For Sammy Sosa, the carrot is gone. But along with it went the uncertainty.
This figures to be a pleasant tradeoff for the Cubs. They can enjoy the slugging of Sosa without the cloud that hung over the franchise for much of last season.
Sosa promises that the security of a four-year contract extension is not going to extinguish the fire that burns within him. "I am very, very happy," he said after signing a $72-million deal with the Cubs last week. "It's not for the money. No matter what I'm paid wouldn't affect how I do my job. The money is not an issue."
|  | | Barry Bonds, who joined elite company with home run No. 500, is in the final year of his contract. |
Uh, Sammy. That sounds nice, but money is always an issue, especially in modern baseball. With no salary cap to hold things in some kind of predetermined order, the twin engines of arbitration and free agency are always at work.
Consider Alex Rodriguez. At this time a year ago, A-Rod was deflecting the Seattle Mariners' efforts to sign him to a contract extension. He sniffed the free market and there was no way he wasn't going to get his taste.
Few players have ever handled a walk year as well as did Rodriguez. He hit .316 with 41 homers to lead the Mariners into the playoffs, then raised his game on the October stage. The result was a 10-year, $252 million contract. Imagine what Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks would have paid him had he played in the World Series.
Mike Hampton did. He started the season terribly, feeling the pressure of both a move to New York and his rejection of the Mets' contract offer, but did not crumble. Instead he found himself and helped Bobby Valentine's team win a wild-card spot in the playoffs. The end result was an eight-year, $121-million deal with the Colorado Rockies.
Manny Ramirez and Mike Mussina also cashed in with big deals as free agents. But their seasons produced the kind of emotional scars that often come with free-agent salary drives. Then there was Juan Gonzalez, the poster child for poor decision-making.
First, Gonzalez rejected overtures from the Texas Rangers on a long-term deal. Then, after being traded to Detroit, he turned down a $144-million offer from the Tigers. He finished off his bonehead trifecta by using a no-trade clause to block a July trade to the Yankees.
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2001 free agents
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Players who will be free agents at the end of the 2001 season:
Pitchers
Terry Adams, *Pedro Astacio, James Baldwin, Rod Beck, Brian Bohanon, *Ricky Bones, *Doug Brocail, *Dave Burba, Jason Christiansen, Dennis Cook, Francisco Cordova, Tim Crabtree, *Omar Daal, *Alan Embree, Alex Fernandez, Bryce Florie, *Tom Glavine, *Buddy Groom, *Juan Guzman, Joey Hamilton, Pete Harnisch, Gil Heredia, *Roberto Hernandez, Sterling Hitchcock, Jason Isringhausen, Mike James, John Johnstone, Todd Jones, Steve Karsay, Curtis Leskanic, Esteban Loaiza, Albie Lopez, *Mike Magnante, Pat Mahomes, Josias Manzanillo, T.J. Mathews, Chuck McElroy, Jose Mercedes, Dan Miceli, Alan Mills, Mike Morgan, *Jamie Moyer, Omar Olivares, *Gregg Olson, *Antonio Osuna, Lance Painter, Chan Ho Park, *Troy Percival, Carlos Perez, Hipolito Pichardo, Jay Powell, Paul Quantrill, Steve Reed, *Mike Remlinger, Frank Rodriguez, Rich Rodriguez, *Bret Saberhagen, Jason Schmidt, Aaron Sele, *Jeff Shaw, Paul Shuey, Bill Simas, Heathcliff Slocumb, John Smoltz, *Russ Springer, Greg Swindell, *Kevin Tapani, Todd Van Poppel, Ron Villone, Allen Watson, David Weathers, Bob Wells, *David Wells, Bob Wickman, *Woody Williams, Mike Williams.
Catchers
*Brad Ausmus, Tony Eusebio, Jorge Fabregas, Carlos Hernandez, Javy Lopez, Mike Matheny, *Brent Mayne, *Greg Myers, *Joe Oliver, Keith Osik, Eduardo Perez, Todd Pratt, Kelly Stinnett, Edddie Taubensee, Greg Zaun.
First basemen
*Jeff Conine, Ron Coomer, Jason Giambi, *Dave Hansen, John Jaha, Tino Martinez, Edgar Martinez, *Fred McGriff, *Jim Thome.
Second basemen
*Jeff Kent, *Mike Lansing, Keith Lockhart, Mark McLemore, Terry Shumpert, *Randy Velarde, Quilvio Veras, Jose Vizcaino, Eric Young.
Third basemen
David Bell, Scott Brosius, Vinny Castilla, Russ Davis, Tyler Houston, Kevin Jordan, Mike Mordecai, Craig Paquette, Cal Ripken, Bill Spiers.
Shortstops
Rich Aurilia, Chris Gomez, Ricky Gutierrez, Rey Sanchez.
Outfielders
Moises Alou, Danny Bautista, Dante Bichette, Barry Bonds, Damon Buford, Roger Cedeno, Chad Curtis, Johnny Damon, Delino DeShields, Rob Ducey, Rusty Greer, Darryl Hamilton, Bobby Higginson, Glenallen Hill, Butch Huskey, Stan Javier, Darren Lewis, Kenny Lofton, Al Martin, *Raul Mondesi, *Troy O'Leary, Paul O'Neill, F.P. Santangelo, Matt Stairs, *B.J. Surhoff, Michael Tucker, *Devon White, *Rondell White, *Gerald Williams.
