Back in 1993 the Los Angeles Dodgers had an infielder named Jody Reed. During that season the Dodgers offered the upcoming free agent a 3-year extension for a whopping (at the time), 7.8 million dollars. Reed took the gamble that his 2 HRs, 31 RBIs and .276 batting average could get him much more cash. After the season, the free agent signed with the Milwaukee Brewers for 1 year at $350,000 – a HUGE DROP.
Reed played 3 more seasons for chicken feed and was done at the age of 34. He rolled the dice by turning down the Dodgers deal – betting on himself. Suffice to say, he lost BIG.
This brings us to the San Diego Padres outfielder Juan Soto. While with the Washington Nationals, he rejected their offer of a $400 million mega contract. Like Reed, Soto also thought he could achieve higher figures. The upcoming free agent will be lucky to be offered $100 million by any team. Soto was provided the spotlight when the Nats traded him to the Padres. He failed to carry his new team to the 2022 Fall Classic. The Padres aren’t even at the .500 mark this year – and Soto is part of the reason.
The Yankees duo of pitcher Luis Severino and outfielder Aaron Hicks jumped at the Bombers’ extension offers, which guaranteed they’d be paid well. The numbers on the back of their respective baseball cards told another story, however. They both failed miserably to live up to their contract expectations.
Aaron Judge remains the king of taking a chance. He turned down a mega deal to bet on himself. A 62-homer season doubled what the Yanks offered him, and now Judge is set for life.
Jody Reed is currently the third base coach of the Miami Marlins. If the union was smart they would hire the poster boy of betting on yourself to educate upcoming free agents. Just saying yes when an offer is made is often the right move. New players need only to see what Reed is doing now; waving runners home instead of waving to people on the shore from his yacht.
At least Reed works near the beach.
