After months of anticipation, the Red Sox have signed Adrian Gonzalez to a contract extension, the team announced. The deal is for seven-years and $154MM, according to Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com.
Gonzalez gets a $6MM signing bonus, $21MM per year from 2012-16 and $21.5MM in 2017 and 2018, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Twitter links). The contract includes a partial no-trade clause, according to Olney. Gonzalez can block deals to two teams, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Those teams are prohibited from acquiring Gonzalez and flipping him to the Yankees.
It's the second nine-figure contract the Red Sox have agreed to since December (Carl Crawford signed for $142MM) and the second-biggest guarantee in franchise history. Only Manny Ramirez ($160MM, eight years) signed for more guaranteed money.
The Red Sox progressed toward an agreement with Gonzalez's agent, John Boggs, after acquiring the first baseman from the Padres in a December trade. The sides didn't finalize a deal and talks continued earlier in the spring. As Alex Speier of WEEI.com pointed out in December, the Red Sox may have waited to announce the deal because they save on the luxury tax by waiting.
Gonzalez underwent shoulder surgery in October, so the delay also gave Boston time to evaluate his health. The 28-year-old has a .268/.362/.439 line in 41 plate appearances so far, though his career line is a more robust .284/.368/.506.
The extension means Gonzalez won't hit free agency after the season, when Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder are expected to test the open market for the first time in their respective careers. Ryan Howard, who signed an extension with the Phillies last April, would have been eligible after 2011 as well.
YOU’RE KIDDING (GASP)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I heard he’s got a bad back.
Didn’t see this coming! Shocking news!
yes, called this exactly, 7 years, 22 per.
Want a medal?
So did the reporter that said this way back in December when the trade talks were going on.
That sound you all heard was the sound of me finally exhaling. No matter how bad we continue to stink out loud this year, at least we’ve got a pretty solid team locked up going forward.
In regards to my exhalation, consider yourselves lucky I’m at work now, if I caught this news before brushing my teeth, we’d have a natural disaster on our hands.
Welp, between Tex and Gonzalez, it must suck being an AL first basemen wanting in the all-star game.
Same with second base with Cano and Pedroia.
same with pitching with Dice K, Bartolo Colon!
Colon right now would probably be the number 3 in each of their rotations lol.
You mean Kinsler and Pedroia!
Or being a closer.
way too risky. no reason they could not have waited. also offer four years. Who is going to offer more ? Another potential disastrous signing for the Red Sox.
If you wait, you run the risk of another team signing him in the offseason and thus wasting good prospects! As for four years, thats a slap in the face to AGON! Would Tex be in NY if they only offered him 4 yrs? This is a top 5 1st baseman in the game. Great fielder, great hitter, great teammate! Every signing has the potential to be disastrous for any team, but I feel this is a great signing for the Sox.
Who’s going offer more? I don’t know, but let me just spit-ball a bit: the Brewers if Prince leaves, the Cardinals if Pujols left, the Cubs, the Angels, the Dodgers, the Rays, the Yankees, the Blue Jays, the Orioles, the Nats, the Braves, the Rangers, the A’s, the Rockies, the Mariners, the Diamondbacks, the Mets, and probably three or four other teams. Maybe every team other than the Pirates, Marlins, and Royals.
What precisely is the risk, by the way? That the team will lock up an in-his-prime, gold-glove caliber slugger right before he gets to free agency? Yes, that is very risky.
I’d imagine teams would be lining up to offer this guy more than four years.
Also, I’d imagine there’s no way in hell Gonzalez and his agent accept four years. You know, unless he brings in an AAV of $35MM+. Come on dude, get your head straight.
Yeah. Idiotic for the Sox to lock up a 28 year old guy with .300/40HR/130RBI potential every year for 7 years and 154mm while Pujols is asking for 10 years/300mm with nominally better production. Stupid Theo.
Wait. Its a great signing. Nevermind.
It does look like a major, MAJOR discount. Boggs as usual from him leaves a ton of money on the table. Great deal for Theo.
