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8) Glen Perkins, proven closer
During my initial time researching this piece, Perkins didn’t jump out as a potential extension candidate. Not even a little bit. But the more I dug, the more he became a player that I had to think about including.
Consider this: After his age-28 season (2011), the club and Perkins agreed on a five-year deal that was very team-friendly. Just two years later, during the spring training of 2014, Perkins approached the team about a restructure/extension and terms to another team-friendly deal were agreed upon very quickly.
After signing the “discounted” deal, Perkins was quoted as saying, “I’ll take a $22 million discount every day of the week” citing he was going to make more money than he’d “ever need,” playing for the team that he never wants to leave.
Perkins is a forward-thinking player, who is very honest about himself and what he needs to do better. He’s also basically put on the record that he’ll make more money than he will ever need. Players don’t do that.
I don’t know what kind of trick Perk could have up his sleeve this time, but I’d say there’s a non-zero chance that the three-time All-Star closer is thinking about making the next move typical ballplayers don’t make.
7) Byron Buxton, centerfielder
Here’s one you’ve all been waiting for, right? But you also probably thought Buxton might be higher on the list. Right?
One reason Buxton is showing up here and not higher is there might be some trepidation after his slow start. Not at all because the Twins think he’s a bust, but just because there were very high expectations that weren’t met and it would be extremely difficult to find a deal that both parties are comfortable with.
Another reason is that Buxton falls into the 0-1 year of service category. The Twins have never signed a player to an extension with less than one year of service. In fact, it’s only happened five times in the history of baseball. (Tampa Bay is responsible for three of those deals.)
The nearest comparison from the Twins perspective would be the five-year deal that was given to Denard Span in March of 2010. With Span’s service time, the guarantee lasted through his arbitration years and the team held an option for his first year of free agency. At the time, Span’s deal was very similar to the contract that Grady Sizemore had signed.
Strictly using the contracts signed recently by A.J. Pollock, Lorenzo Cain and Juan Lagares, you can assume that Buxton could easily command north of $20 million just to buy out his arbitration years.
You’ve read this far because you want me to throw some actual numbers out, didn’t you?
Here goes:
2016 (0+): $525,000
2017 (1+): $750,000
2018 (2+): $1 million
2019 (3+): $3.5 million (same as A.J. Pollack)
2020 (4+): $7 million (all of Pollack, Cain and Lagares got between $6.5m and $6.75m)
2021 (5+): $10.5 million (Pollack will go to arbitration; Cain is signed for $11m, Lagares $9m)
2022 (6+): $13 million option or $1 million buyout
Grand total: Six years, $24.275 million.
Something to note: The Twins have only Hughes and Park under contract in 2019 (with a Santana option) and only Park’s option on the books in 2020. Would that make them more or less likely to sign one of their younger players to an extension?
Weigh in below.
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