Omaha locks up Morales, but where does that leave others?(37.17)

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Omaha locks up Morales, but where does that leave others?(37.17)

Post by niles08 » Fri Nov 02, 2018 9:24 am

As Emilio Morales knocked balls out of the ballpark, Hawk fans were preparing for the worst and Vegas had set up betting lines as to where Morales would play next knowing that Omaha has not had a tendency in its franchise history to lock up its star players.

As Omaha’s payroll grew, fans were split on whether or not that meant that Omaha would not afford Morales as some expected , or whether that meant that the time was opening it’s checkbook up.

Fans were relieved by the statement in General Manager Justin Niles “press release type team statement” sent out yesterday to Hawk Nation.

That message being that Morales was “one of ours” and that “We had every intention to make sure he remained that way”.

Well, news broke last night that the statement was more true than ever.

Morales was named the best hitter during the month of August in the Frick League last night. In 27 games, Morales hit .336, driving in 30 runs, while knocking 13 balls out of the park. This brought Morales up to 49 home runs on the season, including 135 RBI.

"I've been around Brewster Baseball Association long enough to know you really have to work hard day in and day out to be able to put up this kind of consistency," the 26-year-old Morales told reporters. "I put in a lot of work, even on the days I might not take the field, and it's always nice when everything comes together for me like it did this last month."

Well, the hard work has paid off.

Moments later, the news hit the media potentially just as hard as Morales hits a baseball.

Morales has signed a maximum length 6 year contract extension to remain in Omaha. During those 6 years, he will be paid $140,093,750. For comparison sake, the same day Jacksonville signed star third baseman of their own David Noboru (9/8/8/3/6 Talents, .336/.376/.637, 39 HR, 88 RBI). Both signed 6 year contract extensions, however Noboru’s contract is worth $162,000,000, a clear $22,000,000 more than Morales will be paid during his contract.

So it appears that Morales gave the Hawks some sort of home-town discount.

“It was important to stay in Omaha and bring these great fans a Landis trophy. We have built something special here and it wouldn’t have felt right to leave and go elsewhere. It would almost be abandoning my brothers.” Said Morales.

The other startling differences between the two contracts? Morales will earn an extra $1,000,000 each year he reaches 600 plate appearances, while Noboru will earn an extra $3,000,000 a year if he reaches 550 plate appearances.

Noboru will be paid $2,000,000 for an MVP & $1,000,000 for an All-Star nod, while Morales will make $850,000 for MVP honors and only $170,000 for playing in the all-star game.

Both contracts are back-loaded, with Noboru making $32,000,000 in 2037 followed by $26,000,000 each year after through the 2042 season.

Morales on the other hand will make $16,000,000 next season, followed by $35,400,000 in 2038, and then $5,000,000 less in 2039 followed by another $5,000,000 less in 2040($25,400,000). In 2041, Morales will make only $17,400,000 followed by the final season where he will bring in $15,400,000.

At first glance, quite a deal for Omaha and one that makes financial sense for them.

Morales being willing to take a bit less next season leaves the team with some financial flexibility and will offset Jack Gulliver (9/7/7/7/7 Talents, .287/.344/.470, 3 HR, 13 RBI)’s final season if he does not opt out.

In 2038, Morales’s highest paid year, the team should have several contracts fall off and this will be before many of the teams younger players enter final years of arbitration, or 5 years of major league service when the team is able to sign them to long term deals as well.

During the off-season of 2038, Aymeric Barajas (7/8/6/7/7 Talents, .283/.389/.506, 22 HR, 65 RBI), Jose Canales, Jimmy Starks Jr., Adam Barnard (9/8/8 Talents, 13 - 7, 3.35 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 137 K), Stephen Clulow (9/7/7 Talents, 1 - 2, 8.31 ERA, 2.22 WHIP, 20 K) are all guys that will be free agents if a new deal is not agreed upon prior to that. Harlan Moore’s contract also comes off the books this offseason.

Sergio Maldonado (8/8/3/3/10 Talents, .312/.343/.427, 6 HR, 39 RBI) & Edris Mtume (8/7/7 Talents, 13 - 7, 3.80 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 150 K) enter their final years of arbitration in 2038 so will be free agents the year after, which is when Aubrey Anderson (6/8/8/4/7 Talents, .217/.268/.413, 17 HR, 48 RBI)’s ($10.21 M in 2039) contract expires.

So with all of that in mind, this deal is not only a low one for Omaha, but one that could allow many of the core players to stay together.

Case in point, James Monger (8/7/8/5/9 Talents, .309/.367/.561, 31 HR, 107 RBI) does not enter his final year of arbitration until the 2040 season. By then, Morales will be making only $17,400,000 so it is very possible that the two can remain the infield dual that they have been the past few seasons.
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Re: Omaha locks up Morales, but where does that leave others?(37.17)

Post by RonCo » Fri Nov 02, 2018 10:10 am

Very interesting structure, of course. I like the move in the end.
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Re: Omaha locks up Morales, but where does that leave others?(37.17)

Post by Ted » Sat Nov 03, 2018 11:02 am

Good lord that's a ton of cash. I'm hoping to hold off on any big extensions until OOTP 20 when the pendulum for contract asks will swing too far back the other way (of course).
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Re: Omaha locks up Morales, but where does that leave others?(37.17)

Post by RonCo » Sat Nov 03, 2018 11:35 am

In the end, I wonder if it would have been less costly to send him to FA and sign him back. Risky, I suppose, but it happens. There's also going to be a lot more names out there this year (I would guess, anyway), so the market forces may not be as warped as they've been in the past. We'll see what happens.
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