He was immediately one of the brightest young prospects in the game, and this year he immediately became one of the brightest young stars in the game. And now, with less than a year of service time to his name, Wander Franco is locking down one of the largest guarantees in baseball.
Per reports, Franco and the Tampa Bay Rays are signing a huge extension:
If completed, deal is largest in #Rays history and for any MLB player with less than 1 year service time.
Also a significant accomplishment for #Rays to have Franco under control for more than a decade. https://t.co/SWglGd9AZZ— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) November 23, 2021
BREAKING NEWS: Wander Franco signed a 12 year / $223 million contract extension with the Tampa Bay Rays.@z101digital @ZDeportes
— Héctor Gómez (@hgomez27) November 23, 2021
Franco, a 20-year-old switch-hitting shortstop, hit .288/.347/.463 (127 wRC+) in his big league debut this year, and is a virtual lock to be a superstar for years to come so long as he stays healthy. Everyone is in agreement on this point, thus the willingness to guarantee over $200 million to such a young and inexperienced player.
What’s interesting, though, is the team doing the guaranteeing. This, obviously, is not typically in the Rays’ wheelhouse. Although they love them some pre-arbitration extensions, they never look this enormous. It makes you wonder what they think is coming in the future, not only with their own stadium situation (and the split-city plan, and the money), but also with the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Any chance the Rays are thinking that younger players, in particular, are about to get way more expensive (as the union seems to hope)? And maybe players will reach free agency a click sooner? So they’re rolling the dice that locking Franco down now at an $18 to $20 million AAV (or whatever) is going to look like a bargain as soon as he’s 22 or 23?
More soon.
UPDATE: Well this looks quite a bit less enormous:
Shortstop Wander Franco and the Tampa Bay Rays are in agreement on a 12-year contract that guarantees him around $185 million, sources tell ESPN. The deal is worth a maximum of $223 million. It is done, pending small details. The 20-year-old is going to be a Ray for a long time.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 23, 2021
I mean, a $15.4 million AAV? That’s downright cheap. I know the guarantee is significant for a player of his age, but this looks like a no-brainer bet for the Rays. No blame for Franco for taking life-changing money, but that’s not nearly as impressive as it looked like it initially could be.
UPDATE 2: AAV goes back up:
Update with more details: Wander Franco’s deal with Tampa Bay is for 11 years and $185 million. There is a 12th-year option and the total value could jump to $223 million. @TBTimes_Rays was on deal being done, and @YancenPujols first reported talks between Franco and the Rays.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 23, 2021
Now it’s $16.8 million AAV. Still dirt cheap, even for a young player like this. Very little chance of regret down the road by the Rays.