The San Francisco Giants, trying to keep their solid young starting rotation together, made a huge commitment to Matt Cain, giving him the biggest contract for a right-handed pitcher in baseball history. With a six-year, $127.5 million deal that has a vesting player option and a no-trade clause, Cain, 27, will likely be in San Francisco through the 2018 season. He would have been a free agent after this season.
And that wasn't even the biggest contract extension of the day. On Monday night, the Cincinnati Reds locked up first baseman Joey Votto for the next 12 seasons. He's the only player in the majors signed through 2023. Votto is 28, and will be 39 at the end of the deal. Piled onto a previous contract agreed to before last season, Votto's 10-year, $225 million extension is actually 12 years and $251.15 million.It's the fourth-largest deal in baseball history.
It's now definitely a trend. Since the last pitch of the World Series, Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder also signed for nine years or longer. Teams see big TV contracts and solid revenue streams coming, and they're investing in their long-term futures with some big financial risks.
Said an NL "evaluator" to ESPN.com's Buster Olney: "I think the new deals for Votto and Matt Cain, as some have mentioned, may be directly correlated to the purchase and purchase price for the Los Angeles Dodgers franchise."
Will the trend continue? If Cain, Votto, Pujols, Fielder, Andrew McCutchen, Ryan Braun and Troy Tulowitzki all stay healthy in their super-long-term deals, you'll see a lot more of this, rewarding players that the owners and GMs believe in.
Odds are that Cain won't be the highest-paid right-hander for long. Cain's teammate Tim Lincecum will have a new deal within two years, and the Los Angeles Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw is certain to get a big payday in that time frame.
Related: Top contracts in baseball history
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