The Free Agent Hot Stove Ain’t Hot Right Now

We’re just about ten days into the free agent season, but very little has been cooking in terms of actual signed contracts. Oh, there have been plenty of trades, including deals involving Matt Holliday, Nick “Son of Steve” Swisher, and Coco Crisp, which have already altered the lineup configurations of several teams. But on the free agent front, only one player of significance has changed teams (the underrated Jeremy Affeldt, who left the Reds for the Land of the Giants) and only one has re-signed with his 2008 club (Ryan Dempster, back to the Cubs).

So what’s the holdup? In one sense, this is nothing new. In the early years of free agents, big name players tended to sign more quickly, often before Thanksgiving and almost always before Christmas. In more recent years, the premier free agents have bided their time, so that they can shop their wares on nationwide tours, lift their egos as they’re being courted, and ratchet up the bidding to a war-like state. And with agents like Scott Boras, who is never in a hurry to get his headline names signed and sealed, the process becomes even more protracted.

Yet, there may be other factors at work this year that could end up bringing the process to a turtle-like halt. With the national economy in a seemingly constant state of peril, few teams (other than the Yankees) want to start throwing out contract offers like frisbees, at the risk of being untimely and insensitive. Then there is the ever-growing presence of Sabermetrically inclined and financially aware general managers, who want to be as cost-efficient as possible in signing new players to lucrative new deals. At one time, baseball’s general manager class was filled with wheeler dealers like Whitey Herzog, Clyde King, Joe McIlvaine, and Syd Thrift, who thought of baseball first–and finances a distant second. (They let their owners worry about that.) Today’s GMs, for better or worse, are more aware of economics, and are more apt to be cautious when it comes to doling out huge offers at the start of the free agent season. Whereas GMs used to prefer moving quickly during the hot stove season, many now prefer to take their time in the hopes (often failed) of bringing the market down to a more restrained level.

Given these realities, the week of Thanksgiving could be another quiet one on the free agent front. The elite free agent in this market, CC “California Coast” Sabathia, seems to be in no rush to sign a contract for 2009 and beyond. (Only in baseball could a guy leave unanswered an offer for six years and $140 million dollars!) As a result, most other free agent starters may wait for him to set the bar. And then there is Mark Teixeira, the elite position player in this year’s crop. Tex says he wants to sign before Christmas, but that’s not a great concession considering that the holiday is still five weeks away.

So, with the give-and-take of free agency in a holding pattern and the big names not feeling pressed for time, don’t be surprised if the current waiting game waits just a little bit longer.