C.J. Wilson Will Also Join The Angels

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C.J. Wilson, Angels Agree To Backloaded Contract

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim were busy little beavers this morning, locking up the top hitter and top pitcher on the free-agent market, and spending many millions to do so. C.J. Wilson's contract was announced as a five-year, $77.5 million deal, but the particulars are somewhat interesting. From ESPN's Richard Durrett:

C.J. Wilson's year-by-year salary breakdown with LAA: $10 mil (2012), $11 (2013), $16 (2014), $18 (2015), $20 (2016).

That's one heavily backloaded contract. The Angels are likely assuming that salaries will look a lot different in five years, and adjusting for inflation. Pretty smart. But if we're all standing on street corners in 2016, selling apples and pencils because we were too busy doing the Charleston to notice that the economy was completely ruined, it will sure look like a mess of a contract.

In the near future, Wilson looks like a bargain. As for the final couple of years, though, he looks like the kind of player whose contract can totally mess with a team's plans on the free-agent market. Like Vernon Wells. 

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C.J. Wilson Signs With Angels For 5 Years, $77.5 Million

Thursday morning, shortly after signing the second-greatest first baseman in major-league history, the Los Angeles Angels have reportedly signed free-agent starting pitcher C.J. Wilson for five years and $77.5 million.

And you thought the Miami F. Marlins were going to completely dominate this year's Winter Meetings.

Wednesday evening in Dallas, Wilson arrived at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Texas -- site of this year's Winter Meetings -- and within hours we knew he was deciding between offers from the Angels and the Marlins. And Thursday morning, we had puffs of white smoke: Christopher John Wilson -- @str8edgeracer to his biggest fans -- will ply his trade next season for the Angels. And quite likely, for the next five seasons.

The early buzz is that Wilson's deal is exceptionally team-friendly, and he's certainly been worth more than $15 million in each of the last two seasons. But it's worth remembering that Wilson is not overly proven; just a year younger than Mark Buehrle, Wilson's got 43 wins in the major leagues next to Buehrle's 161. We know C.J. Wilson can pitch brilliantly; we don't know if he can pitch brilliantly for four or five or six years in a row. Still, this does seem like a fine deal for his new club.

Wilson reportedly had a six-year offer from the Marlins, but the lure of pitching where he grew up -- Wilson was born in Orange County, nearly 32 years ago -- might have played a part in his decision. Tuesday in his Winter Meetings press conference, Angels manager Mike Scioscia made it clear what his club's priority was this winter. Asked if he would prefer a power hitter or a pitcher, Scioscia said, "We need to get stronger pitching."

Now, with Jered Weaver, Dan Haren and Wilson, the Angels have the best 1-2-3 starters in the American League. They've just gotten significantly better ... and at the exact same moment, made their top competition in the American League West significantly worse.

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C.J. Wilson Rumored To Favor Angels

One of the bedrock principles of free agency is that a given free agent will almost always accept the biggest offer. It doesn't often matter so much who's doing the bidding - it matters more how much is being bid. It's not even a criticism. It's just kind of true.

So this ongoing situation with C.J. Wilson is of unusual interest. Wilson has been presented a six-year contract offer by the Miami Marlins. He's also been presented a five-year contract offer by the Los Angeles Angels. The former would guarantee him more money. And yet, he appears to be leaning towards the latter. Via Ken Rosenthal:

Source: WIlson "more likely than not" will sign with #Angels, not #Marlins.

This is supported by a similar tweet from Jim Bowden. Nothing is official yet, but odds look good that C.J. Wilson will shortly become the newest Angel.

If that's how things go down, then Wilson presumably will have been swayed by his strong southern California roots. He's said to love the area, he'd be able to stay in the same division, and I guess what's one more guaranteed pile of money in six years when you're guaranteed piles of money for the next five years? This is an honest question, as I have never been offered or even been so much as in the same room as a pile of money.