“way too risky. no reason they could not have waited. also offer four years. Who is going to offer more ? Another potential disastrous signing for the Red Sox. ”
lol
You shouldn’t drink this early in the morning…
You can’t drink all day if you don’t start in the morning!
Are you serious? Look at Teixeira’s deal. That should have been Agon’s asking price, so the Red Sox got a discount. He is still really young so he should be worth the money for most of the contract. A good extension for the Sox to my eyes right now.
Who is going to offer more than 4 years to Adrian Gonzalez..
umm almost everyone?
You really gotta watch yourself when you post thoughts like this, man. The MLBTR readers will snark you to death.
Another premier player with a long term deal in the AL east.
Fun Times
So the deal for Agon totals $160 MM over 8 yrs. That’s pretty good considering Tex got $180 over the same number of years. Not to mention the crazy inflation over the past two seasons.
I think it’s only 7 years an 156MM total, 6 of which is the signing bonus. That’s how I read it. So yeah, they managed to get him for less than Tex, not bad work for the Sox. He would probably get a lot more on the open market.
i assume he’s just adding in this year and his 2011 $5.5M salary
From Alex Speier:
Gonzalez will receive a signing bonus of $6 million
From 2012-16, he will receive annual salaries of $21 million
In 2017-18, he will receive annual salaries of $21.5 million
This is a great extension, but it’s no Halladay (with the Phillies) extension. They managed to lock up the best pitcher in baseball at only 20MM per year for an even more impressive 3 years. Probably would have gotten at least 5 years and 23 per year on the open market.
Halladay left like 60 million bucks on the table.
roy halladay doesn’t count in matters like this, he is not a human being
I heard he was created from the genes of some of history’s greatest players.
you are thinking of sam fuld
I heard they carved him out of a bigger bat.
I heard he was Walter Johnson’s Grandson’s Grade 9 Science project.
Half Man half strike throwing robot immune to human emotion or pain.
If he was immune to human emotion, he never would’ve signed a team friendly extension.
He has no use for money
all of roy halladay’s transactions are made with cut fastballs
Roy Halladay is the Serpentor of Baseball. Created by the combined DNA of Baseball’s greatest conquerors! Cobra-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la…. la-la-la.
That was a steal for the Phillies even after considering the prospects they gave up to get him. So much more risky to give pitchers long term contracts so this deal is a winner.
Great signing for the Sox. I’m sure he’ll haunt for years to come. Anyone else think they should lock up Youk long(er) term?
EDIT: Oh, there’s another topic for this. I’ll see you guys there. Ciao!
I really, really, really hate to say it as a die hard Youk fanboy, but no, not yet. Youk will be 34 when his current deal ends and while the mileage is low due to breaking in so late, I just can’t justify extending the guy past his mid-thirties, especially with his injury history (He’s averaged about the same amount of games annually as J.D. Drew since 2006) how so many things can change in that timeframe.
Take for example, Ryan Zimmerman’s current deal expiring the same year.
I love Youk, but I wouldn’t start talking extension with him until 2013, and even then I wouldn’t be willing to go more than another three years for him at that point.
OPS+, FIP, Zips, BABIP and what not. So many ways to prove that a player is better than he actually is. I liked the days when baseball was a lot simpler.
that’s not simple enough for you? You’re not the one doing calculations or making formulaes. how hard is it to just look up stats?
Arguing Tex vs Gonzo is like arguing which Celtics team is the best ever. the 2008 team? maybe the 1957 team when they won their first banner? it boils down to Yankees fans will take Tex and say Gonzo sucks…Red Sox fans will take Gonzo and say Tex sucks…when it comes down to the facts, Tex’s face is funny looking. Irrelevant? maybe. I’ll take Gonzo. Tex is great, but I don’t waste my time pining after players my team could have.
This was so much inconclusive back and forth that the only thing I’m able to determine from your post, factually speaking, is that you’re not Tonny Mazzarotti.
And lets face it. Miguel Cabrera is much better than either of them.