S.D. Petersburg – Race has experience trying to get their best young players to sign long contract extensions early in their careers. According to various reports, they would have done the same with Vander Franco now.
ESPN’s Jeff Basson confirms reports by Janson Pujols, Hector Gomes and Mark Tompkin that the Rays are nearing the end of an 11 – year, $ 185 million deal with Dominican Shortstop. The contract amounts to US $ 223 million.
Franco, who had been the No. 1 prospect in baseball for two years, lived up to expectations with a score of .288 / .347 / .463. Although he played in 70 games, he finished third in the AL Rookie of the Year poll.
The beams have previously completed extensions like this. Players like Evan Longoria, Matt Moore, Chris Archer and Brandon Lowe signed long-term contracts early in their careers. But in every formal agreement, there are many conversations that go nowhere and are not known to the public.
It’s not a matter of urgency on how many years Franco has left under Race’s contract control. Under the terms of the current collective bargaining agreement, Franco will not qualify for arbitration after the 2024 season and will not reach the free agency until the end of the 2027 campaign. Even with the way the Rays are constantly changing their roles, a superstar like Franco is not going anywhere quickly.
In the midst of all this uncertainty surrounding the new CBA negotiations, the current one expires on December 1st. It is not clear how the terms of the future player-MLB deal will affect team budgets or contract status and the young star’s ability to make money like Franco.
However, this is an attractive idea: a club with the lowest payroll in the Majors has signed a contract extension of more than 10 years with the most talented player who has yet to play his first full season in the Majors. Leeks, and he has not reached 21 years of age.
