Calling himself “the happiest man on the planet right now,” Kevin Kiermaier held a news conference to officially announce his 6-year, $53.5-Million contract extension Monday morning.
(Video Courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)
The deal, which includes a 2023 option, is broken down accordingly:
Signing bonus: $1,000,000
2017: $3,000,000
2018: $5,500,000
2019: $8,000,000
2020: $10,000,000
2021: $11,500,000
2022: $12,000,000
2023: $2,500,000 buyout or team option for $13,000,000, that can escalate based on performance during deal.
*Facts and figures (above) courtesy of Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times).
The 26 year-old centerfielder one of the best (if not the best) defensive players in all of Major League Baseball, producing a total of 13.1 fWAR (average of 4.4 a season) since breaking into the league in 2013. Kiermaier’s 44 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) over the past two seasons are the highest among any big leaguer, and he’s out paced all of baseball with an Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR) of +42.3 runs. Unsurprisingly, he already has two Gold Gloves to his name, as well as a Platinum Glove.
In addition to his glove work, the breakout candidate has produced at an above-average rate at the plate. Kiermaier has collected double-digit home run (10 in 2015, 12 in 2016) and stolen base (18 in 2015, 21 in 2016) totals in each of the past two seasons, while slashing .258 BA/.313 OBP/.425 SLG/.738 OPS in 1314 plate appearances.
Rays President of Baseball Operations Matt Silverman, called the deal a win/win scenario. He later detailed the value of Kiermaier:
(Audio Courtesy of Rays Radio)
Rays manager Kevin Cash made mention of the exciting attributes Kiermaier brings to the table:
(Audio Courtesy of Rays Radio)
Noteworthiness
— I wrote about Kiermaier’s contract extension last week, prior to the public unveiling.
— Topkin also wrote about the thought process that goes into signing a long-term contract, citing Evan Longoria who is locked up through the 2023 season, and Jake Odorizzi who turned down a 6-year, $30-Million deal.
Longoria drew some criticism when he signed his first extension with Tampa Bay (a six-year, $17.5-MM deal signed just a week into his major league career), although he saw it as a chance to “have this security for myself and my family and just play and relax.”
Longoria continued,
The second contract (a six-year, $100-Million deal he is starting this season) was more personal, like, let’s weigh all the options, so a little more went into it.
The deal Odorizzi turned down would’ve covered at least two of his free agent seasons, and potentially would have kept him under team control through his age-33 season. The right-hander does not regret turning down the extension, saying:
Sometimes it boils down to, and I hate to say it, but the dollar amount. We all know the money in this game and the value of players and what your value is. And sometimes it just doesn’t match up. That’s just the circumstances.