There was still no benefit to waiting. Z would have gotten 8x8 last summer and he's going to get that now if he's willing to sign it. Terry will get something similar. The numbers could have been worse by waiting had either one exploded production wise.
Sure there was, especially in hindsight. Both Terry and Zegras now have 2 solid seasons under their belt, not just one. That's a huge difference in the outlook and projection over the course of their next contracts.
Also, Drysdale practically missed the entire season. Having him locked into an extension prior to this season with as uncertain as his future currently projects is far from ideal. The general consensus is that he's likely to get a bridge deal, which might work out pretty great for us if he exceeds expectations with a lower cap hit.
The vocal minority I was referring to constantly brought up how Terry and Zegras are going to "get paid." The inference being their production was about to explode and Verbeek would regret his decision to wait. It was a stupid thing to say at the time and it turns out Verbeek made the right call.
To be clear, it's one thing to voice a legitimate concern and another to make baseless predictions while prematurely casting judgment. The latter is what I'm commenting on.