Personally, I’d be just fine with a $48 million contract. But for a major league pitcher a mere three games under .500 over the course of his career, I can see how that’d be terribly offensive.
In Sanchez’s defense, he’s probably just listened to the talk that’s pegged him for at least $70 million over five years. And it’s entirely possible that his agent was more “insulted” by a $48 million offer than Sanchez was.
But there’s nothing really insulting about offering $48 million to a guy who has never once won 15 games. He’s never finished in the top 10 in his league in victories or ERA. He has one top 10 finish in strikeouts (6th in the NL in 2011). The only time he’s ever led a league in anything is when he committed five errors, tied for the the most by an NL pitcher, in 2010.
