The Brewers extended left fielder Ryan Braun through the 2020 season, the team announced. The extension is for five years and $105MM, tweets CAA Sports, while MLB.com's Adam McCalvy has the year-by-year breakdown. The contract includes a mutual option for 2021 worth up to $20MM with a $4MM buyout. McCalvy notes that the deal includes a $10MM signing bonus, a no-trade provision, and some deferred salary. The deferrals were key to the deal, CAA agent Nez Balelo told McCalvy.
Braun was already under contract through 2015 on a precedent-setting deal. As I noted on Monday, the Rockies' Troy Tulowitzki is the only other player under contract through the 2020 season. Braun and Tulo were drafted fifth and seventh overall in 2005, respectively, and both tacked monster extensions on top of their old team-friendly contracts in 2011. Like Tulo's deal, Braun's contract actually takes a dip in salary toward the end. My biggest concern with Tulo's deal was the difficulty in projecting injury risk rather than performance decline. Braun seems a safer bet than Tulowitzki to remain healthy, though Braun signed his contract even further away from free agency and does not play a premium position.
Braun's new contract represents the largest contract in Brewers history, as did his previous $45MM deal. His agency notes the $21MM average annual value on the new extension is the second-highest ever for an outfielder, ranking behind only Manny Ramirez's $22.5MM AAV on his last Dodgers deal. Among all position players, Adrian Gonzalez, Mark Teixeira, Joe Mauer, Ryan Howard, and Alex Rodriguez also have higher AAVs.
Braun will turn 37 shortly after his contract ends, so he may be a Brewer for his entire career, notes Balelo. Braun's career batting line so far: .308/.367/.557 with 133 home runs in 2627 plate appearances. This is likely his final season playing alongside the Brewers' other superstar slugger, Prince Fielder, who will be eligible for free agency.
completely unnecessary risk is the new black
not a completely unnecessary risk: how do the Brewer’s replace Braun’s offense otherwise? How do they make Milwaukee a desireable destinations for free agents otherwise? Undoubtedly, this is part of a larger plan to try and sign players like Zach Grienke, Shaun Marcum, and even Casey McGehee.
when you say “replace his offense”, you mean “replace his 2016 offense”, right?
the answer to your question then is “i don’t know and i don’t need to know for another 5 freaking years”
Yes but now you dont need to know for 10 years…see how much better that is?
~sarcasm~
Um..he was already locked up through 2015….they don’t need to replace it. Plus you just payed market value or more for a guy in his prime that is already atrocious in the OF. I’m guessing maybe he ends up at 1B but the signing was totally unnecessary considering they didn’t get a discount and already had him locked up for several more years.
Apparently you missed the catch he made Tuesday.
please tell me that was sarcasm. there is no way anyone is dumb enough to base a players defensive value on one single play….
hrbomber1113,
Have you looked at Braun’s fielding stats? Since he began playing the outfield in 2008, he has committed 5 freaking errors. His fielding percentage is 99.5%. You can’t tell me his fielding is horrible. 5 errors in a little over 3 seasons of play left field is not bad.
What decade are you living in?? Saying that someone is an above-average defender because they have a good fielding percentage is a lot like saying Felix Hernandez was an average pitcher last year because his win-loss record was only 13-12.
It’s not real difficult to keep your errors to a minimum when your range only allows you to make the routine plays, and not do much more than that.
There’s more to being a good fielder than Fielding Percentage.
Just mail him the Gold Glove for 2011 and get it over with…nothing more needs to be seen.
Do we send Jeter’s at the same? You know, to save money on shipping and all. Money’s tight in the baseball world these days apparently.
If I was the Brewers, I would institute a no running, diving, or sliding policy, have him walk around with protective shield, and bench him on away games in New York. In all seriousness, this is a small market team taking a huge risk with more to lose than to gain.
