700 MILLION! The highest Contract in North American sports just got signed in the MLB! This year, the top two free agency signings added up to over 1 billion dollars. Free agency is done every year during the offseason and is for a player whose contract is over. They have a choice to sign back with their original team, or they can sign with a completely different team. Free agency gives the fans excitement and enjoyment, seeing if their favorite player will betray their team for the money or stay loyal. This can also create a rivalry or friendship between the players. This will forever keep the game interesting and keep the fans on their toes.
The National league of Major league Baseball have made some big moves in the free agent market in late 2023 and early 2024 season. The Los Angeles Dodgers have spent over 1 billion dollars signing the top two players in the Major League’s Shohei Ohtani, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Two-way superstar, Shohei Ohtaini signed the biggest contract in North American sports history signing a 10 year 700 million dollar deal. Shohei has requested to be paid 2 million a year, in return for getting the full 700 million at the end of his contract. Yoshinobu Yamamoto signed a 12 year 325 million dollar contract with the Dodgers. The Chicago Cubs signed left handed Japanese all star Shota Imanaga for a 4 year 53 million dollar contract. Lastly in the national league, The San Francisco Giants have signed right handed reliever, Jordan Hicks to a 4 year 44 million contract.
The American League has also made many signings. The New York Yankees signed Marcus Stroman, a junk ball pitcher to a 2 year 37 million dollar contract. The Baltimore Orioles signed a closer in Craig Kimbrel to a 1 year 13 million dollar contract. The Boston Red Sox signed Lucas Giolito to a 2 year 38.5 million dollar contract who is a starting pitcher. The Toronto Blue Jays signed two fill-in players, Isiah-Kiner-Falefa and Kevin Kiermair. The Chicago White Sox signed many small players and the same goes for the Cleveland Guardians. The Detroit Tigers signed four pitchers. The Kansas City Royals signed three pitchers as well as a big power hitter named Hunter Renfrow. The Minnesota Twins signed relief pitcher, Josh Staumont. The Houston Astros signed catcher Victor Carintini to a 2 year deal. The Los Angeles Angels signed three relievers. Lastly, the Texas Rangers signed two relief pitchers.
With all of these major signings the fans and representatives are wondering if there should be a salary cap. A salary cap is a limit a team can spend, meaning that if there was a 500 million dollar salary cap the Dodgers would not be able to sign Shohei Ohtani. Tim, a yard supervisor at Rio Norte and a Valencia high school baseball coach was asked about this topic. “I think there should be a salary cap and it should be 400 million dollars per team. This benefits baseball because there won’t be teams like the Dodgers spending billions of dollars staking their team up”. Some people might say, having no salary cap in the Mlb leads to an unfair advantage other teams have instead of others. Others might say that no salary cap creates a more entertaining experience for the fans and the players.
Free agency is a key part in all of baseball. Since it first started in 1976, it has made baseball a more fun, interesting, and a more entertaining sport to watch. The debate about if there should be a salary cap is up to MLB executives. Fans are in for an exciting season thanks to free agency, and the players that participate in free agency. There are still free agents yet to be signed, so we are still in for an entertaining next couple of months. Free agency will hopefully stick around for many years to come and will continue to entertain the fans every year.