King Felix will continue his ruling in Seattle for a least the next seven years. The Mariners and their all-star pitcher have agreed to a seven-year, $175 million contract according to a USA Today Report. The deal will reportedly be finalized by spring training. This makes Hernandez he highest paid pitcher in baseball history.
Hernandez has proven himself worthy of the giant deal. The 26-year old will earn an average of $25 million annually through 2019. He was originally scheduled to earn $19.5 million in 2013 and $20 million in 2014, but the new contract wipes that out. This sets a new pitching contract record. The new deal smashes CC Sabathia's seven-year $161 million signed prior to the 2009 season, which at the time was the biggest contract ever for a pitcher. Zack Greinke also earned a huge deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, earning a six-year, $147 million contract, but that pales in comparison to Hernandez.
Seattle has reason to putting so much stock into one pitcher. He won the 2010 American League Cy Young Award, despite winning his team only 13 games. He produced a 2.27 ERA while striking out 232 batters in 249 innings. He pitched a perfect game this past August 15. It was the 23rd perfect game in the history of baseball. Hernandez made his MLB debut at 19 and has gone 98-76 in his career overall. He will be 33 when his contract expires.
Hernandez's new deal is sure to catch the eye of a few other big name pitchers on the verge of looking for more money. Aces Justin Verlander and Clayton Kershaw are scheduled to hit free agency following the 2014 season. David Price and Stephan Strasburg will be free agents following the 2015 and 2016 season. Seeing how big Hernandez's contract is, it is hard imagining anything bigger. But when these top arms begin looking for more money, it only seems inevitable the baseball contracts will continue to grow.