If you think Braun is just an average joe, you should follow his stats more closely. Braun is a special, one of a kind players. You are just ticked off that your beloved Yankees won’t have a chance to sign him.
oh you are misguided little one – I despise the Yankees and to your surprise, actually a Padres fan. Your juvenile argument is not compelling whatsoever with the least bit of merit or intelligence. Regardless of how much of a Ryan Braun groupy fan you may be, even the most obsessive 10 year old girl would admit that there’s an element of risk the Brewers have taken. Was it a calculated risk worth taking? In your mind, I wouldn’t think anything but yes. But in a rational, unbiased mind: no.
But please, in the future, put your giddy schoolgirl fascinations aside and make a compelling argument for the Brewers.
First of all bro, Ryan Braun has improved every year he’s been at that position. The man is considered by allot of experts as the BEST LF in the game. I’ve been a Brewer fan for more than 30 years and I’ve never seen a more talented hitter. Molitor and Yount were great but not like this kid. When he’s done, he’ll own every batting record the Milwaukee franchise has. He’ll be a part of countless winning teams and maybe a World Series Championship and he’ll retire a Brewer which just ask any small market baseball fan, doesn’t happen often with a guy of this caliber! Great signing and it couldn’t be more NECESSARY!!!! GO BREWERS!!!
Ryan Braun’s URZ/150
2008: 2.9
2009: -11.7
2010: -8.2
2011: -38.0
Hey bro, that’s not improving defensive numbers
URZ numbers don’t mean crap.
Braun has committed FIVE errors since he started playing outfield.
This merits a 100% ironic like.
You mean the BEST HITTER PLAYING LF right?
Who are all these “experts” who consider Braun to be the best LF in the game? His family members? The people who own his replica jersey?
Name another LF who is the ‘best’ in the game. Don’t say Matt Holiday, he’s not even close.
Try to pay attention. The comment I was replying to was:
“Ryan Braun has improved every year he’s been at that position. The man is considered by allot of experts as the BEST LF in the game.”
And just to name a few off the top of my head, Carl Crawford, Carlos Gonzalez, Brett Gardner, Josh Hamilton and Vernon Wells are all much better defensive LFs.
“Don’t say Matt Holliday” Umm… Matt Holliday. Since 2008 Holliday has been worth 5 WAR more than Braun, has a wOBA 13 points higher and has been worth about as many positive fielding RAA and Braun has been worth negative.
Not improving on defense and not improving on offense. His best offensive year continues to be his rookie season (wOBA of 422). That was followed by his 2009 campaign (wOBA of 405) and then two similar years in 2008 and 2010 (377 and 380 respectively).
You can argue that Ryan Braun is remarkably consistent since he broke in the bigs. But to say he’s getting better is patently false.
He might be the best hitter you’ve ever seen in the Brewers uniform (although Molitor and Yount were amazing). But to claim he is the best hitter you’ve EVER seen … guess you don’t watch many Cardinal games.
countless=0
Yeah. I wouldn’t be happy about this at all, if I were a Brewers fan. Braun’s a great player. But to take a $105M gamble on him STILL being that good 5-10 years from now??
the brewers just went from having one of the very best contracts in baseball to one of the riskiest
i’m happy for ryan braun though
Definitely a good day to be Ryan Braun. I mean, he probably would have gotten a similar deal in 5 years IF he was still one of the best hitters in baseball in 5 years. But how great are those odds?
yeah, but pretty soon Ryan Howard contracts are going to be the new norm and this contract wont look so scary. After 5 more all-star appearences to his name he’s going to cost a lot more than 20 million a year.
the guy has never had a season over 5 fWAR…he is a great hitter but not an elite player. Brett Gardner had 5.4 fWAR last year.
He’s one of a handful of players in major league history to hit 125 or more HR with a career .300 BA after his first 4 seasons. He’s on pace to be a first ballot HOFer.
Brett Gardner will have to buy a ticket to get in the HOF.
That’s assuming an awful lot.
that’s pure conjecture. and even if it turns out to be true, it still won’t necessarily be true that he as a player will be worth a five year commitment at that price
If you base his contract under a best case scenario then yes – this will be a good move. Unfortunately, you only need to review long-term contracts that have been handed out to realize that such logic is deeply flawed. The probability of him being seriously injured or regressing in skills is much higher than of him maintaining his peak performance levels through his age 37 season.
