- Thread starter
- #1
Adamsince1981
New member
- Aug 7, 2008
- 4,745
- 1
Matt Holliday-OF-Cardinals Jan. 4 - 1:34 pm et
The Cardinals and Matt Holliday are closing in on a $98.5 million contract, according to FoxSports.com's Jim Bowden.
The contract would be a sign of acquiescence from Holliday and agent Scott Boras, who were seeking over $100 million when the offseason began. If the deal is for five years, it would be worth about $19 million a season. If it's for six years, it would be for around $16 million per season. Stay tuned.
Source: Jim Bowden on Twitter
AND
Free agent outfielder Matt Holliday is intent on signing a contract that exceeds the $18 million average salary of a four-year offer he rejected from the Rockies during the 2008 season, according to major-league sources.
While there were earlier reports that St. Louis has declined to go beyond five years in its guarantee to Holliday, major-league sources indicated on Tuesday that the Cardinals had made a proposal that could reach $140 million over eight years. That is an annual average of $17.5 million, just shy of Holliday's target.
Holliday has indicated an interest if the term is reduced to seven years, the sources said. On a seven-year deal, he would want the total value to exceed the $119 million that Carlos Beltran received after the 2004 season in his seven-year, free-agent contract with the Mets.
An average salary of $17.5 million over seven years would put Holliday at $122.5 million. An average salary of $18 million would put him at $126 million.
Baltimore, meanwhile, did make an eight-year, $130 million offer to Holliday, and general manager Andy MacPhail did discuss the possibility of arranging a meeting between himself, Orioles owner Peter Angelos and Holliday in Austin, Tex., where Holliday is living in the offseason.
Boras was not available for comment and has declined requests to discuss negotiations.
In addition to using the Rockies’ offer as a baseline in his negotiations, Holliday now also has the four-year, $66 million deal that Jason Bay signed with the Mets to use in his contract talks. Bay was considered the second-best offensive player, behind Holliday, available on the free agent market. In addition to the $16.5 million average in his guarantee, Bay’s deal will include an easily attainable vesting option for a fifth year worth more than $14 million, sources say.
AND
12:35pm: It's been suggested that the Cardinals have offered multiple contract scenarios to Holliday. One might have been seven years and $112MM, according to SI's Jon Heyman. Also, Heyman talked to one source who believes the Orioles are "laying in the weeds" despite recent denials.
8:30am: A Friday tweet by Cardinals manager Tony La Russa had some fans wondering if a Matt Holliday signing was imminent, but Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch contacted La Russa to get an explanation exceeding 140 characters. La Russa explained to Goold:
"We're getting ready to move. I know they’ve been talking a lot with Matt. I know we have a really smart Plan B...(It) could be on Plan A, or it could be our Plan B. The point is, we're not going to get stuck."
La Russa told Goold he was not referring specifically to Holliday with his "Soon the Cards will be smart too" tweet. However, Goold did learn from one source that there could be a Holliday resolution this week. Goold speculated that of the various packages offered to the slugger, six or seven years with a guarantee over $100MM might do the trick. Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports suggested on Wednesday that Holliday aims to top the $18MM average annual salary he passed up from the Rockies in '08. It will be interesting to see how high the Cardinals are willing to go given the lack of a clear second suitor for Holliday.
The Cardinals and Matt Holliday are closing in on a $98.5 million contract, according to FoxSports.com's Jim Bowden.
The contract would be a sign of acquiescence from Holliday and agent Scott Boras, who were seeking over $100 million when the offseason began. If the deal is for five years, it would be worth about $19 million a season. If it's for six years, it would be for around $16 million per season. Stay tuned.
Source: Jim Bowden on Twitter
AND
Free agent outfielder Matt Holliday is intent on signing a contract that exceeds the $18 million average salary of a four-year offer he rejected from the Rockies during the 2008 season, according to major-league sources.
While there were earlier reports that St. Louis has declined to go beyond five years in its guarantee to Holliday, major-league sources indicated on Tuesday that the Cardinals had made a proposal that could reach $140 million over eight years. That is an annual average of $17.5 million, just shy of Holliday's target.
Holliday has indicated an interest if the term is reduced to seven years, the sources said. On a seven-year deal, he would want the total value to exceed the $119 million that Carlos Beltran received after the 2004 season in his seven-year, free-agent contract with the Mets.
An average salary of $17.5 million over seven years would put Holliday at $122.5 million. An average salary of $18 million would put him at $126 million.
Baltimore, meanwhile, did make an eight-year, $130 million offer to Holliday, and general manager Andy MacPhail did discuss the possibility of arranging a meeting between himself, Orioles owner Peter Angelos and Holliday in Austin, Tex., where Holliday is living in the offseason.
Boras was not available for comment and has declined requests to discuss negotiations.
In addition to using the Rockies’ offer as a baseline in his negotiations, Holliday now also has the four-year, $66 million deal that Jason Bay signed with the Mets to use in his contract talks. Bay was considered the second-best offensive player, behind Holliday, available on the free agent market. In addition to the $16.5 million average in his guarantee, Bay’s deal will include an easily attainable vesting option for a fifth year worth more than $14 million, sources say.
AND
12:35pm: It's been suggested that the Cardinals have offered multiple contract scenarios to Holliday. One might have been seven years and $112MM, according to SI's Jon Heyman. Also, Heyman talked to one source who believes the Orioles are "laying in the weeds" despite recent denials.
8:30am: A Friday tweet by Cardinals manager Tony La Russa had some fans wondering if a Matt Holliday signing was imminent, but Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch contacted La Russa to get an explanation exceeding 140 characters. La Russa explained to Goold:
"We're getting ready to move. I know they’ve been talking a lot with Matt. I know we have a really smart Plan B...(It) could be on Plan A, or it could be our Plan B. The point is, we're not going to get stuck."
La Russa told Goold he was not referring specifically to Holliday with his "Soon the Cards will be smart too" tweet. However, Goold did learn from one source that there could be a Holliday resolution this week. Goold speculated that of the various packages offered to the slugger, six or seven years with a guarantee over $100MM might do the trick. Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports suggested on Wednesday that Holliday aims to top the $18MM average annual salary he passed up from the Rockies in '08. It will be interesting to see how high the Cardinals are willing to go given the lack of a clear second suitor for Holliday.
