In the excitement of the announcement of the Matt Holliday deal, the Randy Johnson retirement announcement and what was probably one of the least inspiring BCS bowl matchups in recent years, I neglected to break down the details of the Holliday contract, but they’re as follows:
- Holliday will receive $17 million for each season from 2010-2016;
- If he finishes in the top-10 in MVP balloting in 2016, a $17 million option vests for 2017. There is a $1 million buyout if the option does not vest;
- Calling it an “option” however, may be a misnomer. There is no club discretion here: if he finishes 10th or better in the MVP voting, he gets it. I guess it could be a player option, but those of you who think that a 37 year-old Matt Holliday will be in a position to decline a check for $17 million probably need to get some professional help;
- He has full no-trade protection.
All in all, it’s a guaranteed value of $120 million, with a potential value of $136 million.
Personally, I would love to hear how this negotiation went. If, say, the Cardinals had offered him six years and $90 million, what would Holliday have done? What other team would have come in with that money? Did they even try? We never really know how these sorts of things go, but unless we learn that some other team was really and truly bidding on Holliday -- and to date we’ve had no credible reports of a competitor for his services -- I’m forced to believe that the Cardinals bid against themselves.
No matter the case, nice deal Boras. You got your guy the contract not many people thought he’d ever get.