USA Today Sports has reported that the Mariners have been somehow leveraged into a 7 year, $175M contract extension for Felix Hernandez, because you can never pay too much to be a solid 4th place ahead of the Astros. Granted, that shouldn’t be viewed as the floor for an Adam Wainwright extension, but even seeing it as a glass ceiling means potential sticker shock for some in the #SignWaino movement.
- Pitcher A – 80-48 record, 3.15 ERA, 130 ERA+, 1.211 WHIP, 7.6 SO/9, 3.02 SO/BB
- Pitcher B – 98-76 record, 3.22 ERA, 127 ERA+, 1.212 WHIP, 8.7 SO/9, 3.10 SO/ BB
Pitcher A is Wainwright, and Pitcher B just signed a $175M extension. If B is worth $25M per year until through his early 30’s, then what is A worth for at least 3-4 years?
$25M per year.
Maybe. It would be surprising to see the Cardinals go that high, and it would certainly be next to impossible to justify a 7 year deal for Wainwright. Then again, the market for top tier pitchers isn’t exactly a large one, and the loss of Chris Carpenter to injury makes Adam Wainwright even more important as both the ace of an inexperienced staff and a locker room mainstay.
Given the likelihood that teams will continue to hand out ludicrous, long term contracts it makes some sense to lock down Waino for 5+ years while securing a slight discount versus future market prices. The approach has worked well. Why shouldn’t it work for King Adam?
See also: 2-0, 2.48 ERA, 1.010 WHIP, 7.4 H/9, and 11.6 SO/9 in 32.2 playoff innings.
Follow gr33nazn on Twitter for more about #SignWaino.
{ 3 comments }
I guess the Cards thought a bit under $20 M was the right price. You’re right Dennis, five years makes sense given Wainwrights’ age & injury history. He’s a stud & the Cards were smart to lock him up.
As far a the M’s going overboard with King Felix; A) He’s only 26 ( though he’s got a lot of miles on that arm) & B) The M’s & their fans have NOTHING else going for them so at least every fifth day they’ll draw an extra few thousand…lol..Sad. Am I wrong??
Peace
I don’t really dislike the deal for Felix, because he’s worth every penny every 5th start. The issue for the Mariners to me is that they still have a huge uphill battle in that division, and the AL West just added Team Luhnow which could have an impact 3-4 years from now.
My most recent thoughts about the Wainwright extension are that the team seems to see the age 36 season as a significant marker for starting pitchers. Even if he’s consuming around 1/6th of the team payroll for a year, I don’t see that as a big issue for the organization. He’s an important part of what they are doing, but he’ll be the only SP above 30 for the next few years most likely.
Well said. Houston’s situation is similar to that of the Cubs…Shiny new front offices etc.. plenty of hope and Houston’s a good market when the team is competing.
Peace & Happy Easter!
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