Well, that’s not very nice.
Outfielder Nick Markakis had some pointed words for the Baltimore Orioles, telling USA TODAY Sports, “Don’t believe a word they say,” regarding his offseason departure.
Markakis, 31, signed a four-year, $44 million contract with the Atlanta Braves in early December, shortly after negotiations on a three- or four-year deal with the Orioles broke down.
An MRI on Markakis’ neck revealed a bulging disc, and he underwent surgery to repair it Dec. 17, after signing with the Braves.
“It was all because of my neck,” Markakis told USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday. “They can say what they want to make them look good. Don’t believe anything they say. It’s all B.S.”
That’s a far cry from earlier this offseason, when Nick took out a full-page ad in the Sun thanking, among others, the Angelos family and Buck Showalter…hey, wait a minute. You know what? He never did mention Dan Duquette in there (though, why would he?), so maybe that’s the direction in which his barbs are pointed.
There was also this, though:
At the time, the Orioles did not explicitly state that health concerns were the reason they did not re-sign Markakis. However, general manager Dan Duquette acknowledged to USA TODAY Sports that his neck condition was a factor.
Markakis played with the condition for the past two seasons.
“We were worried about the neck,” he said.
So, not sure where this supposed dishonesty came in.
I suppose Nick would have preferred an even more honest approach? Perhaps along these lines: “Yeah, we felt we could adequately replace the production of a declining 31-year-old about to have neck surgery for far less money.”
Just enjoy that $44M, Nick. And thanks again.
3 Responses
Ummm – DD did say it was because of his neck … Sounds like someone got to camp and has buyers remorse. But seriously – Shut up you whiny overpaid baseball player. I love you Nick, but the O’s just finished overpaying you for the last however number of years it’s been. Shoulda taken a play from JJ’s book and considered taking a hometown discount.
Let’s strip the emotion out of his comments and realize that Nick never, ever reached the promise of that $66 million dollar contract he signed back in 2009. Never again did he 20 or more hrs or hit over .300. In fact, all his offensive stats slowly but progressively declined from 2009 to 2014. And the ATL signed him for 4 yrs @ 11 mil per? Neck concerns aside, that’s a ton of money for a player in slow decline….
Bottom line is this- the Orioles brass decided exactly what they thought Markakis was worth and they offered that to him- taking into consideration his flagging production and his uncertain medical profile. The Braves offered more and Markakis took the money and extra year. There is no way we know all of the behind the scenes details, but from this perspective it looks like 1) the Orioles were reasonable 2) Nick did what he felt he needed to do for his family 3) everybody needs to move on. Markakis brought a steady performance and a lot of intangibles to the table, but this is still a business that is predicated on winning. For that money and that length of contract, Nick did the organization a favor and is now a Brave. It seems out of character for Nick to make this noise after the fact. It does make it easier not to miss him.