Indians Extend Jason Kipnis
By Steve Adams [April 4, 2014 at 7:27am CST]
The Indians announced that they have extended second baseman Jason Kipnis to a six-year deal that runs through the 2019 season and contains a club option for the 2020 campaign. Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports (via Twitter) that Kipnis is guaranteed $52.5MM over the life of the deal. According to MLB.com's Jordan Bastian (on Twitter), the Beverly Hills Sports Council client receives a $1MM signing bonus and annual salaries of $2MM (2014), $4MM (2015), $6MM (2016), $9MM (2017), $13.5MM (2018) and $14.5MM (2019). The option, according to Bastain, is worth $16.5MM and contains a $2.5MM buyout.
Kipnis entered the 2014 season with two years, 69 days of service time, meaning he would have been under team control through 2017 without an extension. The new contract buys his final pre-arbitration season, all three arbitration years and a pair of free agent campaigns with an option for a third. His contract is worth $500K more than fellow breakout, All-Star infielder Matt Carpenter, who inked a six-year, $52MM contract with the Cardinals in Spring Training (Carpenter had two years, 12 days of service at the time of his deal).