Atlanta Braves now have an extension benchmark for Acuna
Breakdown
According to the COT’s site, Kingery’s new deal details as follows (by average annual value):
- 2018: $1 million
- 2019: $1.5 million
- 2020: $1.75 million
- 2021: $4.25 million (would have been 1st arbitration year)
- 2022: $6.25 million
- 2023: $8.25 million
Here is how he will actually be paid:
Here’s the breakdown of the Scott Kingery contract:
— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) March 25, 2018
$1.5 signing bonus
2018: $750k
2019: $1.25 mil
2020: $1.5 mil
2021: $4.0 mil
2022: $6.0 mil
2023: $8.0 mil
2024-26 options are $13, $14, $15 with $1 mil buyout.
Matt Gelb and Jayson Stark exchange some words about this deal, too:
GELB: ‘Part of calculus in Scott Kingery deal: Had he not signed, Phillies control him for 7 years before free agency. So, essentially, he surrenders two FA years at $29 million.’
STARK: ‘That also means Kingery’s side looked at this as a $36M deal for those 7 years assuming #Phillies pick up the option
- Jose Altuve earned $21.7M over that period
- Dustin Pedroia: $30.1M
- Neil Walker: $18.8M
Moral of that story: Hard for a guy with 0 big-league AB to turn this down!’
Back to Acuna… such a precedent – even though this smells every bit of ‘club friendly’ – would have to be seen by the Braves as being at a level that introduces a lot of risk for them, vis-a-vis Acuna.
You’ve got scouts throwing around crazy comps about him. Ralph Garr mentioning Hank Aaron; is one of those. Another scout’s take was relayed to Yahoo’s Jeff Passan (emphasis added):
"One scout who saw Acuña multiple times this spring, “He will be in the MVP conversation.” That’s a center fielder who started last season in High-A and just turned 20, and it’s not in the conversation, like, three or four years from now. Today, he meant."
Where can you go from there? What could the Braves possibly do that doesn’t risk their payroll for the next decade?