Phils Sign Brett Myers

The Phillies gave Brett Myers a three-year deal today, buying out his first year of free agency.  Why do good things happen to bad people?

The contract covers his age 27-29 seasons, and it's a good deal for the Phillies.  Our old friend PECOTA values him at $36.6MM over that same time period (of course, he wouldn't have had full leverage for 2007-08).  Myers and Cole Hamels will make a very solid 1-2 punch for the next three years.

Comments

[ejruiz777]

The Utley and Myers extensions both seem to be smart moves by the Phils so far.

[plh903]

I think rotoworld said it first, but I'd be more impressed if they had gotten another year of free agency out of this. Even if it were a large option or something ($14M I think was the example they gave).

All in all, good stuff for the Phils. This coupled with the fact that Utley should earn his contract in the next five years, they might be good for a while.

They won't win, they are a Philadelphia-based sports franchise. But, kudos for making good moves.

[gatling]

"When Hamels shows me he can break 150 innings, I will consider him a real pitcher."

So the 181.1 total innings pitched this year by Hamels between the minors and the bigs don't count? Or because this was his rookie year at age 22, and he wasn't in the majors all year you throw out 150 as a barrier to try and make a point?

[nivshah]

"Myers and Cole Hamels will make a very solid 1-2 punch for the next three years."

pun intended?

[RotoAuthority]

No, but nicely done.

[Aduncaroo]

This is a good deal for all parties involved. Philly seems to be making smart decisions so far this offseason, they are definitely headed in the right direction. Nice signing.

[bdid]

I wouldn't count minor league innings. The guy completely dominated the minors. His pitch count remained very low because he made short work out of the competition. I don't know the answer to this, but how many innings did he average per start at the MLB level? To me, that's a better indicator of where he is at.

[bdid]

Okay, found my own answer....

Cole pitced 132 big league innings last year in 23 games. That is an average of about 5 and 2/3 innings per start. I'll say that he pitches 6.1 this year over 30 starts... That would be about 180 innings. If he gives that, he's going to be outstanding. However, if the injury bug bites him again this year, he may be the Phillies version of Todd Van Poppel.

[coolpapabell]

I have a Questiion:

Brian Roberts just inked a 1yr deal which avoided arbitration. Does that mean he will be a free agent next year?

[Yars]

NL East has to be the most interesting division heading into the season. Atlanta doesn't own the division anymore, but I expect them to be in the thick of things along with the Mets, Phils, and even the Marlins. Nationals will finish dead last. Losing 90 games could become a reality.

[bobo]

Seems like a bargain no matter how you look at it once you consider he'd make at least $15M in his first FA year.

[nrmax88]

Yars, the Nats might lose even more then 90. I figure that in the 76 games against the Marlins, Mets, Braves, and Phils they would be lucky to go 7-12 against each of these teams. Thats already 48 losses, and im being friendly predicting a 7-12 mark against these 4 teams. It wouldnt surprise me if the 4 other NL east teams all win 14 games out of the 19 they play against the Nats.

[nrmax88]

I have a question for some Philly fans also. Was Hamels the one who snapped his arm by simply throwing a pitch when he was younger. I remember hearing about that but im not sure if it was Hamels. I think it was though. Did he also break his pitching hand in a bar fight or something? Not really a point to what im saying because if you break your arm as a child it shouldnt have an effect now but I am just wondering if I have the right guy

[beeniez]

"Brian Roberts just inked a 1yr deal which avoided arbitration. Does that mean he will be a free agent next year?"

No, he's not elligible for free agency until after the 2008 season. When a player comes up with a team as a rookie, he's under contract for 6 years. The first three they make league minimum, and then for seasons 4-6 they are arbitration elligible. Instead of taking the case to an arbitrator, which many teams and players hate doing, they can just mutually agree on a deal for the following - usually it's the average between the two parties.

[TheBigOne]

nrmax: From RotoAuthority back when Hamels came up in June or whenever:

"Let's see what we know about Hamels, using Baseball America's Prospect Handbook as the first source. First off, the injury history:

- Broken humerus in high school
- Showed up out-of-shape to instructional league after holding out in '03
- Pulled shoulder muscle, non-pitching arm in '03
- Missed most of '04 after pulling a triceps muscle, non-pitching arm. Tried to pitch through the pain and made it worse.
- Broke pitching hand in bar fight in January '05.
- Missed second half of '05 season with stress fracture in his back""

Then theres also that shoulder thing he had this year. He's always hurt, but it never seems to be anything too serious.

[Das Cube]

So I sense this general feeling of not believing in the Nationals. They will find you and they will eat you. Alive. But Cristian Guzman will not, he is grounded.

[Comma8]

I believe that Derrick Turnbow also broke his arm through pitching.

[xxxJamesxxx]

I don't like it, as a Phillies fan. We didn't get a discount on his arbitration years, and we only get a 1-3 million dollar discount on his first year of free agency. No team option at a discount, and we basically assume all of the risk on a guy who is not only an on field injury risk, but also an off the field risk as well. I don't like it.

[plh903]

"I don't like it, as a Phillies fan. We didn't get a discount on his arbitration years, and we only get a 1-3 million dollar discount on his first year of free agency."

I hear ya. Like I said, I would be more impressed if they had gotten more out of this contract, like even a large option or somthing.

However, the discount you are talking about is hard to quantify at this point. If the Phils are showing the foresight to realize the trickle down effect that contracts for middling pitchers is going to induce, then good for them.

Maybe it won't be that dramatic, but players will be pointing towards Jason Marquis and Gary Matthews to make a ton of scratch soon. Some arb guys will be making out like kings.

[Aduncaroo]

don't forget Pierre, that contract is ridiculous.