Here is a little bit about Johnny Lujan’s past in MLB-affiliated baseball.  Lujan was selected by the Texas Rangers in the 15th round of the 2004 First-Year Player Draft.  In 2007, he move to the Chicago White Sox organization after being traded for catcher Chris Stewart.  He spent the past three years with the White Sox, but the Sox never protected Lujan by putting him on their 40-man roster.  Lujan was eligible in this past year’s Rule 5 Draft, and the New York Mets snagged him in the Triple A phase.  Johnny will be reporting to Major League Spring Training this weekend, a little bit late, due to the birth of his first child as mentioned above.  Without a doubt, though, he is ready to play, and he now has an extra incentive to make it up to the big leagues.

If Johnny can limit his walks and maintain his control on the mound, he will definitely be called up by the end of the year.  From 2008 to 2009, Lujan was able to increase his K/9, decrease his BB/9, and decrease his WHIP to a respectable 1.35.  I was shocked when I read that in 58.2 innings pitched, Lujan only gave up 1 homerun.  We are excited to represent our second player in the Mets organization, and one who is close to the big stage.

This will be the first player that Dynasty represents in conjunction with an outside entity.  Steve Weinberg, who has represented Johnny Lujan in the past, will continue to serve as Johnny Lujan’s primary agent.

Jason Bay hit .267 with 36 home runs and 119 RBI in the 2009 season with the Boston Red Sox. On the back of this performance, Bay has earned himself a new contract with a new team.

This time, it’s a 4 year, $66 million contract with the New York Mets. This is not the final amount of the contract, however. A vesting option for a fifth year makes it possible for Bay to make $80 million over 5 years.

The Red Sox looked like they had no choice but to let Bay go since they spent about $100 million on Mike Cameron and John Lackey combined.

Argue with me all you’d like but a .267 batting average is not enough for me to give out that kind of money. Bay is a great player and will add a much needed spike to the Mets’ offense and defense, but it is tough to justify that price-tag.

As for the 2009 Meetings, the big event on the last day is always the Rule 5 Draft.  Quick bullet points to help explain the Rule 5 Draft:

• It is not the Amateur Draft, also known as the Rule 4 Draft, where high school, junior college, and juniors/seniors in 4-year universities are selected in the 50 round draft.
• To be eligible to be drafted a player must not be on the 40-man roster and must have been in the organization for 4 years if signed at 19-years-old or older, or 5 years if signed at 18-years-old or younger.
• Triple-A players selected must be added to that team’s 40-man roster and kept on that team’s 25-man roster (and active for at least 90 days) for at least one full season.  This is known as the Major League Phase.
• That player may be waived by the new team.  If he clears waivers, the team that lost him in the Rule 5 draft has the option to take him back.
• Double-A players (or lower level) may be selected to play on a team’s Triple-A squad and Single-A players (or lower level) may be selected to play on a team’s Double-A squad.

This year’s Rule 5 Draft was pitcher-heavy.  Of the 17 players selected in the Major League Phase, 14 were pitchers (8 RHPs and 6 LHPs).  15 of the 21 players taken in the Triple-A Phase were pitchers (9 RHPs and 6 LHPs).  All 4 players grabbed in the Double-A Phase were RHPs.  Teams need pitching!  They should take a look at my company’s arsenal of arms.  Speaking of which, one of the pitchers selected in the Triple-A Phase may soon be joining the Dynasty family.  If it happens, we will announce it here.

The New York Mets were extremely active during the Rule 5 Draft.  They took Carlos Monasterios from the Phillies organization in the Major League Phase and followed up that pick by taking three more pitchers and a first-baseman in the Triple-A Phase.  They also took an RHP in the Double-A Phase.  This tells me that they were not too happy with the state of their farm system.  Out of 42 players selected in the draft, the Mets grabbed 6 of them.  Before you read too much into that statement, make note that Monasterios has already been shipped to the Dodgers.

