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ASSOCIATED PRESS
San Francisco Giants' Buster Posey (28) swings for an RBI single off Oakland Athletics' Tommy Milone in the third inning of an exhibition spring training baseball game Thursday, March 28, 2013, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
SAN FRANCISCO >> Buster Posey is the San Francisco Giants’ new franchise man.
The Giants rewarded NL MVP and batting champion with a $167 million, nine-year contract today, a deal that includes a club option for 2022 that could raise the value to $186 million over a decade.
The agreement is the longest for a catcher and the largest in Giants history, surpassing Matt Cain’s $127.5 million, six-year contract signed before the start of last season.
Posey had been due to make $8 million this year. He instead gets a $7 million signing bonus, with $5 million payable Oct. 15 and the remainder Jan. 15, and his 2013 salary is reduced to $3 million.
He will make $10.5 million in 2014, $16.5 million in 2015, $20 million in 2016 and $21.4 million in each of the following five seasons. The Giants’ option is for $22 million with a $3 million buyout.
Posey’s agreement includes a full no-trade clause.
The Giants captured their second championship in three years behind the play of the All-Star catcher, who won the NL batting title and MVP award after missing most of 2011 following season-ending left leg and ankle injury.
Posey batted .336 with 24 homers and 103 RBIs while playing 148 games for the NL West champions, including 111 starts at catcher and 29 at first base.
On May 25, 2011, Posey tore three ligaments in his left ankle and broke a bone in his lower leg in a devastating collision at the plate with Scott Cousins, then with the Marlins.
Nowadays, that is all in the past. Posey received his nice payday two days after celebrating his 26th birthday.
The 2010 NL Rookie of the Year is represented by the same agency that negotiated Cain’s new deal last year, and both sides were eager to do something again this year to lock Posey up for the long-term in the San Francisco.
“We’re extremely pleased to reach an agreement that keeps Buster in a Giants uniform for a long time,” agent Jeff Berry of CAA Baseball said. “Buster and the Giants have brought each other mutual success, and this contract reflects Buster’s extraordinary accomplishments in just three years in the Major Leagues.”
The contract includes the following bonuses: $100,000 for NL MVP, $100,000 for World Series MVP, $75,000 for NL championship series MVP, $50,000 for a Gold Glove, $50,000 for All-Star Game election, $25,000 for All-Star selection and $50,000 for a Silver Slugger.
In 2010, Posey wasn’t even called up from Triple-A Fresno until late May but still batted .305 with 18 home runs and 67 RBIs in 108 games to help the Giants capture their first NL West crown since 2003.
San Francisco gave him $6.2 million when he signed in August 2008 as the fifth overall pick out of Florida State, the richest deal for an amateur joining the Giants.
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AP Sports Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report.
