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And as you've seen in the Fanshots, Fanposts and on Twitter, Carlos Quentin has been extended for the next three years. There's also a $10 million option for 2016.
My thoughts? I'm happy about this for a few reasons, and it's mostly about what it implies for the future.
First, when Quentin is healthy, he's obviously effective. It's hard to question the idea that when Quentin is in the lineup, he is the bat with the biggest impact. Sure some other guys may have more upside. Other guys may provide different options once they're on base, but Quentin is the guy in the lineup that the other pitcher is worried about when he steps into the batters box. With all the youngsters coming up, Quentin's also good solid veteran leadership in the form of a "watch how I do" sort of way. Orlando Hudson was good solid veteran leadership in the form of "this is how a millionaire acts", but Quentin's intensity is appreciated on the squad.
Second, there appears to be a no-trade clause included in this deal as well as an incentive clause. $3 million more if Quentin can play 320 games over the next three seasons. This is notable because it's breaking free of the standing order that Moorad had enacted when he was in charge, wherein no no-trade clauses would be offered nor any incentives in any contracts.
I never quite understood the reasoning behind not offering incentives so I'm glad that's gone, but the no-trade clause would seem to be a marketing decision as much as anything. For any season ticket holders that claim there's no talent on this team (obviously people who don't pay close attention to players younger than 27), then here's something the ticket office can point to in that a home town star will be here for a while.
Finally, I'm hoping that this money was approved for a reason, and that reason being that the Padres are looking to increase payroll soon. The front office isn't stupid. They know Quentin's an injury risk so they must really like the options that they have coming up behind him... OR... They must know that writing off $9 million a year to a single guy won't break them in the near future. This obviously isn't a Randy Myers type of move in that the Padres aren't trying to win today. This isn't some sort of lame duck move since the ownership is in transition (i.e. this had to pass muster with both the current ownership group and the soon to be ownership group). They know they're rebuilding. All signs point to more money being spent soon and as long as it's spent wisely, that's a Good Thing.
Go Padres!
