Chapter 28
Geography Lesson
If Justin Upton was the grand prize of the 2015 free agent class, Stephen Strasburg was the golden ticket for 2016.
In his first seven seasons with the Washington Nationals, Strasburg had gone 69-32 with a 2.76 ERA, while fanning 1,178 and walking just 188 batters in 920 innings pitched. He was a 3-time National League All-Star pitcher, a Cy Young winner, a Gold Glove pitcher, and a World Series champion. Oh, and he threw a no-hitter somewhere in between all of that. At the age of 28, Strasburg had nothing left to prove.
So when baseball's biggest free agent pitcher since Nolan Ryan hit the market, the A's were ready. They had freed up significant payroll to make sure they could make a push for Strasburg, even if his demands exceeded $20 million per season.
Almost a year to the day that Upton stepped off of Larry Ellison's Gulfstream V at San Jose International, Strasburg arrived in the Bay Area, this time flying commercial at his own request. He was wooed with the pomp and circumstance befitting a Hall-of-Famer in the making, checking out the construction site for the A's new ballpark in downtown, meeting potential future teammates Jarrod Parker and Travis d'Arnaud, and hearing the same ol' song and dance from Billy Beane, David Forst, and manager Bob Melvin.
What's not to like? The A's have become a legitimate World Series contender, ready to move into a new ballpark, with an owner that isn't afraid to spend for top free agents.
When Strausburg left the Bay Area, Forst nudged Billy with an elbow, saying, "We got him."
Ten days later, on December 17th, the bombshell hit the A's front office. Strasburg's agent informed them that he had accepted an offer to play for the Padres. The A's pleaded with the agent, telling him they'll raise their offer... just give them a chance to sign him. But Strasburg had already made up his mind. He was heading back to San Diego, where he was born and raised, and eventually played college baseball at San Diego State for Tony Gwynn. All for just $16 million a year, far below his market value.
The A's never had a chance.
David dealt with the crushing blow the best way he knew how. By making a trade. Second baseman Ryan Gennett was dealt to Arizona for outfielder AJ Pollock during the Winter Meetings.
"That deal really got me out of my funk," David admits. "Billy and I had a heart to heart. He basically told me, get my s*** together and move on down the list."
And David certainly did. He got back on the free agent train when he inked Colorado reliever Marc Rzepczynski to a 3-year, $2 million deal, giving the A's a much-needed lefty to complement Sean Doolittle in the bullpen.
"I'll tell you, that's a Billy Beane-type move right there," says one AL scout. "You're talking about a guy who was lights out in St. Louis a couple years ago (1.53 ERA in 52 appearances), but got lit up in the altitude with the Rockies last season (4.82 ERA). Nobody had much interest in a guy like Rzepczynski. But you put him in a pitcher's ballpark, and you'll like what you see."
While David was making small-time moves that would make Billy proud, he still lusted after a high-impact starting rotation to give the A's a "Big 3" come playoff time. But the marquee names were coming off the board: Daniel Hudson (5 years/$78 million to Texas) and Brett Anderson (6 years, $87.6 million) wound up in the AL West to two of the A's biggest rivals. Glen Perkins (2 years/$39.6 million) signed with the Yankees. But David couldn't help notice one-time phenom Michael Pineda still on the market.
"Pineda's upside is just tremendous," says A's scouting director Eric Kubota. "People have kind of soured on him since his ERA's been north of 4.00 in the last few seasons, but he's still got Cy Young-type stuff. And he's still only 28."
That's all David needs to take a chance on Pineda. The asking price on the Dominican is roughly $13 million per season, and he's been in talks with the Yankees, Angels, and Dodgers. David knows he can't win a bidding war with any of those teams, so he does something ingenious and frontloads the contract.
"Typically, you pay a player progressively more as the contract goes on," David explains. "But we had so much money freed up to go after Strasburg, I figured I could just use that first-year money to wow Pineda, and then pay him much less over the life of the contract."
The deal calls for Pineda (13-11, 4.26 ERA, 217 IP, 161 K in 2016) to make an astounding $28.6 million in the first year of the contract. That means he'll be the second-highest paid player during the 2017 season, trailing only Josh Hamilton. But after that, his salary plummets to $6.6 million in year 2, and $7.9 million in years 3 and 4.
Pineda signs the contract with the A's when his other suitors exit talks almost immediately.
The national pundits roast the A's for paying Pineda more than pitching counterparts Justin Verlander ($28 million), Felix Hernandez ($26 million), and Zach Grienke ($23 million). But the fact of the matter is the A's will end up paying the right-hander a respectable $12.6 million annually in the 4-year contract. That's half that of Verlander and Hernandez, and less than Perkins, Hudson, and Anderson signed in their respective deals this winter.
"I'm not going to deny that I would still much rather have Strasburg than Pineda," David concedes. "But I can't change geography. The Padres got a hometown discount because they happen to play in San Diego. There's maybe a $3 million a year difference between Strasburg and Pineda, so the Padres got the better end of that. But maybe we end up using that extra money towards that one guy who pushes us over the top. You never know."
The A's wind up using some of that extra payroll to sign two of their own pitchers to long-term extensions. Jeurys Familia signs a $1 million a year deal that will keep in the Bay Area through 2022. Closer-in-waiting Mark Montgomery signs for a hair more through 2023. That's two relievers for a grand total of $11.4 million over a combined 11 years.
Meanwhile, shockwaves are sent throughout Major League Baseball when the Cleveland Indians sign closer Carlos Marmol to a 3-year deal that will pay him an average of $20.6 million a year. For a guy who will pitch around 60-75 innings. To further the point, the A's sign the guy who once held down Cleveland's closer role, Eric O'Flaherty, to a 3-year deal for $6.39 million... total. It's further illustration of just how ahead of the curve the A's are compared to the competition.