Carlos Gonzalez's extension with the Rockies is the subject of Jon Heyman's latest feature at SI.com, here are the highlights.
- The Rockies' offer of a seven-year, $80MM extension was probably less than Gonzalez could have earned between arbitration and potential free agency several years down the road, writes Heyman, but Gonzalez accepted it anyway.
- Gonzalez, who grew up poor in Venezuela, is exceptionally mature and humble for his age, according to Heyman, and rather than chase top dollar, he preferred the security of the long-term deal with a team that's he comfortable with.
- Gonzalez had the full support of his agent, Scott Boras, whose clients typically go to free agency rather than signing extensions. Boras provided Gonzalez with the information indicating that Gonzalez could probably make more money if he waited till free agency.
- Boras praised Gonzalez for handling and analyzing the information, noting that Gonzalez turned down three or four offers before accepting the one that he did.
- Turning down top dollar is not new for Gonzalez, however. He accepted a $150K bonus as a 16-year-old international free agent when he could have demanded as much as $1MM, writes Heyman.
- Gonzalez is a close friend of shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, who also signed a long-term extension with Colorado this offseason. Tulowitzki said part of the reason he signed his extension is because Gonzalez had told him that he wanted to sign long-term, too.
Stop talking about the Phillies scouting Michael Young.
We already have decent back-ups who are playing great baseball right now. Valdez, Young, Barfield, etc.
No reason to trade Blanton for someone who will be on the bench when Utley is healthy again.
ugh i hate reading about carlos as an a’s fan
that makes 2
So I get a Ron Villone signs with Nats from a feed and article is now apparently *poof*
Why would we want Blanton? No thanks!
Because he is God.
He is the king of pitched ground outs.
Blanton is a good pitcher. A slow starter, but look at his second half numbers since 2008, particularly his september numbers. He can be a big reason that a team makes the post season, he was for the Phillies.
I agree with you.
I’d also like to say Blanton isn’t that bad… He puts up league average numbers and gives you innings. 5-6 innings 3 earned runs… Not an ace but still a quality arm. People have been slandering him since he got that contract which really isn’t that big of an overpayment when you look at guys like Wolf and Marquis.
can someone explain a few things to me?
first, would it be a breach of contract for the Mets to purposely not use K-Rod 55 times so his option doesn’t vest? rather they do it intentionaly or not, does that make a difference? Secondly, when a team releases a player who is owed money, does that change the schedule under which they are paid ie, would perez be owed 12 million upon being cut? I haven’t read anything yet where anyone has clear explanation of these issues.
Of course Perez would still get paid and the Mets would be on the hook for it all minus the 400k or so any team would pay to pick him up. The thing with K-rod is it’s quite possible that if there is a save situation and he isn’t used his agent could mark that and use it against the team later on saying they didn’t use him X number of times in spots he could’ve saved or finished a game in order to not have the option vest.
obviously Perez would STILL get paid, you didn’t understand my question, I’ll rephrase; is the cut player entitled to the lump sum owed upon dismisal rather than being paid over the same time period if they were still on the roster…..what I’m getting at, is that I wonder if the Mets ownership is keeping Perez around because they can’t shell out 12 mill all at once, but I don’t know enough about the financial protocol to support such a theory.
I have much more respect for Carlos Gonzalez for making a statement like he did by taking less money now rather than waiting until his free agent years to sign a 9-figure deal. When it’s that many numerals it does not matter, whether from Vegas or Venezuela.
if you ask me vegas is much more poor than venezuela. ever been of las vegas blvd?
Blanton has 1 year left on his contract and you are trading him for a player that is in decline and has 3 years left on his contract. The Philles can pass on that one.
One middle infielder injury like Utley or what the Mets are having is all need to see and hope Boston does not move Jed Lowrie.
Michael Young would have to agree to restructure his deal. You think a player in his mid-30’s is going to opt to significantly lessen his $48 million guaranteed contract over 3 years?
The Mets would be fools to let that option vest. It shouldn’t be hard to not have it vest even with him as the closer.
I really like that bit about Tulo signing his extention so he could continue playing ball with his buddy for a long time. There really is nothing like sharing the greatest game in the world with a good friend.
Besides being paid exorbitant amounts of money to play said game.
Yeah, that is definitely awesome.
Not saying it would have been the same situation in Oaktown…but the idea of Cargo not signing for top dollar in order to be long term with a team he’s comfortable with…Well that should keep Billy Beane up at night.
I really like the way the Rockies are handing out contracts. They are giving fair dollar for good players and they are giving them the money when the player is worth it. It blows me away that GMs knowingly overpay the final years for a player when it’s obvious the player won’t be worth the final years of a contract.
Managers overpay for the final years of a contract because that’s what happens on the open market for decaying goods. These bidding wars, often further inflated by the high-payroll team and further pressure from the players’ union, push the back end of these deals to unreasonable heights.
The only thing that the Rockies have done particularly differently well in this situation is sign young players. They’re still compounding a great deal of risk and are pushing themselves to have a very top-heavy roster.; 3 or 4 heavy hitters, and then a lot of overrated fluff. They might be able to win a pennant or two with it, but it will probably be despite Jim Tracy’s best efforts to the contrary.