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The Los Angeles Dodgers and catcher Will Smith have actually accepted a 10-year agreement extension worth $140 million, the group revealed Wednesday. Practically $45 countless that will be postponed, according to The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya, and consists of a $30 million finalizing perk, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand.
This is the 3rd biggest in MLB history ever offered to a catcher. Ahead of Smith’s pact would be Joe Mauer’s $184 million extension with the Twins (2011-18) and Buster Posey’s $167 million extension with the Giants (2013-21).
Smith, who turns 29 on Thursday, was slated to reach totally free company after the 2025 season, however this agreement presses back that timeline by nearly a years. Smith is a one-time All-Star who has actually become among the top-hitting catchers in baseball.
Initially the No. 32 general select of the University of Louisville in 2016, Smith was considered a top-100 general possibility leading up to his MLB launching with the Dodgers in 2019. Ever since, he’s batted.263/.358/.484 (126 OPS+) throughout parts of 6 major-league seasons. Over that period, Smith has actually balanced 30 crowning achievement per 162 video games played. In the just recently finished Seoul Series versus the Padres, Smith went 5 for 10 to begin the 2024 season.
On the protective front, Statcast for 2023 graded Smith as above-average at obstructing pitches in the dirt and in regards to his “pop time” on tosses to 2nd base. He was listed below average at pitch-framing.
Especially, CBS Sports just recently ranked catchers Dalton Rushing and Thayron Liranzo as the No. 1 and No. 3 potential customers, respectively, in the Dodgers’ system today.
The Dodgers this offseason have actually especially dedicated more than $1 billion in future income to totally free representatives like Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
