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December 3, 2012 12-13 Offseason Joe Janish

Giants Re-Sign Angel Pagan

Remember the super-athletic speed burner lacking baseball instincts who used to run around center field and the bases like a chicken with its head cut off? Well, according to various reports, Angel Pagan just agreed to a four-year, $40M deal with the Giants.

As much as I liked the triples machine that Pagan was in Flushing, his brain farts were absolutely maddening. In hindsight — i.e., after watching Andres Torres for a full season — maybe Pagan wasn’t all that bad after all. But gee whiz, $40M for four years? Yikes!

Apparently there is a heckuva lot of money to throw around in MLB — except for the Mets of course. Pagan gets 4/$40M, Russell Martin gets 2/$17M, Andy Pettitte gets $12M for one season … wow, talk about inflation. And we haven’t even seen any of the really big names get signed yet.

I guess that’s one less CF option for the Mets — though I doubt they ever were seriously in the mix.

What do you think – is Pagan worth the dough? Should the Mets have made a play for him? Answer in the comments.

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Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Follow Joe's baseball tips on Twitter at @onbaseball and at the On Baseball Google Plus page.
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  1. DaveSchneck December 3, 2012 at 11:28 pm
    Joe,
    Congrats to Angel but I think the Giants overpaid. I would not be happy if the Mets did this deal, even though they need a CF/leadoff hitter.
    • Joe Janish December 4, 2012 at 12:02 am
      Agreed. Do you think anyone else was offering Pagan as many as 3 years? This deal is stunning. But then, so was the Russell Martin contract.
      • Izzy December 4, 2012 at 11:04 am
        Definitely believe he got similar offers, You act like Pagan is 35 now, not in 4 years. His “horrid” 2011, was about as good as Torres’ star year in 10. Hope the lord Alderson doesn’t make any more great trades.
        • Joe Janish December 4, 2012 at 12:36 pm
          I never said Pagan was “horrid” – he’s just a space cadet. 4/$40M seems to me like a lot to give a fourth outfielder beginning the downside of his career. Reminds me a bit of the deal the Angels gave Gary Matthews Jr., except, I don’t think Pagan needed PEDs to have a career year.

          As for the trade, yeah it stunk, but look at it this way: at least we don’t have to cry about losing Pagan to a team that can actually pay a salary above the MLB minimum.

  2. Dan B December 4, 2012 at 7:33 am
    I can understand the money some of these FAs are getting because owners are flush with cash from the TV revenue. However, it is the years that are most shocking.
  3. Joe December 5, 2012 at 12:41 am
    No.
  4. Walnutz15 December 6, 2012 at 11:38 am
    Seeing it broken out, it appears better:

    $5MM of the $40MM is from his signing bonus.

    Actual Salaries:

    2013: $7MM,
    2014: $9MM,
    2015: $9MM
    2016: $10MM

    Overall, though – something just doesn’t pass the sniff test for me, doling out $40MM smackeroos for Pagan…..but this seems structured as “fairly” as it’s gonna get.

    You just hope he stays healthy if you’re a Giant fan. He’s a streaky player to begin with.

    Just have to remind yourself that guys like B.J. Upton are getting $15MM a season, and it starts to “normalize”.

    It will be very interesting to see how Pagan responds to a VERY big expectation-level placed upon him this year. Last year was a change of scenery, and still very streaky spurts. It’s who he is as a player.

    Understand he has periods of solid production, but will it become more consistent as he ages?

    I’d hope, for a $40MM commitment. He gets moved out of CF – for any reason, and he becomes a tremendously overpaid corner outfielder – for what he actually brings to the table.

    Good for him, though.