Success has its' price. In baseball, one aspect of that price is that other teams may try to swoop in and take your free agent players away.
The 2013 regular season isn't even over, and members of the playoff-bound Reds are already reportedly being eyed by other organizations.
Multiple reports suggest that the Reds will have competition for starting pitcher Bronson Arroyo and center fielder Shin-Soo Choo. Both players will hit the open market once their contracts expire at the end of this season.
Arroyo will be targeted by several teams, and will certainly see a substantial raise from his current 6.5 million dollar salary. High on the list of interested clubs, supposedly, are the New York Mets. Yesterday, Arroyo discussed the possibility of playing in New York City with the NY Post.
“It’s just picking and choosing, what’s the best place for me, trying to win another championship,” Arroyo told The Post before the Mets’ 4-2 victory over the Reds Tuesday night at Great American Ball Park. “Where you live, logistically in the world, where your spring training is, it’s all these different factors and I definitely think the Mets are a team that I would look at.”
Arroyo's resume makes him an attractive target for several teams. Multiple playoff appearances, a World Series ring in 2004, and several years with over 200 innings pitched should bring a high price for his services.
Meanwhile, price tags are already being placed on Shin-Soo Choo's services. His agent is Scott Boras, who has a long history of obtaining high-dollar contracts for his clients. MLB executives are already setting Choo's price tag at 90-100 dollars, but Boras told CBS Sports that he thinks the estimates are low.
"As a custom of the industry, prognostications by executives this time of year are dramatically divergent from the real market," Boras told Heyman. "I don't think anyone correctly predicted what Jayson Werth or Carl Crawford got."
If Choo's price tag is anywhere near the initial report of 90-100 million dollars, the Reds may decide that there are other ways to invest their money in salaries.
Choo was acquired last season in a trade that sent Drew Stubbs to Cleveland and Didi Gregorious to Arizona. If Choo does not re-sign with the Reds, it would leave them with only minor-leaguer Jason Donald left from a trade that gave starters to two other franchises.
