Mariners Lock Up Felix Hernandez

On Thursday February 7, Felix Hernandez became the highest paid pitcher in MLB history. The Mariners signed King Felix to a 7 year, $175 million deal that guarantees their ace pitcher $25 million a year.

This lucrative contract is well-deserved as well. Hernandez went 13-9 last year while posting a 3.06 era and throwing the first perfect game in Mariners history. He has also won the Cy Young award, is a 3 time all-star, is on the bump virtually every five days, and is absolutely loved by the fans up in Seattle.

One of the main reasons Felix stayed in Seattle, besides his loyalty to the franchise, is their willingness to hold on to him. Seattle hasn't won a division title over a decade, and realizes that with a budding farm system full of top prospects, now is the time to win. Not only because of their personnel on the team, but because Hernandez wants to play for a winning team. The Mariners have changed that outlook this off season by acquiring Kendrys Morales and Michael Morse to the leagues previously worst offense, and a solid left handed starter in Joe Saunders to their rotation.

Another thing that this contract provokes is the next big deal for a top of the line pitcher. David Price, Justin Verlander, and Clayton Kershaw are all due to be free agents in the near future and it's clear that Hernandez's contract has upped the market even more from CC's $161 million to the now all time high of $175 million.

All three of the aforementioned pitchers have what it takes to be a top contract pitcher. One, a legitimate ace that has more than three pitches and can command the strike zone. Two, enough durability to live up to the contract, and not pull a Johan Santana on their team. And three, desire to win and not get too comfortable with a rich contract.

All three of these pitchers have flaws that can bump down their price tag too. Kershaw, probably the best candidate for the $200 million deal because he has the lowest era and adjusted era of all three while being considerably younger, is also playing for a team willing to pay that much money. The only downside would be his hip injury that occurred two seasons ago and lingered on into this season.

Price is playing for a team that's nowhere near to committing this much money to any player. Also, Price has only started 3 full seasons in the bigs, and while he's been dominant, that doesn't prove he's too durable just yet.

Verlander will most likely get the money too. At first, because he throws anywhere from 92 to 101 on his fastball, people thought that he would burn out quickly. But Verlander has shown great maturity is dialing it down when he needs to, which has resulted in multiple 200-inning seasons. But, Verlander is scheduled to hit free agency in his pre-32 season of 2014, which means he would be the oldest pitcher in line for a monster deal and could affect the overall price or length of the contract.

Realistically not one player is worth $200 million and can affect the team that much. The perfect player, probably a pitcher, would have to be insanely durable and productive to even live up to the contract. But with all this in mind, there will be teams more than willing to fork away a $200 million deal on one player.