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Vesting Options For 2010

By Ben Nicholson-Smith [June 23, 2009 at 12:47pm CST]

Magglio Ordonez's 2010 vesting option has created a small stir in the last week or so, but there's a group of players with less-publicized vesting options. Here are updates on a few of them, and please add anyone I missed in the comments below:

Freddy Sanchez will earn $8MM in 2010 if he makes 635 plate appearances this year. The option will also kicks in if he makes the All Star team and bats 600 times. With 290 plate appearance already, it looks like Sanchez will make $8MM next year.
Kevin Millwood has a $12MM option that kicks in after 180 innings pitched. He hasn't pitched that much since 2006, but with a league-leading 106.2 innings logged already, Millwood will likely see his option vest.
It's no surprise that we've heard little about Dmitri Young's $6MM option for next year. It only vests if he bats 500 times, but he hasn't hit yet in 2009. It's safe to say the Nats won't be stuck paying him that much next year.
Josh Beckett's $12MM 2010 option will kick in if he starts 28 games this year. He's already at 14, so that number seems attainable.
Milton Bradley's 2011 option will vest if he plays 75 games in 2009. In other words, Bradley will earn $12MM in 2011 if he plays 22 more games this year.

Comments

>...but he hasn't hit yet in 2010.

Shouldn't that read that he hasn't hit yet in 2009??

Posted by: TommyElf | June 23, 2009 at 12:54 PM

Good point. As far as I know, no one's hit yet in 2010

Posted by: Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 23, 2009 at 01:02 PM

>As far as I know, no one's hit yet in 2010

;) I know a good fortune-teller down in Deep Ellem here in Dallas....

Posted by: TommyElf | June 23, 2009 at 01:08 PM

I believe Josh Beckett's 2010 option vests if he pitches in a certain number of games in 2009.

Posted by: Umair | June 23, 2009 at 01:13 PM

Millwood at $12M and Sanchez at $8M aren't nearly as bad as Ordonez at $18M.

Millwood isn't missing as many bats this year, but he's keeping his walks down and he's getting more groundballs. He may not quite be worth $12M, but he's a solid 3/4 starter and he hasn't totally fallen apart in Arlington.

Sanchez will never lead the league in walks, but he churns out line drives. He makes a lot of hard contact and has solid gap power, I'd argue that he's an above average offensive second baseman. He's also a solid defender at second base, too, so overall, Sanchez at $8M isn't really that bad.

Posted by: scribbletone | June 23, 2009 at 01:18 PM

"I believe Josh Beckett's 2010 option vests if he pitches in a certain number of games in 2009."

Umair's got it right.

Beckett has a $12M option with a $2M buyout. The option vests though if Beckett makes 28 starts in 2009, or a total of 56 starts between 2008 and 2009.

He started 27 games last season, and he's started 14 games so far this year. He needs another 14 starts for the option to vest.

Posted by: scribbletone | June 23, 2009 at 01:22 PM

Although it isnt 2010 that is affected, Bradley needs just 22 more games this year before his 2011 option would kick in.

Posted by: SuzysMan | June 23, 2009 at 01:27 PM

Millwood 2008= 5.07 ERA
Millwood 2009= 2.62 ERA

Yet....

2008 6.67K/9, 2.61 BB/9 1.20GB

2009 5.48 K/9, 2.78 BB/9, 1.22 GB

Of course his BABIP is 100 pts lower and his LOB % is 85.5

Posted by: kinsler5 | June 23, 2009 at 01:27 PM

From Cot's Baseball Contracts:

Beckett:
10:$12M club option ($2M buyout)
2010 option vests with 28 GS in 2009 or 56 GS 2008-09

2008 GS 27
2009 GS 14

So he only needs 14 more GS

Posted by: John | June 23, 2009 at 01:42 PM

God, I forgot about Dmitri.

Posted by: www.homehalfway.net | June 23, 2009 at 01:53 PM

Considering that Bradley has only missed 13 games so far, I say he has plenty of opportunity to blow his vesting option.

Posted by: fijis | June 23, 2009 at 02:26 PM

Mark my words, Bradley will get injured and go on the DL for the rest of the year on the 76th game.

Posted by: bballrox4717 | June 23, 2009 at 03:03 PM

You think Magglio will have a grievance with Detroit, what if the Cubs set Bradley down so thst he doesn't vest his ridiculous 2011 option? They won't do it, of course,but I'd love to see crazy ol' Milton with that one. BTW, only 75 games? Hendry didn't show much faith in his ability to stay healthy, did he? It should at least have been 100 games.

Posted by: rememberthecoop | June 23, 2009 at 03:31 PM

It truly irks me the way Milwood only seems to produce or go that extra mile (i.e leading the league in IP and having a sub 3.00 ERA) yet not coming anywhere near those stats in the years prior. It's no coincidence that he had an amazing year after signing the 1 year deal w/ the Indians in 06 (192 IP, 2.86 ERA) and is having a comparable year now (106 IP, 2.62). Meanwhile in 07 and 08 he failed to pitch 175 IP and had an ERA well over 5.00. How should that make Texas feel about the majority of time he sucked along this contract term?

Posted by: YanksFanSince78 | June 23, 2009 at 03:46 PM

As a Cubs fan, I don't give a hoot if Bradley gets injured. I prefer Hoffpauir a LOT more than him. I even wonder if Jake Fox has any potential outfield skills.

Posted by: www.homehalfway.net | June 23, 2009 at 04:07 PM

The only way to deal with guys like Millwood is sign them to contracts for the current season with a mutual option for the following year.

Needless to say, Millwood is a "careerist" who will put his interests before his team's interest, always. He is not the only players who thinks this way either...

Posted by: hawkny | June 23, 2009 at 05:39 PM

memo to pinella: prevent milton from getting those at bats

PLEASE

Posted by: smw | June 23, 2009 at 10:53 PM

Freddy is worth the 8mil. He is a very good defender and should be in the discussion for Gold Glove this year. He is a good hitter and is only lacking power. He hits for average and extra base hits. He is back from injuries last year to his batting title form from two years ago. If he had power, he'd be talked about as one of the top 2nd basemen in the league, but many people are so worried about power, he gets left out of many conversations. With saying that, he is not Chase Utley or Kinsler, but still a very very good 2nd baseman.

Posted by: LetsGoBucs921 | June 28, 2009 at 12:11 PM

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