The Mariners announced the signing of top shortstop prospect Colt Emerson to an eight-year extension that includes a club option for the 2034 campaign. Emerson, an ACES client, is reportedly guaranteed $95MM — a record for a player who has yet to make his MLB debut.
The signing comes with a full no-trade clause and includes another $35MM+ in escalators. There’s reportedly an $8MM signing bonus. Emerson will make $1MM and $2MM respective salaries over the next two seasons. That’ll climb to $9MM in 2028 and between $12-18MM per season from 2029-32. The club option is valued at $25MM.
Emerson will remain in Triple-A, where he has nine games of experience. Seattle needed to select him onto the 40-man roster to finalize his major league contract but immediately optioned him back to the Triple-A level. The 20-year-old’s deal tops the previous record guarantee for a player without any MLB service time (previously held by Jackson Chourio) by $13MM.
It’s not hard to see why the Mariners are giving him a guarantee that nearly reaches nine-figures before even seeing him take a single MLB at-bat, however. The youngster is a consensus top-15 prospect in the sport and rocketed through the minors last year. After starting 2025 at the High-A level, he walked at an excellent 13.1% clip and swatted 32 extra-base hits in just 90 games. That forced the issue enough to earn him a promotion to the upper minors and, across 40 games between Double-A Arkansas and Triple-A Tacoma, Emerson slashed .293/.383/.470 in 188 plate appearances. That would be an impressive slash line for any player, but even more so for a 19-year-old who plays quality defense all over the infield.
The Mariners made the decision to let Eugenio Suarez and Jorge Polanco depart in free agency over the offseason, and Emerson’s emergence was surely part of that calculus. For now, the club has an infield mix that appears full on paper, with J.P. Crawford at shortstop, Cole Young at second base, and the recently-acquired Brendan Donovan at third base.
Crawford is currently on the injured list with a bout of shoulder inflammation, but he’s expected to return relatively quickly from that injury. The Mariners preferred to use utilityman Leo Rivas as a fill-in rather than call Emerson up for a week or two only to option him back to Tacoma. With Crawford on track to hit free agency after the 2026 season, the position will probably belong to Emerson in the long term.
That’s not to say he’ll need to wait until 2027 to make his MLB debut. Young is a former top prospect himself and is well-regarded by the Mariners, but he’s ultimately unproven at the big league level and could open up playing time at the keystone if he struggles or sits against tough lefties. Donovan was acquired in no small part thanks to his elite versatility. The super-utility man is primarily an infielder but has plenty of experience on the outfield grass as well. Emerson could assume the regular third base job at some point this season. That would bump Donovan to right field, thereby displacing either Dominic Canzone or Luke Raley from the starting lineup.
While a spot could be made for Emerson in the majors, it’s understandable that the club is holding off on promoting him for now. This extension is a big bet on his ability and removes the consideration of service time from the equation, but Emerson’s development must still be considered. While MLB Pipeline notes that his defensive metrics last year suggested he was an above-average defender at short, he has just 111 1/3 innings of work at third base for his career and just 75 at the keystone, so it would be understandable if the team wanted to get him additional looks at those positions before giving him a full-time role in the majors.
As for his offense, Emerson has just 43 total games in the upper minors. That’s not a lot of time afforded for his development, and while some top prospects are able to jump right in at the big league level with minimal minor league experience, the Mariners should remember all too well the struggles that outfielder Jarred Kelenic faced when he was promoted to the majors after just 51 games in the upper minors (including 30 at Triple-A). The front office surely has no interest in risking Emerson’s development on calling him up before he’s ready, particularly given the fact that Emerson is now slated to receive the fourth-largest guarantee on Seattle’s entire roster behind Julio Rodriguez, Luis Castillo, and Cal Raleigh.
Regardless of when Emerson ultimately reaches the majors, this deal locks up a key piece of Seattle’s core for the future. With Emerson now under club control through the end of the 2034 season, he joins Raleigh, Rodriguez, Josh Naylor, and Young as key players under control through at least 2030. That positional core is complemented by impact pieces like Donovan, star closer Andres Munoz, and of course the club’s vaunted starting rotation of Castillo, Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryan Woo, and Bryce Miller. All five of those starters are set to hit free agency between the 2027-28 offseason and the 2029-30 offseason, so perhaps the club’s long-term planning can now focus on the future of the rotation now that key positional assets like Raleigh and Emerson are locked up for the long haul.
Robert Murray of FanSided first reported that Emerson and the Mariners had agreed to an eight-year, $95MM contract with a club option, more than $35MM in escalators, and a no-trade clause. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that Emerson would be optioned back to Triple-A. Adam Jude of The Seattle Times had the signing bonus and salary range. Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reported the $25MM option value and more salary specifics.
Image courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images.
