Earlier this week, the Texas Rangers signed Japanese righthander Yu Darvish to a six-year contract worth $60 million.
So that’s $10 million a year, right?
Well… on average, yes. But according to Jeff Wilson of the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, it’s backloaded this way:
2012: $5.5 million
2013: $9.5 million
2014: $10 million
2015: $10 million
2016: $10 million
2017: $11 million
You’ll note those figures add up to $56 million. There’s also $4 million in the form of “roster bonuses”, according to Wilson, and according to ESPN Dallas, Darvish can opt out after five years:
Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said Thursday morning on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM that Darvish can opt out of the sixth year if he hits two different performance thresholds. Both involve the Cy Young voting.
Daniels said if Darvish wins the Cy Young and finishes in the “top three or four” of the balloting a second time in the five years, he can opt out of the sixth year of the contract. He can also get out of it if he finishes second in the balloting and then in the top three or four in two additional years.
Darvish will be formally introduced as a Texas Ranger at a news conference at 7 p.m. CST Friday night, according to a tweet from Jeff Wilson.