As reported by ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Washington Nationals and Adam Dunn have agreed to a 2 year contract worth $20 million. The deal could be announced later today. If by any chance, you are one of the few people who hasn’t realized how badly the economy has effected the free agent class, this signing should do it for you.
In years past, a player of Dunn’s caliber has been able to essentially write their own ticket. Two short years ago, long term deals from a number of teams would have been something Dunn would have been fielding the moment he filed for free agency. Even though he is only a career .247 batter, this is a player with 5 consecutive seasons of 40+ homers, 90+ RBIs, and 100+ walks. Those are definitely numbers that can help any team.
Baseball Reference cites JD Drew as the 10th most comparable hitter to Dunn and he received a 5yr-70 million dollar contract from Boston in 2005. Troy Glaus, the 6th most comparable hitter through the age of 28, received a 4yr-45million dollar deal from Arizona in 2005. Unfortunately for Dunn, it’s 2009 and my how the times have changed. 2 years at 20 million from the lowly Washington Nationals was the best he could muster, less than 2 weeks from the start of spring training, mind you.
You might just think he held out for the most money he could get in a weak market. This could be true, but I think a player who’s never been on a winning team for his entire 8 year career (save his 44 games with Arizona in ’08 where they went 22-22) would take a few million dollars less to have a chance to at least be on a .500 team.
His signing with the Nats almost ensures his streak of sub .500 teams will run to an even 10 years. This is a great move for the Nationals, though. They get some pop, maybe generate a little fan excitement and sell a few more seats. For Dunn though, all he gets is $20 million and 2 more years of going home at the end of September.
-Robb Lennahan
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