The Rays announced that they agreed to a four-year extension with Wade Davis that's worth at least $12.6MM and could be worth up to $35.1MM. Jet Sports Management represents the right-hander.
The 2011-14 seasons are guaranteed and the Rays hold options for the 2015, 2016 and 2017 seasons. The options span Davis’ final arbitration year and his first two years of free agency while the guaranteed years span Davis' final two pre-arbitration seasons and his first two seasons of arbitration eligibility.
Agent B.B. Abbott told MLBTR that Davis earns $1MM in 2011, $1.5MM in 2012, $2.8MM in 2013 and $4.8MM in 2014. The Rays then have options worth $7MM (2015), $8MM (2016) and $10MM (2017) or a buyout worth $2.5MM.
Davis, 25, posted a 4.07 ERA with a 39.2% ground ball rate, 6.1 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 168 innings last year, finishing fourth in the AL Rookie of the Year balloting.
The option-heavy extension mirrors those signed by Ben Zobrist (2 club options), James Shields (3 club options) and Evan Longoria (3 club options). Rays executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman clearly likes the flexibility that multiple club options provide and so far he has been willing to commit to certain players early to obtain it.
really? has he proved himself worthy of that yet?
What MLB-cailber pitcher isn’t worth $1.8 million/year guaranteed? I mean, you get sub-6.00 ERA starters getting $2-3 million, so it’s an incredibly low investment.
And if he gets that full $35.1 million, then he’s getting $5 million, which is a very mediocre SP anyway, and I’m guessing he has to pitch fairly well and stay healthy to get to those incentives.
Basically, it would take a literal explosion of Davis’ arm to keep this from being an EXTREME bargain for TB.
well that’s not exactly right.
It covers two seasons of pre-arb salary, which would have otherwise been around $400-500k each, and then the first two season of arbitration for $12.6 million, so it’s 4 years for that amount- which would be a bargain at $3.15 million a year except that two of those years would have been pretty close to free and the other two will be arb years. Basically, it looks like for those years, they’re paying him like he’s a pretty solid, good pitcher, and if he performs well they’ll have some savings and be able to keep him around at a very reasonable rate. So it’s a huge bargain if he pitches very well, but a reasonable contract if he pitches OK.
lolwut?
What is going on?
You’re on this cool site that reports about baseball. The season’s about to start!
What is going on is that the Yankees won today. Need to know anything else?
career stats of 14-12 and 4+ era gets you a 7 year extension??? damn im in the wrong profession
Take into account he pitches in the toughest division in baseball, thats a pretty damn good track record for someone that young.
12.6 only guaranteed. Friedman with another bargain. Nothing will beat Longo though.
12-10, 4.07 ERA in AL East as a Rookie (4th in ROY) – plus it worked out well with Longoria – some risk but potential high reward – I like it
These Rays contracts are ridiculous. Somebody needs to stop them. They have really loopy structures and ultimately screw over players if they perform really well.
Players have agents for a reason, they do not have to sign these contracts.
Every single person who says these contracts screw the player need your statement tattooed on their fingers. These players are still getting millions of dollars to play a sport that thousands of kid play everyday. Maybe thesenplayers that sign these deals are not the money grabbing drama queens, maybe they want security over the most cash. I hate every person that says longorias deal screws him. HE singed the deal he was not forced to
Yes, stop the Rays from fielding a team of similar caliber to the Yankees for almost a quarter of the payroll. Sorry if Tampa’s FO is better than yours
LOL. It doesn’t take a great FO to tell a team to lose for 10 straight years to gain the players they have today.
they’ve been winning for 3 years and have the best draft class in the mlb this year. the new tampa regime — not around for those original terrible years — has been nothing short of stellar
They’ve been winning the last three years because they lost for the previous ten. End of story. That’s not that amazing a formula. Any team could succeed in doing that. Gaining picks for a decade by sacrificing winning seasons does not take a great FO. Quiet.
your theory is that they are only good because they had great drafts, and that they only had great drafts because they lost for many years
but they have been winning for three years now and they still have the best draft in the majors this year
too bad there’s no compensation system for losing comments eh sport
Also, I can name many teams that have lost for 10 years… then lost the next 3 as well.
EDIT: Damn it, that was not to you. My bad.
There hasn’t even been a draft this year yet, so how could they have the best draft in the majors this year?
No but there will be and we already know how many picks they have in the first round and where their picks will fall.
