Durbin Agrees to One-Year Deal
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Durbin Agrees to One-Year Deal
Todd Zolecki
And then there was one.
The Inquirer has learned that the Phillies have reached an agreement with righthander Chad Durbin on a one-year, $1.635 million contract. This follows the news that rightfielder Jayson Werth has agreed to a two-year, $10 million contract with the Phillies.
That leaves Ryan Howard as the only Phillies player still eligible for salary arbitration. Howard is seeking $18 million in arbitration. The Phillies are offering $14 million. It seems more likely than not that Howard and the Phillies return to the arbitration table.
Comments (61)
Have to say, great job by Amaro signing all these guys. As for Howard, he'd be crazy not to ask for what he has. He has to strike while the iron is hot, and it's never going to be hotter than it is now, especially coming off the championship season. You know, the one in which he carried the team in September?— patrick125- I love how the Phillies are always quick in signing their own players and aggressive in free agency to fill their holes - I just wish Joe Banner would take some notes.— NEPHILLY215
- A $4 million raise for Howard is right on target for the year he had. On the positive side, he led the league in HRs and RBIs. Rest assured, these two stats carry alot of weight. However, on the negative side, his defense declined, he was a non factor for the first half of the season, it took a hot streak later in the season to just get his average at .250 and he came up small in the post season. Based on this and the poor economy, it would be shocking if an arbitrator sided with Howard this time around.— PortCity
Come on now, is $18 MM for the big that much? Other ballparks sold out last year when the Phils played, and a lot of that is due to Rye-dog. He deserves it. Pay him. Lock him up. To me it is worth it to have one less headache.— Poppys- howard will get the 18mil. he knows it and the club knows it. don't worry about it. the important thing is almost all of the world champs are back. that is ok by me. we've seen champs broken up very quickly in the recent past. REPEAT IN '09 BABY!!!!— scorpio27
- Hey Howard, learn to hit a lefty, then you will get the extra 4 million. His sense of entitlement irks the hell out of me. I dont see what you cant do with 14 million that you cant do with 18million— corron
- Good job by Amaro. Going into the off-season, all of the arbitration-eligible players were the big issue for this team. It's basically done now. Howard will get his money from arb., everyone else is paid. And they got Ibanez to boot. Good stuff. Now let's hope someone really emerges solidly from the 5th starter competition and we're set. Well, getting Utley and Feliz healthy and getting Romero back will be nice too.— NJLouis66
- Mark1npt wrote, "the Yanks signed a Gold Glove, switchhitting, batting leader potentially every year for 8-9 years" Here's the thing about Phillies fans: We don't know what we got til it's gone. Teixiera's lifetime batting average is .290. Howard's is .278. In six seasons, Teixiera has never even finished in the top 10 in batting, much less been a "batting leader," and that's despite playing a majority of those years in a park that is even more hitter-friendly than Citizens Bank. Teixiera has made one all-star team and never finished in the top 5 in MVP voting. He only has two Gold Gloves in six years (one more than Bobby Abreu). And it doesn't matter anyway ... if defesne at first base were important, JT Snow would be in the Hall of Fame. Look, Texiera is a very good player. Howard is a game-changer. The seamheads have a statistic to compare a hitter's impact on a game -- adjusted batting runs. Teixiera's teams have scored 30 runs per season more with him at first base than they would have with the average first baseman. Howard has meant 45 more runs per season to the Phils. Catchers and managers have their own way of showing their respect for a player's game-changing abilities ... Teixiera has been intentionally walked an average of six times a year over his career. Howard has been intentionally walked an average of 30 times a year. But you're right, Teixiera is a switch hitter.— GoPhilsGo
- Werth's second year jumps because it isn't an arbitration year, it's a free agent year.— Greg G
- No 3B yet, No RH Power, A decline from last year. We need those two bats. Pitching is solid— Sports4Life
- Such whiners here.— JerseyCommonSense
- 18M is an 80% raise (he makes 10m now). Not 180%, moron.— PhilsWin
- Howard is not worth that kind of money! He is a crappy fielder, strikes-out too much and hits for a low average for 18M. I like him, but 14M is fair, to hit HRs for a year.— Mohave_Sun
The Dodgers gave Andruw Jones a two-year deal worth $36.2MM before last season. 3 HRs and a .156BA later, he is released before his contract expires. It should be noted that Jones let his weight get away from him and his game went quickly downhill along with a knee injury. He's only 32. He was pegged as a future hall-of-famer just three years ago. This is an example of why I don't think the Phils will ever sign Howard to a long term deal. What will he weigh three years from now? Will his knees hold up? In comparison though, I'm sure the Dodgers(et al) would gladly give Howard $18MM this year.— RAS- g idiot, that's an 80% raise.— mikemaddog
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The Phillies Zone is the place for up-to-the-minute Phillies coverage from the Inquirer.
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