SuperMatt
02-19-2008, 01:22 PM
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080219/news_1s19padres.html (http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080219/news_1s19padres.html)
Greene would like to remain a Padre
Shortstop's 2-year deal not ticket out, he says
By Tom Krasovic
STAFF WRITER
February 19, 2008
PEORIA, Ariz – Khalil Greene, who said last February that he generally prefers to remain anonymous, stayed silent this offseason while the Padres publicly aired their intent to sign him to either a three-or a four-year contract.
When negotiations yielded a two-year deal, buying out the shorstop's final two years of arbitration yet preserving Greene's first year of free agency, some may have inferred that Greene wanted to play elsewhere in 2010.
Not true, Greene said yesterday, shortly after arriving to spring training a day early.
“There is nowhere else I'd really rather play than San Diego,” said Greene, who was voted the team's Most Valuable Player in 2007 by San Diego media.
General Manager Kevin Towers had suggested Greene might have reservations about a longer commitment to the Padres because of familial ties to South Carolina where Greene lives in the offseason.
Not true, Greene said. “There is no team within the radius of where I live, anyway,” he added.
Greene said the salary numbers were not a “fit” on the longer proposals, after his agent supplied context. He said he is appreciative of the two-year, $11 million guarantee and grateful that he and the Padres won't have to meet in an arbitration hearing.
“I was happy to get something done because it does give you a little peace of mind,” he said. “I don't think you really look forward to arbitration . . . I think I'm definitely anti-confrontation.”
A player must log six seasons in the majors before he can become a free agent. Agents such as Scott Boras – who does not represent Greene – consistently send players into free agency, where 30 clubs can bid.
When a club negotiates to buy its player out of free agency, it seeks a discounted price in return for giving the player a guaranteed hedge against severe injury or a decline in performance.
In recent years, the Padres have issued multiyear deals that bought out the premium arbitration years of three emerging frontline players: pitchers Jake Peavy and Chris Young, and first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. The prevalent view among player agents was that each of those contracts strongly favored the Padres, as did the two-year deal for Greene.
The deals for Peavy and Young also bought out the first year of free agency, but Gonzalez preserved his first year of free agency as part of the four-year deal arranged last March.
Young said it makes more sense for a pitcher to give up early free agency because the risk for severe injury is greater than for a field player. “It's completely different for pitchers,” said Young, the Padres' representative with the players union.
Towers saved the midrevenue Padres a few million dollars, Peavy's agent said in December, when, four years ago, he signed Peavy to a five-year deal that bought out Peavy's most lucrative arbitration years, plus his first year of free agency. This winter, the two sides agreed to a three-year, $52 million extension.
It has been speculated that Greene's frustration with hitting in Petco Park -frustration that isn't in question, according to teammates, Padres staff and, at times, Greene himself – could lead him to seek out a new employer via free agency. A Padres regular since Petco opened in 2004, Greene has posted subpar offensive statistics for his home career (even worse, though, are the statistics for Petco's visiting shortstops in that span).
But Greene, who has said he enjoys fielding more than hitting, said he loves the infield surface at Petco, which is groomed by fellow Clemson alum Luke Yoder. “It's the best in the league, by far,” he said.
He also said he likes the club's baseball staff, teammates, how the fans have treated him and the relatively smaller media presence.
“I don't want to go anywhere,” said Greene, who as a first-round draft pick in 2002 signed with the Padres for $500,000 less than what the Rockies would pay Clemson teammate Jeff Baker, a Boras client and fourth-round pick.
“Ideally, I could stay here for the rest my career as a major league baseball player.”
Greene would like to remain a Padre
Shortstop's 2-year deal not ticket out, he says
By Tom Krasovic
STAFF WRITER
February 19, 2008
PEORIA, Ariz – Khalil Greene, who said last February that he generally prefers to remain anonymous, stayed silent this offseason while the Padres publicly aired their intent to sign him to either a three-or a four-year contract.
When negotiations yielded a two-year deal, buying out the shorstop's final two years of arbitration yet preserving Greene's first year of free agency, some may have inferred that Greene wanted to play elsewhere in 2010.
Not true, Greene said yesterday, shortly after arriving to spring training a day early.
“There is nowhere else I'd really rather play than San Diego,” said Greene, who was voted the team's Most Valuable Player in 2007 by San Diego media.
General Manager Kevin Towers had suggested Greene might have reservations about a longer commitment to the Padres because of familial ties to South Carolina where Greene lives in the offseason.
Not true, Greene said. “There is no team within the radius of where I live, anyway,” he added.
Greene said the salary numbers were not a “fit” on the longer proposals, after his agent supplied context. He said he is appreciative of the two-year, $11 million guarantee and grateful that he and the Padres won't have to meet in an arbitration hearing.
“I was happy to get something done because it does give you a little peace of mind,” he said. “I don't think you really look forward to arbitration . . . I think I'm definitely anti-confrontation.”
A player must log six seasons in the majors before he can become a free agent. Agents such as Scott Boras – who does not represent Greene – consistently send players into free agency, where 30 clubs can bid.
When a club negotiates to buy its player out of free agency, it seeks a discounted price in return for giving the player a guaranteed hedge against severe injury or a decline in performance.
In recent years, the Padres have issued multiyear deals that bought out the premium arbitration years of three emerging frontline players: pitchers Jake Peavy and Chris Young, and first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. The prevalent view among player agents was that each of those contracts strongly favored the Padres, as did the two-year deal for Greene.
The deals for Peavy and Young also bought out the first year of free agency, but Gonzalez preserved his first year of free agency as part of the four-year deal arranged last March.
Young said it makes more sense for a pitcher to give up early free agency because the risk for severe injury is greater than for a field player. “It's completely different for pitchers,” said Young, the Padres' representative with the players union.
Towers saved the midrevenue Padres a few million dollars, Peavy's agent said in December, when, four years ago, he signed Peavy to a five-year deal that bought out Peavy's most lucrative arbitration years, plus his first year of free agency. This winter, the two sides agreed to a three-year, $52 million extension.
It has been speculated that Greene's frustration with hitting in Petco Park -frustration that isn't in question, according to teammates, Padres staff and, at times, Greene himself – could lead him to seek out a new employer via free agency. A Padres regular since Petco opened in 2004, Greene has posted subpar offensive statistics for his home career (even worse, though, are the statistics for Petco's visiting shortstops in that span).
But Greene, who has said he enjoys fielding more than hitting, said he loves the infield surface at Petco, which is groomed by fellow Clemson alum Luke Yoder. “It's the best in the league, by far,” he said.
He also said he likes the club's baseball staff, teammates, how the fans have treated him and the relatively smaller media presence.
“I don't want to go anywhere,” said Greene, who as a first-round draft pick in 2002 signed with the Padres for $500,000 less than what the Rockies would pay Clemson teammate Jeff Baker, a Boras client and fourth-round pick.
“Ideally, I could stay here for the rest my career as a major league baseball player.”