MLB rumors start swirling the moment Opening Day comes and goes. Slow starts are one thing. Certainly, they can be overcome. But painstakingly slows starts in a contract year are another thing altogether. It’s the kind crippling production than creeps into players’ subconscious thoughts and causees things like the shaving or growing of a beard, hiking the socks up high or changing an age long pre-game meal routine.
When’s there’s money on the line — millions of dollars — no knee jerk reaction or superstitious response to an elongated slump is too insignificant to not be addressed.
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Ian Desmond is a perfect example. In his 2015 contract season, after hitting .255/.313/.430 in 2014, he dropped off a fair bit. Desmond hit only .233/.290/.384 with a pitiful .674 OPS. He hit 19 long balls and drove in his lowest RBI total since 2011 of just 65.
Desmond subsequently rejected a $15.8MM qualifying offer from the Nats, holding out all the way until February 29, 2016. There was no multi-year security and the deal was not in the tens of millions of dollars. As we know, it was one-year and $8 million from the Texas Rangers. Not only was it nearly half of what Washington would have paid him, but he’s been forced to play mostly left field this year, despite having spent his first seven seasons in the league as a shortstop.
In effect, it was adapt and settle, or become irrelevant for Desmond. His troublesome April from 2015 .217/.287/.326 festered and bled over into his entire seasonal output. It cost him millions of dollars. Like Desmond, here are five players in 2016 not doing themselves any favors so far as a new contract (hopefully) awaits them this offseason.
Next: Number 5