Hart gets 3-year extension
Aug. 2, 2010 8:00 a.m.
*UPDATE: ESPN's Buster Olney tweeted Hart's extension is for $26.5 million. We're trying to confirm that before getting to Chicago and talking to Hart and GM Doug Melvin.
Corey Hart got his wish.
While his name was being bandied about on the trade rumor mill in recent weeks, Hart repeatedly said he wanted to stay with the Brewers and sign a contract extension rather than being dealt to another club.
That wish came true Monday morning when the Brewers announced that Hart agreed to a three-year extension through the 2013 season. The deal buys out the final year of the 28-year-old right fielder’s arbitration eligibility in 2011 as well as his first two years of free agency.
No financial terms were released but the deal is probably worth close to $25 million. Hart is making $4.8 million this season, and probably would have been in line for a $6-7 million salary in 2011 after a big 2010 season.
Hart bounced back from an awful spring training and irregular playing time in the early weeks of season to put together his most productive campaign. In 92 games, he is batting .288 with 23 home runs and a team-high 72 RBI, with a .565 slugging percentage and .346 on-base percentage.
Hart was selected to the National League all-star team in player balloting and also competed in All-Star Home Run Derby in Anaheim, finishing in third place.
The signing addresses one of the three core players on the Brewers’ roster headed for free agency after the 2011 season. First baseman Prince Fielder and second baseman Rickie Weeks also fall in that category.
The Brewers had no luck broaching a contract extension with Fielder earlier in the season and talks were shut down. It would not be surprising if the club trades him this winter rather than risk losing him to free agency after 2011 with only draft picks in return.
Like Hart, Weeks is having his best season and the Brewers could approach him with a contract extension before 2011 as well.
It has been a remarkable turnaround within the same season by Hart, who was in the doghouse after a terrible spring training, during which the Brewers made an overture to free-agent outfielder Jermaine Dye to join the club. The club was so down on Hart, it did not submit his name for all-star consideration in fan balloting.
Hart had to fight for playing time in the early weeks of the season but injuries to Jim Edmonds and Carlos Gomez eventually got him regular playing time, and he made the most of it. In May, he hit 10 home runs, taking the league lead for several weeks, and drove in 22 runs.
Hart hit .314 with 27 RBI in June, and .310 in July despite missing a week with a wrist injury. He put together a 21-game hitting streak during one stretch, becoming the only player in club history with two streaks of at least 20 games during his career.
Hart’s two-run homer in the sixth inning Sunday gave the Brewers their only runs in a three-game sweep by the Astros in Houston.
The agreement also means the Brewers and Hart, and agent Jeff Berry, finally agreed on his worth. They clashed on that subject in past negotiations, leading to an arbitration hearing in February in which Hart won his case and was awarded a $4.8 million salary.
I will be able to speak with Hart later in the day about the extension and I’ll post a blog with his comments.
Here is a comment from Brewers GM Doug Melvin in a release just put out by the club:
“The Brewers are very excited to have Corey signed for the next three years,” said Melvin. “He is one of our drafted and developed players and with his two-time All-Star performances, Corey deserves this contract that will provide his family security. We appreciate his wanting to remain a Brewer and a part of the Milwaukee community.”
