The Milwaukee Brewers recently locked up their top prospect Jackson Chourio to an 8-year contract worth $80 million, despite not yet playing in the Major Leagues. Chourio is the latest prospect to sign a long term deal, as more and more savvy general managers get creative with roster construction.
The Brewers are reportedly nearing an 8-year deal with @MLBPipeline's #2 overall prospect Jackson Chourio.@Joelsherman1 dives into the reported deal and what it means for the Brew Crew's future. #MLBNHotStove pic.twitter.com/yC8NrOyaLH
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 30, 2023
Major League Baseball has a unique free agency, as teams are able to control a player for much longer than in other sports. However, players are able to become arbitration eligible after 3 years, while becoming an official free agent after 6 seasons. One way that teams have attempted to buy out a player’s arbitration years is to offer a long term contract at a young age. The Atlanta Braves have been the most aggressive in these kinds of deals.
Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos has inked a number of long term deals with young players, including Ronald Acuna (8 years, $100 million), Ozzie Albies (7 years, $35 million), Spencer Strider (6 years, $75 million), and Michael Harris (8 years, $72 million). Instead of potentially losing these players to free agency when their stock increases, Anthopoulos has opted to bank on their potential in their first couple of Major League seasons, saving money in the long term. The best example would be Ronald Acuna, who just won NL MVP. His $100 million contract looks like an absolute bargain now, as the Venezuelan could have waited a couple of years and signed for upwards of $300 million.
The Diamondbacks also made a savvy move, locking up future NL Rookie of the Year winner Corbin Carroll to an 8 year, $111 million deal before the 2023 season. After establishing himself as a superstar, the Diamondbacks appear to have saved themselves a lot of money in future years.
There have been a few misses as well, albeit on a smaller scale. The Phillies gave a 6 year, $24 million deal to Scott Kingery, who spent only a couple of underwhelming years with the team. Other deals that didn’t work out include Evan White (6 years, $24 million) and Jon Singleton (5 years $10 million).
Signing Chourio to an 8-year deal may be the boldest extension that we’ve seen in quite a while, since he’s only played 6 games above Double-A. The Brewers are definitely sold on his potential, as MLB’s #2 ranked prospect now seems poised to start the season in Milwaukee’s everyday lineup.
Is there a chance that Chourio struggles in the Major Leagues? Of course there is. However, for a team that doesn’t have a huge payroll, taking a gamble on their top prospect may end up being a wise one.