Padres agree to deal with Gonzalez

By: JOHN MAFFEI - Staff Writer | Sunday, April 1, 2007 8:45 PM PDT ∞

SAN DIEGO ---- Padres manager Bud Black has penciled in Adrian Gonzalez as the cleanup hitter in the team's Opening Day lineup.

General manager Kevin Towers said Gonzalez is "the centerpiece of this infield and this lineup." Sunday, the Padres compensated their first baseman accordingly, ripping up a contract he signed in spring training and rewarding the 2006 team MVP with a four-year deal with a club option for a fifth.

The deal is worth $9.5 million over four years and potentially $15 million over five years. Gonzalez will receive $500,000 this season, $750,000 in 2008, $3 million in 2009 and $4.75 million in 2010. The option year is for $5.5 million.

The 24-year-old Gonzalez batted .304 last season with 24 home runs, 83 RBIs and 38 doubles. He also played stellar defense in his first full big-league season.

Still, on March 1, the Padres renewed his contract at a price of $385,500, just $500 above the major-league minimum. The Padres had offered $391,500. Gonzalez and his agent, John Boggs, had asked for $418,000.

When an agreement couldn't be reached, the Padres invoked their right to set the salary of a player who isn't eligible for arbitration.

"It was after the renewal that Kevin Towers asked if we were interested in a multiyear deal," Boggs said. "If we could get something done for fair market value, we were interested.

"Neither side got exactly what it wanted, but it's a good deal for both sides."

The Padres wanted a five-year deal with an option to tie up Gonzalez through his first year of free agency ---- his sixth full major-league season.

Boggs and Gonzalez wanted four years with an option, a deal that secures Gonzalez through his arbitration years (three full seasons), but not his free-agent year.

"We were on a mission to avoid the free-agent year, so we compromised," Boggs said. "Adrian is a baseball player. He's not comfortable negotiating contracts.

"All he wanted is what's fair. This is fair."

Gonzalez was the first pick of the 2000 amateur draft out of San Diego's Eastlake High by the Florida Marlins. He was traded to the Texas Rangers in 2003. The Padres acquired him on Jan. 4, 2006, along with pitcher Chris Young and outfielder Terrmel Sledge in a deal that sent pitchers Adam Eaton and Akinori Otsuka and minor-league catcher Billy Killian to the Rangers.

"This deal provides security for my family," Gonzalez said. "I'm very happy here in San Diego. This is the team I admired growing up. This is the team I hope I'm with for the rest of my career."

Gonzalez didn't get a no-trade clause ---- one of Boggs' compromises ---- but he must be compensated if he's traded. Plus, if the Padres don't pick up the last year of the deal, the parties will go to arbitration.Ý

Contact staff writer John Maffei at (760) 740-3547 or jmaffei@nctimes.com. Comment at sports.nctimes.com.

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