Heck, we are happy as ever. How often does a player of Braun’s caliber ASK to stay in the city he started with?
Braun has class, something Mark Teixeira, Manny Ramirez, and Prince Fielder don’t have. It’s funny how Yankee fans call this extension to be ‘risky’, yet the 10-Year Jeter contract was ‘good’ for the Yankees.
How does Tex have no class? Because he left the Angels without signing their contract extension? Or just that anyone who signs with the Yankees automatically has no class?
Those comparisons are nonsensical. And WHY are you assuming I’m a Yankee fan? I can’t stand that team.
Not so much class now
this is an interesting move. He is 27 now signed to 31 and now signed till he is 36. Yet, they dont have the funds to keep Fielder? LOL
they aren’t going to be using money from next year’s budget to pay braun’s contract from 2016-2020
more like captain of the failboat amirite
They offered Fielder the very same amount and he turned it down so, it’s unfair to make that comment. Even if you think it’s funny. Fielder might not get 20 million a year. I think he should have been loyal and took the EXT. because that’s allot of money to turn down when you love where you play already. Just ask him, he’s always said he’s happy, even when he was mad at the club a couple years ago! GO CREW!!!
I disagree. This is a good decision on so many levels. Not only does it further lock up one of the most talented players in all of baseball, but it also serves to reward Braun for his patience several years after signing a very franchise friendly contract. This signing stands alongside Joe Mauer’s contract as a ground-breaking event which demonstrates that small-market teams are capable of re-signing their elite players.
Agreed. Ryan Braun is my favorite player, and this is a huge day for Milwaukee Brewers fans. Braun is an elite player, and this deal also establishes some cost certainty for the team going forward.
Braun had talked in the past about being in Milwaukee for many more years, and he has put his money where his mouth is.
elite HITTER…miserable defender. His fWAR was .1 better than Nick Swisher.
Jeez man. I guess we should just use fWAR for everything and not look at anything else. Find a new argument.
Braun better have one big mouth! Lol!
I would also throw in Evan Longoria’s contract being good for the Rays.
small-market teams have always been capable of signing their players to ridiculously long contracts well before they hit free agency. they haven’t done in it the past because it’s generally pretty stupid
joe mauer’s contract is already looking awful, so that is a good example. but not for you
Completely agree. Braun is a perennial MVP candidate. He’ll be 36 when this deal ends. He gets 141.5 million for 9 years starting in 2012. That’s still a relative bargain.
He was certainly due a reward for taking the team friendly contract last time. Braun has never shied away from taking on the role as face of the franchise.
With his buddy Aaron Rodgers, the two now become royalty in Wisconsin.
‘He gets 141.5 million for 9 years starting in 2012. That’s still a relative bargain”
google ‘opportunity cost’ and then sit back and have a think
You can’t calculate the contract that way. What he signed today does NOT in ANY way have an impact on what he had previously signed. They are two separate details that need to be evaluated individually.
This new contract pays him over $20m/year through his age 37 season. That’s how you have to evaluate this contract.
Just think about how dumb this will look if Braun suffers any type of serious injury between now and the end of the 2015 season. Or suffers from a massive decline in production. Small market clubs cannot afford to take on this type of risk.
Of course, a new CBA might change the entire playing field when it comes to revenue sharing and this argument goes out the window. Perhaps the Brewers FO has an inkling of that happening as the current CBA is up at the end of the season IIRC.
Weird…but in a good way.
What I used to think was an absolutely wonderful contract becomes a very risky contract in a matter of seconds of reading article.
its still wonderful for the next 5 years
Here’s a thought why do teams sign or re-sign star players if down the road they want to trade them for cash relief or stuff like that.
If you let a player like Braun or Fielder get too near free agency before attempting to sign them, the player’s sense of his potential value easily outweighs his desire for financial security . . . this is what happened with Fielder, for instance, who was not signed to a long-term deal before he demonstrated his ability to perform consistently at a high level. As a result, he prefers to go to the highest bidder (or at least test the market) rather than commit to a contract where he will probably lose out on some money. This is why Cliff Lee, Joe Mauer, Troy Tulowitski and now Braun’s contracts are so special: they took less money in order to sign with a team they prefer, despite the fact that they could have gotten more money by signing with the highest bidder.
