Dbacks sign Eduardo Escobar to a three-year, 21-Million dollar deal.

Anthony Swarzak is not a particularly good baseball player. In 2016, he pitched to an ERA of 5.52 in 31 innings of relief, but in 2017 he had a career year, and his ERA fell to 2.33, the 18^th best among relievers in the league. However, like most all 32-year-old relievers who all of a sudden have the best year of their career, regression hit in 2018, and he pitched even worse than he did in 2016. None of this is particularly interesting, except for one thing: Swarzak was given seven million dollars to pitch this season and will be given another seven next season.

In real life, seven million dollars is a lot of money. You will probably never have seven million dollars, but if you did, you could buy houses, cars, boats, and World Series tickets. Having seven million dollars in the bank gives you a lot of power. In baseball, however, seven million dollars is not a lot of money. With only seven million dollars, you can’t buy Jaime Garcia or Andrew Cashner or Addison Reed; they are too expensive. Instead, you could sign Anthony Swarzak or guys like him. Last offseason, here were the guys you would be able to sign:
Overall, the group was paid 7.6 million for two-year contracts despite an uninspiring track record. They were as a whole barely above replacement level in 2016, but since they were about worth 2 WAR in 2017, they were paid. Essentially, it takes one decent season to earn seven million. For the team that signs them, the deal doesn’t usually work out, but they have accepted that fact because it is only seven million.

In 2016 and 2017, the group average 0.7 and 1.9 fWAR, respectively; over that same period, Eduardo Escobar posted 1.7 and 3.5 fWAR. Simply put, Escobar deserves more than seven million dollars, and if he chose to take the highest offer on the free agent market, Escobar would be paid a whole lot more than seven million dollars. Yet for some combination of reasons which we will never fully know, Escobar decided to sign with the Dbacks for three years, earning only seven million dollars every year. It’s a strange scenario, and also a strange reminder that these are not robots trying to earn as much gold as possible before they break down. These are real players with real emotions, concerns, and interests, and somehow those lined up to where Escobar was willing to sign for cheap.

If you ignore the price tag, the signing is a little puzzling on the Diamondbacks’ behalf. The front office has admitted that they are willing, and will possibly attempt to, trade Paul Goldschmidt away in a rebuild. So, signing a legitimately good player would seem like a waste of resources. Why not save that money for another time when they will actually be competing and will need the money? But when you look at the price tag, you realize how simple this signing really is. Analysts and fans often like to pretend that everything in baseball has a complex explanation, some hidden sabermetric gem that we need to search the deepest, darkest corners of the stats to find. Sometimes it’s just not that complicated. Escobar is good at baseball, and seven million dollars isn’t a lot of money in the baseball world. When you have that kind of offer, you take it.

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I can’t tell you where I am going to be in three years; I can only give you a general idea. I will be in a different city, possibly a different state, spending my time with different people, likely doing different things, at some college that will cost a lot of money but less than seven million dollars. Essentially, I don’t know what my life will look like in three years. Predicting what a baseball team will look like can be even harder. A combination of trades and free agency ensure that is no guarantee that any of the players currently on a team will be there in three years.

In three years, the current group of the Dbacks’s starting infield could all be off the Chase Field dirt. Goldschmidt, Ahmed, and Lamb will all hit free agency, and after this deal, there have been rumors that Marte could shift to center field. Eduardo Escobar may be the only constant in the infield. While getting playing time for Escobar will be simple three years from now, this year, the depth chart is fuzzier. The Dbacks now have five infielders to play four spots, but the solution for this kind of problem tends to come naturally. Whether that means Marte plays center, or someone is traded, or the situation resolves itself with injuries, Escobar will get his at-bats; there are plenty to go around.

However, it doesn’t even have to work itself out this year. If Escobar did not play at all this season, the contract essentially becomes a two-year, 21 million dollar deal, which is still valuable for a bat like Escobar. And by this time next year, it will likely be obvious where Escobar is going to play, or at the least, much easier to imagine. As humans, we like to think of deals in terms of what it will provide right now, but often we need to remember that a three-year deal can mean more for year three than it does year one.

With the infield situation now crowded, the team has the option to be creative. Different paths could lead the team in some very different directions, but Escobar fits in with any direction. If they trade Goldschmidt, he could shift to third. If they depart with Ahmed as well or shift Marte to center, he could play second or short. If they hold tight, he could form platoons with the left-side of the infield. He could provide power off of the bench, something the team has lacked in recent years. The situation may not be clear right now, but baseball has a way of working these things out.

Baseball isn’t a puzzle, where you can’t use a piece until it fits perfectly. Sometimes, it is more about using a piece because it is likely to fit eventually, and then figuring out how it does so later. Escobar doesn’t have a clearly defined role on the Dbacks yet, but his role will develop itself. Seven million dollars isn’t a lot of money, and three years is a long time. If there is one thing that general managers love, it is a cheap, controllable player. You can’t get that on the free agent market, so when you do, you act first, and think later. Wait a few months, and Escobar will be a perfect fit.