Tommy Edman Reveals Why He Loves the Deferrals, His Entire Contract With Dodgers
One of the first moves the Los Angeles Dodgers made this offseason was extending utility man Tommy Edman to a five-year, $74 million contract. About one-third of the deal was deferred, a trademark of the Dodgers in a number of signings.
Edman explained the upside of deferrals and why he loves his extension with the Dodgers.
“A big part of it is just the way that the payments are spaced out,” Edman said. “Kind of allows me to maximize certain things like, just tax benefits and things like that. And then also with the deferrals, too, it is nice that I’ll be getting paid beyond just my playing career as well.
“So you know, there’s definitely benefits to both aspects, both the payments upfront and then the deferrals. So it’s kind of just smart business and smart for the team and smart for players as well.”
Many critics of the Dodgers have said deferrals are a “cheat code” for the team. However, the “loophole” is a method all clubs have the power to use.
Though many teams have stayed away from using deferrals, the Toronto Blue Jays replicated what the Dodgers have done with Anthony Santander’s contract. The outfielder’s blockbuster deal included nearly $62 million in deferrals of the $92.5 million.
When Toronto used deferrals, no baseball fans complained the Blue Jays were ruining baseball. It all boils down to a lazy narrative, as president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said earlier this offseason.
“I think we’re rewarding our incredibly passionate fans,” Friedman said. “I think the Shohei one is just jarring to people because it’s so different, and I think the others just unfairly get lumped into that. But I think it’s kind of a lazy narrative … the rest are within the norm and standard operating procedure that a lot of teams have done.
“I mean, it’s just a lever. We’ve talked about this. We’ve done deals recently that don’t have it. We’ve done deals that do.
“In a negotiation, I think it’s always challenging and so you’re looking to any lever you possibly can to help get to a point where there is overlap. There are times where that deal lines up in a more straightforward way. There’s times where it’s less straightforward. Including deferrals helps as a lever to find that overlap. It’s been a useful tool for us. … We just like to get deals done.”
The Dodgers have orchestrated numerous deals this winter, and according to the front office, there could be more moves coming soon.
