have Gary locked up for two more years?
You couldn't ask for a better first rehab assignment from Soroka. His fastball was around 93-94. Postgame, Soroka says his sinker is the best it's ever been.
On the down side, we face Scherzer-DeGrom-McCullers over the next three days. Brutal. Hopefully, Fried will be able to go against DeGrom or McCullers.
He would have already been under team control for 6 of those 8 years anyway - but now they've got options for two years on top of that. And I'm sure this goes a long way for the cementing the relationship with the player.
I guess we can be glad, at least, that we don't have Gary locked up for two more years?
Harris is under control for eight years with two more club options ($15M in '31 and $20M in '32). Harris can buyout either of those two options for $5M.
You mean should have in summer of 2019
Pete has little reason to give a significant discount now. He is a proven MLB asset.
Harris is doing this to mitigate risk, Braves are making a bet..
He would have already been under team control for 6 of those 8 years anyway - but now they've got options for two years on top of that. And I'm sure this goes a long way for the cementing the relationship with the player.
I guess we can be glad, at least, that we don't have Gary locked up for two more years?
They bought out 3 years of FA with options for 2 more years to potentially be 5 years.
I really hope they keep Swanson if they can sign him for 5-6 years but I am concerned that he wants to test FA. He is a very clutch player who is a leader in the clubhouse.
The motivation for the player is he is now guaranteed $72M off a 70 game sample.
Only Wander Franco and Acuna got bigger contracts off less than a year of service time, and Franco and Acuna were far more heralded than Harris II.
The motivation for the player is he is now guaranteed $72M off a 70 game sample.
Only Wander Franco and Acuna got bigger contracts off less than a year of service time, and Franco and Acuna were far more heralded than Harris II.
There is definitely a risk but if he becomes a poor hitter at least he provides value defensively in CF while also contributing 20+ homeruns. As you said this is riskier gamble than Acuna and Riley.
Let's face it, $72M is more than most people will earn in a lifetime and worst case he's a FA again at 31/32.
So, if more players were presented the choice at a young age of a guaranteed payout like this or wait the 6 years and hope your level of play remains high, you remain injury free, you remain scandal free (PED's, law, etc.) and then get paid - how many would choose the guaranteed $$$ knowing they would be leaving some on the table in many circumstances.
How many teams would be eager to lock up players after such a short period of major league history?
You don't know if he will "demand a new contract". Acuna Jr. and Albies haven't.
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If the kid flops they blew 72M. If he progresses to superstar level he will demand new contract . He is not really locked in for ten years .
You don't know if he will "demand a new contract". Acuna Jr. and Albies haven't.
agreed, there's no real trade demand mechanism in MLB and in practice i think it would only come into play at the real elite level (like Trout asking out).
with defensive value players there's not a ton of risk in a deal like this, sort of like when the mets gave Lagares and extension. He actually kind of tanked/got hurt after that and while they didn't get any of the expected surplus value he probably didn't get paid much less than what it would have cost to sign a good defensive backup CF for the 4 years. harris obviously has a much higher ceiling too.
He makes out well with that much guaranteed money at 21 based on less than half a season. He is set for life even without the club option years. And they may have just saved several millions of dollars, plus a lot of potential headaches.
He makes out well with that much guaranteed money at 21 based on less than half a season. He is set for life even without the club option years. And they may have just saved several millions of dollars, plus a lot of potential headaches.
for big spending teams im not sure it makes as much sense. you still have plenty of leverage to extend a player 2 more years down the road when he has 4 years of service time left, and at that point the player will have had 2-3x the amount of playing time at the big league level.
in those 2 years you got a minimum salary player - which is key for teams giving out huge FA contracts. and can make a much more confident assessment of the future.
so basically i think for a middle payroll team it makes more sense to take more of the risk for more surplus value upside but for a big market team it's worth paying a little more to buy with greater confidence.
2.7 WAR in less than half of a season. His stat line is a bit in excess of his expected metrics, but not by an insane amount. He can come well off of his .875 OPS thus far and still be worth every penny of $9M per year, without factoring in any improvement in his K-BB% with further exposure to MLB pitching.
No brainer as far as I'm concerned.
And sure Harris may be worth $9M, but considering his salary *would* have been $700,000 the Braves are overpaying the early years to hopefully make up for it in Harris' prime when he's getting paid $9M but worth $20M (for example).
there is absolutely risk, baseball history is littered with players who never reached their potential or who never duplicated early career success.
I think it's a good signing, but today it requires projection for it to work out for the Braves and there is a chance it does not.
Only Francoeur was a better prospect and made a bigger initial splash.
But how would that have worked out?
Harris II seems like he will be a star. But you never know how things will work out.
Only Francoeur was a better prospect and made a bigger initial splash.
But how would that have worked out?
Harris II seems like he will be a star. But you never know how things will work out.
Good point, Francouer was not a gold glove caliber CF though. He also lacked plate discipline which is also something that Harris II has to work on. It will be interesting to see how Harris does next year when teams start to make adjustments. Also the Braves have protected him by batting him 9th for much of the season.
Those buyouts are the team's, not Harris'. They can pay him $5 mil in 2031 to walk away from the option. Presumably they'd only have to pay him $5 mil as a buyout in 2032 if they've already exercised the 2031 option.
