*More newbie Q's*   You guys have been great so far.

1) When trying to sign a free agent or an arbitration player to a long term deal, how much do tactics play a role?  Will the player adjust what he'd sign for based on how many previous offers you gave? (Trying to low ball him to see what he'd accept?)

2) Does the structure of the deal, (front loaded or back loaded), have any effect?

3) How much does what a player will sign for vary from what he's demanding?  

1. No.
2. Only to your current and future payroll.
3. None.

If a guy wants a four year deal, but you don't want that much commitment... do you divide the amount he wants over a shorter amount of time?  Or will he only sign a deal for the amount of time he's demanding, regardless of how you slice it?

Mike answered 1 and 2 nicely, but I think that 3 can be elaborated on a bit.  Later on in the free agent signing period, you can often drop a year off the term from the demands.  During the resign free agent period (the one before arb), depending on what it says in the message window, sometimes you have to offer significantly more than what they are "demanding" in order to avoid them becoming free agents.   I hope that made sense for you.

Posted by a_ersberg on 4/1/2011 8:25:00 AM (view original):
If a guy wants a four year deal, but you don't want that much commitment... do you divide the amount he wants over a shorter amount of time?  Or will he only sign a deal for the amount of time he's demanding, regardless of how you slice it?

If you have some spare cash, you can drop a couple of years, and give a big bonus

I was assuming he was trying to sign his FA due to the arb comment.   

Posted by a_ersberg on 4/1/2011 8:25:00 AM (view original):
If a guy wants a four year deal, but you don't want that much commitment... do you divide the amount he wants over a shorter amount of time?  Or will he only sign a deal for the amount of time he's demanding, regardless of how you slice it?

If he want 3/9 you can sign him for 2/9 but you're not getting him for 2/6.   Unless it's under the late FA period shobob mentioned(and that's not a guarantee).