Headlines

  • Bobby Jenks Passes Away
  • Braves Release Alex Verdugo
  • Clarke Schmidt Expected To Undergo Tommy John Surgery
  • Top 40 Trade Candidates For The 2025 Deadline
  • Rays Reinstate Ha-Seong Kim
  • Yankees Have Shown Interest In Ryan McMahon
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2025 Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

The Best Extensions From Two Offseasons Ago

By Mark Polishuk | May 31, 2012 at 10:33pm CDT

Back in January, MLBTR's Tim Dierkes looked at the extensions from the 2009-10 offseason that are already looking like (or have proven to be) mistakes.  While some teams rue those deals, other teams have benefited.  While the jury is still out on a few of the longer-term contracts (i.e. Roy Halladay, Denard Span, Justin Upton), a few extensions signed between October 1, 2009 and April 5, 2010 are already clear wins for teams.

  • Matt Cain.  Before Cain signed his six-year, $127.5MM extension with the Giants last April, there was talk that the MLBPA was watching the negotiations with interest due to the perception that Cain had already signed two team-friendly extensions in his career.  It's hard to argue that San Francisco got a deal on Cain's three-year, $27.25MM extension from March 2010.  Cain was already owed $4.25MM for 2010 and (on a team option) $6.25MM for 2011, and his new deal gave those numbers a minor bump up to a guaranteed $11.25MM for 2010-11, plus $15MM for what would have been Cain's first free agent year in 2012.  Based on Cain's latest extension, the Giants saved themselves at least $5-6MM by keeping Cain off the market in 2012.  Cain, of course, has greatly outperformed his extension on the field.
  • Todd Helton.  The Rockies' star signed a two-year, $9.9MM extension for the 2012-13 seasons while also saving his team some money in the short term.  Helton was originally set to make $19.1MM in 2011 and faced a $23.6MM club option in 2012 that surely wold've been bought out for $4.6MM.  Instead, he earned $10.6MM in 2011 salary, with $13.1MM converted to deferred payments.  While Helton hasn't played well in 2012 at age 38, I still call this a minor win for the Rockies since they got some short-term salary relief and also made sure their franchise icon would retire in purple.
  • Tim Lincecum.  "The Freak" was coming into his first arbitration-eligible year with unprecedented leverage, having won the NL Cy Young Award in both 2008 and 2009.  Lincecum asked for a record $13MM in 2010, with the Giants countering with an $8MM offer.  Both figures ended up coming into play, as Lincecum signed a two-year extension that paid him $8MM in 2010 and $13MM in 2011, plus a $2MM signing bonus.  It would've been a fascinating "what if?" to see if the arbitrator would've sided with Lincecum, and if he had, Lincecum probably would've been on pace to earn around $30MM in arbitration over those two seasons.  The Giants saved themselves anywhere between $3MM to $7MM on the Lincecum extension.
  • Justin Verlander.  The ace righty isn't even halfway through his five-year, $80MM extension and yet it's already a deal the Tigers would happily do again.  Were it not for the extension, Verlander would've been a free agent last winter in the wake of his MVP-and-Cy Young-winning season.  He could've easily commanded a deal with an average annual value of at least $24MM per season, but Detroit has him locked up at $20MM per season from 2012-14.
  • Carlos Ruiz.  The catcher signed a three-year, $8.85MM extension with the Phillies that covered all three of his arbitration-eligible seasons.  "Chooch" has been a great bargain for the Phillies, hitting .304/.390/.445 over the last three seasons and is currently enjoying his best year in the majors at age 33 — Ruiz has a whopping 1.038 OPS through 161 plate appearances.  The savings will continue for the Phillies since they hold a $5MM team option on Ruiz for 2013 that looks like a no-brainer pickup.
  • Felix Hernandez.  Like Verlander's contract, Hernandez's extension covered his last two arb years and his first three free agent years, though the Mariners locked up their ace for $78MM, slightly less than what it cost the Tigers to extend Verlander.  Hernandez will earn $58MM from 2012-14, and had he reached free agency, he would've gotten at least $24MM per year on the open market and a return to Seattle would've been next to impossible.  Hernandez's deal is reasonable for a pitcher in his prime and he would net a huge trade return if the Mariners ever decided to deal him. 
  • Shane Victorino.  The Phillies signed Victorino to a three-year, $22MM extension that covered his final two arb years and his first free agent year.  Victorino had a career-best performance in 2011 and would've earned at least $3.5MM more on the free agent market than the $9.5MM Philadelphia is paying him this season.
  • Matt Kemp.  The Dodgers covered Kemp's first two arb-eligible seasons with a two-year, $10.95MM contract that guaranteed him $4MM in 2010 and $6.95MM in 2011.  Obviously it was a bargain performance-wise given Kemp's monster 2011 campaign, but Kemp's disappointing 2010 season would've brought down his 2011 arb number, so the Dodgers probably ended up saving maybe $1MM at most.  Then again, giving Kemp that early security was a sign that the Dodgers were committed to their center fielder, which may have been a factor in Kemp signing his eight-year, $160MM extension last winter despite the fact that the Dodgers hadn't yet solved their ownership problems.
  • Tim Hudson.  Rather than pick up Hudson's $12MM club option for 2012, the Braves instead extended the veteran on a three-year, $28MM contract that includes a $9MM option ($1MM buyout) for 2013.  The Braves took a risk by extending a pitcher who was entering his age-34 season, but Hudson posted a 3.02 ERA and threw 443 2/3 innings in 2010-11.  His numbers are down a bit in 2012, but the Braves have already gotten a very good return on their investment.
Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Uncategorized

