Chavez, A's Close To An Extension



After losing Jason Giambi, Jason Isringhausen, Keith Foulke and Miguel Tejada, the A's are obviously keen to wrap up 3B Eric Chavez for a long time.

From Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle :

Third baseman Eric Chavez and the team have just about finalized a deal that, at about $66 million, will be the biggest in A's history and will keep Chavez in town for another six years, two sources with knowledge of the negotiations told The Chronicle on Sunday. The deal is expected to be announced as soon as Wednesday.

"I'm very optimistic,'' said Oakland general manager Billy Beane, who would not elucidate further.

Chavez declined comment and Chavez's agent, Dave Stewart, could not be reached Sunday night.

Some of the finer details are still being worked out, but they shouldn't take more than 48 hours or so. Beane will be out of town on Tuesday.

The breakthrough in the talks came after a nearly two-week lull, during which Stewart suggested that the A's weren't taking into account Chavez's value as a free-agent-to-be, and since then another year was tacked onto the package. The sides first began discussing an extension in earnest one month ago; Chavez, 26, had said that he did not want to negotiate during the regular season. He is slated to make $5.2 million this season.

The previous largest deal in A's history was the three-year, $32 million extension signed by outfielder Jermaine Dye on Jan. 16, 2002.

Had Chavez also been allowed to depart, the team's chances of keeping any of their Big Three starters would have been slim. Just Saturday, Tim Hudson said, "I think the more people leave, the less appealing it is for everyone to stay. If they sign Chavvy, they're sending the message to everyone that they want to change the way things are done.''



(Chavez, very excited about the $66 million)



(former A's workhorse Dave Stewart, equally psyched about the commission on $66 million)

Posted: Mon - March 15, 2004 at 06:07 PM      

©