The Phillies shored up the top of their rotation today by announcing the resigning of Brett Myers to a 3-year, $25.75 million deal. Myers will earn $5 million this season, $8.5 million in 2008 and $12 million in 2009, along with a $250,000 signing bonus. The agreement avoids arbitration for the two parties; Brett was asking $5.9 million for this season while the Phillies countered with $5 million. While it looks like the Phils won the short term battle, the cost of securing Myers through his remaining arbitration years and first year of free agent eligibility proved high.
Speaking on the newly-inked contracted, Myers had this to say: "I’ve grown up in this organization and this is where I want to stay. I love pitching in Philadelphia, I love the ballpark, I love the fans and having Charlie as the manager and guys like Chase Utley around for the next few years was a big part of my decision. I couldn’t imagine myself playing for another organization or with another group of guys."
After last year’s incident in Boston, it was a wonder if the Phillies would resign Myers at all. He is easily one of the top starters in the National League and has pitched consistently at top form for much of the past two and a half seasons. The personal issues notwithstanding, in securing Myers, the Phillies have locked up a highly competitive pitching staff. Myers, as the newly anointed Phillies ace, will likely take the mound on Opening Day. A solid performance that day could go a long way in giving the Phillies a quick start to the season and hopefully those handful of wins that have eluded them the past few years.
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