NL Central arms race begins with Brewers' rivals' record-breaking contract extension

It's become a running theme this year, due in part to the upcoming lockout and economic uncertainty that accompanies it, that MLB teams are extending their young, cost-controlled players for large sums of money. It's not a novel concept, but the volume of extensions has become impossible to ignore.

The Milwaukee Brewers, of course, have gone all-in on the idea, handing out significant contracts to top prospects Luis Lara and Cooper Pratt prior to either making their respective debut in the major leagues. That's a carbon copy of the path they took with Jackson Chourio, and it's safe to say that investment has panned out nicely thus far.

The rest of the NL Central has also gotten in on the action, with each of the Cubs (Pete Crow-Armstrong), Cardinals (JJ Wetherholt), and Pirates (Konnor Griffin) committing nine figures to their pre-arb stars. And now, we have the complete collection from the division, as the Reds have extended No. 1 starter Chase Burns to a seven-year, $105 million contract.

Brewers rival just laid the foundation for a Jacob Misiorowski contract extension

What really matters about this extension is that Burns is a pitcher. The league has prioritized position players in their pursuit of long-term cost certainty, so it's nice to finally have a point of comparison for some of the Brewers' young guns.

Per MLB insider Jon Morosi, Burns' $105 million is the largest guarantee given to a pitcher with less than four years of MLB service. That record wouldn't hold for long if Jacob Misiorowski gets into the mix.

It's true that it's rarely advisable to extend pre-arb pitchers. Not only is their injury risk far greater than position players, but building around cheap arms is what the best teams do. Put more simply: Misiorowski on a sub-$1-million salary is far more valuable than Misiorowski at a $20 million salary. He's still the same caliber of pitcher, but the bang for your buck just isn't the same. Thus, perhaps we shouldn't be surprised that the Brewers apparently haven't approached the Cy Young contender about a long-term pact.

However, if a small-market team like the Crew is ever going to get a deal done with a true superstar like Miz, now is the time. Burns' deal is proof of the concept -- a team spends more money during a player's formative years (guaranteeing him a nice pay day) and in return gets to buy out some free agency seasons during his prime for a discount. It's high-risk, high-reward for both parties, but the structure is sound.

Misiorowski, who is a year older than Burns and due for free agency one year sooner (2031), will command more money in any extension. More than likely, the Brewers would have to blow past that $105 million mark to get him to sign right now.

As unlikely as that seems, at least the foundation has been laid for future negotiations.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow