mlbtraderumors.com: Vernon Wells Extension Reactions

On December 15th, 2006, Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi signed center fielder Vernon Wells to a seven-year, $126MM extension.  The heavily-backloaded contract included a full no-trade clause and an opt-out clause after the 2011 season.  At the time of the signing, Wells was a year away from free agency.

With five years and $105MM remaining, the Wells extension is now widely regarded as the worst contract in baseball.  I thought it’d be interesting to see what sportswriters were saying at the time of the signing.

Peter Gammons, ESPN: “If you’re going to give $18 million to somebody, you want them to be as diligent and as reliable as Vernon.  If he went out in the market next year, with Andruw Jones, and Ichiro, and Torii Hunter, I really believe that at his age he might be #1.”

Jeff Blair, Globe and Mail: “The dollars involved in Wells’s extension are an accurate reading of a system flush with cash because of new media riches, labour peace and solid attendance in big markets. Wells would have received $20-million a year as a free agent next year without breaking a sweat. His on-field production - a Gold Glove, .300 batting average, 30 home runs and 100 runs batted in - would not be replaced in time to compete this year in the hypercompetitive American League East.”

Nate Silver, Baseball Prospectus: “Toronto did a good job of assessing Wells’s value in the short term. As for the risks associated with a contract that stretches past the player’s 35th birthday? Consider it a necessary evil for securing a premium player who likely would’ve fetched at least $150 million in next year’s market.”