Dodgers Set Ceiling For Star Pitchers
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – If Jose Fernandez continues to develop into an ace pitcher for the Miami Marlins, South Florida fans better see him while he's here because there's no way the team will pay the new premium price for a top pitcher in baseball.
Wednesday afternoon, the Los Angeles Dodgers signed starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw to a seven-year, $215 million contract with an annual value of more than $30 million per season. The deal also has an opt-out clause so that when Kershaw turns 30 (he's currently 25), he could go for an even bigger contact.
From the Dodgers' point of view, the deal inks arguably the best young pitcher in the game through the age of 32 at the worst. Many of the recent mega-deals signed by players like Robinson Cano, Albert Pujols, and Alex Rodriguez will have teams paying the players past the age of 40 long after the players' ability has declined.
Kershaw won two of the past three NL Cy Young Awards and has a 2.60 ERA in 184 career games. Over the last three years, he's 51-23 with an ERA of 2.21.
While Kershaw's huge deal doesn't guarantee that other good pitchers will receive anywhere near that kind of money; the ceiling has now been set for pitching contracts for a team's ace.
