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The Mariners will hold a press conference tomorrow at Safeco Field to announce the contract.
No contract deals have been released by the team, pursuant to club policy. However, it’s been widely reported that the framework of the deal will pay Hernandez $175 million over the next seven seasons, making him the highest paid pitcher in major league baseball history.
The $25 million dollars per year would be the highest average yearly salary of any pitcher in baseball. And over the five new years, he would average $27.1 million. Greinke earns an average of $24.5 million a season.
But nothing is official yet.
A Mariners source said that the initial reported deal or any other reported deal has yet to be finalized, but did say that Hernandez’s agents are currently meeting with general manager Jack Zduriencik in Seattle.
A deal is imminent.
But it could take more than a few days to finalize all the details in any sort of contract with Hernandez. He would also be subjected to an extensive physical before it could be become official.
Mariners’ pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to spring training in Peoria, Arizona on Feb. 12.
Hernandez has transformed himself into the face of the Mariners franchise the past few seasons. Signed as a teenager out of Venezuela in 2002, he’s been raised and groomed in the organization. Along the way, he established himself as the team’s best pitcher, winning the American League Cy Young award in 2010 and signing a five-year, $78 million extension in 2010.
This past season he posted a 13-9 record with a 3.06 earned run average in 33 starts. He led the American League with five shutouts, while ranking second in innings pitched (232) and complete games (5) and third in strikeouts (223). He also threw the 23rd perfect game in MLB history on August 15 against the Tampa Bay Rays.
