Kiermaier, Rays Set To Announce Long Term Deal

According to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter), the Tampa Bay Rays and Kevin Kiermaier have reached a contract extension.

Topkin suggests that the compensation package will be around $50MM for 6-years and likely contain an option. He also notes, “neither Rays officials, Kiermaier nor his representatives at Reynolds Sports Management would comment Tuesday night on the specifics. No announcement is expected for at least a few days as final paperwork and a physical have to be completed.”

Kiermaier Strikes Gold Again:

While awaiting the final contract terms and the eventual presser between Kiermaier and the Rays, let’s look at three reasons this extension is a big positive for the Rays.

1. Black Cloud From Wheeling And Dealing Lifted:

It’s been awhile since the Rays have signed one of their young players to a long-term contract extension. One has to wonder whether or not the front office’s wheeling and dealing finally caught up to them?

The last time the Rays gave a long term contract extension to one of their young players was in April of 2014 when they inked Chris Archer to six-year/$25.5MM contract which included two option years to push the value of the deal to $45.5MM.

Other Attempts At Contract Extensions:

After Archer, the Rays were discussing a long term extension during spring training of 2015 with Alex Cobb before he injured his elbow forcing him to miss all of 2015 and most of 2016.

They also made a long term contract extension offer to Jake Odorizzi during the Winter Meetings following the 2015 season but no accord could be reached.

*The Rays did extend Logan Forsythe to a 2-year/$10.5MM extension prior to the 2016 season but he wasn’t one of their younger prospects.

Failing to sign Cobb or Odorizzi long term left a void in the normal process of locking up young players as they had in the past.

One had to wonder if some of the front offices wheeling and dealing players had finally caught up to them. Matt Moore, who had signed a long term extension prior to the 2012 season was dealt at the trade deadline last season.

In recent years, several other players who were nearing the end of their team control were also shipped out via trades. Jeremy Hellickson to the Phillies, Jake McGee to the Rockies, Wil Myers to the Padres, David Price to the Tigers.

The question as to whether or not the front office wheeling and dealing would serve as a deterrent over contract negotiations has been alleviated a bit with the news of the Kiermaier signing.

2. Cost Certainty A Benefit To Team And Player:

Neither the player nor the team like the arbitration process. While the range that a players salary is going to increase there is still that unknown that can push the range higher than expected. There are some cases (see Desmond Jennings), where injuries can lead to a non-tender and never realizing the full arbitration cycle.

What teams like is knowing as much of their year-to-year salary in firm dollars. Players benefit with the security that a guaranteed contract provides. The knowledge that they don’t have to worry about the business side of the game is a huge plus.

3. Building A Nucleus:

The Rays will now have arguably their three biggest stars, Chris Archer, Evan Longoria, and Kevin Kiermaier locked up in long term deals. They have a number of players in the early stages of arbitration or about to enter the process in the next year. It will be interesting to see how many more players join the trio to form the nucleus.

The Rays have been in a rebuild since the end of the 2014 season overturning nearly their entire 40-man roster. What fans may not realize is that the team isn’t in tear down mode, they are in build the nucleus mode. The foundation of Archer, Longoria, Kiermaier is a great start.

Hopefully, we hear of rumored negotiations with Corey Dickerson, Brad Miller, Jake Odorizzi, Alex Colome, Blake Snell, and Matt Duffy.

In addition to the aforementioned contract extensions, the farm system has several intriguing prospects that are a whisper away from impacting the big league club. Willy Adames, Casey Gillaspie, Jake Bauers, and Brent Honeywell should all be landing in St. Petersburg in 2017-2018.

Hopefully, this is just the beginning of setting the foundation for the future. With Archer, Longoria, and Kiermaier serving as the foundation. With a bit of luck, the Rays could be at the beginning of another period of sustained competition.