How good do you guys expect this to be at age 38?  Will he be done?  I don't really want to trade for him if I can't get a few good years out of him. 

www.whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx

Better question is he willing to resign, If so, he will have value but I'm real reluctant to offer $8M/yr to a player that age.  His ratings have held steady for the last 3 seasons so if you make the decision to trade for him front load the contract just in case.

8m for a P like him would be a steal. I and many of your fellow owners would have no problem paying him 8 mil and much more.  Whether the guy will still be any good in 3-4 seasons will very much depend on how much his teams are willing to put into training. 20mil of training budget will slow his regression greatly.  I see all too often in some of my worlds guys that will shell out 20mil for a high end FA and are doing 10mil or less in training. The player is on the fast track to mediocrity and the owner is wasting his money.

To second grissom, will he resign?

why front-load?  shouldn't it be backloaded with a mutual option?

I have 20 million training/medical. 

Posted by mattster24 on 8/18/2013 11:02:00 PM (view original):
why front-load?  shouldn't it be backloaded with a mutual option?

I have 20 million training/medical. 

Agree with backloading.

Pitchers tend to decline at 37 with 20m in training.   Lose a point or two overall.   A little more drastic at 38 but, if a guy is good, he'll still be good.

Hardball Dynasty – Fantasy Baseball Sim Games - Player Profile: Sam Atchley was just given a 2 year deal(backloaded mutual option) because he's still a very good pitcher.  

Front load so you're paying him the most while he's worth the most, if he declines dramatically or has something else come up that makes you wish you hadn't signed him he won't be sucking up as much of your payroll.  Just allows more flexibility since you're unable to predict what may happen.  

I have a similar situation with  Hardball Dynasty – Fantasy Baseball Sim Games - Player Profile: Michael Klaus .  He is a free agent this season and is going to test the market.  He may get a max deal at 38yrs old.

could be

Posted by AceCards on 8/21/2013 3:35:00 PM (view original):
I have a similar situation with  Hardball Dynasty – Fantasy Baseball Sim Games - Player Profile: Michael Klaus .  He is a free agent this season and is going to test the market.  He may get a max deal at 38yrs old.

Somebody will either regret that or move on after a couple of seasons.

Buyer beware. At the start of this season (just ended) I picked up a 38 yo SP. Missed out on a max contract (the guy stayed with his previous team) and I needed an SP1. The player I got was the second best Type A available, and I had a lot of $$$ to blow, so I overpaid hoping my 20/20 training/medical would prop him up. Front loaded a three yr deal because by age 40 I will have his replacements ready to play in the majors.

However, over the course of his age 38 season he's lost three points off his OA. And it's not his physical ratings, stamina or velocity, it's his splits and pitches. The guy is still performing as my SP1, but nowhere of course near worth what he costs, and by the time the contract is up I might be lucky if he's still a very expensive LRA.

http://www.whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=2838488

This dude was stellar for me last season at 37. He's lost velocity mainly but that's it. I would say big contract for these type of guys are okay if they have a high groundball and 2nd pitch to fall back on.