I LOVE this move. The Brewers and Braun saw what was going on with everybody else playing at Braun’s level and obviously got uncomfortable with that contract. This gives Braun piece of mind and lets the Brewers move on and it kicks in far enough in the future that they can adjust for it over the next few years without letting it tie their hands. Brilliant move.
His original contract that kept him there til 2016 wasn’t giving him enough peace of mind? All the Brewers did is risk more cash and more years on a guy they were already paying well, and for a long time. Doesn’t really make much sense to me.
As a lifelong Brewer fan, it’s refreshing to see the club willing to lock up proven talent for the long term rather than let them go elsewhere and kick our asses.
he already was locked up. he wasn’t going anywhere until 2016. that’s 5 full seasons away
he is now committed to through his age 37 season
unlike tulowitzki and mauer, braun plays a position with very little value and even in his prime years he plays it poorly. there is nowhere to move him
nothing to be happy about here for brewers fans
The additional extension at over $20mil AAV doesn’t save them anything either, plus, with a new CBA and the potential for the DH spot to be completely removed between now and 2020 [lack of trading partners if his defense really tanks].. yeah.. Melvin isn’t too bright.
Good move to lock up a guy who is clearly going to go down in Brewers’ history with players like Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, etc. I like this move a hell of lot better than a similar contract for Fielder.
HE’S ALREADY LOCKED UP…how can Brewers fans not figure this out?
Fielder would have been much better for the Brew Crew to sign! 5 years younger than when the extension begins, every bit the hitter as Braun while a better defender. Youd pass on 4 more years of these 2 vs 9 with just Braun! Cmon now!
Did you really just reffer to Fielder as a better defender than… (anyone)?
Fielder is not the hitter Braun is. It’s not even close. Braun hits the ball foul pole to foul pole. Fielder is great, don’t get me wrong, but his season to season numbers fluctuate rather noticeably. Braun’s one minor flaw has been that he has tended to expand the zone a bit, but this year he’s being much more patient and has more walks than strikeouts so far. If that continues, he’ll win multiple MVPs.
Fielder isn’t a better defender either. At best Fielder is average at 1B. Braun makes some mistakes in LF, but he’s a great athlete and he makes plays using his athleticism that makes up for some of his misjudgments.
Braun can also steal you 20 bases.
head in the sand…..
he was already locked up….
This is a fantastic contract. He is one of the top 5 hitters in all of baseball, and he makes way less than all the major FA signings.
Answer: 5.5
Question: What’s the over/under on how many questions get asked in July MLBTR chats about a “big market team” taking the Braun contract off Milwaukee’s hands?
If Braun played for a big market team he would be a huge deal. A-Rod, Pujols or even Lorngoria big. But he is playing in Milwaukee so he gets glossed over. Sure he is a top 10 pick in fantasy drafts but he still doesn’t get the recognition he should. The guy straight mashes. It is funny that it was a coin flip between Tulo and Braun for the pick in that draft and either way they would have been right.
it’s because it’s real baseball and not fantasy baseball. And yes Braun can hit but he is such a joke in the field it kills his value. And no…Tulo is much more valuable. What is more valuable…a GREAT fielding SS who can mash or one of the worst OF in baseball playing LF that can mash? no doubt about it.
But you don’t watch the games, my point about fantasy was meant to say that people pick him for their teams enjoy the wins but never really see the games as he is in a small market. Sure Tulo has more value but Braun is still a great player. You can look at stats and say he sucks defensively but he makes some great plays, he also dives at balls he has no chance to get. He is not the best defender out their but he is not Carlos Lee, also I wouldn’t rule out a move to first base in his future.
that is one of the worst arguments for someone’s defense. He is clearly a miserable defender. The advanced metrics/scouts/non biased and halfway intelligent fans all agree. Adam Dunn has made great plays before. A lot of those “great plays” are plays that halfway decent outfielders make routinely.
