Quote:
Originally Posted by Droford
Ok, I know that Rivera was one of the best closers but he's clearly not as dominant as he was even a couple years ago..but..how is a guy thats 4 years older than Jeter and might play the equivalent of 6 games total in IP (IP declining down to 60 in 2010) worth $18 million and Jeter isn't worth $25 million as an everyday player even with his declining offensive skills.
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Rivera hasn't really shown any signs of decline yet, his last 3 years have been some of the best of his career. And he's still one of if not the best closer in baseball still.
His highest ERA in the past 3 years was 1.80 and his highest WHIP was .90.
While I do agree that no closer in baseball, no matter how dominant is worth 18M, he has a much better case than Jeter to be the highest paid player at his position. Even though the Yankees would still be making Jeter the highest paid SS with their 15M offer.
Rivera's WAR last year was 3.0, Jeter's was 1.3. So even though Mariano only pitched 60 innings, he was more valuable than Jeter playing every day. Thats how terrible Jeter was.
Another thing is that other teams would probably pay Mariano decent money to sign him. Not 18M, but not terribly far off from that. Jeter isn't getting close to 15M (the Yanks offer), nevermind the 25M he's seeking.