As we await decisions from Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, and most big-name free agents, fans have begun to get restless. You can add Evan Longoria to that list.
Longoria took to Instagram today to express his frustrations with the current state of free agency and the new analytical tools used to measure players’ value.
The past two years of MLB free agency have been eye-opening to everyone around the league from management, to fans, and of course to players. Last season the baseball world waited on an impending trade of Giancarlo Stanton and the signing of Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani before the floodgates opened and teams began to make moves. This offseason has followed the same trend, with Bryce Harper and Manny Machado holding up the rest of the free agent and trade markets.
From a players perspective, Longoria’s comments are not off-base. These players do work their entire lives for a chance to make money on the open market. When you’re an elite talent in a professional sport, you absolutely deserve to be paid like one. Because of advances in analytics, however, teams have now learned that some players once considered worth breaking the bank for, may not be as elite as previously thought.
The purpose of these new analytics is to establish even more value in players that may have gone under-valued by traditional statistics. Great teams have been built this past decade by the use of analytics in today’s game. Teams like the Astros, Dodgers, Brewers, and Cubs are all teams that have struck gold with players who seemingly came out of nowhere, thanks to analytical developments in scouting departments.
Teams have begun to spend more cautiously and only give out contracts that they believe are right for a player of certain value, hence the market slowdown the past two years. On one hand, Longoria has a point when he says players are deserving of the opportunity, but the reality is that today’s game and markets are evolving, and these next few years will be a turning point in how teams invest in players and value certain aspects of their game.
