Guardians, Miles Straw agree to five-year extension

guardians and Miles Str They agreed to a five-year contract extension, with club options covering the 2027 and 2028 seasons, According to Zach Maisel of The Athletic. The deal is worth $25 million. Per Mandy Bell from MLB.comwith options worth $8 million in 2027 and $8.5 million in 2028. This is the third extension of the club in recent days, after deals Emmanuel Class And Jose Ramirez.

Straw was drafted by the Astros in the 12th round in 2015 and drew attention at the Palace due to his speed and defence. He stole at least 20 bags in a minor season in his first three seasons in 2015-2017, before passing 70 bags between Double-A and Triple-A in 2018. Baseball America ranked him as one of Houston’s top 20 prospects in 2018 and 2019. That final season saw his first MLB extended run, scoring .269/.378/.343 in 56 games, along with eight steals.

At Deadline last year, it was acquired by a Cleveland team that had been looking to fill a stadium that had been mired in uncertainty for some time. And between the two teams hit .271 / .349/ .348. This production was just below the league average (98 wRC+), although Straw was better after the trade than before. He also stole 30 bases in the year and made an excellent defense, coming in seventh among midfielders in Voting for the 2021 Fielding Bible Award. Desperate for that middle hitting streak, he still deserved a 3.7 win over substitution, in FanGraphs’ estimation, for his on-field and on-bases sport. He must now give the team a steady presence in the middle of the field for years to come.

Straw finished last year with two years and 112 days of service time, just four days after cutting the 2.116 Super Two in his last season out. This means that he will not qualify for arbitration until after this year. This deal will cover the remaining four years of team control and at least one free agent year, with options potentially counting for another two years. The 27-year-old Straw will turn 31 in his guaranteed final year, with options covering his 32- and 33-year-old campaigns.

Prior to this extension, and the Clase and Ramirez deals, the Guardians had a clean slate on their payroll after this year. Now each can form a core for the club to build upon, with each player in control until 2028. (The Ramirez deal is guaranteed, while Classy and Straw are guaranteed until 2026 with the club’s two options). The rest of the list is young players who have not yet arrived or have just qualified for refereeing. With the White Sox still looking like a division favourite, the twins reloading hard after a downturn and both Tigers and Royals dropping out of rebuilding, it looks like the division is on the cusp of getting even stronger in the coming years. Even with these deals, the Guardians still have plenty of flexibility on the payroll, even for a typically low-spending club like them, with Ramirez still receiving the only significant salary in the years to come.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.