There was a time, not all that long ago, when the best team in baseball wouldn't commit anything more than a three-year contract to a starting pitcher. The Toronto Blue Jays lost some pitchers in the early 1990s, but they won back-to-back World Series.
Imagine trying to do that now.
This winter, even average big league starters have routinely signed three-year deals, and anyone slightly better than average qualifies for five years or more. The Blue Jays watched ace left-hander David Price walk away to the Boston Red Sox for seven years and $217 million, and it cost them $36 million over three years to sign J.