“he dives at balls he has no chance to get”
lol wtf is that? are you arguing for or against his defense? The guy sucks in the OF. Everybody knows it except a few Brewers fans.
I am not saying he is great at defense, I was stating that sometimes even stats are flawed. Even people that do keep stats admit that their work is flawed. My point was that he makes some good plays that people that look at possibly flawed metrics don’t see.
You don’t go to live games. All their information is obtained by watching video, so rewinding, watching in slow-motion, etc. is a routine part of the process. The interns are responsible for scoring games, which consists of plotting hit locations, hit types (grounder, liner, fly, “fliner”) and whether it was hit hard, medium, or soft. These things account for fielder range. We then had to score on a series of Good Fielding Plays (GFPs) and Defensive Misplays (DMs), of which there were several types (good double play turn, good assist, and several more).
We were also responsible for charting pitchers, which included pitch type, location, and velocity. We also marked hit location and velocity while charting. We scored games live (or reasonably live, as we’d rewind and get hung up occasionally). We charted games the day after they were played.
There are problems with BIS, as human error is a part of anything, but in my opinion, their setup was just as responsible for error. Almost all of the guys I worked with were sharp guys, so nobody was really slacking off or “chatting up girls” or anything. I’m out of baseball as a career now, so I have no problem telling this story as an example:
Their field dimensions were shockingly not to always scale. Obviously each stadium is different, but some were clearly wrong. One that was clearly messed up was Safeco. Their wall on their replica of Safeco was clearly plotted as too far from home plate based on the field’s actual dimensions in certain areas. The wall was too far. Therefore, every time a catch was made at the wall, it was plotted as several feet beyond the fence! Take a look at the 2009 defensive metrics for center fielders, which is the year I worked there. Franklin Gutierrez is off the charts. Now, he’s certainly a good fielder, but his numbers were seriously inflated. I have no way of knowing whether this model is still used, but I know a couple of us brought up this problem multiple times to the higher ups to no avail.
That’s just one example. Like I said, I still think BIS does good things overall, but some of their flaws are going to cost them in the industry if they aren’t addressed.
even ignoring statistics, my eyes show me that Braun is an awful fielder.
I understand why you wouldnt wait until the season before FA to try and lock him up but come on! I love braun but locking up a guy for this kind of money when he is 5 years away from FA just seems dumb. I would have waited at least until this offseason to see how he does this year and would have preferred to wait a few more years. This really doesnt make much sense, esp when you wonder if they got him at a discount which I dont think they did. Bad timing on this move.
they wouldn’t even have to wait until the season before free agency. they could have waited another season after this one
or another
or another
lol yea which is what I was saying
This is a PR move meant to diffuse the backlash that will occur when Prince is traded/not resigned. From a business standpoint this deal makes no sense at all. Even if you did this 2 years before FA it would be an unprecedented move that shows tremendous goodwill on the part of the club AND it would limit the exposure to the club in case of injury or skill regression.
You don’t want him to become disgruntled toward the end of that contract either. I think the Brewers are showing him how much they appreciate his patience and dedication thus far. If he isn’t the kind of player you want to lock up for as long as possible and keep happy, I don’t know who is. He’s going to keep fans in the seats and help make a lot of money for the Brewers organization. He’s a good enough outfielder where it doesn’t factor into my judgement.
I’m wondering if something like this would help keep Fielder in Milwaukee, knowing that he’ll always have Braun in front of him.
You think braun will get disgruntled if they waited untl this offseason or hell even 2 more years from now when he will still have 3 years left on his deal?!?! I think they made the right move to extend him because hes good however not with 5 years left!
Fielder’s going to be a pretty big deal coming up soon. Maybe they didn’t want to risk having to deal with both of them at the same time.
I don’t think you get it. Braun was already dealt with. They would have never had to deal with both of them at the same time.
You’re right, Fielder likely isn’t in the picture now if he wants to sign a long-term deal. In the many years that Braun is here…I hope they can find someone to come close to replacing Prince. Let some other team take a chance on his large stature and terrible throws to home plate.
Fielder is now, braun is 5 years down the road.
