Jason Kipnis signs 6-year deal

[Johnnydollaz89]

The Cleveland Indians signed All-Star second baseman Jason Kipnis to a six-year contract extension with a club option for 2020, the team announced Friday.
The deal is worth $52.5 million, according to media reports.
Kipnis, who turned 27 years old Thursday, is one of the Indians' core players. He was an All-Star for the first time last season, batting .284 with 17 homers, 84 RBIs and 30 stolen bases as the Indians returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2007.
With Kipnis' deal, the Indians have 16 players under contract through at least 2016. Among them are several key pieces, including outfielder Michael Brantley, third baseman Carlos Santana and right-hander Danny Salazar

Jason Kipnis of Cleveland Indians signs 6-year contract extension - ESPN

Very nice deal for a top 5 2B in baseball!

 

[navamind]

Absolute bargain.

 

[steveringo]

Good deal.

Where's Masterson's offer?? They need to lock up a starting pitcher...

 

[depraved]

That's a great deal for the Indians. I wish the Yankee's were this smart...

 

[redseat]

nice job Indians!

 

[Shanemansj13]

 

[Shanemansj13]

This is after they already signed Gomes and Brantley to contract extentions

 

[Sgt Brutus]

Red-hot Jason Kipnis hitting early and often for Cleveland Indians | cleveland.com

It began when Francona moved Kipnis into theleadoff spot on April 26 in Detroit. Kipnis, in his first at-bat of the game, is hitting .412 (7-for-17) with six runs, three doubles and one homer.

Overall, Kipnis is hitting .425 (34-for-80) in 19 games since replacing Michael Bourn at the top of the order. His average for the season has jumped from .225 to .340 since the move.

Kipnis is hitting .517 (31-for-60) in May.

 

[tducey]

Good signing by the Indians. Kipnis is pretty good.

 

[potatobread]

Yea, Kipnis will be elite.

 

[HammerDown]

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

Another player the Padres let get away. It sucks being a Padre fan.

 

[HammerDown]

 

[SlinkyRedfoot]

Poor teams like the Indians have to be doing things like this, and to them, there's still a fair amount of risk.

This deal potentially keeps Kipnis in Cleveland through 2020. Prior to the deal, he was under team control through 2017, so they bought out two or three years. Now it looks like Cleveland got a high-end 2nd baseman for six or seven years at a relative bargain. On the flip side, they also guaranteed $52MM to a guy that could get injured or become ineffective when they could have had him for four years without guaranteeing money.

With injury and ineffectiveness Kipnis experienced in 2014, that deal wasn't looking so brilliant last September.

That said, I'm glad the Indians have players worth these risks and that they take them. I hope he keeps mashing and making the deal look brilliant.