Los Angeles Dodgers sign Catcher Will Smith to 10 - Year $140 Million Contract Extension - Articles

Posted by DavidGreen
Apr 02, 2024

Introduction

On Wednesday, March 27th, 2024 the catcher in Will Smith and the Los Angeles Dodgers agreed upon terms to sign Smith to a 10 - year contract extension worth up to approximately $140 million, the latest deal in a major offseason of incredible deals of spending by the Los Angeles Dodgers franchise that has been doing nothing else but locking up their core players to multi - million agreements.

Will Smith

Smith, who is set to turn 29 - years - old this Friday, was scheduled to hit the MLB free agency market after the 2025 MLB season. The Los Angeles Dodgers prevented all of that by giving Smith a contract extension that will run through the 2033 MLB season as well as keep him in the middle of one of the big - league’s most dangerous MLB line - ups.

The $140 million is the 3rd - highest guarantee ever for a Major League Baseball catcher behind only Joe Mauer's 8 - year contract worth close to $184 million with the Minnesota Twins and Buster Posey's 9 - year deal valued at approximately $167 million with the San Francisco Giants. This new agreement negotiated by Apex Baseball does include a $30 million signing bonus which will be paid in 2 - installments by January of 2025, and around 30 % of the remaining salary deferred according to many sources.

After debuting back during the 2019 MLB season, Will quickly established himself as one of the best - hitting catchers in the game. With a very precise eye on the ball and 20 - plus - home run power, Smith spent most of the previous year hitting in the 3rd - slot for the Los Angeles Dodgers marking that as his 1st - MLB All - Star team.

The Los Angeles Dodgers

With the recent addition of the former MVP, Shohei Ohtani, this winter that definitely helped Smith lock down the clean - up spot in the Los Angeles Dodgers line - up, behind the 3 - past MVPs at the top of the Los Angeles Dodgers' line - up in Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani, and Freddie Freeman.

Will's extension comes after the 10 - year and $700 million contract signed by Ohtani this past winter, as well as Yoshinobu Yamamoto's 12 - year contract worth up to $325 million, Tyler Glasnow's 5 - year, $137.5 million extension, and a 1 - year deal valued at $23.5 million for the highly sought after outfielder in Teoscar Hernandez.

Altogether, the Los Angeles Dodgers have allotted over $1.35 billion in future player salaries over the course of this last winter.

Will Smith’s Contract

By stretching out Will's deal to 10 - years, the Los Angeles Dodgers will get some significant MLB luxury tax benefits. That contract will account for close to $12.2 million per year against their competitive balance tax payroll for all of their high - priced ball players. The deal pushes their CBT payroll this year to around $325 million, as Will was set to make $8.55 million which is a record for a 2nd - time arbitration - eligible catcher following with him settling with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Smith was all set to hit the Major League Baseball free agency period, and a decade - long contact now gives him more job - security than catchers typically get from their respective ball clubs. Will also could potentially transition to another position within the Los Angeles Dodgers organization as he has played at 3rd - base as well as 2nd - base in the Los Angeles Dodgers' minor league system.

With perhaps the best catching depth - chart in Major League Baseball, at some point, Diego Cartaya, Dalton Rushing, and Thayron Liranzo all have seemed to land on the Top 100 - MLB - prospect lists, and the 26 - year - old Hunter Feduccia is currently expected to debut in Los Angeles with the Dodgers this season. The L. A. Dodgers could have potentially opted to let Will reach the MLB free agency period, but the length of his new contract as well as the resulting CBT discount made it a jointly beneficial proposal.

Smith was a former 1st - round MLB draft pick way back in 2016, but he earned his high - draft - selection with his big bat. Over the 1st - 5 - MLB seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Smith batted .261 / .357 / .483 with a total of 91 - home runs as well as 306 - RBIs. Will’s 18.3 % strikeout rate over the course of that time places him near the top 1 / 4 of the players currently playing big - league baseball, and Smith’s walk rate of 10.9 % is in the 82nd - percentile of the MLB.