Actually Fielder was two years ago, and he said no.
oh for christs sakes. Why does the team have to crawl and grovel and risk millions of dollars to keep a player in a good mood?
It’s not about the money, in Braun’s case. He could have signed for a heck of a lot more.
his UZR/150 last year was -38 (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) but you probably have no idea what UZR is. EVERY PLAYER MAKES THE ROUTINE PLAYS.
Maybe they are moving to the AL….
haha ya back to the AL that is. It would take one hell of a DH to be worth $20MM+
We’re supposed to take someone who posts like this seriously?
what are you even talking about?
Follow up to this story..
Via Twitter
Brewers Announce Braun Extention until 2020, then extend the extension until 2028.
All this means to me is that my Reds have to deal with him for a few more years and it’s going to be harder to sign Votto when his current deal is up
Colorado Rockies have just announced they have extended Troy Tulowitzki’s deal to 2031
What are the odds that Braun would get better than 5/105 at age 31? 10pct? Braun has to have the biggest smile in Milwaukee right now. He just robbed a bank and didn’t even have to use a gun, they just gave him the combination to the vault!
Can we say Jayson Werth.
5/105 is better than 7/126 in most people’s books!
I wasn’t making a dollar for dollar comparison but hopefully you get the point I was trying to make.
I think I gotcha. Who thought Werth would get what he got at his age right?
Maybe the Brewers and Rockies have insight into the future state of the American economy. Maybe they are banking on some serious inflation (in the American dollar and in general salaries), which end up making this deal alright. Go back and look how much can change in player wages over the course of a decade. Tulo and Braun’s deals could end up looking really team friendly in 8 years.
when you wish upon a star…
you usually end up missing the playoffs for several years
If Braun is making $21m through age 37, then he’s making more than what FA are signing for.
1) Werth: $18m until age 37.
2) Crawford: $20.2m until age 36.
3) Adrian Gonzalez: $22m until age 35
The problem here (for the Brewers) is that those players are all PLUS defensive players, significantly better defensively than Braun. While Braun may be a better hitter than all of them (debatable, in regards to Gonzalez), it doesn’t make sense to pay him MORE than (some of) them — for a longer period of time, no less — when he literally provides negative defensive value. Not neutral, not average, but NEGATIVE.
Furthermore, the Red Sox and Nationals can afford to overpay. When those players inevitably decline — and therefore become overpaid — it probably won’t affect the Sox much, nor the Nats (who have a billionaire owner who is willing to be in the red). Can we say the same about the Brewers?
Look, I get why Brewers fans would be happy — the idea of losing a popular player is never fun…but from a management standpoint, I’m not sure how the Front Office can justify this. They’re forecasting TEN YEARS. It would be one thing if they got a really nice hometown discount, but that doesn’t appear to be the case.
That’s a lot of money for a guy with all the fielding ability of a canned ham.
You know whats funniest about comments on here? On one hand you have the Couch Potato GM’s, on another hand you have the ones who are experts in the field because they can look up stats, and than you just have the people who are just going to try and grab attention by starting stuff. How the heck does ANYONE on here leaving comments have any clue about how the contract is going to turn out? I’d be willing to guess none of you are General Managers, sports experts, or for that matter psychics. Every contract is a gamble. Every contract extension is a gamble. Plus even the experts can’t even predict what somebody is going to get on the open market. Think anyone predicted the deal Jayson Werth would get? Us Brewers fans are used to seeing players come and go, getting traded away, leaving free agency…forgive those of us who are actually glad to see our top players having their contracts renewed, regardless of if they were already locked up through 2015 or not.
yup, only GM’s, sports experts, and psychics can understand when a deal is mindblowingly risky, unneccesary, and dumb.
let me try your logic:
we cannot know if it is a wise decision to pinch hit albert pujols for ryan theriot until the at-bat is over! everything is a gamble, you couch potatoes!
Well, seems like an interesting gamble to me… 19MM for ages 32-34, 18MM for 35, 16MM for 36, and a 20MM option for age 37 season. Somewhat similar to the Matt Holliday deal, in terms of money, age, and offensive/defensive abilities. I think the Brewers have about the same chance of regretting this deal with Braun as the Cards have regretting theirs with Holliday.
