All winter long, I’ve been somewhat obsessed with tracking the inflation in the free agent market. The magic number, after the most recent round of signings, is 47%. That is, teams are willing to pay 47% more for the same talent than they were one winter ago. This number seems to have stabilized after being as high as 70% — and as “low” as 30% — during various other parts of the free agent cycle.
I’ve had to make a few modifications to the MORP formula, by the way, which I’ll describe in a full-length column sometime soon. But as a teaser, here are the three best and worst deals of the winter so far, according to MORP 2.0.
Best Deals
1. Adam Kennedy, Cardinals: $17.9 million savings.
2. Dave Roberts, Giants: $9.4 million savings.
3. Craig Counsell, Brewers: $7.3 million savings.
Worst Deals
1. Carlos Lee, Astros: $27.2 million overspend.
2. Gil Meche, Royals: $19.4 million overspend.
3. Adam Eaton, Phillies: $12.8 million overspend.
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