After waiting until the season started for luxury tax purposes, the Red Six have finally signed their first basemen to a long-term extension, paying him $154 million over seven years. This was an absolutely steal. Think about how good that Adrian Gonzalez has been over his career, playing half of his games in Petco Park, a notorious pitchers park. Since 2007, he has put up a WAR of 3.8, 2.9, 7.0 and 6.3. All this, like I said, at a park where hitters' numbers annually fall.
Let's compare this to Ryan Howard, who also just signed a similar contract. Howard's deal will pay him $138 million over the next six years, if they exercise their team option after year five. This means he will be paid $23 million annually, compared to Gonzo's $22 million. The Red Sox are getting the more productive player (Gonzalez has 20 WAR since 2007; Howard has 12.4), and the younger player (Gonzalez is 29, Howard is 32).
The bottom-line is the Red Sox got a great deal from one of the premier hitters in baseball that was below market-value. Theo Epstein came away like a robber, but I'm sure Albert Pujols's people are none too pleased
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