“Any team could succeed in doing that”
The Pittsburgh Pirates would like a word.
Pirates don’t want to be good. They’re perfectly fine where they are. That team is making money.
I like how you nicely ignore facts that dont suit you.
Facts are for chumps, Sabernerd!
So why wouldn’t they want to get good and earn more money?
Are you dumb? Or just being being a troll on purpose?
We have gone through this.. There are plenty of picks that are not first round picks that your teams has a choice to pick up. Hellickson, the 2-time BA Minor League PItcher of the Year and Favorite for ROY was a 4th round. Davis, the guy in the article a top 50 prospect, was not first round. Carl Crawford was not a 1st round draft pick. Shields was a 10th round. Jennings was a 10th also I believe, def. not first.
Pirates and Royals are a perfect example of why that reason is lazy and fairly pathetic.
Do you get the point?
well then… aren’t you making jays fans look pretty foolish right now..
What exactly have the jays done with their decade of not making the playoffs?
You really need to get your facts straight before writing so confidently. In 2008, the Rays had two first round draft picks contribute significantly to the division title. Every other player on that team came either via trade, free agency, lower draft picks or dumpster diving pickups.
Two years later, two other first round picks contributed, but the overwhelming majority of the roster was again comprised of players acquired in other ways. There is no doubt that the string of losing seasons leading to high picks helped the Rays (as it did little to help the Pirates, Royals, Orioles et al), but to focus on that factor exclusively or even primarily is a serious misreading of reality.
Tell that to the Pirates or the Royals.
With all due respect, the Rays acquired all that talent by picking inside the first 8 picks every year for the better part of this decade. With all the scouting reports that you and I can find on the internet, how hard would it have been to draft Hamilton, Young, Baldelli, Upton, Longoria, Price and others?
They have something like 12 picks inside the top50 and when the smoke clears someone is going to be called a genius for amassing a greatpool of talent fromthis draft. Sorry but I’ll give the Red Sox credit for drafting well AND fielding great mlb teams over the last 10 years before I say the same for Tampa. I respect what Tampa and Madden have done but please don’t compare how each GM puts together their teams. Totally different circumstances.
Again, check the facts, not the theory. The Rays won with only 2 first round picks making significant contributions in 2008. Of course it was important to have those picks, but hardly the single important factor. Their starters at catcher, shortstop and RF came via trade. Their second baseman and DH were acquired as free agents. Their left fielder was a second round draft pick and the first baseman was picked up off the scrapheap. The bench was also entirely acquired the same way, most importantly Hinske, Aybar and Zobrist, none of whom started in the Rays’ organization.
The same is true of the pitching staff. In the rotation, 3 were received in trades and the other two were a 13th and 16th round pick. The bullpen, until Price arrived in mid-September, was entirely made up from trades and free agent signings.
2010 relied more on first round picks with 2 pitchers and 2 regulars acquired that way. But again, it was a combination of intelligent deals and a creative development structure that led to success. And all that had to be developed in a system built to contend, not just to acquire the talent, and then organized by a staff that knew how to use them. I suggest you read Keri’s book, “The Extra 2%” to get a more realistic understanding of how the Rays emerged as a contending ball club.
I give all the credit in the world to Boston and NY for using their financial muscle so effectively. But it is beyond naive to claim that TB is starting play on a level playing field or that the success of Boston and NY is entirely due to their extraordinary ability to find and develop talent despite low picks. They have done the job in different circumstances, and in circumstances that dramatically favor the behemoths, not TB. Even the fact that TB has so many picks this year is due to advanced planning, not to luck or having lost in years before, so if they amass great talent it will be to their credit to have prepared so well.
I think that people show the Rays such respect not just because they have good draft picks, which in itself isnt a great argument because so many draft picks dont make it, but because they dont have the budget to keep their great draft picks and adapt to losing players so well. When they lose a key player, or are forced to trade them, they really cant rely on free agency, like the Red Sox do, to make up the difference. Also with the high draft picks even if you have 2 draft picks a year pan out having your draft pick all come together at the right time is impressive.
This is the first year they’ve lost anyone so we will see. I’m not taking anythign away from them just agitated that peopl view there way as the right way. FOr them it was the only way and it was because they were a last place team for 70% of the decade.
It not that we see it is The right way it is just a great way and I completely understand getting frustrated when people seem to be making assumptions rather than arguments. Also by lost people I count players you trade because you can no longer afford them or have no hope of resigning them.
