Who Says You Need An Agent?

 

Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia and Keith Allison under CC  BY-SA 2.0 License

 

As Spring Training is about to commence ahead of the 2015 regular season, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim will most likely be involved in negotiations on a possible contract extension with reliever Huston Street in addition to getting the team revved up for action by Opening Day on April 6th in Seattle.

What makes these negotiations with Street so fascinating is that Street is acting as his own agent in the negotiations.  For the team that's a good thing because the middleman is essentially eliminated in negotiations and the team can deal directly with the player.  For the player in this situation they must be very careful to not get taken advantage of at any point during the entire process in their pursuit of a contract that is a fair value in relation to said player's standing in their marketplace

In Huston Street's case he is one of the better relievers in the game today.  To that end, Street is seeking a contract similar to those obtained by David Robertson and Andrew Miller.  Robertson agreed to a 4-year $46 million dollar deal with the Chicago White Sox while Andrew Miller agreed to a 4-year $36 million dollar deal.

Why am I writing this you ask?  To show you just how complicated contract negotiations can be. You don't just throw out a number and hope for the best.  It is not that easy.

Message to Huston Street: I wish you the best of luck in navigating these tricky waters without the possible safety net of someone else acting on your behalf with your best interests in mind.  You are much stronger than me.

The good thing is General Manager Jerry Dipoto has a history of smooth negotiations with players and their representatives since he took the position in 2011 when you consider that the team has successfully avoided any and all hearings for their arbitration eligible players under Dipoto's watch.

Tim Musick
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