Smart move by the M’s. Emerson is going to be a big contributor for a long time.
OR he is going to be a huge bust and drag down the team for a long time. No one knows because he has not proven anything yet.
It’s less than $12M per season for an eight-year contract and will most likely be backloaded with a signing bonus. That’s not going to drag down any big market team.
Are the Mariners are big market team?
*mid
I’m not sure how people deal with everyday life if the cannot tolerate risk.
Magic 8 Ball says ……lol
Most people in everyday life do not have $95M evidently sitting around.
@joebrady – great way to sum it up honestly
Since when is Seattle a big market team?
RE hifkew
“OR he is going to be a huge bust and drag down the team for a long time.”
“Um, Evan White”
:troll meter jumps into the orange:
You tolerate it with reward…nothing certain about risk.
JB
“I’m not sure how people deal with everyday life if the cannot tolerate risk.”
Explains a lot about how some people live.
Also, people aren’t good at thinking (.) with any nuance. Most of the comments about this are “what if he busts?” or “he’s going to be a total steal”. As if those are the only two outcomes with no possibilities in between. Of course, it’s more likely to be something in between than either of those extremes
I think the largest concern is the knowledge that regardless of how hard he tries he now has generational wealth (or what might be more crudely called F you money.) I’m not saying that he won’t put in max effort as I know nothing of his personality but the possibility is there as there is one fewer reason to give it his all.
YBC – Regardless of whatever market you call them, the M’s rank 16th in CBT payroll at $197M this year and Colt’s $12M is the 6th-highest on the team.
If he does flame out, I believe it absolutely would drag down the team. It’s money they can’t spend elsewhere.
While they aren’t ‘big market’ they can absorb this kind of signing if it goes south.
They don’t often spend like it but they have the resources of a larger market team. They are not nearly as ‘small market’ as they like to pretend.
They are a tier below the ‘big’ market teams and tier above what their spending habits are. This team could afford a $200 payroll without issue.
They’re going to be a big market after all these World Series they’re about to win
@MuleorAstroMule
As the saying goes and in my experience as well: “Money makes you more of who you already are.” Sure he’s still a kid bit I’m sure Dipoto has done his due diligence regarding his makeup.
Dude is a baseball rat. Loves the game. $$$ will not get in the way. AstroMule, you’ll be happy when they change the divisions soon.
yeah agreed he’s a high floor guy,….even if he’s a ‘bust’ compared to his current hype, it wouldn’t be hard for him to be worth a big chunk of that contract as decent super util guy.
For context, Dylan Moore produced about 60 Million in WAR value as a Mariner, so in MLB terms 95 million over 8 years ain’t breaking the bank.
If he’s just a 300-400 AB bench MI for the life of the contract he’s going to earn at least half the contracts value, so it’s pretty low risk.
Mule, the athletes who are in it for the money hire Boras, sign with the Yankees, or both. Splains why the Cash man has the job of tossing millions at the Steingrabber targets, often who have cheated their way to the big payday. In fact, the trash can banging is nothing compared to the amount of cheating by Yankees over the decades. But they’re the favored corporate franchise and so they have to receive copious assistance from the dumpires. In fact as soon as MLB announced ABS, they went whole hog into gaming that “system”.
Let the NottheYankees players get the crumbs and let the Dodgers win the World Series ten years in a row to show who’s the Boss now.
OR he’s going to be an everyday regular.
Hiflew, the price goes up like Anthony’s cost with Boston. They believe in the kid so it’s great all around. The money is more than Campbell but I do understand your concern.
That’s very pessimistic to say and this is coming from a mariners fan who only knows pessimism
Jerry hasn’t had a bust since Kelenic and he got back some value at the time for him
I’m a believer in Jerry’s farm system it’s not like he produces Dustin Ackley’s or Jesus montero’s every year
Um, Evan White
Uhhh J-Rod.
You trying to compare a glove-first 1B who never hit much in the minors to the Colt Emerson? Okay.
No I am comparing a prospect that signed a big league deal before reaching the majors to another prospect that signed a big league deal before reaching the majors. Comparisons don’t have to be identical twins in order to be apt.
CC
“You trying to compare a glove-first 1B who never hit much in the minors to the Colt Emerson? Okay.”
It’s absurd, of course.
Just a troll. Has to come here and make a bunch of negative comments because they have nothing intelligent or insightful to say. But being negative gets attention.
By comparing these two specifically, you’re trying to draw a similarity between them. I don’t think Colt Emerson is anything close to Evan White. Do you really believe that? You think Emerson will be traded after 300 PAs for the Mariners, because he’s a total flame-out? If so, that’s a very bold hot take.
