HOW DOES MILLWOOD'S DEAL COMPARE TO WASHBURN'S

Kevin Millwood has signed with the Texas Rangers for a reported 5 year 60 million dollar deal.

The Rangers can void the 5th year if Millwood doesn’t reach certain number of innings in the early years of the contract. Those details have not been released. Those are the security clauses that you want your team to get when they sign a pitcher for 4 years or more.

Millwood’s deal averages 12 million a year. If the last year is around the 12 million mark, it is likely that it may be a bit more, then the contract is essentially a 4 year 48 million dollar contract.
This is considerably more then the Mariners spent on Jarrod Washburn who they paid 4 years and 37.5 million. Is Millwood really worth another 3 million a year? How many more wins will Millwood get then Washburn and how much is each win worth?

I don’t like the Washburn signing. It reeks of a desperate team going and grabbing whatever is available regardless of price, impact and smarts. That said I would rather sign Washburn to the contract the Mariners did then the Rangers to the contract Millwood did.

On a side note, the Rangers also added Adam Eaton in the off-season.