The difference is we aren't getting an injury prone ex-star and a bunch of expensive old guys, but a young controllable best 3B in baseball. Those don't come too often
Some fun math:
2014 WAR vs 2015 salary:
Jose Reyes -> 3.3 WAR -> 6.67M per WAR
Josh Donaldson -> 6.4 WAR -> 700k per WAR
Jose Bautsita -> 6.3 WAR -> 2.22M per WAR
Edwin Encarnacion -> 3.6 WAR -> 2.78M per WAR
Russell Martin -> 7.8 JFaS WAR -> 897k per WAR
Total: 27.4 WAR -> 2,098,540 per WAR. Unbelievable.
As stated earlier, we have the best 3B in baseball under control for 4 years which is one more year than Lawrie. Exactly how long term are you talking?