Updated: June 12, 2012, 10:15 AM ET
By Tony Jackson | ESPNLosAngeles.comBuster Blog - Andre Ethier Extension
Buster Olney blogs about Andre Ethier's five-year, $85 million contract extension and the impact it may have on Josh Hamilton.Tags: Buster Blog, Buster Olney, Andre Ethier Deal,Contract Extension
LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Andre Ethier, a two-time All-Star who would have been eligible for free agency after the season, has agreed in principle to a five-year, $85 million contract extension that will keep him in town through at least the 2017 season, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed Monday.
SportsNation: Ethier's new extension?
Andre Ethier has agreed in principle on a five-year contract extension worth $85 million. Is he worth the money? Comment and vote!
The deal also includes a $17.5 million club option for 2018 that would automatically vest if Ethier were to reach certain plate appearance thresholds in 2017 or in 2016-17 combined, potentially taking the total value of the contract to $100 million over six years.
The new deal will pay Ethier salaries of $13.5 million in 2013, $15.5 million in 2014, $18 million in both 2015 and 2016 and $17.5 million in 2017. There is a $2.5 million buyout of the club option if it doesn't vest and the club chooses not to exercise it.
After Monday night's 3-2 loss to the Los Angeles Angels, in which Ethier went hitless in four at-bats with three strikeouts, he declined to comment on the new contract.
"I have been instructed that I won't comment ... until tomorrow," Ethier said. "There will be an announcement tomorrow. We will talk tomorrow, I promise."
More on the Dodgers
For more news, notes and analysis of the Dodgers, check out Tony Jackson's Dodgers Report. Blog
Ethier, 30, was an All-Star each of the past two seasons, then avoided arbitration last winter by agreeing on a one-year deal with a $10.95 million base salary. He entered Friday night's game against the Los Angeles Angels hitting .287 for the season and leading the National League with 53 RBIs despite struggling since the start of June.
Ethier becomes the latest of several young Dodgers to be locked into long-term deals that will prevent the club from losing them to free agency. Fifteen months ago, former All-Star right-hander Chad Billingsley agreed to a three-year, $35 million deal that didn't begin until this year, and last winter, All-Star center fielder Matt Kemp accepted the largest contract in Dodgers history, an eight-year, $160 million deal.
- Joined ESPNLosAngeles.com in 2010
- Covered the Dodgers for the Los Angeles Daily News for more than five seasons
- Has covered Major League Baseball on a regular basis for 15 years in Denver, Cincinnati and Los Angeles.
MORE FROM THE WEB
- 12 year Old Tom Schaar Historic 1080 (Red Bull)
- iPad Mini photos leak, landing this month? (uSwitch.com)
- Pythons Swallow Whole Deer in Florida, $6 Million Tab (Bloomberg.com)
No comments:
Post a Comment