Rockies’ shortstop Troy Tulowitzki today officially signed an historic six-year, $31-million contract with a club option for $15 million. It represents the largest deal ever given to a major league player with less than two years experience.
A press conference was held this afternoon after Tulowitzki completed a medical exam.
“Obviously I’m excited,” Tulowitzki said. “I want to thank my mom and dad for making this possible, putting me in this position. I want to thank this organization and my teammates. This is a great group of guys.”
Tulowitzki added: “This team’s success is a big part of why I signed. If I didn’t think we could win here, I wouldn’t have done this deal.”
According to agent Paul Cohen, Tulowitzki’s contract breaks down as follows: $750,000 this season; $750,000 in 2009; $3.5 million in 2010; $5.5 million in 2011; $8.5 million in 2012; $10 million in 2013; and a club option for $15 million in 2014 with a $2 million buyout.
“He only wanted to do it if we could get our arms around it quickly,” Cohen said. “He did not want it to become a distraction and drag on for two months. Now he can focus on baseball and being a leader on the field for his team.”
The agreement continues general manager Dan O’Dowd’s pattern of locking up core young players on multi-year deals over the past two years. The 23-year-old has only been in the big leagues for a little over a year, but did enough to convince the Rockies he’s a franchise cornerstone.
Tulowitzki is just one of five rookies in the past 30 years to hit .290-plus, with 20-plus home runs and 95-plus RBIs, joining Ryan Braun (2007), Albert Pujols (2001), Nomar Garciaparra (1997) and Mike Piazza (1993). Tulowitzki’s 24 home runs and 99 RBIs last season were the most ever by a NL rookie shortstop.
The Tulowitzki deal dwarfs that of Cleveland center fielder Grady Sizemore, who held the record at six-years, $23.45 million for players with less than two years service time.
Footnotes
There were a battery of other signings in the big leagues last night. A look at the most notable: former Rockie Dan Miceli agreed to a minor-league deal with the Red Sox ($650,000 in the majors); reliever Dan Kolb also joined Boston a minor-league deal ($650,000 in the majors); Brett Tomko finalized his one-year, $3-million contract with the Royals that includes $675,000 in escalating incentives for 30 games started and an additional $750,000 in escalating incentives up to 200 innings pitches.
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com