Expect a resolution Thursday. Not gonna lie, I'm kind of afraid of what the Marlins might do if they're turned down again.

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C.J. Wilson Picking Between Marlins, Angels

Here's where we stand right now: C.J. Wilson showed up to the winter meetings Wednesday night. On Wednesday night, he will meet in person with both the Miami Marlins and the Los Angeles Angels. After the meetings, Wilson could quickly arrive at a decision. Like, Wednesday night. It's possible. Maybe it's probable. "Maybe it's probable" is another way of saying "it's possible."

What is Wilson deciding between? The Marlins are rumored to have offered him a six-year contract, which is what he's been looking for. The Angels, meanwhile, are thought to be stuck on five, and very reluctant to budge. Based simply on contract offers, it looks like the Marlins have the edge. But Wilson is a southern California native, and he's quite fond of the Orange County area, so then that gives the Angels an edge. Which edge is bigger than the other edge? How am I supposed to know? I'm not a scientist. Anymore.

It's funny that we're talking about all this in terms of years without knowing anything about salary. I mean, we can kind of guess at the salaries, but what if the Angels have offered $100 million over five years, while the Marlins have offered ten dollars, literally just ten dollars, over six years? Then there would be egg on our faces! And the Marlins' faces.

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Report: Marlins Offer Six-Year Contract To C.J. Wilson

And just to save time, they've offered four years to Mark Buehrle, seven to Carlos Beltran, and ten to Evan Longoria, even though their lawyers told them not to. But according to Tom Verducci on the MLB Network, the Marlins are interested in C.J. Wilson, and they're using cartoonish sacks of cash to sway him. As relayed by Jon Heyman:

Cj wilson has 6-yr offer from #marlins, says tom verducci of @MLBNetwork. Could be new favorite.

As a consolation prize for missing out on Albert Pujols, it needs some work.

"Hey, I got front-row seats for us for the Rolling Stones!"

"WHAT?!?! Awesome!"

"Just kidding, they're for Bob Seger."

"Oh."

"Also, I need to sell your watch. For the tickets."

"..."

It's not that Wilson is bad -- he's been one of the better starters in baseball over the past two seasons, playoffs aside -- but he doesn't exactly have the star power that would fill up a new ballpark. Nothing like Pujols, anyways.

As of right now, the Marlins are looking at a rotation with Josh Johnson, Ricky Nolasco, Anibal Sanchez, Chris Volstad, and Wade LeBlanc, so there is definitely room for improvement. Adding Wilson would push everyone down a slot behind Johnson, and the rotation would look pretty nice in the short-term, with the long-term ramifications to be worked out later.

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Washington Nationals Deny C.J. Wilson Rumor

I'm going to catch you up real quick: there was talk that the Washington Nationals were super interested in C.J. Wilson. Then there was talk that the Nationals were not very interested in C.J. Wilson. Then there was talk that C.J. Wilson had received a six-year contract offer, and that the six-year contract offer came from the Nationals.

Immediately, it made sense, and immediately, there was skepticism. Just Sunday it seemed like the Nationals were pulling away from Wilson. Adam Kilgore did some digging, and here's what he found:

Three Nats sources with knowledge say they have not offered C.J. Wilson a six-year deal. I don't think there's much interest at all.

So much for that, I guess. It doesn't look like the Nationals extended the offer to Wilson. It doesn't look like the Nationals are all that interested in Wilson at all.

But is there still a six-year offer sitting on the table from somebody else? Keep in mind that was a separate rumor, and that rumor hasn't been shot down. It's a mystery!

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C.J. Wilson Gets Six-Year Contract Offer From Nationals, According To Report

C.J. Wilson is a free agent looking for a six-year contract, and early reports had the Washington Nationals as the favorites to sign him, because the Nationals have demonstrated a willingness to blow other teams out of the water, and a lot of teams thought that six years for Wilson was too many.

Then Sunday, there were reports that the Nationals see Wilson as being overpriced, and were turning their attention to Mark Buehrle instead. Buehrle isn't looking for six years. Buehrle is looking for three or four years.

