Myers, Phils Avoid Arbitration and then Some
From Phillies.com comes the news that the team has avoided arbitration with Brett Myers and signed him to a three year, $25.75 million deal. Says Myers:
"I've grown up in this organization, and this is where I want to stay. I love pitching in Philadelphia, I love the ballpark, I love the fans, and having Charlie [Manuel] as the manager and guys like Chase Utley around for the next few years was a big part of my decision."
What went into the Phillies decision? Myers was, as assistant general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. said, arguably one of the better pitchers in the National League last year, and relatively young, just 26 years old. Despite missing several starts due to his well-documented and discussed personal issues, Myers still managed to rank among the league leaders in strikeouts (5th) and ERA (9th). Since Joe Kerrigan stopped fooling around with Myers' delivery, his ERA has been 20% better than the league average.
Myers was set to make somewhere between $5 million and $5.9 million this season and perhaps a bit more in 2008. But in 2009, when Myers is eligible to become a free agent, the first year of his salary would be what? $12 million? $15 million by that time? In that light, it is probably a fair deal for both sides.
What's interesting to note is that the Phillies gave a seven-year deal to Chase Utley just a little over a week ago, but only a three year deal to Myers. Is that because of Pat Gillick's distrust of the inconsistencies of starting pitchers in general or is it a distrust of Myers off-the-field indiscretions (to put it mildly)?
Another factor to consider in the length of the contract: in three years, the Phillies will have a much better idea of the types of pitchers their prospects in the low minors (i.e. Carlos Carrasco, Kyle Drabek, Edgar Garcia, Josh Outman) and the recoverying Scott Mathieson are going to grow up and become. If the Phillies have a cadre of young cheap talent to take over, they may be willing to part with the expensive Myers.
