Twins' Dozier agrees to 4-year, $20-million deal
Brian Dozier's career year just landed him a $20-million raise.
Dozier and the Minnesota Twins announced Tuesday that they've reached an agreement on a new contract that buys out the second baseman's three years of arbitration and nets him a sizable increase for 2015.
The four-year deal is reportedly worth $20 million over the next four seasons.
| Year | Salary |
|---|---|
| 2015 | $2 million |
| 2016 | $3 million |
| 2017 | $6 million |
| 2018 | $9 million |
Dozier, 27, is entering his final year of pre-arbitration and was slated to earn $590,000 after posting career highs last season in several offensive categories, including homers (23), stolen bases (21), OBP (.345) and OPS (.762). He's just the third player in franchise history with at least 20 homers, 20 steals and 100 runs scored in a season.
"I couldn't be more happier," Dozier said during Tuesday's press conference. "I want to play my entire career here."
The deal is team-friendly for the budget-conscious Twins, who secured their best offensive player at a fixed rate through the prime of his career. Dozier, meanwhile, gets a well-deserved raise after leading all second basemen in homers, runs and walks in 2014. The contract, which doesn't include option years, also allows Dozier to maintain his free-agent eligibility for the 2019 season.
Dozier, who was selected by the Twins in the eighth round of the 2009 draft, owns a career slash line of .241/.318/.397 with 47 homers over three seasons.