Gallardo/Greinke as the cornerstone SP’s -I love.
Braun/???/??? (Who else?)
Braun needs a couple of players around him.
They need to use the 2 picks from Prince wisely or get premium talent at the deadline. Rickie “DL” Weeks has proven me wrong and stayed healthy but to rely on him? nah no thanks. Is McGehee going to keep mashing? I’ll wait until the end of this year and see. I’m a fan of C-go but he’s a bit undisciplined as of yet.
I like that the Hebrew-Hammer is staying in cheese and beer all his life..but he needs people around him, and bad..
Its a good contract because:
A: He signed a team friendly one before so Brewers already got a huge discount.
B: Because he is a franchise player
C: It gives cost certainty to the Brewers.
One can’t predict what will happen in the future and plan accordingly. He’s been healthy most of the times so “what if he gets injured” is mute argument.
“What if he gets injured?” is never a mute argument. Eric Chavez, for example, was the picture of health when the A’s offered him 6/$66M in March of 2004. And that was for his age 27-32 seasons. And we all know how that turned out.
Milwaukee just took a 5/$105M gamble on Braun’s age 32-36 seasons. And they don’t even begin for 5 more years! This is a GIGANTIC risk to take on a player who was already locked up through 2015 anyway.
Don’t fret, Brewers fans. If it’s not working out a few years down the line, you can always dump the contract on the Angels like it ain’t no thang.
People need to realize he’s not going to be getting $21M at age 36, he’ll be getting $16M. The average value of $21M includes a $10 signing bonus, which he gets right now.
I wonder how many times the same people said Braun was a terrible defender on here. Or that Braun was already locked up. Or that its a bad deal. You have too much time on your hands, especially considering that you aren’t Brewers fans. Why do you even care? Of course most Brewer fans are happy. Of course the fans from all the other teams are whining about it. If Braun played for their team, they’d be right here defending him. It happens every time someone signs a new contract…
I can guarantee you that if my team EVER does something like this, I will be the first person to condemn it.
And FYI, reckless spending doesn’t only affect one team. It affects the entire market. Thanks to this and the Tulowitzki deal, we’re now likely to start seeing agents hold out for 10-year deals more often, when teams attempt to sign their young stars to long-term extensions.
This could be bad news for every low budget team in baseball.
This and the Tulo deal are whats bad for baseball? All anybody has to do is believe the Red Sox or Yankees could be interested, hold out for Free Agency to make a ton. Or that a team like Washington will be willing to grossly overpay to bring them in. And you say the Braun and Tulo deals are bad?
We’re talking about Ryan Braun the pitcher, right?
moot
The amount of idiots in this thread is amazing. Braun is an AMAZING offensive player, and a solid defensive player. There’s nothing wrong with his outfield play. He covers a lot of ground, and makes the plays that he needs to make. I can’t recall him ever making an error that cost his team the game, and that’s all that matters. His only weakness defensively is his throwing decisions, as he sometimes tries too hard to force a play that isn’t there.
Bottom line: If you’re being critical about something like his UZR, you’re just sore that you don’t have him. Braun is a top 3 hitter in baseball, and he will be better than any player on your favorite team over the rest of his career.
Like the brewers much?
Yankee fans, it’s okay, I’m sure you can sign another player to come play in the Bronx..
Seriously, why are the Yankee fans saying this Braun contract is ‘risky’? Didn’t Derek Jeter sign a 10 year contract in 2001 to remain a Yankee until 2011? I don’t think I remember any Yankee fan saying how it was ‘risky’ to sign a player to such a long contract. Jeter signed for even more money than Braun did. Your argument is flawed.
The Yankees have seemingly limitless resources. If the Jeter contract had gone bad, it wouldn’t have mattered much to them. They still could have went out and spent tens of millions on another SS, and never have thought twice about it.
Can the Brewers do the same thing if Braun’s contract goes bad?
Not to mention, Jeter got all 10 of his years at once. That’s a lot different than tacking an additional 5 years onto what they already had him for, like the Brewers did with Braun.