Evan White was exactly what they thought he was. He signed a contract as a GG caliber 1B that hadn’t demostrated yet that he could cut it on offense. He came up, won a gold glove his rookie season, then got injured and could never stay on the field again. Was never the prospect Emerson is and hadn’t had the level of success in the minors as him either. Only similarity is they signed deals before playing in the bigs which is exactly how all other sports do it. The no trade part of the deal is what is crazy to me, not the years or money.
Just a reminder that hiflew is a ROCKIES fan…
Well you seem to be a fan of me, so thanks for your support.
hiflew – Congrats on the big win last night! Do it again tonight.
You really think ~$11m AAV on 90% of MLB teams will “drag down the team”?
“OR he is going to be a huge bust and drag down the team for a long time.”
Exactly!! This is why my Angels are ahead of the M’s in the standings. We make the smart moves (minor league low-risk contracts, salary reducing moves, and keeping our new manager on his toes by only offering a one year contract). Eat our dust!
Kudos to the M’s for getting this done! I wish other organizations did the same.
A lot of teams lock up their young talent. You just haven’t been paying attention.. I believe The Cleveland Indians were the first to do it back in chelate 90’s.
True. But teams like the Braves have done so after a year or two of proven production, then extend them through the first few years of free agency. I’m all for taking risk but this seems like an overreaction to fans crying to spend more money. How about extending young pitching…
Pitchers Break! When a position player gets injured, they don’t miss a year and a half while getting paid big $$$.
No strike in future if MLB teams are handing out contracts worth millions to players in the minors and majors!
Scott Kingery was an absolute stud can’t miss, speed, defense, contact with power… And flamed out.
FTA
That’s why these players get $100 million and not $200 million. Or $300 million.
He is a suspect until he sticka and plays to his potential. In my opinion, he is more likley to be a bust than make it.
So do you just call him up?
They probably should and keep the PPI pick in play. Wouldn’t surprise me if he’s better than Cole Young today.
No PPI when there is an extension
I believe he also had to be on the opening day roster, not 5 days after opening day.
Thanks. Forgot about the ext rule prior to the call up.
I wonder what the safeguards are? What if they announce the deal but don’t officially ink it until he’s on the ML roster?
Just has to be called up within the first 2 weeks. He’d be eligible for the pick without an extension if they called him up tomorrow.
according to MLB you’re right, but also a weird throw in that if they are opening day players not within 2 weeks they retain the PPI elligibility, and can be attained with top 3 MVP or CY in a 3 year window. At least that’s how i’m reading it.
below
“Players with little or no MLB service time need to break camp with the team or be called up within two weeks of Opening Day. Then they must spend all or most of the year in the big leagues. Then they must either win their league’s Rookie of the Year award or place in the top three for MVP or Cy Young.
Players who made an Opening Day roster and accrued the service time but didn’t factor in any awards that year retain PPI eligibility. They need to place in the top three for MVP or Cy Young before hitting arbitration. That typically allows for a three-year window.”
Put him at SS. Leave Young at 2B. Trade Crawford.
Great move by Jerry and Co. Now they can focus on extending Gilbert and Woo
And Kirby.
Hard pass, Kirby ain’t it. Great stuff and control but doesn’t have that ace mentality. His starts are dictated almost entirely by if he’s getting barreled or not. And yeah that sounds like a “no duh,” but what I mean is he throws hittable pitches every time out, sometimes they get hit and sometimes they don’t. And when they do get hit, the adjustment is severely lacking.
Lock Woo and Logan for sure.
“Ace mentality” lol how do you even know that?
Kirby wants to go back East. Won’t stay on the West Coast. They need to probably look to trade him this off season. That depends on how well Alexander and Sloan do. If they both show signs of being an MLB starter trading Kirby will get them a good return. A few years under team control etc. Miller will be the other on the market if those 2 show they can be MLB starters.
Ain’t no way they do that.
Why do all commentators “speak” as if it’s their money ? Fans account for (according to Forbes stats and data) to 42% of revenue . That means that 58% is paid by “others” – or in easy lingo owners . Small markets have 1 single choice to be competitive – risk or tank . This is risk. Applaud the deal !
A no trade clause is ridiculous.
Yes- that was the surprising part of this deal for me.
If it works out you have no interest in trading him. If it doesn’t work out nobody will take the contract anyway and he’s released/sits in AAA forever. Only point which it would matter is if he’s good and the mariners are bad which he would probably play a deal. Players with NTC get traded all the time
Absolutely impossible to know if the Mariners want to trade Emerson in the next 9 years. Teams go through competitive cycles and I’d say it’s fairly certain that the M’s will be in a rebuild at some point in the next 9.
Also just a horrible precedent to set giving a minor leaguer a NTC.
No trade clauses get waived all the time by players.
