When you look back at the way free agency and player contracts worked as recently as a decade ago, it’s hard to wrap your head around what’s been going on these days in Major League Baseball.
We saw the free agent market take until Spring Training had begun before premier free agents like Bryce Harper and Manny Machado signed their latest deals, while there are still more than useful pieces waiting for a new contract. We also just witnessed arguably one of the greatest players of all-time in Mike Trout sign a record breaking contract, two years before he was set to hit free agency.