Philly Front Office

The Milwaukee Brewers come to Philadelphia today to start a 3 game series. The Brewers are known as a small market team and have been the leaders behind the scenes of most labor strife within baseball over player contracts. Their former owner was even baseball commissioner for years and made it his mission to allow small markets to be competitive and profitable without spending ALL the money. No judgement on that here in this article, but I wanted to point out the disparity in contract guarantees handed out by the two clubs. One is clearly diving into the deep end of the spending pool operating to regularly both keep and accumulate talent whereas the other only wants to dip a toe in here or there. The Brewers have let franchise talents like Prince Fielder and Corbin Burnes go find their fortunes elsewhere while the Phillies have basically never let one of their own go (except Jayson Werth who signed a ridiculous contract with Washington). Let’s compare the 5 largest guarantees in team history.

(Disclaimer: I know that contracts are signed for different reasons and at different ages. This is not a one guy got more than the other comparison. It is just to show the types of risk one team is comfortable with guaranteeing as opposed to the other.)

1. Christian Yelich / Bryce Harper – In 2020, Christian Yelich signed the biggest contract in Brewers history. 7/$188.5m lapped the rest of the Brewers field by almost double! That’s insane to think about strictly from an owner’s standpoint, going out on a limb to guarantee that much money. Across the aisle though, Harper signed for 13/$330 2 years earlier. That gap is just about the same percentage as Yelich has over Braun. The risk tolerance for the two teams could not be any more different. This nicely sets the stage for the rest of the list. Who would have thought that Harper’s contract would age so much better than that of Yelich who has been struggling with injuries the last few years.
2. Ryan Braun / Trea Turner – Braun and Turner have both filled up the backs of baseball cards. Turner has led the league in hitting while Braun has a home run title. Braun has an MVP, Turner has a World Series ring. One has a steroid stain and the other responds well to clapping. The big difference between the two though is that Braun never left Milwaukee whereas Turner has been traded twice in his career and reached free agency. After signed an early career extension, he reupped again with Milwaukee for 5/$105m in 2016. This was the largest guarantee in Brewers history at the time. When Turner signed with the Phillies for 11/$300m, it only ranked 2nd in team history. A nearly $200m difference in the two contracts is by far the biggest gap on this list. The Phillies have two $300m guarentees while the Brewers only have two $100m contracts. The Phillies have had 10 by my count.
3. Jackson Chourio / Aaron Nola – Chourio signed an 8/$82m contact before he ever took a major league at bat. This is the Brewers trying to get ahead of the price on a huge talent. This is the type of gamble a team like them has to take to ensure he stays with the team. The contract also comes with two additional $25m option years that could look like a steal if he hits his ceiling. It is a gamble though. If he doesn’t pan out then they simply gave out the 3rd largest guarantee in team history to an unproven kid. The Phillies did just the opposite. Nola signed a 7/$172m last season. He was considered a proven quantity as a long time Phillies vet, but he probably has bigger risk than Chourio. Does anyone feel good about his contract?
4. Lorenzo Cain / Cole Hamels – Two names from yesteryear come in at #4. Cain put up excellent numbers with KC before coming to Milwaukee as a free agent signing a 5/$80m contract in 2018. This was considered a major spend for a team like Milwaukee, their biggest free agent signing of all time (and still is). Cain had 1 great year before fizzling out. They haven’t gone that deep in the water since. Hamels was completely different. Cole Signed a 6/$144m extension in 2012. Despite Cliff Lee and Ryan Howard being on the team, this was the largest contract in Phillies history at the time. The team was just entering its downturn, but they still wouldn’t let Cole get away. They eventually traded him a few years later when all hope had been lost. He threw a no hitter in his last start as a Phillie.
5. Matt Garza / Zack Wheeler – Crazy comparison right? The Brewers signed Garza to a 4/$50m contract the same year as Cain. THIS IS STILL THE BIGGEST CONTRACT THEY HAVE EVER GIVEN TO A PITCHER!!! In contrast, the Zack Wheeler contract in question is his second $100+m contract with the Phillies. This one is for 3/$126m. Think about that. Wheeler is going to be getting $42m per season while Garza made just a little more than that in total over his 4 years as the biggest pitcher contract in team history. They were never going to resign Corbin Burnes.

Has this mattered? Well, both teams have a similar record over the last few years. The Phillies won a World Series in 2008, but that’s long in the rearview now. I know that I can tell my kids stories about Cole Hamels and Bryce Harper will likely go into the hall of fame as a Phillie. Do Brewers fans have that?