Hopefully this isn’t a pivot because they realized they won’t be able to extend any of Kirby Gilbert or woo but nice I hope he’s as advertised
This is very upsetting. Why would you sign a guy for 8 years for 95 million when he has 6 years of team control under arbitration? He would have only cost a couple million per year. What a waste of money.We had Felnin Celestin waiting in the wings.I believe he’s a better player and a true Mariner.Now he’s blocked and we’ll never see him play.They’ll probably trade him for a guy that’s not worth anything.Absolutely stupid.Now we have to sit around and watch Colt Emerson for 8 years under a no trade clause.After they traded a top 100 prospect for an unproven bullpen guy and four players for Brendan Donavon to be a thirdbaseman we already had,I can’t watch anymore,they ruined it for me.
He’s a few weeks from being short of being able to finish with a full year of service time in 2026, which means he was already under control through 2032.
I don’t get committing 95m for the potential of two additional years of control, and that’s with the option picked up, so more than the 95m guarantee to get that 2nd would be FA year.
For comparison, Juan Soto was a super 2 went to arbitration 4 times and made a record 70m in those arbitration years.
Since we know Emerson is making 18m in his 2033 season, and if we say there is a 7m buyout included in that 2034 option that means the M’s will be paying Emerson the same amount that Soto got going year to year in total guarantee for his pre FA years. While also ignoring the 35m in escalators. That’s pretty wild since Soto was putting up seasons comparable to all-time greats.
The Padres got Jackson Merrill and 5 free agent years under contract and only had to guarantee an extra 40m. That was after he had a huge rookie season (silver slugger in CF) with his 9-yr deal starting in his 3rd season.
This deal is no brainer for Emerson.
The team now has cost certainty for his first 6 years, and has locked him up for his first two free agent seasons at an absolute bargain if he pans out. Brendan donovan is a super utility player and was signed because of his positional Versatility… did you read the article or do you just like to whine?
Usually when you make that kind of guarantee to a guy in the minors you are either hoping for A) more than two additional years of control, or B) saving money in the process.
With the 25m option being disclosed, and I’m keeping the 7m buyout assumption this is how it compares to Merrill’s deal:
Emerson: 8/113m; years 1-8 (2 FA years)
Merrill: 9/135m; years 3-11 (5 FA years)
One guy played a full season in the majors the other hadn’t debuted. Not to mention one deal bought out much more valuable years than the other. Merrill made 36m in his pre free agent years, Emerson will make 70m.
The deal is a nice get for the player. The team extended his control by 2 seasons and paid a pretty penny for doing so. Saying they have cost certainty over his 6 seasons of control is a nothing burger. They had him for something like 8m total for 2026-2029.
It is not a nothing burger, it’s just a fact that is overlooked by casuals like yourself. Years 4-6 of arbitration can be very costly if the player does well his first few season, now they can extend their pitchers knowing the exact salary for Emerson for the next 8 years. (Helps them plan ahead, it seems that you need things spelled out for you). You are also forgetting about inflation, the contracts of Juan Soto, Kyle Tucker and many others have caused quite a spike in player cost. These contracts are becoming very common for mid market teams, and they are becoming common for a reason. Another couch GM thinking he knows everything lol, this site is full of them. I am not saying it’s a great contract, but it’s just silly to call it bad.
They’re paying about the same amount that Juan Soto got going year to year up until his free agency who played at such a historic fashion than he got the biggest contract in sports history.
Kyle Tucker made 35.5m in his control years before free agency. Or half of what the M’s will pay Emerson for the same.
Look what Trea Turner or Corey Seager made during their control years.
Guaranteeing all that money to only secure 2 would be free agent years isn’t some amazing contract for the team.
Total no brainer for Colt Emerson to sign that deal, IMO. I feel like they should have been able to secure 1 or 2 more free agent years. If not, I would have waited for him to produce for a season. Usually when guys are 5 years from FA and making league minimum, a 100m Guarantee looks mighty nice.
– Couch GM
I think the cascading effects are seriously understated. The Mariners, who have extended JP (a long time ago), Castillo, Julio, Cal, and now Colt while also signing Naylor to a 5 year contract, are signaling to the rest of baseball that they’re finally going for it and spending. Free agents may want to come to Seattle, make good money, and potentially win a championship. They might not get the superstars like the Tuckers abd Bichettes of the world but the tier below that is still full of really good players usually, and that’s really all Seattle needs to put around their core.
Better examples would be Roman Anthony and Corbin Carrol. You are forgetting about inflation, stay on the couch buddy.
The Mariners have a Colt in their stable now they hope will be a horse they can ride for a few years.
Roll eye’s
After the Evan White failure, this extension is a Foal me once, shame on you, foal me twice, shame on me situation.
Really wish the Mariners’ FO would quit horsin’ around with these pre-MLB extensions and pony up for some real talent.
Sounds like you are saying they don’t have any horse sense.
