Dustin Ackley Signs
As first reported by Jonathan Mayo, the Mariners have signed first round pick Dustin Ackley to a major league contract worth up to $9.5 million over five years (Added details from Jim Callis: $6 million signing bonus, $1.5 million in guaranteed salaries, $2.5 million in possible salaries depending on when he reaches the major leagues. The M’s got the deal done with the #2 pick in the draft just a few minutes before the deadline, which was expected when he was selected. This is just how Scott Boras operates – he knows that kids who sign at the last minute get more money than kids who sign early, so he just doesn’t even bother negotiating until the eleventh hour.
Ackley immediately becomes the Mariners best prospect, and he’s the kind of player who won’t need that much time in the minor leagues. He can fall out of bed and hit .300, so his development time will be focused on his defense in center field and the transition to hitting for power with a wood bat. I’d expect him to start next year at Double-A West Tennessee, and he could easily move up to Tacoma at some point.
Barring injury or some kind of unforeseen problem, Ackley’s going to come to spring training in 2011 looking for a job with the Mariners. He’s a legitimate All-Star talent, and you should expect to see him playing for the M’s in about 18 months or so.
This is a good day. Welcome the organization, Dustin.
Edit: For anyone worried about the fact that the deal is “only” for five years, this doesn’t change the amount of club controlled years the M’s have him for at all. Essentially, the M’s have pre-paid for Ackley’s first five seasons, buying out all of his pre-arb years and up to two years of arbitration, though more likely just one year of arbitration (assuming he spends 2010 in the minors). This is pretty standard stuff for premium draft picks. The M’s still control his rights for six full years. It’s a big contract, but it was still worth doing. He’s worth it.
That was nerve-wracking.
Welcome to Seattle, Dustin. Glad it got done.
WHEW!! Damn that BorA$$
Please let the collective exhalation not blow over the server.
By the way, Strasburg – $15.67 million for four years. Is that all?
That’s great news. I was getting nervous.
Yeah, that’s much lower than pretty much everyone thought he’d get. Best guess is he told Boras to just take the best offer he got at 11:59.
glad to see he signed. dave – what do you think of the amount he signed for? too much?
That’s a LOT of money for Ackley … much more than I thought he’d get.
It’s a lot of money… and he’s worth it.
The short term also gets him to the paydays in arbitration thereafter, of course. Unless Boras insisted as part of the deal that the Nationals agree not to offer arbitration, which would be…interesting.
Cool! What Orioles pitcher can we trade him for?
What? Too soon?
How do the amount of years work for those drafted?
Larry Stone has a 5 year contract and Strasburg has one for 4 years.
*5 year contract for Ackley
Great news that he signed.
Does a major league contract mean he needs to be placed on the 40 man roster? And if so, doesn’t this mean the team loses someone else without a clear financial gain for Ackley?
Good for the Nats that they stuck to their guns!
Center field? does this kid have the wheels and arm for center? Wow, if he does even better. Is this kid considered a 5 tool player like Adam
Jones?
I’m a little surprised at how much he cost; I was expecting something only marginally larger then Pedro Alvarez last year, but I’m much more pleasantly surprised that the M’s were willing to break the slot and spend what needed to be spent.
The Mariners now have 3 all-star calibre outfielders in their organization.
My first question is, why would the M’s consider moving the best defensive center-fielder out of position for someone who; While potentially a great defender, is not in the league as Gutierrez with the leather?
For my second question, How much power should Ackley be able to achieve? I’ve heard comparisons to everyone from Chase Utley to Mark Kotsay. Is his power potential somewhere between the two?
If Ackley is being groomed to play CF does that mean Guttierez isn’t in the plans for the future?
Dave,
I guess we won’t know for sure for a while, but does Ackley have a good chance to be better than Adam Jones?
As Dave Cameron has said, having 3 centerfielders in your outfield is a good thing.
How do the amount of years work for those drafted?
The number of years (for a major league contract) indicates how long their salary is predetermined. After that they would normally go to arbitration, assuming they’ve accumulated the service time for it by the time the initial contract ends.
Does a major league contract mean he needs to be placed on the 40 man roster? And if so, doesn’t this mean the team loses someone else without a clear financial gain for Ackley?
The fact that it’s a major league contract means they go on the 40-man roster and start using up options. In Ackley’s case, the Mariners’ 40-man is not full, so it doesn’t matter much.
Does a major league contract mean he needs to be placed on the 40 man roster? And if so, doesn’t this mean the team loses someone else without a clear financial gain for Ackley?
Yes. There is a clear gain for Ackley – his timetable gets accelerated. With a minor league contract, he could conceivably be in the minors for six years – the three years before he was placed on the 40 man, and his three option years. A major league contract guarantees he’ll be in a big league uniform no later than 2013.
Center field? does this kid have the wheels and arm for center? Wow, if he does even better. Is this kid considered a 5 tool player like Adam
Jones?
Wheels yes, arm is a big question, thanks to TJ surgery. He’s more Darin Erstad than Adam Jones.
My first question is, why would the M’s consider moving the best defensive center-fielder out of position for someone who; While potentially a great defender, is not in the league as Gutierrez with the leather?
They’re not considering moving Gutierrez. They’re sticking Ackley at his best potential position in the minors and they’ll figure out his major league position when its necessary. You don’t move prospects to easier positions because of your major league roster until they’re nearly ready to join the club.
Larry Stone also has 5th-round pick Tyler Blandford signing.
