Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria played in six major league games and received a six-year, $17.5 million contract.
Orioles right fielder Nick Markakis has played two full seasons with the Orioles, hitting a combined .296 with 39 home runs and 174 RBIs before this year and establishing himself as a face of the franchise and a future superstar. In March, the Orioles renewed Markakis' contract for $455,000, which is industry protocol involving most players with fewer than three years' major league service.
But teams throughout the majors have been locking up young players at a dizzying pace, assuming the injury/ineffectiveness risk while saving money in the future. Since Jan. 1, 26 players who were at least two years away from free agency have signed multiyear extensions.
Markakis, hitting .260 with eight home runs and 22 RBIs this season, wasn't one of them.
It has been the signing of Longoria, 22, a highly touted prospect who is hitting .231 with four home runs and 17 RBIs this season, that has sparked debate throughout baseball.
One front-office executive, who asked for anonymity because of the issue's "sensitive nature," called the deal "absurd."
"To give a guy a contract like that who has never done it in the big leagues, that is what I call high-risk," the official said. "This game isn't that easy to predict."
But Cleveland Indians general manager Mark Shapiro, who has been tying up young players with extensions for years now, disagrees.
"That contract makes sense to me," Shapiro said. "It's very unlikely that he is not going to be a premium player."
Tampa Bay has options that would extend the deal through 2016 and ultimately would be worth $44.5 million. If Longoria, the third overall pick in the 2006 amateur draft, is a bust, the Rays would be on the hook for at least $17.5 million.
For his part, Markakis said he's not concerned about the specifics of other players' deals and he isn't comparing their situations to his.
"It is not my time and place to pay attention to it," Markakis said. "I have other obligations right now: to go out there and play every day. Help this team get better.
"I'd say the only reason it interests me is that I know these guys," he added. "I played with them in the past in the minor leagues. And you are happy for them. You're happy to see them be as successful as they are and get rewarded for it."
