MLB is "trending younger in the drug-testing era," and a lot of young players are "accepting club-friendly, long-term contracts that delay their free agency, effectively giving teams multiple discounts," according to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSPORTS.com. The latest such deal was signed earlier this week by 25-year-old Rays P Chris Archer, a six-year deal worth $25.5M. The "willingness of so many youngsters to sacrifice dollars for security -- and in many cases accept multiple club options that further limit their earning power -- is disturbing" to many agents. The contracts are so large that it is "understandable that many players find even below-market offers to be irresistible." The MLBPA in '16 could "prefer to avoid a work stoppage rather than fight for a bigger share." However, the union "has to be concerned about losing its edge." Agents also "jump at such deals out of fear -- the fear that they will lose their clients to bigger agencies before ever reaching a substantial commission." Of 31 pre-arbitration deals done since '00 "with multiple club options, 26 were done by smaller or mid-level agencies." SFX/Relativity did the others, including Archer's. Rosenthal: "The problem for the union is that it cannot reasonably advise a pitcher such as Archer to reject a $25.5 million guarantee, no matter how much more he might project to earn year to year. The owners are on the power play. And come 2016, when the labor deal ends, they are not going to let it expire" (FOXSPORTS.com, 4/3).
