The players' market that was established with that early signing has mushroomed into one that appears to be taking baseball executives by surprise, as evidenced by the reaction to the seven-year, $126 million deal signed by Jayson Werth in Washington. ESPN’s Buster Olney said that rival general managers are "going nuts over the terms" of the deal, and that it has "stunned people in the game."
One of the teams most affected by such big-spending ways is the Red Sox, who would never have gone to those lengths to reel in Werth and who may lose out on Adrian Gonzalez due to a rift in the length of the deal, a stand we have seen the team take before.
Theo Epstein and his crew have built a reputation for holding the line. While always big players, they are often reticent to give that extra year or two that might satisfy a player, John Lackey being one recent exception. Often they come out looking golden (see Martinez, Pedro) but in the market that has developed in the wild offseason of 2010, they may be left behind.
Unless they change.
Gonzalez still can be had if Boston gives him the years he wants. The same goes for Carl Crawford, who may want as many as eight years. Adrian Beltre recently said that the length of whatever deal he gets is the most important thing to him. Whether that is 100 percent truthful or not is insignificant. Players and their agents are staring at a golden opportunity this offseason to get all they can from teams like the Sox, whose tactics behind closed doors often serve them well in years when the money is not flying around like this.
To borrow a hackneyed phrase bandied about major league clubhouses after losses, "it’s early." The Sox will make a splash at some point, whether it be finalizing the Gonzalez deal and calming the masses, or signing someone from the shrinking list of big-name free agents. However, in the midst of a market established by Benoit’s signing and put over the top by that of Werth, that splash might come only if Boston can change its ways.
