-mlbtraderumors.com

9 years! Crazy!

He'll start out in the lower minors; if it takes him a few years to get to the Majors, it's not much different than the standard 6 years of control. The idea to giving him this deal is to buy out at least a couple free agent years, so it'll be interesting to see how aggressively they push him.

Edit: Upon further review, it sounds like Soler can opt out of this deal for the arbitration process, which not only eliminates possible cost-savings for the Cubs there but also the buying out of free agent years (I think). That makes this a little weird; Cubs are seemingly taking on all of the risk.

Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports that the Dodgers and Andre Ethier are close to completing a five-year, $85 million contract extension.
The new Dodgers' ownership wasn't kidding about making Ethier a priority. The 30-year-old outfielder is currently due to hit free agency following the 2012 season, but the reported deal would lock him up through 2017 and his age-35 season. Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times reports that the contract includes a vesting option for 2018 which could bring the overall value to over $100 million. The guaranteed portion of the deal would carry an average annual value (AAV) of $17 million. By comparison, Matt Kemp's recent eight-year extension with the Dodgers is worth $20 million per season.
Source: CBSSports.com
Jun 12 - 12:49 AM

Looks like a Minaya-special to me. Big time overpay in my eyes for a 30 year old with declining 20-25 homerun power who plays poor corner outfield defense.

It's an overpay but the upcoming FA market for bats is awful and they clearly have money to burn.

I guess I just missed it when Andre Ethier became a cornerstone player you wanted into his mid/late-30's. He had that great hitting streak last year, but he hasn't topped 3 WAR since 2008.

Just for comps purposes, since 2009 he has accumulated exactly 10 WAR, which places him 35th among OFers. Behind guys like Josh Willingham, Nyjer Morgan, ANDRES TORRES (in 800 less plate appearances), etc.

And Tim Brown reports that its really a 6 yr, 100m deal because the option is easily attainable.

Mega "Yuck" from me. He looked like a guy that some team was going to overpay because they panicked in a weak FA market. Ned Colletti took care of that problem before others even had a chance to.

For a team that could use an upgrade at 1B, 2B, SS, 3B, and LF, I hope they have a lot more money to burn.

Josh Hamilton (32)
Carlos Lee (37)
Delmon Young (27)
Michael Bourn (30)
Melky Cabrera (28)
Angel Pagan (31)
Grady Sizemore (30)
B.J. Upton (28)
Shane Victorino (32)
Lance Berkman (36)
Torii Hunter (37)
Xavier Nady (34)
Carlos Quentin (30)
Cody Ross (32)
Ichiro Suzuki (39)
Nick Swisher (32)
Bobby Abreu (39)
Kevin Youkilis (34)
Mark Reynolds (29)
Stephen Drew (30)
Kelly Johnson (31)
Mike Napoli (31)
Lyle Overbay (36)
Carlos Pena (35)

It may lack elite bats outside of Hamilton but there are some decent names there for a team that basically needs an upgrade at every position that's not CF and C.

Hey guys, you'll never believe this, but after Jeff Francoeur's initial honeymoon period in KC which earned him an ill-advised 2 year extension, he's not playing nearly as well this year and now they're looking to dump him!

Who coulda guessed!!!??

Andre Ethier is a glorified platoon player. He's fantastic against RHP, but his inability to hit lefties and his questionable defensive range really hold him back from being more than an above average regular and now he'll be hitting his 30's. He certainly has value but he's worth something closer to 5/65 than 5/85; definitely an overpay.

And it sounds like there is a fair chance it turns to 6/100 thanks to a vesting option; this is a terrible deal.

Geez. If Ethier can get that kind of coin, imagine what Wright will command if he hits the open market.

Haha. I'm sure they'll find a dumping place for him, whether it's another team or on the bench. Wil Myers will be in the Majors soon.

Bay for Frenchy! wooo lol