Melancon has opt out

[Rog]

I didn't see it until just now, but Mark Melancon can opt out of his new Giants contract after two years.  He, Zack Britton and Andrew Miller would be the top free agent relievers if all became free agents then.

As we know, Johnny Cueto can opt out after this season and just might do so if he has another good season.  Free agent salaries continue to rise.  The potential supply gets better a year from now though, and gets much better in two years.  The more top free agents who come out, obviously, the better the chance that one or both of the the two pitchers would remain with the Giants.

As far as I know, both options are one way in the player's favor.

[Islandboagie]

It depends how you look at it.

If the player is a total bust, then it hurts the team no matter what.

But if the player is good and then opts out, the team still got high production for a short time and was able to escape being stuck with that player during the declining years. In that case I think it works fairly well for both sides. I would say it even benefits the ballclub, because they would be unable to sign that player without adding on the guaranteed years after the opt out clause.

I believe in the Melancon deal the Giants have an edge.

First off, Melancon is a reliever, so how many good years does he really have left? I think the most likely scenario is he'll be very good for a few years then slowly decline. Before the decline wouldn't it be better to set him loose and pickup someone younger? Or perhaps Law, Strickland or someone else in our system has developed into someone who could possibly close.

[rxmeister]

Same thing I was thinking Boagie. Two years gives the Giants a chance to find a new closer as well among the ranks. I have a feeling he'll stay though, because I don't think the closer market will get any richer than it is now. I saw Dusty Baker whining about losing Melancon yesterday, which made me feel even better about the deal. An elite closer makes the manager's job easy. Just bring him in and sit back. You don't have to worry about mix and match. And if he does blow the game, there's no criticism of the manager, it's on the player.

[Rog]

I believe in the Melancon deal the Giants have an edge.


Rog -- When I said that the options of both Cueto and Melancon are one way in the player's favor, I meant that only the player had the option. Once in a while options are two-way options, such I believe as the one Dexter Fowler just opted out of with the Cubs. Either Dexter or the Cubs could buy their way out of the contract after one season. Fowler signed the contract because no team would give him the long-term pact he desired. Yes, the Giants could have signed Dexter to a shorter contract than they signed Denard Span to, although I don't believe there was any way they could know that at the time.

Another decision which could have changed the 2016 season and postseason.

As for the Melanon and Cueto opt-outs working in the Giants' favor, that is a slim possibility. Usually if a player leaves because he believes he can sign a better contract, the team he is leaving won't benefit from that. Usually if the player has played that well and has that promising a future, his team could simply trade him. If the player plays poorly, the team may WANT to trade him but not be able to do so because the contract would then be viewed as onerous.

The Giants permitted the opt-out clauses not because they wanted to, but because signing the player without doing so would have resulted in an even larger contract. Let's say Johnny Cueto has another excellent season. Maybe the Giants would be happy to save the money being paid to him because say Tyer Beede is deemed ready to (somewhat) take Johnny's place. But wouldn't it be great if they could trade Johnny for a top prospect rather than simply losing him?

By the way, I think Cueto may well opt out, since I suspect he'll have another good year and be able to make more money. Melancon is older and might not be viewed as so much of a bargain. In fact, I would have prefered the Giants sign the more expensive Kenley Jansen because he is three years younger than Mark.

Remember too that the Giants don't have to lose those players if they are planning to opt out. They could extend or enrichen the contracts they signed with the players.

A team wants to sign players without opt outs or no-trade contracts. The opt-out and no-trade or limited-trade clauses could conceivably work to the team's favor (especially if opt-out is combined with no-trade), but teams would like to make their signings without either clause. Teams naturally favor options that THEY, not the player, can exercise.

Read more: sfgiantsmessageboard.proboards.com/thread/3629/melancon-opt-out#ixzz4SGgXv5Ak

[rxmeister]

Not sure how much more money Cueto can make by opting out, because he's not a kid and that contract is pretty rich. I think he'll try to entice the Giants into paying him slightly more, and if they're not willing to he'll pass on the opt out. The deal has four more years after this one, so finding teams willing to give him five or six years at his age will be close to impossible.

[Rog]

Good point, Mark. Probably right on all points.

If Johnny has a really good year though, teams might be willing to give him an extra year or more money. It could depend too on how Zack Greinke fares this season. I say the latter because Johnny will be a few months younger than Zack was when Zack signed for five years.

Jon Lester might have some impact too, since Johnny will be one year older than Jon was when Jon signed a SIX-YEAR contract. David Price too, since Johnny will be two years older than David was when he signed a SEVEN-YEAR pact. Rich Hill just signed a three-year contact with the Dodgers AT THE AGE OF 36!

Again, you're probably right on all points. I just wanted to point out that if Johnny becomes viewed similarly to Greinke, Price and Lester, he might be able to get either an extra year or more money per season. Maybe we should be rooting for the Giants to win it all WITHOUT Johnny's having a great 2017 season!