Today’s Dexter Fowler revelation was unquestionably fun, exciting, and unlike anything I’ve ever seen.
That being the case, though, you know that the story behind the story – how a player seemingly goes from already “signed” by one team to showing up at Spring Training with another – must have some crazy twists and turns.
On that front, Fowler’s agent issued a harshly-worded statement for the Orioles and the media:
Casey Close Statement Regarding Dexter Fowler: pic.twitter.com/z4wQ8q312U
— Excel Sports (@excelsm) February 25, 2016
Fowler’s free agency was already fraught with frustrations and unfairness thanks to the qualifying offer system. We may not quite know the particulars of what happened with the Orioles – and now the initial report of a signing got out there – but it seems clear that there is still a lot of frustration. Is the implication here that the Orioles tried to use the media to pressure Fowler’s camp? It’s hard to say, and I don’t want to do too much in-between-the-lines reading.
[adinserter block=”2″]I’m certainly happy to see Fowler back with the Cubs, and I very much hope he kills it in 2016, and earns himself a huge payday next offseason.
I also think it’s appropriate in these moments to take a step back and continue to evaluate how we report, curate, analyze, and share trade/signing rumors. I’m not sure our little shop here would have done anything differently – sharing a credible national report, and then analyzing it appropriately – but it’s always fair to self-reflect.