Chase Utley agreed to a seven-year, $85MM contract with the Phillies today. It buys out three arbitration years and keeps him a Phillie through 2013. The deal covers Utley’s age 28-34 seasons.
PECOTA compares him to the 1985 version of former Blue Jay Willie Upshaw. Upshaw was finished at 31, however. A few other comps on his list include Ryne Sandberg, Lou Whitaker, and Alan Trammell. PECOTA only has the next five seasons projected, but it says Utley is worth $95 million over those seasons alone.
Considering this came in 2007, I am proud to be the first to say that this deal paid for itself about 10x’s over.