Or maybe the team figures just because the Evan White deal didn’t work out- that doesn’t mean you stop doing these early extensions
Yessir!!
Hope it works out better than Kingery did for the Phillies.
or Evan White did for… let me check my notes… the Mariners.
That was my first thought.
Evan White was never a top 10 overall MLB prospect. He was always considered a glove first 1B, and his contract was less than most utility players.
You don’t even have to leave Seattle for a comparison. Oh how quickly people have forgotten Evan White. Except in this case, with the no trade clause, they won’t even be able to pawn this guy off on the Braves in case it doesn’t work out.
Evan White was one of the best defensive 1st baseman I have ever seen
However, 1st base defense never matters when you have literally zero offense
Evan White got $24M over 6 years, so basically his club-control years were budgeted and known. Big whoop. The contract did not hurt the organization in any meaningful way. Colt Emerson will make under $12M, for the next 8 years, which as salaries are trending, will be a huuuuuuge bargain. I truly don’t understand the issue? Should they wait until Colt blows up and not be able to afford him moving forward… because Evan White?
The contract will likely be backloaded to somewhat emulate his arbitration pathway so it won’t be truly $12M/year, but 1000% agree with the sentiment. Evan White’s contract was to flatten out the arb pathway of what projected to be a solid regular, who then had a horrible injury run. Extensions have risk built in, one going bad does not impact whether you should or shouldn’t do future extensions, that thought process is a fallacy. Bad results in one instance do not have impact on the results of future instances.
I’m not being critical of the move, just bringing it up because one of the rarer instances of an extension like this not working out coincidentally involved the same team. If I’m being honest, I thought the Evan White extension, at the time, was a great move, and I still think Seattle shouldn’t regret it – can’t be results oriented with 20/20 hindsight, just need to make the best move you can at the time with the knowledge and resources you have. I think, more often than not, extensions like that with players with those kinds of prospect profiles will be successful. One of them didn’t work out, but it was a team-friendly contract in terms of AAV, so it didn’t put the team underwater. All good. Hope Emerson crushes it.
I’ll always contend Gabe Kapler absolutely screwed with that kid from day 1, forcing him to play RF in the rain in the opener and jerked him all over the field. Then the injuries. He was never fully supported except financially.
I like it, Emerson looks like the real deal.
Locking down a star for the Mariners. Top prospects are getting paid. Watch Konnor Griffin beat Emerson’s guarantee later today.
I’ll bet against Bob Nutting losing the chance at a draft pick and guaranteeing a huge sum of money.
If Griffin signs an extension, it should definitely be higher. However, I wonder if Emerson just raised the bar higher than the Pirates are willing to pay.
Maybe the bar of pressure to sign him but not meaningfully raising the price of Griffin’s extension. Emerson is a top-end prospect but is guaranteed less then $100M for 8 years. Incentives can raise it, sure, but the original offer the Pirates reportedly made had incentives as well. If anything, the base offer of ~$110M likely won’t raise much higher than $130M if it gets there at all. I think that sounds about right for their price range with incentives that could raise it to $150M or so.
We’ll see.
Colt Emerson and Cooper Pratt just became untradable assets. I don’t know why teams would hamstring themselves like this. Especially Seattle. I guess they don’t remember Evan White
Of course it’s risky, but if he’s as good as advertised it’s a bargain.
Small to mid market teams try to lock their young stars up so the don’t go to the big city in six years. It’s a gamble but if you trust your own scouts opinion, it should pay dividends more often or not. If you don’t trust your scouts, you shouldn’t employ them any longer.
Reds-This is a good point.
Pirates won with McCutcheon and Marte.
Lost with Tabata and Polanco and Hayes.
Maybe either way with Reynolds.
Better to let the young player play in the MLs for at least a year to wait until the newness rubs off and then see what they can actually do.
No scouts are perfect.
It is at best a crap shoot.
And,no,Nutting will not be shelling out this kind of money for Griffin until he proves himself in the ML’s.
Nor should he.
Why is everyone pretending that Evan White and Colt Emerson are comparable? White’s deal was for an unbelievable….wait really….? $4M AAV!
That was locking up a high floor prospect at a steal if he was even an okay regular, who then unfortunately had a horrible injury run. That was a 5th percentile outcome, and having that scare you off from future extensions would be beyond stupid.
For every article published, MLBTR should pre-populate the comment section with the usual crap that the first ten posters invariably feel compelled to share with the universe, because it’s the same damn things every single time that an article is published on this site about some player getting a contract extension or some player getting designated for assignment or some player getting injured while mowing the lawn or moving furniture or changing a flat tire or trying to throw a baseball 110 MPH in a meaningless baseball game with all of the other important things going on in our lives that take our attention away from the thing that really matters, which is writing the longest run-on sentence of the day.
