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Mets offer David Wright longer deal than Evan Longoria received
he Mets offered star third baseman David Wright a contract extension of at least seven years, sources said Tuesday.
Based on the market, the value of the proposal is believed to be worth somewhere in the range of $130 million.
The proposed extension would keep Wright under team control through 2020. It would be added to the $16 million he's due in 2013, the final year of his original contract.
But Wright Tuesday night disputed news reports in a statement to the website Major League Baseball Trade Rumors.
"I have said from Day 1 that I want to play my entire career with theNew York Mets,'' Wright said. "I remain hopeful that goal can be achieved. However, I am disappointed by the reports that I have read today which are inaccurate.''
Throughout the process, both sides have revealed little about the nature of the talks, which have progressed more slowly than the Mets had hoped at the beginning of the offseason. But speculation about the negotiations swirled after reports emerged early Tuesday that the Mets offered Wright a six-year, $100 million deal.
"We don't anticipate a deal any time soon,'' Wright's agent, Seth Levinson, told MLBTR. "However, things can always change. I will not characterize the negotiations or comment on the accuracy or inaccuracy of what is being reported.''
The Mets made re-signing their homegrown star their top offseason priority. But without an extension, the Mets would surely lose their most popular player, either by trading him or allowing him to walk after 2013.
"Imagine the Atlanta Braves without Chipper Jones,'' said teammateR.A. Dickey, who is also in the middle of contract talks. "You just can't. I think they're going to reach an agreement.''
If there is no agreement, chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon has said he would prefer to have Wright play out his final season rather than trade him. But although the Mets have floated Dickey's name in early trade talks, they have yet to do the same with Wright. General manager Sandy Alderson said earlier this month that he hoped for more clarity on the situation as the winter meetings approached.
The Mets reportedly sent Wright a six-year, $100 million offer. Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals signed a similar deal, as did the Rays' Evan Longoria, who agreed to his contract extension Monday. But sources said the most recent offer presented to Wright exceeded $100 million, making it more valuable than the contracts signed by Zimmerman and Longoria, each valued at $16.6 million per year.
Earlier in the offseason, a rival general manager expected that Wright could be in line to make as much as $20 million annually -- or nearly $140 million over the life of a seven-year extension. The executive based his estimates on another roughly comparable player, former Mets shortstop Jose Reyes.
"He's the same age as Reyes and he was also a teammate of his in New York,'' the rival GM said. "So I would imagine that his position will be that he should be compensated very similar to him in dollars and years.''
Reyes signed a six-year, $106 million deal worth $17.6 million annually to leave the Mets for the Marlins last winter. A similar deal for Wright over seven years would be worth a little more than $123 million. But even a slight raise over Reyes' deal would put Wright in line for an extension of about $130 million.
Behind a strong first half, Wright is coming off perhaps his most productive season since 2008, hitting .306 with 21 homers and 93 RBIs.
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Originally Posted by WvGambler
