John Fay

jfay@enquirer.com

I've been saying all along that it makes sense for the Reds to try to extend the contracts of Todd Frazier and Devin Mesoraco.

We got an idea of how expensive that will be in the case of Frazier. Kyle Seager and the Seattle Mariners agreed to a seven-year, $100 million extension Monday, according to multiple reports. Yahoo! Sports had the news first.

Salaries in MLB are largely based on "comparables." Frazier and Seager are about as comparable as they get.

Both are third basemen. Seager is 27; Frazier's 28. Both are arbitration-eligible for the first time. Seager hit .268/.334/.454 this season with 25 home runs and 96 RBI. Frazier hit .273/.336/.459 with 29 home runs and 80 RBI this year. Seager's WAR (wins above replacement) was 5.8. Frazier's WAR was 5.3.

Contracts for players like Seager and Frazier tend to be back-loaded. When Jay Bruce signed a six-year, $51 million deal in 2011, it was for $2.75 million, $5 million, $7.5 million, $10 million, $12 million and $12.5 million per year, with $13 million and a $1 million buyout for a seventh year.

So the Reds could probably swing it with Frazier for the first four years of a six- or seven-year deal, but those last years will be expensive.