Felix Hernandez and the Seattle Mariners completed a US$78 million, five-year deal that averts an arbitration hearing and keeps the young ace under contract through 2014.
General manager Jack Zduriencik called Thursday a great day for Seattle and for the Venezuelan pitcher, his wife and their two young children.
“This one was immense,” Zduriencik said, seated next to a constantly grinning Hernandez. “It’s rare when you can secure a guy like this. And it’s rare to have a guy with this kind of ability. There’s no better move than to secure a Felix Hernandez.”
Hernandez, who could have become a free agent after the 2011 season, finalized his first big contract after taking a physical that was required to finish the deal.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME
“I just wanted to be here. I didn’t care about free agency,” Hernandez said, looking sharp in a black, three-piece suit, silver tie and diamonds in each earlobe.
“I’m here for five more years. I hope we make the playoffs and the World Series for the fans. They need it. We got this out of the way, now my mind is ready to play baseball,” he said.
Seattle hasn’t made the playoffs since 2001.
The Mariners and Hernandez’s agents opened talks soon after he finished second in voting for last year’s American League Cy Young Award.
The 23-year-old righty was 19-5 last season, tied for the most wins in Major League Baseball, and made his first All-Star team. He had a career-high 217 strikeouts with a career-low 2.49 ERA.
The new deal means Hernandez will be just 28 when he can become eligible for free agency.
Dubbed “King Felix” soon after he arrived in MLB, Felix was 58-41 in 4 seasons.
He has averaged 14 wins and 183 strikeouts in his four full seasons in the big leagues, but his career was longer on potential than consistency until last year.
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