Ex-Mets GM Steve Phillips Jokes About Bobby Bonilla Day amid Ohtani Dodgers Contract

If Shohei Ohtani sets a new gold standard for financial deferrals, nobody will be happier than former New York Mets general manager Steve Phillips.

Phillips reacted to reports of Ohtani receiving a 10-year, $700 million contract from the Los Angeles Dodgers that includes deferred money:

While working for the Mets, Phillips famously agreed to a buyout with Bobby Bonilla that guaranteed the six-time All-Star almost $1.2 million annually between 2011 and 2035.

Unfortunately for the ex-MLB GM, "Bobby Bonilla Day" probably isn't going anywhere.

It's not just that Bonilla is continuing to collect a paycheck from the Mets, because deferred money isn't an uncommon tactic. That cash can often go to a player who has long since retired from the league as well.

Ken Griffey Jr. was making more than a lot of Cincinnati Reds players when Opening Day rolled around last year thanks to how an extension he signed with the team in 2000 was written.

What makes Bonilla different is that he made just 60 appearances for the Mets in 1999 after his trade from the Dodgers. He then parlayed a forgettable return to the team into a comprehensively one-sided buyout.

There's a difference between that and committing to pay a generational Hall of Fame-bound star presumably after he has called it a career. If anything, Ohtani may have done the Dodgers a favor with the way he structured his contract.

On the field, Ohtani has already eclipsed Bonilla. In terms of personal accounting, Bonilla set a standard that has yet to be matched.