The A’s signed Kurt Suzuki to an extension that will keep the catcher in Oakland through 2013, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter). The A’s, who have been discussing a possible extension with Suzuki since the spring, added a 2014 option to the deal.
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the deal guarantees Suzuki $16.25MM over four years, supplanting his 2010 contract. The 2014 option will vest if Suzuki plays in 118 games in 2013, and would earn him $9.25MM. If the option doesn't vest, the club could still choose to exercise it for $8.5MM or buy it out for $650K. Suzuki would have been eligible for free agency after 2013, so the extension buys out his three arbitration seasons and possibly a free agency season.
When MLBTR's Tim Dierkes examined a possible Suzuki extension in April, he suggested that the backstop ought to seek at least $12MM for his remaining arbitration years, so the $16.25MM figure is a little higher than we were expecting for the 26-year-old.
Suzuki is hitting .257/.316/.408 this season, right in line with his career averages. He is throwing 26% of would-be base stealers out, also in line with his career marks.
Good deal for the A’s. I like Kurt and hes a very underrated player with great defense. Hope he does well with the A’s.
Good for him (and the A’s!)! He’s a great catcher and definitely deserves it.
At first I was like, “why?” Now he’s stuck in freakin’ Oakland for 4 more years…but then I realized;
They’ll still trade him.
Hopefully they will realize that some players just shouldn’t be moved and instead focus on guys that they can build a team around.
This is the only catcher i would’ve been excited to get as a red sox fan, not ianetta or montero from the dbacks, But he deserved this, congrats a’s on lock up a great catcher.
Just like Haren & Swisher before him, you can bet all the money you can he will be in a Boston uniform next year.
yea because swisher and haren ended up in boston all right. Not only that but you chose 2 players who beane got a great return on
Great signing for both sides.
He is a great catcher, but I would want more hitting out of a catcher. A .257 BA is not a $17MM deal kinda catcher. 26% of baserunners isn’t good either… Though he is a good fielder.
Either way, good for him and the Athletics.
He did average .279 in 2008 and .274 in 2009 respectfully. Though he doesn’t have a very good OBP (.313 last year, .316 this year). He did however have both a higher batting average and OBP in 2008 (.279/.346) than he did in 2009 and 2010, which makes you wonder whether he sacrificed both his AVG and OBP% for SLG% in 2009 (.274/.313/.421) after his SLG% was .370 the year before. He did hit about twice as many homers and RBIs in 2009 than he did in 2008.
Yeah that’s true. He is a good catcher, but I don’t think he is $17MM catcher. Either way, I would love the Astros to have him! Haha!
who wouldnt like to have Suzuki? Considering they only bought out the team-controlled years as well as a possible free-agent year, I dont think he had much to lose by signing this deal. Oakland only trades players in the last year of their contracts. ;p
Agreed, I’ve always liked Kurt’s game.