Fun fact: Jake is actually taking
a pay cut to go to Arlington.
While the AAV of his contract is $37,000,000/5 years (a slight bump over the $35.5mn he made each of his two years under the Brodie deal), he's only taking $30 mill next year, to help the Rangers pay out some old salaries first. It's clear, the dollars weren't the issue, it was that Uncle Stevie didn't want to commit to the 5-year deal.
Which makes sense. I mean, Jake is 34 and he's battled injuries the past two seasons.
Far better to commit to Verlander, who'll turn 40 before training camp and already completely missed two seasons!
(Maxwell Martin Scherzer, OTOH, is a sprightly young 38.5 years old, not hitting 39 until just before the Mets trade him away at next season's deadline.)
Genius. Utter genius.
