The Seattle Mariners, evidently, want to build around outfielder Julio Rodriguez.
The future is bright for both player and team: the 21-year-old is one of the most impressive young players in the league.
Now, he is about to put pen to paper on a contract that will keep him in Seattle for a long, long time.
“Source: Mariners outfielder Julio Rodriguez is finalizing a deal with the Mariners. The deal is expected to guarantee him more than $200 million with the possibility earning him as much as $450 million plus,” MLB’s Jesse Sanchez tweeted on Friday.
Source: Mariners outfielder Julio Rodriguez is finalizing a deal with the Mariners. The deal is expected to guarantee him more than $200 million with the possibility earning him as much as $450 million plus.
— Jesse Sanchez (@JesseSanchezMLB) August 26, 2022
That’s some news!
For a young player like him, it’s hard to reject $200 million guaranteed.
A Worthwhile Gamble
However, if all goes well and he performs as expected, he will be well worth the money.
According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, Rodríguez is guaranteed $210 million over 14 years.
The structure of Julio Rodriguez's massive extension is very complicated, but the topline details, sources tell ESPN: $210 million guaranteed over 14 years with the ability to grow to well over $400M. Includes player and team options.
The great @JesseSanchezMLB was on the deal.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 26, 2022
The deal also contains player and team options, so we would have to wait until all the details are revealed to get to know the exact commitment made by Seattle.
We can say, however, that it’s a worthwhile gamble for both sides.
The Mariners are gambling huge money on a player with less than one year of service time, but talented enough to lead the AL Rookie of the Year race and hit .269/.328/.471 with 20 home runs and 23 stolen bases for the club.
The player, on the other hand, has enough talent to become a top-five player as soon as next year, and if he maxes out his obvious physical tools, he could be worth much more than the Mariners are paying him.
He now has financial security for life, though.
J-Rod is a very rich man, and his baseball talent and projection tells us that he deserves every penny.
NEXT: The Mariners Are Engaged In A Postseason Preview