The Angels have reached a new 20-year deal with Fox Sports worth roughly $3 billion, per Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. That windfall of $150 million per year is not only the largest in the division, but also $100 million more per season over their previous 10-year, $500 million deal.
There has been some other big names that have come off the board. The Miami Marlins signed SS Jose Reyes, SP Mark Buehrle and RP Heath Bell. Not be outdone, the Philadelphia Phillies inked RP Jonathan Papelbon. Each signed for big dollars. Still to come are Prince Fielder, Carlos Beltran, Ryan Madson and Carlos Pena.
It's deals like Pujols and Wilson's that are shaking the foundation of baseball. The money...and for sure the Angels have lots of it have enabled them to shape contracts in a unique way. For instance, Pujols has this for incentives. He will receive $3 million from the Angels for his 3,000th career hit and $7 million should he reach 763 career home runs, per Tim Brown of Yahoo!Sports. Alex Rodriquez had similar bonuses in his 10-year, $275 million contract with the New York Yankees for milestone home runs, which had to be approved by Commissioner Bud Selig. Each of his bonuses were designated as an "historic event" in order to receive special approval, per the Associated Press.
So, it would seem the Angels are the odds on favorite to be the American League representative in the 2012World Series. Well, not necessarily. While perennial big-time spenders, the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox have been on the sidelines this winter, another team in the American League West is also causing a stir.
Yesterday, the Texas Rangers posted the highest bid for Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish and that bid was accepted by Darvish's team in Japan, Major League Baseball announced. Rangers general manager Jon Daniels would not say how much the Rangers posting bid was, but sources said it was around $51.7 million. Bidding for the posting fee closed last Wednesday, and the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters had until 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday to accept. The Rangers still has to pay Darvish a contract, meaning the total investment likely will top $100 million. Darvish is perceived as one of the top five pitchers in the world, yet he will have alot to prove facing major league hitters. And why do I say that?
In 2006, Daisuke Matsuzaka drew a $51.1 million posting fee from the Boston Red Sox, who signed him to a six-year, $52 million contract, taking the total package to more than $100 million. Over the course of his 5-year career, Matsuzaka has a 49-30 record to go along with a 4.25 ERA. Only once has he had his ERA under 3.00, that being the stellar 18-3 and 2.90 ERA year he compiled in 2008. Since then he has gone 4-6, 9-6 and 3-3 and has walked 127 batters in 250 innings. Was he worth the price?
 |
| Where will Yoenis' flight take him? |
The next big Kahuna on the horizon is Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes. The 26-year old star of the Cuba National Team is being compared to some of the big names in baseball history....already. He figures to make a big money haul wherever he signs. The Tigers, Yankees and Red Sox are some of his early suitors.
All of this star power is lending itself to an international draft. Five days ago a committee was formed to discuss the issue. Currently, the June draft is limited to players who are residents of the U.S., U.S. territories and Canada, with residents of other nations free agents. Now, that makes cents.....errr sense.
Thanks for reading,
John
No comments:
Post a Comment