Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports that Eric Hosmer and his camp, led by Scott Boras, are still looking to get a deal longer than seven years.
It was reported this month that Hosmer had at least two seven-year offers on the table from the San Diego Padres and Kansas City Royals with the highest bid being reported at $147 million.
The 28-year old hit .318/.385/.498 last season with 25 home runs and 94 RBIs. He also finished with 4.0 WAR and 135 wRC+. For his career, the one-time All-Star has hit .284/.342/.439 with a wRC+ of 111.
However, in 2016 he only hit .266/.328/.433 with 25 home runs to give him a 102 wRC+ which paints him as just a smidge above average.
Hosmer has also won four Gold Glove Awards over the course of his career despite accumulating -21 defensive runs saved over the course of his career at first base, including -7 this past season.
While he is no doubt a good player, he does appear to be overrated, at least on the defensive side, while not an elite player on the offensive side regularly and lacks power.
This is not to say that he does not deserve a big deal, but eight years might be pushing it significantly. In this market, the highest deal signed so far was by his former teammate, Lorenzo Cain, at five-years, $80 million.
With about two weeks left until pitchers and catcher report to Spring Training, the first baseman might have to “settle” for seven years, which it can be argued is still overpriced and way above market value.
Eight years seems very unlikely, but he is likely not in danger of being forgotten this free agent class despite his current asking price being above his perceived value at the moment.
Jon Heyman of the FanRag Sports Network predicted Hosmer will receive a seven-year, $160 million contract at the beginning of the off-season.
