"According to Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports, the Blue Jays have offered Vernon Wells a seven year deal, worth 126 million dollars. However, Wells' agent, Greg Genske, said "we have yet to have meaningful discussions," about a contract extension. Wells, 28, would earn 18 million annually, one million more than what Alfonso Soriano signed for (8/136). Wells batted .303 with 32 HR, 106 RBI, and 17 SB. According to one baseball source, Wells would like to test the free agent market not only because it will be his first opportunity to do so, and because he could command close to 20 million annually."

Looks like someone just wants to get the heck out of Canada.

Looks like someone just wants to get the heck out of Canada.

:lol :lol I think you hit it right on the nail...

Looks like someone just wants to get the heck out of Canada.

Can't really blame him for that although for that money I would live in Mexico if need be.

No way should he sign any contract before going into his free agency.

wells stated over a year ago he wants out of toronto and will leave when his contract is up.

 

 

not exactly shocking to see him turn that down.

In one of the bigger upsets of the off-season, the Blue Jays are on the verge of signing center fielder Vernon Wells to a seven-year, $126 million contract extension. An agreement between the Jays and Wells is close, according to major-league sources. The deal is expected to include full no-trade protection and an opt-out clause."Close" is not "final," as the Jays learned in their negotiations with free-agent catcher Rod Barajas, who backed out of a proposed two-year, $5.25 million contract.

 

However, the Jays engaged in lengthy negotiations with Wells' representatives on Thursday, sources said, leaving the sides on the brink of an agreement.

 

The Wells contract would be the largest in Jays' history, a testament to ownership's commitment to remaining competitive in the powerful American League East.

 

The deal also would reflect positively on Wells, who could have commanded a much bigger payout ? perhaps as big as 10 years, $200 million ? as a free agent next winter.

 

Wells, 28, will earn $5.6 million in 2007. His new contract would run from ?08 to ?14, and his ability to void the deal probably would come after year three or year four.

 

Right-hander A.J. Burnett, whom the Jays signed as a free agent last off-season, can opt out after the third season of his five-year, $55 million contract.

 

At the start of the off-season, it seemed unlikely that the Jays would keep Wells. As salaries escalated ? peaking with the Cubs' signing of outfielder Alfonso Soriano for $136 million over eight years - the Jays' chances of signing Wells long-term seemed even more bleak.

 

The Jays did not include Wells in their advertisements or their company Christmas card, creating the impression that his future with the franchise was limited. One rival general manager predicted flatly that Wells would be traded.

 

While Wells said he wanted to remain with the Jays, many in the sport believed that he intended to play out the final year of his contract. He could then return home to Arlington, Tex., to join the Rangers and reunite with shortstop Michael Young, his former Jays teammate and best friend in baseball.

 

The negotiations between Wells and Jays began at the end of the season, according to a source with knowledge of the discussions.

 

Wells' camp informed the Jays that he wanted a deal in the range of seven years, $126 million. The Jays balked, believing that price to be excessive.

 

The club's thinking changed after salaries began to soar ? and negotiations intensified last week after the Jays failed to sign two free-agent pitchers they coveted, left-hander Ted Lilly and right-hander Gil Meche.

 

The Jays still want to add pitching, and their signing of Wells could lead them to trade another of their outfielders, most likely Alex Rios, for a proven starter.

 

 

LINK

No way should he sign any contract before going into his free agency.

No way should he sign any contract before going into his free agency.

 

 

 

I dunno, when you have 128 million on the table...that has to be hard to reject. I'm not sure he would have gotten 10 years $200 as this article suggests. Who knows what happens this year. He could have a down year, or get hurt and that would probably hurt his value. Then again he could have had an amazing year and got that 200 mil contract. I dunno. When that much is on the table, I'd have a hard time rejecting unless I didn't like the city/team.

I dont think any team would sign him to a 10 year deal. It would be nice if he stayed in toronto and gave the yankees and redsox some competition.

I'm just from the school of thought that when you have the chance to sift through offers in free agency, you do it, especially in baseball.

I'm just from the school of thought that when you have the chance to sift through offers in free agency, you do it, especially in baseball.

 

The only reason you turn that kind of money down is if you have no desire to play for the team going forward.

 

Odds are the "big boys" (Mets, Yankees, Dodgers, Angels, Red Sox) will either be too strapped financially or have the position already filled to make a competitive offer.

 

He's a year away from free agency, an injury or ineffective year puts him behind Andruw Jones as the most attractive free agent centerfielder, and who knows what the market will be next year, it can't possibly sustain this level of spending. If Wells turns it down, it's either that he has no desire to stay in Toronto or he's getting awful advice.

TORONTO -- All-Star center fielder Vernon Wells agreed Friday night to a seven-year, $126 million contract extension with the Toronto Blue Jays. However, the deal is awaiting approval of the players union, according to ESPN's Peter Gammons. Such an 'OK' could come as early as Saturday.