Draft Notes: Indians, Cubs, Royals, Yankees, Orioles
Main
Quick Hits: Hamels, Hernandez, Bourn, Jurrjens
View Comments (6)
Post a Comment

6 Comments

  1. Redlegs55

    13 years ago

    Johnny Cueto ‘s deal seems to be paying off as well

    Reply
  2. Lunchbox45

    13 years ago

    this is a no brainer, verlander

    Reply
  3. MSUcorner

    13 years ago

    Why even throw the extra sentence about King Felix’s trade value? He isn’t going anywhere. He’s a self-proclaimed Seattlite and Mariner for life.

    Reply
    • venn177

      13 years ago

      Because it’s 100% true that IF the Mariners deal him, he’ll get them a huge return.

      Reply
  4. Kevin

    13 years ago

    Jury still out on Halladay?  Sure he’s injured this year.  But the last two years lead to 2 playoff appearances, while him throwing a regular season perfect game, post-season no-hitter, averaging 20 wins/season with an ERA around 2.50 and won a Cy Young.  Hmmm…not sure if he was worth it…

    Reply
  5. Bern66

    13 years ago

    Some clarification on the Cain extension.  The deal was for guaranteed $112.5M in new money; $20 million for 5yrs annually beginning in 2013, a $5 million signing bonus and a $7.5 million buyout if his vested option of $21 million for 2018 doesn’t kick in and Giants don’t exercise their side. It would be exercised if he pitched 200 innings in 2017 or 400 in 2016 and 2017 – that is, unless he ends the final season on the disabled list with an elbow or shoulder ailment.  Max money would make it $126M -6yr deal and covers his year 28-32yr old season, option year is his 33yo season.

    The deal keeps getting reported as 6yr/127.5M because the Giants add a no trade clause to this season, but his salary for this year is unchanged from the prior extension he signed.  What’s interesting is the extension Cain is now wrapping up was suppose to have 1 more year of free agency bought out. During negotiation that spring Cain was sidelined with some elbow discomfort for a couple of weeks and 4yrs became 3yrs. 

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Bobby Jenks Passes Away

    Braves Release Alex Verdugo

    Clarke Schmidt Expected To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Top 40 Trade Candidates For The 2025 Deadline

    Rays Reinstate Ha-Seong Kim

    Yankees Have Shown Interest In Ryan McMahon

    Brandon Woodruff To Start For Brewers On Sunday

    Royals Interested In Bryan Reynolds

    Rangers Option Josh Jung

    Kevin Pillar Announces Retirement

    Braves Place Spencer Schwellenbach On IL With Elbow Fracture

    Giants Exercise 2026 Option On Manager Bob Melvin

    Yordan Alvarez Shut Down Due To Setback With Hand Injury

    Astros Place Jeremy Peña On Injured List With Fractured Rib

    Tucker Barnhart To Retire

    Tyler Mahle To Be Sidelined Beyond Trade Deadline

    Reds Release Jeimer Candelario

    Dave Parker Passes Away

    Griffin Canning Diagnosed With Ruptured Achilles

    Pirates Reportedly Have Very Few Untouchable Players At Trade Deadline

    Recent

    Yankees Sign Jeimer Candelario To Minor League Deal

    Giants Activate Matt Chapman, DFA Sergio Alcantara

    Nationals Reinstate Mason Thompson From 60-Day IL

    Bobby Jenks Passes Away

    Rangers To Sign Rowdy Tellez To Minor League Deal

    Yankees Likely To Promote Cam Schlittler

    Astros Sign Hector Neris

    Dodgers Not Planning To Add Third Base Help Before Deadline

    Braves Release Alex Verdugo

    Clarke Schmidt Expected To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Sandy Alcantara Rumors
    • Luis Robert Rumors
    • Alex Bregman Rumors

     

    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android App Store Google Play

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

    hide arrows scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version