How two pitchers preempted the offseason mess, dodging the free-agent market for a secure 2009

Few industries have managed to dodge the widespread economic downturn that has brought misery to people worldwide, and Major League Baseball is certainly not one of them. The ongoing offseason has been unlike any in the history of America's favorite pastime, with nearly half of the bevy of marquee free agents that hit the market still unemployed a week before Spring Training. That's because every Major League team, with the exception, perhaps, of the freewheeling New York Yankees, has been hesitant to shell out long-term contracts to players who would doubtless warrant them under more favorable economic conditions.
    Renowned star players such as outfielder Bobby Abreu and right-hander Ben Sheets are among many who remain unsigned this winter as teams overlook their pros and dwell on their cons. The 35-year-old Abreu's age and diminishing defensive skills have badly hindered his search for a long-term deal, and Sheets' lengthy injury history has teams wary of depending on him to be a premier starter. Both entered this offseason seeking a three- or four-year contract but recently curbed those demands, indicating that they'd now be satisfied with a reasonable one-year offer just to finally secure a job.
    But even as the vast majority of their colleagues struggle to satisfy their financial needs, two big league pitchers are sitting pretty: the Minnesota Twins' Joe Nathan and the St. Louis Cardinals' Kyle Lohse. The two have little in common -- one is a dominant closer, the other a crafty mid-rotation starter -- except that they wisely both inked lucrative extensions before MLB started feeling the effects of the oncoming recession.
    Nathan -- a 34-year-old right-hander acquired by the Twins from the San Francisco Giants as part of a package in a lopsided deal for catcher A.J. Pierzynski -- quickly blossomed into one of the league's best closers after coming to Minnesota prior to the start of the 2004 season. Perhaps the most consistent ninth-inning man in the Bigs, Nathan has notched between 36 and 44 saves in each of the past five seasons, just once posting an ERA over 2.00 and a WHIP over 1.00 during that span -- a remarkable feat. Clearly, had Nathan simply stayed in Minnesota for the option year of his previous contract and joined a free agent class of closers that also featured Francisco Rodriguez and Brian Fuentes, he would have figured to be in line for a massive payday. But the four-year, $47 million extension he signed in late-March of last year is looking mighty good from his perspective now.
    Rewind to the last month of the 2008 regular season, when Francisco Rodriguez was busy smashing the single-season saves mark as a member of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and dreaming of an unprecedented five-year, $75 million deal with his next team. Still just 26 years young, K-Rod had every reason to fantasize about securing his financial future for years to come, especially given his unorthodox mechanics and the volatile nature of the closer position. Saves may not be a particularly valuable statistic for evaluating a pitcher, but amassing 62 of them in a single season is quite an accomplishment, and K-Rod was certain that it would earn him a record payday. Little did he know that a floundering economy would force him to settle for a comparatively mundane three-year, $37 million tender with a fourth-year option from the New York Mets. If you consider that Rodriguez is eight years Nathan's junior and approximately even in quality, it's obvious that Nathan did quite well for himself by re-upping with Minnesota last spring.
    Lohse's background might be far different from Nathan's, but he reaped many of the same benefits by signing an extension and foregoing a stint on the open market. The 30-year-old joined the Cardinals on a one-year, $4.25 million contract last March after years of inconsistency in the Twins organization followed by journeyman gigs with the Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Phillies. Perhaps thanks to the tutelage of Dave Duncan, one of the game's foremost pitching instructors, Lohse finally broke out in 2008, posting a stellar 15-6 ledger in 33 starts to go with a career best 3.78 ERA and 1.30 WHIP. And to sabermetricians, Lohse's unexceptional .303 BABIP and 3.89 FIP portend similar success in the future.
    Nevertheless, had Lohse filed for free agency instead of signing a four-year, $41 million extension with Redbirds at the tail-end of the regular season, teams would likely have been skeptical of his ability to maintain that level of performance. Even including his superb 2008 numbers, Lohse's career stat line still sports a mediocre 4.67 ERA and 1.41 WHIP, and one fine year -- in the minds of financially strapped general managers -- would not have erased the 1,164 spotty innings that preceded it. Noting that just about all of the second-tier starting pitchers still looking for jobs -- including Randy Wolf, Oliver Perez, and Braden Looper, among others -- have better career numbers than Lohse, it's evident he would've been hard-pressed to find a more lucrative long-term deal than the one he got from the Cardinals in September.
    Whether the wise decisions made by Nathan and Lohse were the products of excellent foresight by their agents -- Dave Pepe and Scott Boras, respectively -- or merely the result of good fortune, the two are enjoying a relaxing offseason while many of their colleagues fret about their futures.
    Seldom does avoiding competition and limiting oneself to a single suitor lead to the best possible financial result. But that's just another reason the 2008-2009 offseason has been as bizarre as any in the history of the sport.