 

Wells' pact, the sixth-largest in baseball history, would give him a $25.5 million signing bonus, no-trade clause and guarantee him the right to opt out of his contract after four years. In addition, he could earn bonuses of $250,000 for MVP, $200,000 for World Series MVP, $150,000 for league championship series MVP and $100,000 for receiving the most votes in his league in All-Star game balloting.

 

"How can you not be happy?" Wells said during a telephone interview with The Associated Press several hours before terms of the deal were finalized. "Like I said, my family comes first. Obviously this gives me an opportunity to set my family up for a couple of generations. That's the biggest part of this thing. And this gives me a chance to do something special in Toronto that hasn't been done in awhile."The contract value trails only those of Alex Rodriguez ($252 million), Derek Jeter ($189 million), Manny Ramirez ($160 million), Todd Helton ($141.5 million) and Alfonso Soriano ($136 million). It is the 13th $100 million deal in baseball history and the third of the offseason, following those of Soriano with the Cubs and Carlos Lee ($100 million) with Houston.

 

Wells is due $5.6 million next season in the final year of his old contract. The extension calls for a $25.5 million signing bonus, payable in three $8.5 million installments each March 1 in 2008, 2009 and 2010. He will receive a salary of just $500,000 in 2008 and $1.5 million in 2009, but his salary jumps to $12.5 million in 2010 and $23 million in 2011. Wells receives $21 million in each of the final three seasons.

 

Under the extension, Wells has the right to terminate his agreement after the 2011 season and become eligible for free agency. In addition, he will donate $143,000 annually to the Jays Care Foundation.

 

Wells hit .303 with 32 homers and 106 RBI last season and is due $5.6 million next season. He would have been eligible for free agency after next season.

 

He thought about trying to play with hometown Texas Rangers.

 

"The ballpark is 20 minutes from my house. It's obviously a temptation, but [with]everything that I've gone through with Toronto and the relationships I've built there, it's tough to leave," Wells said.

 

General manager J.P. Ricciardi is working to finalize the deal.

 

"We've said all along we're going to make every effort to sign him," Ricciardi said.

 

The contract will be the largest in franchise history -- dwarfing the $68 million, four-year deal that Carlos Delgado got from Toronto in 2000.

 

Ricciardi inherited Delgado's contract when the team's payroll was around $50 million, but it will be more than $90 million next season. A stronger Canadian dollar and ownership of the Rogers Centre is allowing the team to spend more.

 

In the final month of the season, Rogers Communications chief executive officer Ted Rogers agreed that the team needed to increase its $72 million payroll to compete with New York and Boston in the AL East. The Blue Jays finished second in the division, trailing New York, which had an opening-day payroll of $198 million. Boston ($120 million) finished third.

 

Ricciardi said retaining Wells gives Toronto one of the best lineups in baseball.

 

"I know Gibby likes him in the third hole. We like our lineup. We think it's as good a lineup as there is in the American League," Ricciardi said.

 

The Blue Jays signed pitchers A.J. Burnett and B.J. Ryan to long-term contracts worth $102 million last year, but have been less active thus far this winter. After signing DH Frank Thomas to a two-year, guaranteed $18 million contract, general manager J.P. Ricciardi missed out in his efforts to sign pitchers Ted Lilly and Gil Meche.

 

 

Toronto could have traded Wells if it didn't get an extension.

 

While Toronto lost out on signing free agent pitchers Ted Lilly and Gil Meche, Ricciardi denied that those decisions freed up the money to sign Wells.

 

The Blue Jays didn't include Wells in advertisements this winter, leading many to speculate that they wouldn't re-sign him.

 

Wells, 28, said the contract doesn't necessarily mean he'll retire a Blue Jay. The contract is expected to include an opt-out clause.

 

"It all depends on where my career is," Wells said.

LINK

Good to see he turned down the chance to be Juan Gonzalez 2.0

i mean after looking it over and thinking about it...you cant turn it down.

 

 

guys have turned down big contracts and it has bit them hard.

 

 

when they are offering you THIS much, you have to take it, you make everything else work.

Red Sox would have paid him more...I wonder what kind of trade provisions are in that contract :mischief2

Lets all feel bad for Wells, he just made 126 million :l

He would make more in the free agent market and if he doesnt who cares

He would make more in the free agent market and if he doesnt who cares

 

or he could get hurt.

Toronto is a great city to live in. You don't turn down that much money ever.

Would've been a risk to turn it down, can't blame him at all for taking the deal now. Not like he'll be poor.

Would've been a risk to turn it down, can't blame him at all for taking the deal now. Not like he'll be poor.

 

Exactly. I can't fathom how people say "he should've waited until free agency" when he just got $128 MILLION. Not everything is about money, obviously he is happy in Toronto, and imo he deserves massive kudos for showing some loyalty... unlike some other greedy players out there.

Somewhere in Venezuela, Miguel Cabrera's mouth is watering....

 

This contract that Wells just signed is the richest for a player with less than six years of service time. How much do you think Cabrera would get??????

Let's put it this way: Cabrera won't be a career Marlin.

No, I agree with you. I'm just wondering what kind of pay day he's going to bring down when he's a FA. He's GOT to eclipse Wells's contract for sure.