I'm glad it was a Caba and not Tait. An 18 year old catcher showing power in A-ball isn't that common and being able to throw-out 30% of runners in the new base-stealer friendly rules isn't bad especially for someone still 'learning' the position as he didn't catch until he was 16 and signed with the Phillies and still only has 68 games at catcher under his belt.
Try 17. Unless his documents were falsified, a .760 OPS in A ball (SSS caveat) is pretty exceptional.
Listed at 6'0 175 at 16, but bigger now and should fill out and add even more power.
This isn't Ortiz, who was physical mature at 16 and never developed.
Caba has upside, great bat control and plate discipline, potential to be an elite defensive SS, but strength is an issue and could keep him from being more than a defense first guy. Right now he struggles to hit it out of the IF, but if he develops gap power will be a top notch starting SS.
None, to my knowledge. And if I'm wrong, it's very clearly a fraction of what the Dodgers are doing.
As a player and human, taking deferred money is very stupid. You're sacrificing value from an economic standpoint. Money now is more valuable than money later. This notion isn't opinion.
But what is my opinion is this just a big positive feedback loop. Freeman signs for deferred money to save payroll. This allows them to defer money to Mookie. Then Ohtani gets his enormous contract deferred. Now it's a super team, and oh maybe I should sign there too for deferred money (remember, cheaper on the payroll now) so that I can win now and get paid later. And then this other guy thinks the same....and hey look, Teoscar Hernandez takes 1/3rd of money deferred....etc
The LA Klarnas
(Note: this post does not represent the sentiments of the author. Klarna sucks. Do not do it.)
Taking deferred money isn't necessarily stupid - you're talking ballplayers, deferred money is guaranteed income that can't be stolen by "advisors" or badly invested.
This is where financial theory and behavioral economics clash, what is optimal if you are a CFA may not be if you're at the mercy of people that you're not trained to vet. Lot's of horror stories of athletes getting ripped off.