It is only Tuesday hayzee and you have already locked up my vote for Comment of the Week. Well done!
Ricky Bones got hurt adjusting a recliner.
I still cringe when I think of Bobby Ojeida.
Grizzly Adams DID Have a beard.
Meanwhile the Angels have Neto and refuse to sign him long term. They’ll end up losing him
Takes two to tango, and if I’m Neto there’s no way I’m attaching myself to that sinking ship
For $200mil I think he’d be ok
rh
“For $200mil I think he’d be ok”
Maybe.
First, though, the Angels have to offer him $200 million. There’s no reason to think they have
Second, he got a $3 million signing bonus and has a $4+ million salary this year. He can survive without ever getting another contract.
So, he can make decisions based on more than money.
200 million for Zach Neto lol.
When players have options, they have options and can pick and choose. It’s not always about money with everyone.
Then you don’t know Arte Moreno. It’s all about the money.
Two of these types of moves today is interesting. I wonder if this trend is going to pick up again.
Unlike pratt, emerson’s been terrific at every level and probly should have made the tm on Opening day…all indications point to a successful career ahead… ss 3b 2b with speed & pop…record contract… thats alotta pressure.. he’ll live up to it..
Emerson is getting 2x the money.
One less year of potential control on the club option too. Differential makes sense.
Surprised the Brewers inked that deal but I think Matt Arnold is one of the best around.
the youth are electing to cash out now before the US dollar collapses entirely
They’d have to sign in another currency if that was what they were concerned about.
Emerson’s extension is in Bitcoin.
@Blah blah blah, were you born stupid, or were you dropped multiple times on your head? The $ will be fine for the life of this contract, and as long as you’re a welfare recipient,
pointless temper tantrum to a throwaway comment
Glad to see Seattle paying their young stars. Baseball is more fun when the northwest is relevant. Now do Gilbert and Woo next.
They are well positioned to win AL West through 2030 and at-least another trip to ALCS would mark a successful run for this group of players. But ultimately they need to get to the World Series for the first time in franchise history.
Typically reaction by Mariners fans. Applauding spending money just to spend money. 95m to a guy who hasn’t played one game in the majors…we have a young pitching staff that needs to be shored up and our budget is not unlimited.
Let’s take risk and spend money, but this makes little sense. Let him play a year or two and see if he’s worth extending before arbitration.
The same fans who are cheering may be really sad we committed this early to someone who hasn’t proven anything.
You can only give money to those who will take it.
Hey smart guy, moves like this help keep a consistent budget, giving you flexibility to sign extensions. Instead of looking at 2028-2032 thinking “well Colt might be making x but he also could be making y,” they now know exactly where he’ll be.
And letting him play a year or two is a risk both ways. Yes you then know what you’re getting, but if he even just meets his potential the price of that extension will have sky rocketed.
This is a smart risk that budgeted teams should make. I wish the budget was bigger but it is what it is, and Jerry continues to prove that he’s the one who can win despite it.
Guess you hadn’t noticed that the Mariners organization is really good at scouting, drafting and developing these days.
Their scouts are telling them that Colt Emerson is can’t miss to be an above average player at a premium defensive position. Not only will they have him for extra years beyond his six seasons, they’ll save a ton of $$$ not going year to year in arbitration. Having seen Emerson shine in person in spring training this year, I can tell you he’s the real deal — a player the Mariners should be willing to take that risk on.
@Steve3 There is no doubt by anybody who has seen this guy that he is going to be great. As important as the skills he shows on the field, it’s his high baseball IQ, maturity level, love of the game and drive to get better that stands out brightly. The only risk is if he gets some catastrophic injury (ies) i.e. Kyle Lewis.
@Steves You clearly don’t understand what Mariners fans are really like.
Not sure about the breakdown yet. This seems mostly like a way to keep costs consistent throughout his controllable years. If there are no major injuries and Young continues playing well, it’s entirely possible that Emerson stays in AAA all year. That would leave only one free agent year being bought out (potentially two with the club option). I was kind of hoping for a longer term deal with at least 3 free agent years included. It feels like the M’s had more leverage since Colt hasn’t proven anything yet.
This is still a good thing. Hopefully Gilbert or Woo is next but I’m losing hope for Logan at this point.
I was wondering this as well. I think the M’s loose out money wise in this (by a lot), all for 1 or 2 years of extra control. Seems odd.
Colt is absolutely coming up this year with this extension, no shot he spends all year in AAA. They’ll make it work, too many good players is a good problem that always seems to work itself out.
This is a great move. The timing is a little odd, just because all the complimentary pieces have performed well so far. I hope Cole Young gets an offer if he proves his major league bonafides by July.
