It goes without saying that when one of the better free agents of the offseason signs for $4 million guaranteed, there is something deeply broken in baseball economics. If the market values a win at something like $8 million, Neil Walker’s projected 2.6 WAR means that the Yankees acquired him for 19% of his market value, which should be alarming for more than a few reasons (putting aside the fact that it was for a single year).
Yet, the Yankees took advantage. I literally just wrote about how the Yankees passed on Mike Moustakas for a similar price (draft picks and international money notwithstanding), and I argued that because the market has caused prices to drop so precipitously, the teams that would benefit the most are the ones with the most money to throw around.