Rafael Devers‘ 11-year, $331 million extension with the Boston Red Sox, announced on Wednesday, was well-deserved.
It was also a sigh of relief for disappointed Red Sox fans.
However, it also represents proof that the Atlanta Braves model is highly successful.
The Braves’ front office believes that it’s better to negotiate long-term deals with a player while he doesn’t have as much leverage (i.e., he is still in pre-arbitration years or in early arbitration seasons) as opposed to when he is listening to offers from all 29 remaining teams, inflating his value.
It’s negotiation 101: when there is more demand for an asset, the price will increase.
As a result of these market dynamics and the Braves’ approach with their young stars, they got an incredible bargain on a player with similar traits and qualities as those of Devers.
Look at this chart:
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) January 5, 2023
While Devers has had the better career (albeit slightly), Riley has put up virtually identical numbers.
Yet one of them signed for $331 million over 11 years and the other did it for $212 million over 10.
Of course, Atlanta did it in August 2022, during the regular season, and the Red Sox did it in the offseason with the urge that if they didn’t extend Devers, they risked losing him in free agency as it happened with Xander Bogaerts.
Technically, Devers wasn’t a free agent yet, but Boston knew that if they didn’t secure his signature now, he was probably gone next winter.
That probably drove his price up, too.
There is the importance of working out extensions with time, and not as a desperation measure.
The Braves saved millions of dollars and locked up a bonafide star for the next 10 years.
NEXT: The Braves Ignore Free Agency In A Good Way