Lots of star prospects fizzle out
*Sees big money extension or free agent signing*
*Captainmike1 posts negative jealous comment because anonymity allows him to*
Oooohhh
You have wounded me deeply
Donovan giving the M’s everything they could’ve asked for. Emerson won’t be taking pt away from him
He’ll take over for Crawford, probably before the season is over. Young locked in at 2nd as well.
Donovan has already made two awful errors at third — which is a position he hasn’t played that much of in the Majors. Emerson will be an upgrade at 3B and Donovan can bounce around from LF/3B/2B
I wanted to get him locked up, but nightmares of Evan White come back to haunt me. I’m nervous being locked into a guaranteed $95m over 8 years. I’m no scout though, and I know he’s an incredible player. Cross our fingers
Remember when we signed that Evan White contract Kelenic at that point as MLB #3 prospect wouldn’t even negotiate a contract with the mariners. Kelenic became so damn greedy. All the analysts were saying he was a no miss prospect. Damn we dodged a bucket there. Look at him now onto his 3rd or 4th team and still can’t figure anything out at league minimum.
Emerson is a huge organizational risk, but I hope for God it turns out this time!!!
df
“I hope for God it turns out this time!!!”
Whichever god you’re referring to REALLY needs this to work out
Evan White was paid $24 million over six years — $4M a season.
Nobody knows how this will play out. It’s a calculated risk, but could have a big reward.
It’s far more complex than a simple Yay or Neigh situation.
Yay or nay
We could argue until we’re both horse, but let’s just agree to disagree.
The young players who don’t take these long extensions could really cash in when they hit free agency. With these deals being more common that will really thin out the free agent market. Guys like Gunnar Henderson could be 400-500 million dollar men.
Because of how young Emerson is and because this deal starts this year, even if the Mariners pick up the ninth-year option for 2034, he’ll be a FA again heading into his age-29 season. Sets him up for another payday.
Excellent move by Emerson and the NTC is just icing on top. M’s just took on an unneeded amount of downside risk at this early stage.
Correct me if I’m wrong but isn’t Tacoma in the AAA Pacific League where a players stats are usually slightly inflated
Yes but everyone understands this and adjusts expectations.
whiteninja221 thank you for the info I wasn’t sure if anyone knew this about this league I hope this kid has a great career
Emerson has played all of nine games at Tacoma (6 last year, 3 this year). Stats of players at Seattle’s Double-A and lower teams are not inflated by the ballpark or environment.
marinersfan1977 nice to see a fan of a 50 year franchise here I happen to be a Toronto Bluejays fan myself which is also celebrating its 50th year anniversary as well wasn’t that a great playoff series last year could have gone either way IMO good luck to you this season
marinerfan1977 sorry that anniversary is next season my bad
Good luck to you guys as well Dbrass, yes that was an extraordinary ALCS. May we meet again. Cheers.
Since when did the M’s become a mid market team?
They have an entire region, it’s definitely not a big market but you can hardly call it small.
Maybe not so much the size of the market, more “mid” as in the kiddie slang for “meh”. Who ever said oh noes here come those bullies the Mariners in town to sweep us away?
I don’t know, sounds kinda sus,’.
When they started to decide on spending instead of going all Reds Fan mode and shifting blame to big markets
8 years. Hope he likes fish and rain and Starbux!
We have other things in the great Pacific Northwest too like Bikini Baristas and Sasquatches. (Some call them Yeti).
How about Bigfoot as well
The fan outrage reaction here reminds me of Evan Longoria’s first long-term deal days into his MLB career.
I don’t have a strong opinion on this, I just don’t want to hear how they already spent money on extensions when a free agent is needed in a future offseason. That was one of the excuses we heard after the 2022 season.
I’m also curious if this gives them leverage for a Crawford extension. I suppose it does.
Hey Stevil, for being a Mariners fan, it seems like a strange thing not to have a strong opinion on one way or the other. If you need a hint just think of it as a good thing.
You make it sound like there are rules to being a fan. There aren’t.
I like the fact that they have control for 9 years. I also worry that he could be another Dustin Ackley or Jarred Kelenic, or Evan White who actually did sign an extension, hence, not having s strong opinion. Obviously I’m hoping this works out well.
I like Emerson as a player and like his chances of success, but there are no guarantees in baseball.
I don’t know how these scouts would every put him in the top 10 like emerson. In his minor league career, Crawford had a .268 avg, .368 ops. 51 % success rate on steals, 108 errors in 600 games. So far emerson in 227 games (also him being the youngest in the league last year at his levels), Emerson is batting .288, .398 OBP, 82% success on SBs, 30 Errors. Crawfords minors stats say solid regular not possibly multiple all star like emerson.