They did not lose players. They knew most of these players would be gone long before it happened and prepared for it. That is why they dealt Kazmir when they did, and Edwin Jackson, and Garza and Bartlett too. That is one reason they picked up Hawpe and Qualls, both to help them win immediately and to bring a draft pick when they left. Had they not been in contention this season, they would have dealt Crawford but, balancing present and future success, they put more weight on maintaining their contending status in 2010 than getting a boatload of prospects as they did for Garza and to some extent Bartlett.
It has nothing to do with the right or wrong way. It has to do with adapting to circumstances and recognizing that it takes a coordinated effort of many approaches to win, not simply acquiring high draft picks. What agitates me is people claiming that the Rays’ recent success is primarily due to having been so bad for so long. The facts demonstrate conclusively that such a view is narrow and simple minded; high draft choices have played a role, but hardly the predominant one, any more than Jeter, a first round (#6) pick, is primarily responsible for the Yankees success since he arrived.
It is the right way only because it fits the Rays’ situation. For Boston or NY to follow the same path might be entirely wrong.
I should mention that the Rays will probably “lose” both Shields and Upton also, perhaps as soon as this July if they fall out of contention. But “lose” is the wrong word. A better phrase would be reorganizing or rotating their assets. Sign players as often as possible for their prime years and then deal them to replenish the system.
In Upton’s case, the present front office is hamstrung by the fact that the previous one did not develop and promote him properly so they will probably have to rotate him out sooner than they ordinarily would.
Lose Shields and Upton…. The Rays again have top end pitcher waiting.. It actually gets sicking…
Their pitching depth in the minors is just not fair.
Truly amazing about how people are so lazy not to actually do research. Yankees fans for whatever seem to be the most arrogant and ignorant of facts.
Hell I am a D-Backs fan and I can tell you that is wrong, WITH ALL DUE RESPECT.
OK everyone insists on making this point as to why the Rays FO is so good. Yes, the Rays drafted early in previous years, but this is not the sole reason that they have been able to put a quality team on the field for the last few years. Wade Davis was taken in the 3rd round, meaning the other 29 teams could have drafted him if they wanted to. The reason for commending the Rays FO at the moment is not because of drafting Davis, but because unlike any other team in the game, they were able to lock down a really talented player for very cheap. The Rays trust their superb scouting and player development enough to take a risk on young talent, by offering a potentially team friendly contract very early in their careers. In the case of Evan Longoria, so far, it has been a steal. This is why the Rays are the model franchise, and is why I stated that theirs is better than the Yankees, or pretty much all of baseball for that matter.
Look at it from Davis standpoint, he still had to have two healthy productive seasons before being able to earn over 1m/yr. As it is he got 12m for his two pre-arb years (900k earning potential) and his first two arb years he gets 11m essentially, which is a very reasonable figure. Take a look at Matt Cain, he only earned 2.65m & 4.25m in his first two arb years, so Davis will earn considerably more during that part of his contract, PLUS he’s not having to wait for the money when a number of things go wrong. Davis will make the same that Billingsley got for those four years while the latter had to go year-to-year.
Good deal for Davis and nice move on Tampa’s part. The options are the key to the deal, and considering all the above Davis will be in no position to kick himself if he’s making less then he could have if all went right considering he got plenty of security. Ignoring draft bonuses, this deal assures that Davis will earn more as a big leaguer the Mark Prior did. That sums up the risks from a pitchers point in not signing a long-term deal if given the opportunity.
The Rays assume some risk in making that deal, but the downside isn’t huge and agree that they’re the smartest team out there. I like that they insist on getting multiple FA years (as options) whereas most other teams seem to give out deals that net only 1 or sometimes none. Looking at the deal Beane has given his young pitchers over the years, Anderson’s deal included a free agent year as an option but others (Zito/Harden) simply covered their arb years. If I’m making a long-term deal to a pitcher a year or two before arbitration, I’d insist on getting atleast one FA year in the deal, otherwise the team isn’t get their money worth IMO.
American Movie fan
Here is a spectrum of fans who know what they are talking about:
KNOWLEDGE! NO KNOWLEDGE! ———-> (here you are)
Rays just tied up a young, former top prospect, who has a ton of upside for cheap. The rays know how to run an organization the right way, which is why teams are trying to mirror them. They are in every single conversation for best run organization in baseball right now.