The Nationals were also very active; the team added 4 new players to its organization.  They got a couple of pitchers and a couple of outfielders (including the #1 overall pick of the Major League Phase – Jamie Hoffmann).  That said, the Nationals also lost 4 non-protected players to other teams in the draft.

Want to see how your team/players fared?  Here is the list of all players taken in the draft.

Basically, the Mets re-structured Blanco’s deal so that he would be able to earn most of that money plus some added cash, all in the form of bonuses.

Blanco’s base salary dropped to $750,000, but he is able to earn $775,000 in bonuses. When all is said and done, Blanco can earn $1,525,000 this upcoming season (if he stays healthy).

I think this was a solid move for the Mets. Blanco can earn an additional $75k with this new deal, but I think that insurance premium is well worth it.

Since free agency began in the 1970’s, the trend for rising contracts has skyrocketed.  In addition, there has been a continuous push towards defining sports as big business.  Just think about the deals we’ve witnessed in this past year.  C.C. Sabathia signed a 7-year, $161 million contract with the New York Yankees, who also opened their new $1.5 billion stadium in the Bronx.  This latter fact wouldn’t be as disheartening, until you remember that the New York taxpayers are picking up the tab during one of the worst recessions in American history.  A year ago we saw the Dolphins give their #1 draft pick Jake Long a 5-year, $57.75 million contract.  A player who had never stepped foot on a pro field became the highest paid offensive linemen in the NFL.  No need for more examples of the huge deals that have already been made amidst this economic crisis.

So where does this bring us?  What’s the state of affairs now?  Both the New York Yankees and the New York Mets overestimated their ability to sell high-priced seats in the newly christened Yankee Stadium and Citi Field.  Keep in mind that some of the seats in the New Yankee Stadium exceed $2,500, so who’s surprised that they aren’t filled for every game?  Both owners have now decided that they will review their ticket prices and possibly make changes.  Likewise, ticket sales are down in many places, and many teams are coming up with new, creative ways to sell seats.  The Detroit Pistons are clearly feeling the wrath of the economy, as they struggled to sell tickets for Friday night’s playoff game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.  Tickets were found on Stubhub for as low as $11, and the team’s front office even sent e-mails to Cavs season ticket holders offering tickets to those who want to make the 4 hour drive.  But the business of sports is not in a complete decline; in fact, it’s becoming increasingly impossible to make a general statement about the effect of this economic downturn on the industry.  Don Garber, MLS commissioner, said that the league’s law firm had canceled its season tickets at Yankee Stadium.  However, the large sports law firm Proskaeur Rose actually upgraded from a 20-game package to a full season ticket package in the new stadium.  Furthermore, while the housing construction industry may be in utter disarray, the Florida Marlins plan for a new $600 million stadium was just approved.

And what about the players that make these games possible?  The week leading up to this past weekend’s NFL draft hasn’t shown us that spending is down.  The Detroit Lions and the agents for Georgia QB Matthew Stafford were in talks all week to reach a deal before the draft.  Stafford was inked to a 6-year $72 million ($47 million guaranteed) which greatly exceeds Jake Long’s contract.  So the money may be getting out of hand, especially considering we are in an economic crisis.  As a future agent, these probably aren’t the words I should be saying, but it’s probably true.  But where do we place the blame?  Jeff MacGregor, senior writer for ESPN.com and ESPN the Magazine, infers that the fans are just as, if not more, responsible than those within the industry:

“Most of the men and women I’ve met over the years in professional sports would gladly go on playing their games for much less than they’re being paid now…Rather it is the market, reflecting the madness of the individuals who constitute it, that determines the relative value of that calling, whether to be a linebacker or golfer or shortstop. The athlete (and the agent and the owner) just operate within the market we allow them to create.”

