© Robert Hanashiro | 2020 Oct 6
A’s owner John Fisher does not like paying players.
Fisher, who is worth a reported $2.8 billion, has an aversion to retaining young talent that has been as consistent for the franchise as Billy Beane’s ability to find young talent worth retaining.
The latest example took place on Wednesday, when shortstop Marcus Semien, who will soon turn 30 and finished third in 2019 AL MVP voting, signed a one-year, $18 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays. This came after the A’s declined to pay Semien a one-year, $18.9 million qualifying offer at the beginning of the offseason, forfeiting their right to draft-pick compensation if he signed with another club. Instead, the A’s elected to offer Semien a more bizarre deal, as reported by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic:
The A’s declined to make him a formal offer, instead floating a concept that had little chance of enticing Semien, sources said — a one-year, $12.5 million deal with $10 million deferred in 10 one-year installments of $1 million each.
Basically the A’s pitch to Semien was that they’re willing to pay significantly less than the qualifying offer, only $2.5 million up front, and he’d have to wait until he’s 40 years old to get the rest. Unsurprisingly, Semien declined the offer that serves as just another example of Fisher’s desire to maximize profits at the expense of the product on the field, and by extension the A’s loyal fanbase.
For A’s fans, who are unfortunately used to this by now, it’s probably going to get worse before it gets better. Star infielders Matt Chapman and Matt Olsen are due $6.49 million and $5 million respectively in 2021, and are almost guaranteed to earn significant raises in arbitration over the next two years. Maybe Fisher has a change of heart and decides to to pay one of both what they are worth instead of shipping them off. History, however, would say the latter scenario is almost a certainty.