Buying out a player’s arbitration years and then some has become a trend in MLB. Seeing how the relationship between the New York Mets and Matt Harvey ended, teams may want to reconsider this risk.
The Mets never handed Harvey an early extension he was willing to sign, but you can bet they wanted to. Early on in his career, it looked like the wise move.
Thankfully, Harvey had Scott Boras whispering in his ear. If there aren’t enough zeroes at the end, Boras will make his clients wait.
Earlier this year, the Philadelphia Phillies gave prospect Scott Kingery a large extension before he played a single game for the big league club.