At least we know that many players will take less money if the economy forces teams to do so, but probably not without a fight.  We have seen previous examples of extremely unselfish players who opted for lower contracts, despite the current trend for ever-increasing contracts.  Before the 2007 NBA season, Tim Duncan took less money so that the Spurs could create a winning team.  So maybe there’s some hope.  At least we can sleep knowing that not all athletes are only in it for the money.  For most great athletes, it’s about the game…they’ve already made enough money.  As fans we should feel lucky that it hasn’t reached the point where the money is the only factor for most players.  Imagine if the USA basketball team had to revert to using college players for the next Olympics competition.  As for sports in general, this industry may be feeling the effects of the economic crisis, but you can count on it returning to its normal form when the economy rebounds.  The Yankees will continue spending, the Marlins will still probably offer two-fer ticket deals in their new stadium, and most fans will watch ESPN waiting to hear about that next big contract with a mixed response of amazement, excitement, and disgust.  Hopefully I will be negotiating it.

For Immediate Release

Dynasty Baseball Division Continues to Grow, With The Addition Of Mets Prospect

Gainesville, FL - [February 4, 2009], Dynasty Athlete Representation, LLC is pleased to announce that its Baseball Division now has eight promising clients, with the addition of Zach Rosenbaum. Rosenbaum was selected by the New York Mets in 2008, and completed his first season as a professional with the Kingston Mets.

Zach, a right handed pitcher, has a tremendous amount of potential that features a mid 90’s fastball to go along with his 6′5″, 210 lb frame. He is coming off a stellar collegiate career at UNC-Charlotte, where he compiled a 16-5 record and a 3.93 ERA in his time with the 49ers. This included a 9-1 season, with a 3.33 ERA in his sophomore campaign.

Rosenbaum went to North Mecklenberg High School, in the Charlotte area, and went 11-0 with 78 strikouts in 61 innings in 2004.  Zach’s parents are Lisa and DeWayne Rosenbaum.

Everyone at Dynasty is pleased that Zach has become a part of the family.

Contact:
Darren Heitner, CEO
Dynasty Athlete Representation, LLC
954-558-6999
dheitner@dynastyreps.com

###

Because of their newest acquisition, the Mets will cease talks with closers Brian Fuentes and Trevor Hoffman.

The K-Rod deal is worth $3 million more than the Angels’ offer but $6 million less than Billy Wagner’s deal with New York.

Source: ESPN.com

“Carlos is a key part of our plans for 2009, and we wanted to let him know as quickly as allowed that we wanted him back,” Mets general manager Omar Minaya said in a statement.

“Yesterday — the day following the conclusion of the World Series — was the first day that we could pick up the option per the contract. It was our full intent to promptly close our deal with Carlos, and that’s what we did.”

 If the Mets would have declined the option, they would have owed Delgado $4-million as a buyout.

The 855 players on Opening-Day rosters and the DL averaged $3.15 million, up 7.1 percent from last year’s starting average of $2.94 million.

The median salary is $1 million, exemplifying the fact that the superstars are skewing the average salary mark to the high $3 million figure. Most major league players are making much less than $1 million per year. Still, 434 players will make more than $1 million this year, which is a new record number.

Here is a quick list of the teams with the highest payrolls, bumping up those average player salaries:

1. New York Yankees (AL East) – $209.1 million
2. Detroit Tigers (AL Central) – $138.7 million
3. New York Mets (NL East) – $138.3 million
4. Boston Red Sox (AL East) – $133.4 million
5. Chicago White Sox (AL Central) – $121.2 million
6. Los Angeles Angels (AL West) – $119.2 million
7. Chicago Cubs (NL Central) – $118.6 million
8. Los Angeles Dodgers (NL West) – $118.5 million
9. Seattle Mariners (AL West) – $118 million
10. Atlanta Braves (NL East) – $102.4 million

Six out of the top ten payrolls come from the AL. Four out of the top five are AL teams. Represent a player who is bound to turn into a superstar warranting top dollar figures from his team? May want to try to get him onto one of the top five teams listed above. One team to stay away from would be the Florida Marlins, with a total payroll of $21.8 million. Then again, they beat the #3 payroll, New York Mets, last night.