Pedroia is going to be 36 when this expires, right? Here's to hoping he doesn't go downhill sharp in his 30s.
And with the no trade clause we can't just send him to the dodgers if he starts to suck in 5 years.
I'm not concerned with him starting to suck in 5, I'm fine with the 2 years being "collateral damage". But if he starts sucking in 3, we have a problem. Don't forget that he's a small guy with a history of injuries.
agreed, but this is often the case for major league baseball. such deals often get you players at less money per year by adding years as the incentive. given pedroia's history, i am not overly worried about him performing well at 34+.
in terms of second basemen's salaries in MLB, pedroia will be very highly paid, but then he is one of the best.
MLB Second Basemen Ranked by Salary:
1 Chase Utley Philadelphia Phillies $ 15,285,714 (BA .279, OPS .875)
2 Robinson Cano New York Yankees $ 14,000,000 (BA .303, OPS 910)
3 Dan Uggla Atlanta Braves $ 13,146,942 (BA .195, OPS .730)
4 Brandon Phillips Cincinnati Reds $ 12,500,000 (BA .266, OPS .730)
5 Rickie Weeks Milwaukee Brewers $ 11,000,000 (BA .219, OPS .702)
6 Brian Roberts Baltimore Orioles $ 10,000,000 (BA .250, OPS .700)
7 Dustin Pedroia Boston Red Sox $ 8,250,000 (BA .308, OPS .808)
FIRST look at pedroia's compared to uggla and weeks for gosh sakes!!! the only player with arguably better stats is cano. period.
SECOND look at pedoria's salary compared to everyone else in that list. you want overpaid? dont' look at peddy.
also, the per year on this deal is outstanding for an MVP, gold glove team leader such as peddy. actually quite team friendly i think. so, you gamble and even if he sucks the last 2 years it is not hard to eat the final amounts.
next, as for the injuries, i am not sure exactly what to say except that pedroia has not suffered injuries such lowrie did. indeed, a case could be made that he is durable.
pedroia has appeared in at least 139 games in 5 of the last 6 years. he really had only one bad injury year.
year games played out of 162 game schedule:
2007 139
2008 157
2009 154
2010 75
2011 159
2012 141
2013 100 out of 101 games so far
with odds like that, this contract is not an unwarranted gamble. it's not like cherington was binge drinking and suddenly decided to sign peddy long term. i think it is smart of the sox to wrap up pedroia as a member of the red sox core players for years to come.
now then, you want a really, really horrific contract? look at what is left on the A-Rod contract for the yankees. just looking at his makes me smile.
what do you think his performance will be like in the future, assuming he even plays?
2012 at age 36 29M + 1M signing bonus
2013 at 37 28M + 1M signing bonus
2014 at 38 25M + 3M signing bonus
2015 at 39 21M
2016 at 40 20M
2017 at 41 20M