According to Ken Rosenthal the Astros offered George Springer a seven-year $23m contract, which Springer obviously rejected, which would have bought out three arbitration years plus a year of free agency. Rosenthal talked to a rival agent who said that Springer could/should make up to $30m in his arbitration seasons alone.
Rosenthal closes with this nugget:
Springer was good enough to merit a $23 million offer, but he's not good enough to play in the majors.
That's a HAWT TAKE, but it's misguided. If Springer would have accepted, he would be a virtual lock to make the Opening Day roster, since his service clock would no longer matter. As it is, Rosenthal is criticizing the Astros by criticizing The System. The reason that Springer is all but going to open the season at Oklahoma City is to save one of those projected $10m seasons.
Is it notable the Astros would be willing to commit more money to a player who had only been at Triple-A for six weeks than they were to the entire team by the end of the season? Sure. Is it notable that Springer declined? Sure, but he's not stupid, and neither is his agent. What worked for the Rays and Evan Longoria (6yrs/$15m at the very beginning of his MLB career) may not be such a slam dunk at this point, because the market has changed.
I do not believe this will impact any future negotiations with Springer and his agent, but the Astros know what the starting point is the next time it comes up.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
