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When the Washington Nationals offered shortstop Ian Desmond a seven-year contract worth at least $107 million during the 2013 offseason, Desmond rejected the deal. “There have been a lot of people who have come through this game that have sacrificed a lot for us, the players that are coming through now,” he said in March of 2014 in Viera, Fla. “I don’t want to sign a deal — and this isn’t to say they’ve offered me this — but I don’t want to sign a deal that is so bad that a future shortstop gets screwed because I signed a terrible deal. I’m not going to be that guy, that kink in the chain. I’m going to get a fair deal, or I’m just going to wait.”
At the time, it seemed like Desmond was doing the right thing. He was coming off of a season where he hit .280 with 20 home runs and 80 RBIs in 2013. Last year, the power numbers were even better, as he finished 2014 with 24 home runs and 91 RBIs, although his average dipped to .255. Entering 2015, which is the final year on his current deal with the Nationals, Desmond looked set to become a rich man this upcoming offseason, but things haven’t gone according to plan.
In 2015, Desmond is hitting .237 with five homers and 17 RBIs in 60 games, and he has committed 14 errors, which is the second-most in MLB. At his current pace, Desmond would finish the year with 14 home runs, 46 RBIs and 38 errors. With those type of numbers, I’m not sure Desmond could get half the contract that the Nationals offered him. It’s been a tragic season for Desmond’s career, and it’ll be interesting to see what kind of contract he ends up signing.
Most players who bet on themselves during contract negotiations have the best seasons of their careers and end up cashing in at the end of the year. Desmond has done the complete opposite, and I think he feels the pressure mounting. He knows that if he doesn’t figure things out quickly, he’s going to end up forfeiting a lot of money in the long run, and that’s adding to his problems.
If you’ve watched any recent Nationals games, Desmond has begun swinging at basically every pitch, which puts him behind in counts, and pitchers never have to throw him a strike. If he’s going to get himself back on track, Desmond is going to have to develop a more patient approach at the plate, because right now, the book on him is that he will get himself out, and thus he will never get any pitches to hit.
Ultimately, I admire Desmond’s view of looking out for future shortstops and their contracts, but because he was thinking about them instead of himself, he has cost his family a lot of money and security. In this case, if Desmond would’ve accepted the contract to stay in Washington, things might be looking a lot different for him. Instead, there’s a cloud of uncertainty in his future, and the Nationals are relieved that he never put pen to paper.
Jason Fletcher is a MLB Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @JasonFletcher25, “Like” him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google+.
