As of this writing Manny Machado and Bryce Harper, the crown jewels of this years free agency crop, remain unsigned. This has generated appropriately expected amounts of internet vitriol of the free agency system and how teams are operating in it. We expect teams to be fighting each other for the rare opportunity to employ star level players in their prime years. Often do teams have a chance to sign star level players, but rarely do they get to do so when they are still 26 years old.
I want to first note, before we get too far, that I disagree with baseball’s free agency requirements.