* Team option for the 2002 season
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In a year that should have been a personal triumph, the two-time MVP suffered through the worst season of his career. He batted .289 with 22 homers in 115 games. Now he's in Cleveland, with what amounts to a one-year contract. He hopes he can re-establish himself and collect that nine-figure contract next winter. But don't bet on it.
Recent history shows that players generally produce better when they know where they're going to be the next season. Like anyone else, they like some structure in their lives.
"The best players don't need to play for their contracts to put their best years together," said one National League executive. "They put pressure on themselves every year anyway. They always expect a lot from themselves. But sometimes things get weird when a guy gets to his walk year. There's too much of a chance for the relationship to get strained. The Mariners and A-Rod did it right last year. Kevin Brown, too. He had a great season with San Diego in his walk year. But those guys are the exception, not the rule."
When the St. Louis Cardinals traded for free agent-in-waiting Jim Edmonds last spring, they almost immediately began contract negotiations. He accepted a six-year deal in May and went on to a near-MVP performance.
It's not even the size of the contract that matters. Like Boston's Nomar Garciaparra before him, Oakland's Miguel Tejada emerged as one of the American League's top shortstops after signing a long-term deal at the end of his first full season in the big leagues. Peace of mind is a wonderful thing.
Sosa has it going for him this year. So does Derek Jeter, Chipper Jones, Jeff Bagwell, Carlos Delgado, Mariano Rivera, Tim Salmon, Preston Wilson and Richard Hidalgo, among others who have signed long-term deals in recent months. Jason Giambi, the reigning MVP in the AL, is close to joining that group, with a no-trade clause the last obstacle to a deal.
Others need one more big season to seal their monster deals. Among them:
Johnny Damon, A's: He's become baseball's best leadoff man, but Kansas City couldn't afford to keep him. It's doubtful Oakland can. But he'll be a part of the major leagues' best collection of young hitters and should get a chance to show his skills in October.
Chan Ho Park, Dodgers: Los Angeles already has a $55-million rotation, but will have to up the ante to keep Park if he can approach last year's 18-10 performance. Dodgers GM Kevin Malone would love to sign him to an extension before he reaches free agency, but that doesn't seem likely.
Barry Bonds, Giants: The three-time MVP will be 37 at the end of the season, which worries his employers. But Bonds should have another big contract in him. He hit a career-high 49 homers last year and has a stroke that works well at Pac Bell Park. This byplay between Bonds and the Giants' front office could get ugly along the way this year.
Andruw Jones, Braves: He's two years away from free agency, but GM John Schuerholz would be wise to get his signature on a long-term deal as soon as possible. Jones won't turn 24 for another month, but will earn $8.2 million this year after beating the club in arbitration. He's as close to an A-Rod clone as you can find. He's young, he hits home runs, steals bases and is a Gold Glove fielder. Cha-ching.
Ivan Rodriguez, Rangers: If A-Rod is worth $252 million, what about Pudge? He is signed through 2002, but won't be happy until then making relative chump change ($8 million in '01 and $9 million in '02). I-Rod has been playing it straight this spring, saying he is happy to play alongside Alex Rodriguez, but you wonder when the money-related funk sets in. Hicks says he can afford both Rodriguezes long term, but we've got to see that to believe it.
James Baldwin, White Sox: This guy is a trend-setter. His $5.95 million contract is the biggest ever for a pitcher with a career earned run average above 5.00. Baldwin will open the season on the disabled list, but if he bounces back from shoulder surgery to pitch as well as he did in the first half of last season (11-4, 4.28) the White Sox will wish they had locked him up.
Jeff Kent, Giants: Like Ivan Rodriguez, Kent is signed through 2002. He figures to be rewarded next winter if he puts together another solid season. The presence of Kent makes it easier for San Francisco to let Bonds walk, but the Giants can't lose Bonds and Kent in back-to-back years.
Roberto Hernandez, Royals: A sleeper, Hernandez heads into his walk year in the right place. Kansas City has a young nucleus that should have a winning season this year. If Hernandez slams the door, 85-90 wins is not out of the question. That would make the easy-going closer hot property next winter.
Magglio Ordonez, White Sox: Here's one guy the Sox should have signed to a long-term contract a year ago. The two-time All-Star actually had a split contract a year ago, but earned a bump from $425,000 to $3.7 million in his first year of arbitration. He'll move rapidly toward a $10 million deal if he continues the annual escalation of his stats -- from 65 RBI in 1998 to 117 in '99 and 126 in '00.
Kerry Wood, Cubs: After logging two years in service time working his way back from Tommy John surgery, Wood says it's time for him to deliver on the promise of 1998, when he was the NL Rookie of the Year. He's been on year-to-year contracts throughout his career. He'll get rich if he can again become one of baseball's most dominating starters.
Phil Rogers is the national baseball writer for the Chicago Tribune, which has a web site at www.chicagosports.com.
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