Should the Orioles sign Hardy to a 3 year contract extension?

[Sports Guy]

Do you think the Orioles SHOULD sign Hardy to a 3 year deal?

I think the argument is there that he will very likely be worth his contract and, perhaps, far exceed the value of the contract..depending on how much he signs for.

But does that mean the best move for the Orioles is to sign him to this extension?

Note: This poll is talking exclusively about the idea of either a trade or an extension..not keeping him and having him walk for picks.

[Spoonless]

Well if it was most other organizations, I'd say it would be a good move. With the O's, I have very little faith in their ability to put together a competitor in the timeframe of a Hardy extension.

[El Gordo]

Yes. A Bird in hand. If we trade him we'll still need a SS for the next 3 years and there's no gaurantee we can get one as good for the money in FA.

[UMDTerrapins]

The giant variables in this question are obviously, how much would he cost, and what could we get in return?

Yes, his trade value is likely at its highest that it will be. I still don't think it's going to be enough to offset the greater value in having a good hitting/good fielding SS for the next 3 seasons. Huge for young pitchers to have his glove behind them. And huge to have a potent and disciplined bat from the position. Particularly with all the free swingers on our club.

[CA-ORIOLE]

I'm fine with 3/24, but not any more than that and no NTC. I'd be fine dealing him as well. MI's defense tends to taper even at 29 and he's got an injury track record.

[Satyr3206]

After all of the SS issues the last 6 to 7 years I couldn't vote no.

[MikeAD]

I can't answer this. 9 times out of 10 you trade a player that would be the best available player at the position (top 3-5 overall). However, in our situation, I doubt we could get a decent deal done. Because of that, when you consider our current situation, I will say sign him.

[UMDTerrapins]

He also holds a not so common attribute.....he wants to play here.

[Sports Guy]

He also holds a not so common attribute.....he wants to play here.

So what though? Do we want an oft injured player taking up 1/8 of the payroll?

I am a huge Hardy fan and certainly wouldn't be upset if he is patrolling SS for the next 3 seasons but I just don't see how signing him to a 3 year deal is better than trading him.

[Remember The Alomar]

Yes.

There's no doubt we could get great value if we traded him today, but I will say that I think this poll is a bit binary (which I'm sure is the point). I don't think that any extension will be prohibitive enough to prevent other teams from trading for him in the future.

[Frobby]

So what though? Do we want an oft injured player taking up 1/8 of the payroll?

I am a huge Hardy fan and certainly wouldn't be upset if he is patrolling SS for the next 3 seasons but I just don't see how signing him to a 3 year deal is better than trading him.

As always, it depends in part on what we'd get if we traded him. If the choice were between signing Hardy for 3/$24 mm and getting two draft picks, I'd rather sign Hardy. We can always trade him later.

Now, if we could get a very good young, cheap player for Hardy, plus a couple of grade B prospects, I'd have to consider doing that.

[glenn__davis]

Obviously these polls are pretty impossible to answer without having a specific package. And no, you can't just say a "fair package" because that means different things to everyone.

Bottom line, I would rather see him extended than traded I guess. But then I've always liked him and wanted him as a player.

[UMDTerrapins]

So what though? Do we want an oft injured player taking up 1/8 of the payroll?

I am a huge Hardy fan and certainly wouldn't be upset if he is patrolling SS for the next 3 seasons but I just don't see how signing him to a 3 year deal is better than trading him.

I agree, but again we're missing two vital pieces of info, how much would he cost and who could we get. My feeling is that we're not going to get much for Hardy with only a half season left under our control and a history of injuries. I think the larger potential gain is that he might prove that his first two full seasons were more telling about his reliability than the last few. And when healthy, he's very productive for a SS. I just don't think we'll get a better value in a prospect than we have in him being here. A few healthy and productive seasons with the O's and we could have a better trade piece in him if Machado is ready to assume SS.

[Sports Guy]

As always, it depends in part on what we'd get if we traded him. If the choice were between signing Hardy for 3/$24 mm and getting two draft picks, I'd rather sign Hardy. We can always trade him later.

Now, if we could get a very good young, cheap player for Hardy, plus a couple of grade B prospects, I'd have to consider doing that.

I am sure the trade package we would get for him would be very strong.

But even putting that aside for a second...Is 3 years too many for Hardy? The answer to that, if he stays healthy or even can play 130 games a year, is definitely a no.

But what if he plays 100 games a year? Then what?

Law is right, oft injured players tend to keep getting injured, especially as they get older.

So, what should we assume here? I would assume that he averages 115 games a year for the next 3 years.

Now, in those 3 years, he could still very well be worth his contract in terms of WAR. But is just being worth his contract good enough?

Its the same argument we had with BRob. I felt BRob would end up being worth his contract if he stayed healthy but still didn't see it being a smart move and it was too much of a risk because of age and position. Now, I think many of us would be happy to dump the deal or even see him retire and take that money off the books.

[Sports Guy]

Obviously these polls are pretty impossible to answer without having a specific package. And no, you can't just say a "fair package" because that means different things to everyone.

Bottom line, I would rather see him extended than traded I guess. But then I've always liked him and wanted him as a player.

Gotta use a little common sense here.

Obviously, Hardy isn't getting dealt for less than what the value of 2 picks would be. He fetches a minimum of that and remember, one of those picks is likely to be a first rounder and the other will be a sandwich pick...So, say 2 of the top 45ish picks in the draft.

And the contract he is likely to get will be 8-11 million a year. An extra million or so a year isn't really going to change things.