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Imagine if Braves had locked up Jeff Francoeur after his initial half season. It would have been hailed as genius. Francoeur is just like Harris. Both local Atlanta area guys.
Only Francoeur was a better prospect and made a bigger initial splash.
But how would that have worked out?
Harris II seems like he will be a star. But you never know how things will work out.
Good point, Francouer was not a gold glove caliber CF though. He also lacked plate discipline which is also something that Harris II has to work on. It will be interesting to see how Harris does next year when teams start to make adjustments. Also the Braves have protected him by batting him 9th for much of the season.
He had the best arm I have ever seen.
But I see what you're saying about CF.
They now have Acuna Riley Harris and Olson locked up. Thats a huge part of a starting 9 - half the infield and 2/3 of the outfield. They don't have to worry about either wanting to cash in or leaving via FA. And Harris is the real deal - never know about injury but the kid can play.
Swanson is said to be gone.
All that being said - Max gotta grind one out for us tonight and hand it to Jake with a chance to split what has become an embarrassing trip to the ATL (actually its Marietta, GA which is where all the rich white baseball viewers live a good 30 min from Atlanta in typical traffic)
They now have Acuna Riley Harris and Olson locked up. Thats a huge part of a starting 9 - half the infield and 2/3 of the outfield. They don't have to worry about either wanting to cash in or leaving via FA. And Harris is the real deal - never know about injury but the kid can play.
Swanson is said to be gone.
All that being said - Max gotta grind one out for us tonight and hand it to Jake with a chance to split what has become an embarrassing trip to the ATL (actually its Marietta, GA which is where all the rich white baseball viewers live a good 30 min from Atlanta in typical traffic)
The Braves aren't the first team to do this but they certainly are doing it far more frequently than most. They also have Albies locked up long term and with the arrival of top prospect Vaughn Grissom it wouldn't surprise me if the Braves moved Albies back to SS if Swanson leaves while inserting Grissom as the full time 2B.
That was a ridiculous gamble to extend a player prior to reaching the majors especially a first baseman. If they play a premium defensive position like SS or CF then at least you can recoup some value if they are good defensively.
They, and he has insurance if he's injured, and a CF playing at the level he is now will always be valuable - even if it's only a wide-eyed GM who thinks his is the team that can make the kid reach past glory.
He also has the inside track for RoY
I wish more teams (including Mets) would operate this way to excite the fan base and have multiple players invest 8-10 more years in the team. Its also great for the other players seeing what kind of culture is being built. Not a bunch of 1 and 2 year prove it contracts but cornerstones of the franchise being embraced by the club.
Think about how many Braves come from the South:
Wright and Swanson from Vanderbilt
Strider from Clemson
Harris II from Georgia
Austin R from MS
Grissom from Florida I believe
Back in the day, Frenchy and Chipper
In contrast, is there a Met from the NY Metro area other than Ottavino? And he is just a one year deal
Think about how many Braves come from the South:
Wright and Swanson from Vanderbilt
Strider from Clemson
Harris II from Georgia
Austin R from MS
Grissom from Florida I believe
Back in the day, Frenchy and Chipper
In contrast, is there a Met from the NY Metro area other than Ottavino? And he is just a one year deal
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in that they recruit from their region way more than other teams. Their scouts have personal connections with high school and college coaches throughout the South.
Think about how many Braves come from the South:
Wright and Swanson from Vanderbilt
Strider from Clemson
Harris II from Georgia
Austin R from MS
Grissom from Florida I believe
Back in the day, Frenchy and Chipper
In contrast, is there a Met from the NY Metro area other than Ottavino? And he is just a one year deal
There haven't been many. But, to that end, NY Metro doesn't produce a ton of blue chip baseball prospects. Most of the big names are from the South, Southwest, and West. Primarily, this is because they play far more baseball with better weather. Both HS and college have Fall programs, which you don't get in the Northeast.
That's interesting. In the past, so many great players came out of NY: Koufax, Torre, the Iron Horse, Yaz, Whitey Ford, Frankie V, Mazilli, even ARod
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In comment 15784437 Vanzetti said:
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in that they recruit from their region way more than other teams. Their scouts have personal connections with high school and college coaches throughout the South.
Think about how many Braves come from the South:
Wright and Swanson from Vanderbilt
Strider from Clemson
Harris II from Georgia
Austin R from MS
Grissom from Florida I believe
Back in the day, Frenchy and Chipper
In contrast, is there a Met from the NY Metro area other than Ottavino? And he is just a one year deal
There haven't been many. But, to that end, NY Metro doesn't produce a ton of blue chip baseball prospects. Most of the big names are from the South, Southwest, and West. Primarily, this is because they play far more baseball with better weather. Both HS and college have Fall programs, which you don't get in the Northeast.
That's interesting. In the past, so many great players came out of NY: Koufax, Torre, the Iron Horse, Yaz, Whitey Ford, Frankie V, Mazilli, even ARod
In the goldern era of baseball, you got a ton because baseball was not yet a year round sport at the school level. In the last 30-40 years, that has been a different story. You still get some big prospects (Manny Ramirez, Viola, John Franco, even if you want to count Ottavino), but you don't get a lot of blue chippers or even 2nd tier in comparison with other regions.