Monday, April 8, 2013

Could the Atlanta Braves extend Jason Heyward

By B. Crawford


When Jason Heyward approached the 2010 Atlanta Braves season in 2010 he was only 19 years old. The expected results were very high for him right from the start and he has proven to be successful at the highest level of professional baseball. He opened up with a fantastic rookie season followed by an injury filled second season. He bounced back last year to show that his sophomore season was not what is to be expected by the fans in Atlanta as well as the front office. His future is very bright and fans have every right to be excited about his future.

Jason Heyward has excelled at every level where he has performed. With his athletic skill there is no limit to what he can attain at the big league level. He does everything above average and some things at a superstar level. It is very likely that we will see him exceed thirty homeruns this season, assuming he stays healthy and is able to play upwards of 150 games.

When the front office looks at his talent there is little chance that they will walk away from this talent and not sign him to a long term deal. This is becoming a pattern in Major League Baseball to sign your young talent, locking them up for upwards of a decade and buying out their premier years of free agency. The Atlanta Braves have done this in the past with players like Brian McCann but it doesn't seem to be a standard routine within the front office. However, with the business economics of the game going through the roof; it is likely that they will join that trend.

It is fiscally responsible to buy out the prime playing years of a player in an attempt to keep the long term contracts in check. It is very similar to airlines that bid on long term fuel contract based on present day prices, so when the fuel prices go through the roof in five years it feels as though they are getting a good deal. Same idea, really it boils down to very simple economics.

Frank Wren and the Atlanta Braves have shown to very careful with their money. They are forced to function in that manner because they are working on a very modest budget that doesn't change much from year to year. With the new television revenues taking effect in 2014, all teams will see a tremendous bump in the money they see from Major League Baseball. For the Braves, that should give them about 20 million in additional revenues that they don't currently have. As much as the fans may desire, that doesn't mean all of that money will go to player salaries; in fact, you will probably only see a small fraction go to additional payroll. However, I do expect that the 2014 player payroll will rise to about $100 million.

That extra payroll will allow them to focus on keeping players that are crucial for the future of the franchise. Jason Heyward is definitely going to prove to be one of those players so it only makes sense that a long term extension is in his not too distant future. I expect a great season from him because he certainly has to be aware that there is a lot of money on the line based on his results. The Atlanta Braves will take care of their star players, but only if it is a good financial commitment for the franchise.




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