6:02 am | February 14, 2019 | Go to Source | Author:
10:27 AM ET
Jeff PassanESPN
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ESPN MLB insider
Shortstop Jorge Polanco and the Minnesota Twins are finalizing a contract extension that will cover seven years and guarantee around $25 million, a league source with knowledge of the deal told ESPN on Thursday.
The contract will buy out Polanco’s last pre-arbitration season, all three arbitration seasons and up to three free-agent years. At least five years will be guaranteed, and the overall value could jump if the Twins exercise the club option that can take the deal to a seventh season.
Minnesota has added some complementary pieces this offseason. But the Twins just don’t know what they’re going to get from a trio of once-promising prospects.
While Minnesota has a crop of young players who aren’t far from breaking out, the White Sox seem to be top heavy and the Indians are sneaky strong.
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Polanco, 25, has been a strong if not entirely steady presence in the middle of the Twins’ infield. Minnesota was discussing an extension with the switch-hitter last winter before he received an 80-game suspension after testing positive for a banned substance that he said came from a tainted supplement.
In 77 games after his return, Polanco hit .288/.345/.427 with six home runs and 42 RBIs. While he never has played more than 133 games in a season, Polanco is entering his prime years along with a young Twins core that includes outfielders Eddie Rosario , Byron Buxton and Max Kepler , third baseman Miguel Sano , and starters Jose Berrios and Fernando Romero . Between shortstop Royce Lewis and outfielder Alex Kirilloff, the Twins also have two of the best prospects in baseball.
Polanco’s deal is expected to look similar to those of Cleveland Indians star Jose Ramirez and St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong , according to a source. In 2017, Ramirez signed a five-year, $26 million extension that includes a pair of club options. It came about a year after Wong agreed to a five-year, $25.5 million deal with one club option.
The extension would be the second in two days, as the Philadelphia Phillies locked up ace Aaron Nola on Wednesday with a four-year, $45 million deal that includes a fifth-year club option.
With the uncertainty of the free-agent market, sources said, more extensions are expected throughout the spring.
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