Only Verlander Remains to Be Signed

by Ian Casselberry on Jan 20, 2009 6:00 PM EST in News Comment 1 comment

The Detroit Tigers began the day with five players eligible for arbitration. That number has now been reduced to one, after the team reached agreement on one-year contracts with the following players:

Gerald Laird: $ 2.8 million
Edwin Jackson: $ 2.2 million
Bobby Seay: $1.3 million
Joel Zumaya: $735,000

That leaves the biggie among the arbitration-eligibles, pitcher Justin Verlander.

Is he close to agreeing on a contract with the Tigers. According to Jason Beck, he and his agent are asking for a $4.15 million contract, while the team filed for a $3.2 million deal. Quite a difference in figures there, which could lead to an ugly negotiation. Or perhaps the two sides will decide to settle by giving in on approximately $500,000 before arbitration hearings begin on February 1.

The preferable option Detroit, of course, is to pound out an agreement on a long-term contract, something that Dave Dombrowski has been very good at arranging during his tenure with the Tigers. The Phillies and Cole Hamels may have provided a starting point (as MacRae mentioned in another post) with the three-year, $20.5 million deal agreed upon last week. And you could make a pretty good case that Hamels is a better pitcher right now.

But considering how the Tigers have been burned on the contracts they handed out last year to Dontrelle Willis and Nate Robertson, might Dombrowski be a bit less willing to take a long-term chance on a pitcher - even if Verlander is likely a stronger bet for future success?

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Verlander

With all due respect to Justin, I don’t think there is any question Cole Hamels is a better pitcher than Verlander RIGHT NOW…

Whether Cole is better in the future remains to be seen. One thing I do know though is with the escalating salaries in MLB, and with the money the Tigers are shelling out for Nate Robertson and Dontrelle Willis, signing Verlander for just over 4 million a year is an absolute steal.

Offer him three years in the 15-18 million dollar range and see if this can get done. Or better yet, if Justin is willing to sign for $4.15 million for this year, get that done too. The irony here is it might be better for the Tigers from a financial standpoint if they sign him to a longer term deal. How good would a three year deal for 5-6 million a year look if Verlander goes out and wins 18-20 games this season? If you settle on a one year contract, and Verlander has a huge year, how much will it cost to sign him again next offseason? Just some food for thought….

by Todd1005fm on Jan 21, 2009 7:23 AM EST reply actions 0 recs