EDIT: And just to directly respond, these are voluntary contracts. I am having trouble seeing your picture, but if you are a Yankees fan, which it appears you are, you are the team that has totally overinflated the value of baseball contracts and the reason a team like the Rays has to make moves like this to survive as an organization (along with the Rangers).
This is a brilliant move. The kid is going to be a stud. When you have prospects like this you are right to error on the side locking them in at a decent price instead of paying for it later. I hope the Royals are taking notes for when their crop of elite guys comes up.
Second half of the season… He was 7-1 last season.. Not too bad.. Hell you know when Kruk loves the deal and it doesn’t involve the Phillies.. You know the Rays did well..
The way Davis dominated the Rangers in the playoffs in an elimination game in Texas was sheer brilliance.
Who did it work out for? Longoria is getting screwed at this point. He should ask them to be released or re-negotiate when it comes time for his $7.5MM option to get picked up. The guy is worth at least $18MM a year as a FA and while he obviously doesn’t need a market-rate contract, the team friendliness of this deal is insane. It’s highway robbery.
it is the absolute opposite of highway robbery. it is a voluntary contract agreed to by both parties based on calculations of risk and desire for profit
Highway robbery? You kidding? Sure he is worth more, but the team showed some faith and him and $7.5 million a year is plenty of money. Good for Longoria being a standup guy.
This Davis contract is genius as well. Rays have arguably the smartest front office in baseball.
Hard to argue with that point.
Well the front offices and MLB personnel have voted the Rays the best run organization for the couple years. And Friedman has gotten GM of Year several times already by a wide voting margin.
uh he didn’t need to sign the contract. He has a long career ahead of him and will have at least one giant contract ahead of him. He made the decision to ensure that regardless of what happened he’d at least make some good money over his career. Once you sign a binding contract, you can’t just decide that you should be paid more instead, that kind of defeats the purpose- it would be risk for the team but no risk for the player.
Obviously works out better for Rays… we know that now… What if Longoria got hurt or didn’t play well… we would of took the Rays for all that money… He knew the risks and had advice from his agents… he didn’t have to sign the contract
Hilarious when people can consider being guaranteed $17.5M to play baseball (and almost certainly a total of $44M barring an injury) “getting screwed.”
The players signed the deals. They know what they’re doing. Stop complaining.
LOL, he should ask the team that he agreed to play for for $7.5 million to randomly give him another $10 million/year? Haha, don’t sign the contract if you don’t want to risk not getting enough money.
I mean, how will Longoria feed himself on ONLY $7.5 million? Seriously, $7.5 million is enough money to take care of, like, 3 families for their entire lives. He’ll get that in one year.
Yankees fans don’t understand that.. They live in a fantasy world… But unfortunately you have fans like this that makes comments and then when he gets pointed wrong, he then bitches and complains and then stomps his feet and says everyone is jealous.
Like anyone would care.
This isn’t football. You can’t simply just demand more money for no good reason…because your contract is guaranteed.
Unlike the NFL, the Rays can’t just say, “Oops, Evan, you just blew out that knee horrifically and we know you’ll never be the same player…so we’re going to give you nine months to recover before going to camp and getting cut once the injury restriction is over.” They’d have to pay him all the money left on the table. Ask Mike Hampton how awesome this is, other than the whole not being able to dominate the National League afterward.
That’s why every signed contract in baseball is fair for both parties once arbitration hits (and, in the case of Wade Davis and many others signing pre-arb contracts, before). It provides the player with ultimate security while allowing the team to utilize their payroll as safely or haphazardly as they please.
-C
Let’s say longoria signs the contract then busts you would then be calling it a bad move by the reys. Or he does not sign the contract and busts then it’s a bad move for him. Again or he goes year to year and makes a ton more money while hurting the team financially. Or he goes year to year gets hurt and is out if baseball with no money. And the final or. He signs the team friendly deal which no one forced him to sign. And he gets hurt this way he can take care of him self and his family just to be safe.
He is a good guy as seen by all his charity work. He more than likely wanted security over the pay day to start his career which is very very smart. When he hits free agency he will get a huge 100+++ contract offer and who is to say he takes it.
Bro this isn’t the NFL players cant sign a contract and sit out the next season when THEY realize they messed up and should have signed for more.
And it’s not highway robbery Barry zito us highway robbery,
I still don’t get how the NFL allows a player to not honor a contract that he signed.