I like Crawford’s energy and his is a locker room leader. But he’s never been as highly ranked a prospect as emerson. Crawford will prolly walk, M’s will let him go, and I wish him the best. But emerson won’t turn 21 till after independence day and he’s the future. Hell, that future might be next weekend.
mlb.com/milb/prospects/2016/top100/
Why would you think they’d want or need leverage in a JP Crawford extension? Sure, there’s a chance he returns after the contract ends at end of 2026, but that’s a one-year deal (not for big $$$). Crawford is up there in age and they already have his replacement (who’s being paid quite well
Have you seen the payroll figures, 77? I never said they’d need or want leverage, those are your words, but this could make JPs return more likely on a short-term deal and that would be a nice byproduct with the current salary commitments.
“There’s a chance he returns…”
Do you have any idea how important he has been to the team? That’s not a player you kick to the curb.
“Crawford is up there in age…”
Do you even bother researching anything? He’s 31 and far more likely to be extended than not.
A lot can happen over the season that changes things, but nobody should think Seattle is eager to move on from Crawford.
Is this the youngest a player has ever had a NTC?
“the deal is pending a physical”. Huh? Emerson is in the M’s organization, has been since he was drafted. They don’t know everything about his physical condition? This isn’t a trade or a free agent signing. They know the guy. They should not have an out based on a physical. Just ask Maxx Crosby.
I think that’s just boilerplate language at this point.
I mean just because hes in the org doesnt mean theyre doing a physical with full body scans on the kid every day
This is standard with all contracts, extensions, or otherwise.
It’s SOP as with any new contracts. Insurers may require a new one as well. It has nothing to do with how well the org knows or doesn’t know the kid.
Of course he’s in their organization and they know his general health.
But when you’re about to sign someone for potentially well over $100 million, you absolutely do a full-blown physical before dotting the t’s
and crossing the I’s. Any team that didn’t do that would be a foolish one.
And they’re not looking for “an out”. They’re not taking weeks to do his physical. They’re conducting business like any other smart team would.
Some people just comment for no reason other than to see their words on the page
Smart move for both sides. But honestly call the kid up at this point. You got enough faith in him to hand him a bank vault, might as well give him the keys to the car. I cannot handle another game of Leo Rivas…
Leo Rivas, who went 2-for-4 and started the game-winning rally in the 10th inning and scored the winning run in last night’s win over the Yankees?
You’re sick of him? He’s a great bench piece, takes good at-bats. What’s your issue?
There’s no sense is believing that Rivas is a starter on a team with World Series aspirations. That’s delusional. He’s a utility bench bat at best.
Interesting move. High risk on both sides, something this Mariners front office has avoided. If he hits the ground running, he’s a steal; if he doesn’t, not only is there still time to turn it around, but the cost will not be prohibitive (in comparison to other 2030 salaries). I hope it works out well, regardless of all past deals (which are irrelevant).
In Colt’s case he’s now set for life financially and the security of the deal is perhaps more enticing to him than betting on himself through rookie minimum and arbitration. He could bust, he could break from injuries, etc., and risk not ever getting paid.
I’m wary of giving minor leaguers big extensions before they do anything. That said, Colt can play a premium position so if he’s above average on defense and just average at the plate he should be more than worth the money. 12M AAV isn’t a lot these days.
As a Mariners fan, I greatly approve!
Love it. Go M’s!!
Man I hate these contracts. Stop doing this, MLB teams!
Lets say Emerson comes up in August, to avoid Super 2. The Mariners would then have him for the MLB minimum for 3 1/3 seasons. Lets say he’s a star; he might earn 8, 16, 25 million in arb. He’d earn ~$50M before free agency. So – again, assuming Emerson is a star – the M’s get two extra seasons for another $45M, plus escalators. That’s a good deal but not, like, earth shaking.
In return, the Mariners guarantee all of the money. And there is a real risk of harming his development. because what if he comes up and struggles? The team wont want to send him down, even if he needs it, because they’d look bad. That’s what happened to Kristian Campbell.
Let players establish themselves first!
$22.5M per season for two years would be a bargain if he becomes a really good to elite player in another seven years. You already know what Tucker and Bo are making today. There’s also a ninth year club option.
go buy your own team!
Smart move M’s!! Well done
I expect there will be more extensions of young players because of the uncertainty of the new CBA. There could be a reduction in pre-arb and/or arbitration years, with players reaching free agency after 5 or even 4 years.
It’s a good strategy approach to lock up your best players in the face of CBA uncertainty.
This has shades of Evan White all over it… Remember when they signed him to a six year contract without playing a single MLB game? Then he became the starting first baseman and batted a sensational 176 in 2020? Then barely played through 2023 when they finally traded him to the Braves (along with another super signed unproven prospect Jarred Kelenic)? It’s iffy signing an unproven talent to an extension when he has yet to prove himself against any MLB situations.
Very different circumstances and very different players.