Twins sign Kurt Suzuki to Extension
The Minnesota Twins made waves this morning by trading Sam Fuld to the Oakland Athletics for Tommy Milone. In a move for the Twins, they were able to deal a waiver pickup for starting pitching help. One of their biggest trade assets was Kurt Suzuki, however it looks like he won’t be going anywhere.
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Minnesota entered the day needing to do one of two things with Kurt Suzuki. A contract extension needed to be reached, or he needed to be traded. The Twins couldn’t afford to let their All Star catcher walk at the end of the season and get nothing in return.
Now, Ken Rosenthal of MLB on Fox is reporting that the Twins have indeed signed Suzuki to a contract extension.
Source: #Twins sign Suzuki to extension.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 31, 2014
The twins have now reported the terms of Suzuki’s contract extension.
BREAKING: The #MNTwins have extended C @kurtsuzuki through 2016 with a vesting option for 2017. Suzuki will earn $6 million in 2015 & 2016.
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) July 31, 2014
At $6 million per year, the Twins bought high on their All-Star catcher. It is worth noting that there may or may not have been trade offers for the catcher, and that could have played into the Twins decision.
Suzuki was reported to be asking for deals along the lines of what Carlos Ruiz, A.J. Pierzynski, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia received this offseason.
For the Twins, they were able to extend their All-Star, and keep the best catcher the have on their roster, in a Twins uniform. While Josmil Pinto could be argued to be an option down the road, he doesn’t currently posses the tool to succeed behind the plate at the Major League level.