Once a great bargain.... is a bargain no more.
In April of 2055, Dane Litch sat in the free agent pool, unwanted by any team in the BBA. He was currently injured and was labeled as a bad attitude in the clubhouse. Nobody wanted him. The Twin Cities River Monsters had about $4 million in cash left in their cap and decided to take a chance on the slugging outfielder. They signed into a deal which paid them $3.5 million his first year, with two team options, one for $5.5 million and one for a little over $7.5 million. Little did they know at the time, how big of a bargain that would become.
When he finally took the field in August of 2055, Dane managed to slash .337,/.371/.560 over a 47-game period. That was good enough for 1.3 WAR, which justified his contract of $3.5 million for that season. Helping the team play in it's first ever Brewster.
The decision to pick up his contract for 2056 was an easy one. Litch rewarded the River Monsters by posting a .293./350/.535 line, good for 3.8 WAR, an all-star appearance, and helping the team get to the Cartwright Cup.
This season, Dane has managed to top even his best year with a .312/.367/.550 line good for two and a half WAR through his first 100 games this season. This is on top of playing stellar right field defense and gaining his second straight All-Star appearance.
Now in his walk year, the River Monsters were facing an extremely tough decision when dealing with Licht. Do they re-sign the 32-year-old slugger to a high-priced contract knowing that his best years are probably behind him and he won't be the bargain that he once was? Or do they let him go and try to find lightning in a bottle again with someone new who can replace that production?
Fresh off the heels of last night's sim, we now know the answer to that question. The River Monsters locked up Licht for 6 years and $75 million. While on the surface that looks like an extremely bad contract, but the last two seasons are team options worth over $15 million each. So in reality, the contract will pay Lich $10.2 million in each of the first two seasons and then $12.2 million in each of the next two seasons. This will take Lich up until his age 35 season. Around that time, we figure the River Monsters run is going to be over, Lich'ts productive years will probably be over, and then those last two seasons, they're not really going to want him back anyway.
Still, this is by no means a bargain contract like he was previously on. Best case scenario, he plays up to the value of the contract, but in all likelihood, his production is going to be a little worse than he will be paid. But this is the price you have to pay to be a top team in the Brewster. It's not an easy league, it's very competitive, and to keep up with teams like the Nashville Bluebirds, sometimes you have to pay a premium price to get the job done.
