I can resign this guy right now or wait until next season to see if his demands are lower...  

He currently wants 5yr $7.25M per... I tried to lessen the number of years to 2-3 and he wouldnt sign.. 


Milner

Should I just give him the 5years that he's asking for or wait?? He has a pretty high PAT rating which means he will probably be willing to sign in the preseason?

It's unlikely that he'll decline in the off-season as he's a 32 y/o pitcher and you have 20m in training.    If you want to keep him, I wouldn't screw around with a patience ratings wheel of fortune game.  Sign him when the playoffs are well under way.

What would it cost to replace him with a similar free agent? What will he make if he hits the open market? It's your call, but $7.25 looks alright to me, unless you have a hot prospect waiting to take his spot.

All things equal, this isn't a guy I resign at that price.  You can probably can find someone similar to that at a lesser commitment.  That said, all worlds are different - maybe that's an average contract for a pitcher like that.

He's a mid-rotation pitcher, both on performance and ratings.   Therefore, my guess is that you could replace him for about the same, although it will vary world to world and season to season.  I'd roll the dice, not sign him yet, and see if he'll re-sign for fewer seasons after rollover, although I'd expect the same dollar demand.  If he refuses to re-sign it probably won't be a big loss.

If you do sign him for 5 seasons you will want to create a back-loaded mutual option, since by 37 he probably won't be worth it.

the sooner you sign him, the sooner he expires.

Should have qualified, the world I play in is pitcher-hungry. Lesser, older starters get much more than $7.25.

I want to sign him no matter what.. I would just prefer a 2 year deal and then resign again then.. He's a pretty solid # 3 on my team. We have prospect budget limitations which kind of forces teams to invest in FA, I would imagine that he would get signed for $10-15M in free agency.. 

Posted by MikeT23 on 4/10/2014 11:19:00 AM (view original):
It's unlikely that he'll decline in the off-season as he's a 32 y/o pitcher and you have 20m in training.    If you want to keep him, I wouldn't screw around with a patience ratings wheel of fortune game.  Sign him when the playoffs are well under way.

Then this is your answer. 

If you definitely want him, then I agree I wouldn't wait until next year.  Do during the playoffs.

Posted by pjfoster13 on 4/10/2014 12:19:00 PM (view original):
the sooner you sign him, the sooner he expires.

Um... no, you're signing him for his age 33-37 years regardless of whether you sign him just before rollover or just after.  The years add on to the end of the existing contract.