Mailbag: All Vazquez, all the time
11/14/2005
So Javier Vazquez comes to Phoenix and has a mediocre year and now he wants to leave? Is it for sure that he's not coming back next year?-- Paul W., Phoenix
Paul, while it may be likely that Vazquez will not return, it is not a sure thing. He has the right to request a trade since he was traded in the middle of a multiyear contract. But that doesn't mean it's going to happen. If the Diamondbacks don't find a trade to their liking, they could simply hang onto Vazquez until March 15, when he can elect to become a free agent or rescind his request.
This doesn't seem fair that a player can demand to be traded. Who negotiated this? This is a no-lose situation for him, and the Diamondbacks are the ones that lose their No. 1 starter. What do you think?-- Jacob, Glendale, Ariz.
The right of a player to request a trade when dealt in the middle of a long-term contract is something that is part of the Basic Agreement between the owners and players. As for it being a no-lose situation for Vazquez, I'm not so sure about that.
While he can request a trade, he doesn't have the right to refuse one. He can give the Diamondbacks a list of up to six teams to which he doesn't want to be traded. Let's assume he picks all the teams on the West Coast (Seattle, Oakland, San Francisco, Angels, Dodgers and San Diego). That means there are several teams to which he could be traded that do not play in pitcher-friendly ballparks (the Rockies and Rangers come to mind) or that he could be traded to a team that has really struggled in the standings, like, say, the Royals.
I'm not saying any of those are likely destinations, but they are possible. And keep in mind the team that trades for him has him under contract for the next two seasons and possibly the season after that as that team would have the right to offer him salary arbitration for the one year after his deal expires. That means he could have to spend the next three years in a place that might be less attractive than Arizona. That's a gamble on his part.
I'm worried that we are going to get halfway through Spring Training and then lose our best pitcher if Vazquez becomes a free agent on March 15. Can we get another pitcher at that point of the season?-- Ken R., Tucson, Ariz.
Ken, I don't think that's going to happen. My guess is that this situation gets resolved well before the March 15 deadline. First, with the limited amount of quality free-agent starting pitching this offseason, I think there will be a strong market for Vazquez. His $24 million in salary over the next two years will probably not be that far out of line given some of last year's signings and this year's thin class. Second, I'd be very surprised if he elected free agency. He'd be forfeiting that guaranteed $24 million in salary and teams don't usually have a lot of money sitting around in their budgets on March 15.
Source: http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/
So Javier Vazquez comes to Phoenix and has a mediocre year and now he wants to leave? Is it for sure that he's not coming back next year?-- Paul W., Phoenix
Paul, while it may be likely that Vazquez will not return, it is not a sure thing. He has the right to request a trade since he was traded in the middle of a multiyear contract. But that doesn't mean it's going to happen. If the Diamondbacks don't find a trade to their liking, they could simply hang onto Vazquez until March 15, when he can elect to become a free agent or rescind his request.
This doesn't seem fair that a player can demand to be traded. Who negotiated this? This is a no-lose situation for him, and the Diamondbacks are the ones that lose their No. 1 starter. What do you think?-- Jacob, Glendale, Ariz.
The right of a player to request a trade when dealt in the middle of a long-term contract is something that is part of the Basic Agreement between the owners and players. As for it being a no-lose situation for Vazquez, I'm not so sure about that.
While he can request a trade, he doesn't have the right to refuse one. He can give the Diamondbacks a list of up to six teams to which he doesn't want to be traded. Let's assume he picks all the teams on the West Coast (Seattle, Oakland, San Francisco, Angels, Dodgers and San Diego). That means there are several teams to which he could be traded that do not play in pitcher-friendly ballparks (the Rockies and Rangers come to mind) or that he could be traded to a team that has really struggled in the standings, like, say, the Royals.
I'm not saying any of those are likely destinations, but they are possible. And keep in mind the team that trades for him has him under contract for the next two seasons and possibly the season after that as that team would have the right to offer him salary arbitration for the one year after his deal expires. That means he could have to spend the next three years in a place that might be less attractive than Arizona. That's a gamble on his part.
I'm worried that we are going to get halfway through Spring Training and then lose our best pitcher if Vazquez becomes a free agent on March 15. Can we get another pitcher at that point of the season?-- Ken R., Tucson, Ariz.
Ken, I don't think that's going to happen. My guess is that this situation gets resolved well before the March 15 deadline. First, with the limited amount of quality free-agent starting pitching this offseason, I think there will be a strong market for Vazquez. His $24 million in salary over the next two years will probably not be that far out of line given some of last year's signings and this year's thin class. Second, I'd be very surprised if he elected free agency. He'd be forfeiting that guaranteed $24 million in salary and teams don't usually have a lot of money sitting around in their budgets on March 15.
Source: http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/
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