Non guaranteed contract. Unlike baseball and basketball if a player bombs in the NFL teams are only on the hook for the guaranteed portion of the salary and can cut them to get the salary relief.
lets not forget that a 4.00 ERA and 14-12 record in the AL East is like being a 3.00 ERA and going 18-8 in most other divisions….
Boo
Welcome back btw.
Thank you.
No, it is not.
Or 7-1 in the second half. And dominated Texas in Texas in the playoffs in an elimination game..
Soo… yeah he is probably trending up
35mm? How pissed is Longoria?
Yeah… he can get a lot of AK-47s with that kind of money
Im sure Longoria is super pissed. Not about Wade Davis’s contract but just the fact he has been robbed twice within a month. I’d be super pissed too.
andrew friedman – doin’ it well
I represent queens she was raised out in brooklyn?
Wow. Seriously? Good bargain for the Rays even if he doesn’t live up to the expectations with only $12.6M guaranteed. Will be interesting to see the exacts of the contract.
Another amazing move by Friedman and company…..
And those getting all excited over this, Davis should easily earn that 12 million, even if he only pitched 450 innings and they decline his options, he will earn that 12 million with ease.
And getting excited over the 35, and you are comparing that to longo? You realize those are club options, right? Longo’s club options push him over 45 million, and he signed less than a month into his big league career giving him assurance in his future earnings.
This is a great move by Friedman, but not bad for Davis as he knows what he will earn moving forward.
This is why the Rays are the best team in baseball
I love this. Long term deal that looks like a bargain potentially. Haters gonna hate, but I truly admire the way Friedman does his thing. He’s made the Rays a model organization.
DISLIKE DISLIKE DISLIKE!!!
Knock it off, Rays. I liked you guys better when you were poorly run.
In all seriousness, anyone questioning this move hasn’t been paying attention to baseball economics in the last two decades.
Also, I’m not surprised by the handful of “woe is this poor athlete only making a few million a year, how will they survive” as there’s always a few on here. They signed a contract, they can soldier on with their meager seven digit salaries.
Rays continuing to prove why they may be the league’s best run team.
I’m not usually one to deal in absolutes, but may be? I really can’t think of anyone even remotely close in terms of how well they’re run. People were talking about their “window” a few years ago when they first started getting good (And by started, I mean went from cellar dweller to AL Champs overnight).
I put the Twins up there also.
12 mil for is first 2 arb years? Pretty sold deal for Davis even with the options. Guess the Rays are banking that he puts up consistent ERA’s under 4, then they will get some value from this.
is this website being retarded for anyone else ?
How must Lester feel then…
09:$1M, 10:$3.75M, 11:$5.75M, 12:$7.625M, 13:$11.625M, 14:$13M club option ($0.25M buyout) 5 years/$30M (2009-13), plus 2014 club option
OR
Pedroia….
09:$1.5M, 10:$3.5M, 11:$5.5M, 12:$8M, 13:$10M, 14:$10M, 15:$11M club option ($0.5M buyout) 6 years/$40.5M (2009-14), plus 2015 club option
I think the Sox are making out like bandits with Lester
To be clear, Wade’s deal pays him $12.6 million guaranteed over the next four years. During his first five seasons in the big leagues, he will earn the exact same amount as Matt Garza did going year to year, and just under what Billingsley received. It is also the larget guarantee EVER given to a 1+ player in this service class (besting Brett Anderson’s deal). The draw for the club comes in the club options where the team can tie Wade up for $25 million over those three years. Depending on how Wade performs, that could mean a substantial bargain for the club, it could mean a small bargain for the team, or it could mean a wash. In any event, it is a deal that provides Wade with the security he wanted and it gives the team price certainty going forward (plus the potential for an advantageous salary later).
To be clear, Wade’s deal pays him $12.6 million guaranteed over the next four years. During his first five seasons in the big leagues, he will earn the exact same amount as Matt Garza did going year to year, and just under what Billingsley received. It is also the larget guarantee EVER given to a 1+ player in this service class (besting Brett Anderson’s deal). The draw for the club comes in the club options where the team can tie Wade up for $25 million over those three years. Depending on how Wade performs, that could mean a substantial bargain for the club, it could mean a small bargain for the team, or it could mean a wash. In any event, it is a deal that provides Wade with the security he wanted and it gives the team price certainty going forward (plus the potential for an advantageous salary later).
Absolutely genious move by the Rays front office. I give them credit for what they have done with their core players over the years.