Indians sign Fausto Carmona to a 7-year deal

[Jon]

AP[/url]"]CLEVELAND -- Fausto Carmona, a surprising 19-game winner last season, has agreed to terms on a seven-year contract with the Cleveland Indians.

 

A person familiar with the negotiations says Carmona's deal will be announced later Thursday. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the contract has not been finalized.

 

The deal includes club options from 2012-2014.

It'll be real interesting to see how much the deal is worth even if the last 3 years are club options.

[shnsajax]

This might be a little excessive. I was talking about how I thought the Chris Young deal was a good idea, this one we will have to wait and see.

[Electron Blue]

All three of the last years are club options? That seems strange to me. Why sign a long deal if it doesn't lock you into guarenteed money? So it's four years guarenteed -- how many arby years does that even buy out?

 

Or am I misunderstanding?

[Post Count Padder]

Shouldn't they wait to see if he does as well this year?

[TruffleShuffle]

Shouldn't they wait to see if he does as well this year?

 

maybe... they're probably hedging their bets though; if carmona repeats his huge year then he'd price himself out of their range. still, deals beyond 4 years for pitchers are generally not wise ventures unless the pitcher's name is johan santana.

[Jon]

All three of the last years are club options? That seems strange to me. Why sign a long deal if it doesn't lock you into guarenteed money? So it's four years guarenteed -- how many arby years does that even buy out?

 

Or am I misunderstanding?

Rosenthal[/url]"]Right-hander Fausto Carmona, continuing the wave of young players signing multi-year deals, has agreed to a four-year, $15 million contract, according to a major-league source.

 

The deal includes three option years that could push the total value of the package to $47.25 million. The option years would cover Carmona’s final year of arbitration and first two years of free agency.

 

Carmona, 24, broke out in 2007, going 19-8 with a 3.06 ERA in his first full season as a starter. After two starts this season, he is 1-0 with a 0.69 ERA.

 

As a player with one-plus year of service, Carmona was originally set to be paid $457,800. His new contract will cover this season and likely include a salary increase.

It's a safe move for Fausto. Since he has 5 arbitration-eligible years remaining, it will provide some nice security. Certainly at $15 million he'll be set for life. Then again, he's only 24 years old. You don't see many 24 year olds playing it safe.

 

We'll see if it pays off for the Indians, but if it doesn't, they're not out that much money.

[TruffleShuffle]

pretty good deal from the indians' perspective. if he's great you can pick up the option years and pay him to be an ace. if he's hurt or only average, no harm done.