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.