Now this! This, from Jim Duquette:

Source- Nats are the team offering 6th year to CJ Wilson.

Word emerged Monday that some team had offered Wilson a six-year contract. Now, if Duquette's report is to be believed, that team is the Nationals. Duquette could be wrong, of course, but it would definitely make sense if it were the Nationals, since, who else would offer Wilson six years? Probably not the Angels. Probably not anyone.

So we'll see. If the Nationals have offered Wilson six years, and if those six years come with appropriate money, it's hard to imagine any other team topping it.

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C.J. Wilson Receives Six-Year Contract Offer

C.J. Wilson looks like the best free agent starting pitcher on the market, and he's looking to sign a contract that rewards him as such. The numbers that have been thrown around are six years and $100 million, and while it's never been a guarantee that Wilson would get either, those seemed like the desires.

Now, according to Jeff Wilson, it seems one of those desires has been met.

The Rangers are one of five teams in the hunt for free-agent left-hander C.J. Wilson, but they might have to offer six years to snag him.

A major-league source said that one of the other four suitors has made an offer of six years.

The identity of the aggressive suitor is unknown. The dollar figure attached to that six-year offer is unknown. Whether it's six years guaranteed or five and an option is unknown. But this is still something. It's an indication that Wilson could very well end up getting what he wants, and perhaps even then some.

The popular alternative to Wilson right now is free agent lefty Mark Buehrle. Buehrle's going after a shorter contract and less money. But Buehrle can sign with only one team, so it appears pretty likely that Wilson's wishes will be met in the end.

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C.J. Wilson Fielding Number Of Offers

Earlier Sunday, we suggested that the Washington Nationals might be the favorites to sign free agent starter C.J. Wilson, because Wilson is a target of theirs, and they're more willing to spend big than some other teams are. But maybe that's not quite so true. According to Jon Heyman, the Nationals currently see Wilson as being overpriced, and according to William Ladson, the Nationals have floated an offer to free agent starter Mark Buehrle.

But that isn't to say that Wilson isn't generating a lot of interest. Here's this, from Jon Morosi:

C.J. Wilson has offers from #Angels, #Marlins and two other clubs

Now, Wilson is said to be seeking a six-year contract worth at least $100 million. It's unknown whether any of the current offers are quite that large. I'm going to guess that the answer is no, but I don't have any inside information, and wherever things might be now, they could intensify quickly. It will be interesting to see if Wilson holds off until after Buehrle signs somewhere, just to maximize interest. But you could say the same thing the other way around, and somebody has to sign first.

The Marlins. Geez.

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C.J. Wilson Targeted By Washington Nationals

C.J. Wilson is a free agent starting pitcher with a 142 ERA+ over the last two seasons. Understandably, then, he's drawing a decent amount of interest on the market, and he's looking for a big-time contract.

What sort of big-time contract? In terms of length, the number that keeps getting thrown around is six years. And in terms of compensation, Jon Heyman reported that Wilson asked the Angels for $100 million.

So $100 million over six years seems like a ballpark estimate of the contract that Wilson will end up signing. Now for the matter of who's going to sign him. He's already met with the Angels. He's already met with the Marlins. He's meeting with the Rangers, and the Red Sox, and probably with others. But here's Heyman again:

Those Washington Nationals. The team that signed Jayson Werth to a mega-contract a year ago has apparently set its sights on Wilson, even more than it's set its sights on Mark Buehrle or Prince Fielder. The Nationals aren't guaranteed to sign Wilson, but they've demonstrated a willingness to spend big money, and Wilson's six-year contract desire will presumably scare off other, more conservative suitors.

Wilson, by the way, is 31 years old. That is a fair bit older than it seems like.

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MLB Free Agent Contract Prediction: C.J. Wilson

C.J. Wilson had a rough postseason. Will that affect the free-agent contract he gets this offseason?