Nah. That says a lot more about the Nationals organization than anything else to me. The list of people the organization has been "loyal" to from the Championship team (not even 3 years ago!!!) is a very short list.
Owners are the original parasites. But there have been examples of players who valued what the team was building, their relationship with team mates, the fans, the city that they didn't try to negotiate every last dollar out of a situation. I feel the same toward wall street types - how much is enough. When does the amount of money become obscene. And to your question @sitruc, a good offer compared to what? The re-balancing of power in sports definitely a long due. In the end it leaves me less likely to care deeply about a team. Same reason I'm not going to have a favorite corporation. It's a relationship of money. It's transactional. It would be absurd to root for a corporation, to feel some unique bond with them so that when the do well I feel better, when they don't I suffer. For me, it calls into question fandom and it's value. Enough of sharing my personal perspective. Have at it.
If fans want to get mad about the money, they should look in the mirror. We are consumers through and through, but the people hold the power to change everything. I only hope the nouveau riche spend altruistically and help the world. Often, they do and that’s very cool.
The team isn't building anything and hasn't since they won it all. They've sold most of the pieces at this point. This decision doesn't exist in a vacuum. The team is for sale and likely doesn't want a big contract on the books for a new ownership group. They made him a basic offer so they can look at trades while he has time on his current contract. He's closer to $50 million/year than $29 million. There's a big difference between those numbers.