If it’s four years, I’m guessing that Boras didn’t get an Andrew Miller sort of deal — where Miller was required to be called up in his first year to start all the clocks.
They have to fix the draft. If MLB wants slots, they should make them explicit in the next labor deal.
I’m glad stras signed. If boras robbed MLB fans of him I’d be furious. Ackley welcome to the M’s
If Ackley is being groomed to play CF does that mean Guttierez isn’t in the plans for the future?
Not at all. You’re allowed to have depth at a position and figure it out later. Remember when the Rays had way too many outfielders with Delmon Young, Elijah Dukes, BJ Upton, Rocco Baldelli, and Carl Crawford? They figured it out.
We will too. No worries.
Any Mariner draftees of note that did not sign (I mean that are affected by the deadline)?
Nope – Tyler Blandford, fifth rounder, also signed. The M’s locked up basically everyone that was expected to sign.
With a minor league contract, he could conceivably be in the minors for six years – the three years before he was placed on the 40 man, and his three option years. A major league contract guarantees he’ll be in a big league uniform no later than 2013.
Actually, if I understand the option rules right, he could still be optioned in 2013, because you get a fourth option year if you have fewer than five full seasons as a pro.
The fourth option rule is confusing. No one understands it, I don’t think.
Anyway, regardless of that, the point is the same – a major league contract speeds up his worst case timeline to the majors.
Does Ackley play this year? And is this the first of the five years?
It certainly confused everyone with Balentien, as I recall.
Ackley might get into a token game or two before Everett’s season ends, but don’t hold your breath for much more.
The deal will cover 2010-2014.
Zduriencik seemed to think it might be a good thing that he didn’t play more this year, considering the Tommy John surgery.
Thanks Dave.
Anyone know if all first-rounders signed? Did Boras hold out any of his clients?
Matt Purke, the 14th pick, didn’t sign with Texas, and Levon Washington, the #30 pick, didn’t sign with the Rays. Aaron Crow hasn’t signed yet, but as an Indy league player, he wasn’t subject to this deadline.
Do you buy that or is that just looking for some positive to take home?
Washington wasn’t really expected to sign though, was he? Last I heard (before the Rays said this morning that it wouldn’t get done) was that he wasn’t 100% sure he wanted to start his career yet.
It’s just something nice to say. They wanted to sign him quickly – Boras didn’t comply.
Thanks for all the info Dave! It really is a good day for the Mariners and fans. Jay’s minor league reports are probably going to be repetitive next year (at least for batting leader at West Tenn).
How rare is it for a player to go directly to the majors after signing?
I remember that John Olerud was one such player.
It almost never happens. There’s no reason to think Ackley will do it – with Saunders/Langerhans around to play LF next year, there’s nowhere for him to go.
Did I hear correctly that Ackley will have a chance to make the M’s out of ST next year? Radio was fading in and out so I may have misunderstood what I heard.
A big round of applause to Bud Selig and the slot recommendations. At least more teams are getting the message that it’s worth “overpaying” a couple million to get these guys.
And WTF is Purke is thinking? Leave $4 million off the table? Good luck when the next CBA kicks in.
Does anyone know how hard Tyler Blandford throws? The kid racked up a ton of k’s and big control issues to go with it.
Ackely’s contract:
Five-year major league deal, $6 million bonus, $1.5 million in guaranteed salaries, another $2.5 million possible in salaries depending on how quick he reaches the majors, $7.5 million total guaranteed.
Jim Callis
The last player of any significance I can remember bypassing the minors, besides Olerud, was Pete Incaviglia.
He had incredible power in college. Ultimately, though, he stuck out way too much to really be the superstar everyone thought he was.
We’ll just see how Ackley turns out. I really doubt he won’t start in the minors, but I think he won’t be there long.
I won’t worry about about what to do with two center fielders until I see Ackley playing defense with eal CF’s skills. Then we have a high-class problem.
No, we don’t.
Yeah, I think the Mariners would LOOOOVE to have problems like that.
If we prep Ackley for CF (the hardest OF spot) it will be really easy for him to make a transition to a corner OF spot. To make him a CF is a very smart move. Makes all the OF positions a possibily for him in the majors.
Its a lot of money, but not nearly as much as Ackley is worth to the club over 6 years.
If Ackley can play Center then that means he can play GOOD left field.
Uhh, having multiple options at a premium position is not a problem people.
You people have heard of trades before, right?
I sure wouldn’t mind having 3 CFs and 3 SSs. Thats a fabulous ‘problem’ to have.
I just hope Ackley is as good as advertised. Clement was a stud college hitter too (less average, a lot more power, nearly as good obp 472 vs 505).
And Clement continues to be a stud hitter in AAA; there’s no reason to think he wouldn’t be a stud hitter in the majors if he’d been given enough time to hit there. Unfortunately his knees kept him from catching and the presence of a fan favorite LH bat in the DH spot (even if that bat was mostly secondary to tickling skills) meant there was no opportunity for that.
As I related in the past weeks, we have Ichiro, Guiterrez, Saunders, Halman, and now Ackley as OF’s. However, we also have Ezequiel Carrera, who has been impressive (.884 OPS, 52 BB’s/51 SO’s, 22 SB’s). Right now, he is hot as a pistol (.995 OPS for August). Carrera is a plus CF, bats left, is a fine leadoff hitter, but lacks power.
Ackley’s college coach has stated that he would have no problem at 2B. However, what to do with Triunfel, move him to third base? What if Tui beats the odds and becomes a success there?
It is a nice problem to have.