Shane Victorino Wants a Five-Year Deal
Yesterday, we posted a story about Shane Victorino's conversation with Jayson Stark of ESPN. In it, Victo said he was willing to give up free agency to remain in Philadelphia, where he wants to be.
Today, CSN Philly's Jim Salisbury reported that Victorino wants a five-year deal. Here's some of what the Hawaii Five-O star had to say:
“I love this place,” he said. “This is the place that gave me my chance. I’m a World Series champion in this city. That’s stuff that forever will be remembered. I want to be here.”
“I look at it this way,” he said. “If it’s a significant difference, I have to weigh my options. I obviously love playing in Philly. They made me who I am. That sits in the back of my mind. But I also understand there’s a window in this game. Age and time comes into play. When I say I don’t want to go anywhere — yeah, I call this home and I want to finish my career here — but we’ll see how it goes. I won’t say I won’t take a hometown discount, but I also will say I want to maximize my opportunity with not only what I’ve accomplished as an individual, but as part of a team.”
What about length of contract? Victo wants a five spot.
“I’ll be 32 on the market,” he told Salisbury. “I can go another five years. I would think even more. I want to go until I’m 40… My agents say I can get a five-year deal on the market. Why not trust them?”
Does this sound familar? It sure does. The whole "I can play 'til I'm 40" statement is eerily similar to what Jayson Werth said in 2010. How'd that work out? Well, in a $126 million contract with an extremely annoying team in DC.
Who else does this remind you of? J-Roll™. Rollins wanted a five-year deal and ended up settling for three years with an option for an attainable fourth.
There are some differences, though, in what Victorino told Stark and what he said to Salisbury. Perhaps Victo's agent smacked him in the head for gushing over the Phillies too much.
Ahhhhh, baseball is back.