Wow. This contract must be even worse than I originally thought if it’s causing me to defend the Yankees for the first time ever. Geez.
you are hands down one of the most ignorant and least informed baseball “fans” I’ve come across. Do you realize that our LF had a better season last year than yours for $300,000 or so? Do you realize our RF had basically the same quality of season as Braun? Do you realize the Yankees can eat a contract and have it not matter at all. Do you realize Jeter’s 10 year deal ended up being one of the best long term contracts of all time? Do you realize Braun already plays one of the 2 easiest positions in the game and is already pathetic at it in his prime? Do you really think he’s going to get better in his late 30’s?
You have serious Yankee envy. Braun is a good player but we have plenty of DH’s on our roster already. Plus if we were looking to sign a stud outfielder we would have signed one of Crawford/Werth/Holliday who are all better players than Ryan Braun.
Here are the facts. A team with a limited budget just signed a contract extension 5 years earlier than necessary without getting any sort of discount. There is no upside to this extension. You can only hope he doesn’t decline any further in the outfield to the point where he’s unplayable. The guy is a good player. But Yankee fans aren’t jealous of not having a chance to sign him now considering we didn’t have a chance to sign him for 5 more years before the extension. Grow up and learn something about the game of baseball. Or better yet, common sense.
I dont see why so many people are upset by this. It is good because If he was not extended and kept putting up his number he would be gone for sure and would make more than 20 mill per season that he will get from 2015-2020. Also he is more than likely going to move to 1st after prince leaves which could be this summer or for sure in the winter. It also shows that the brew crew is willing to spend money on their corner stones. Maybe they were trying to extend Prince and he didnt want the 5 yrs 100 mill and they went to ryan and said “he prince does not want an extension, how does 5 years 100 mill added on to your deal sound?”
Also the fact that he will be 37 when its done means they get him right to the end of his prime. and wont be stuck with a guy into his 40’s or anything
Didn’t they have him locked up through 2015 at a bargain considering he is probably the best LF in baseball
??????
EDIT: Not that i’m upset by this by any means in fact i’m happy that Ryan stays with Milwaukee and hopefully make them a perennial contender but, I’m interested to see as why would they do this if they already had him locked up at a very good bargain for the next 4 years.
Yes, they did… and they still do.
Paying two players like Fielder and Braun in their prime wasn’t realistic…Braun is the right choice to try and build a franchise around. Fielder can go be forgotten as a Red Sox DH or whatever hey may end up as…
Adrian Gonzalez’s extension takes him through his age 36 season. Total, not including signing bonus? $148M. Braun’s extension takes him through his age 36 season. Total, not including signing bonus? $113M.
That does include two years of Braun’s previous “team friendly” deal. Let’s leave those first two years off then.
Gonzalez’s last five years on his extension? $106M. Braun’s? $91M.
If Braun’s deal is bad, Gonzalez’s is catastrophic.
How is that comparing apples to apples? Braun was already locked up through the end of 2015. What was the rush?
Gonzalez was set to become a free agent this winter, and he signed for what his market value was predicted be this winter — NOT what he was predicted to be worth 4 1/2 years from now.
Not to mention, if the Gonzalez deal goes bad, Boston will just go out and spend a ridiculous amount of money on yet another big bat. It won’t be a “catastrophic” loss to that team. But what happens if Braun’s deal goes bad? Where will that leave the Brewers, financially?
This guy is going to age fast. Another Jack Clark. There are many more like him coming up the ladder. He is not a smart ballplayer. Really dumb move. He likes to watch himself on the big scoreboard screen. They should have learned from Cubs ding dong signing of Soriano.
And your basing this nonsense on what?
We might as well spend it on a player that we have scene in a brewers uniform perform well otherwise we make dumb signings such as Suppan! Everyone elses fans come in here to tell brewer fans this was a bad move… How can they say that when they don’t watch him play every night. I like the signing he’s able to stay healthy, he doesn’t get in trouble off the field and he is in the top 10 in the NL for most stats. He doesn’t make errors to often but when he does he’s able to make up for it with his bat.. Good signing!
Good job brewers so now lets resign Fielder