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Wander Franco, Rays closing in on massive contract extension for 20-year-old star
Shortstop Wander Franco quickly emerged as one of MLB‘s best players this season and the Tampa Bay Rays are wasting no time locking him up. The club is closing in on signing Franco to a record-setting contact extension and Jim Bowden of CBS Sports HQ reports the deal is expected to be in the 12-year, $225 million range. The team has not yet confirmed the news.
The current record contract for a player with less than one full year of service time is Ronald Acuña Jr.‘s eight-year, $100 million contract with the defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves, a record Franco is poised to smash. Here are the largest ever contracts given to players with less than a full year of service time (not including players signed from Japan or Korea):
- Ronald Acuña Jr., Braves: 8 years and $100 million
- Luis Robert, White Sox: 6 years and $50 million (signed prior to MLB debut)
- Eloy Jiménez, White Sox: 6 years and $43 million (signed prior to MLB debut)
- Paul DeJong, Cardinals: 6 years and $26 million
- Chris Archer, Rays: 6 years and $25.5 million
The contract guarantees Franco $182 million across 11 years with a $25 million club option for a 12th season, reports ESPN’s Jeff Passan. There also salary escalators tied to finishes in the MVP voting beginning in 2028. The contract does not include a no-trade clause (the Rays have never given out a no-trade clause), though Franco will receive a $3 million bonus if traded.
The 11-year term would cover Franco’s remaining six years of team control (three pre-arbitration and three arbitration) plus five free agent years, with a club option for a sixth free agent year. It would also cover his age 21-31 seasons, meaning Franco would still be in line for a large free agent contract once this deal expires. If the club option is picked up, Franco would become a free agent at the same age Starling Marte is right now, for reference.
Franco, 21 in March, was the consensus No. 1 prospect in baseball going into each of the last two seasons. He was called up to make his MLB debut in June and became an impact player almost immediately, hitting .288/.347/.463 with seven home runs in 70 games. Franco struck out only five times in his final 31 games, and he went 7 for 19 (.368) in four postseason games. He also tied Hall of Famer Frank Robinson’s record by reaching base in 43 straight games as a 20-year-old.
As much as any single player can be a centerpiece for the Rays, Franco is already the face of the franchise, and locking him up was the only way to keep him long-term, realistically. Tampa will never win a free agent bidding war for an elite player, and they have a long history of trading players when they start to get expensive through arbitration. Franco could have found himself on the trade block in 3-4 years if not for this contract.`
The Rays of course have a long history of locking up their best players early in their careers. They famously signed Evan Longoria to a six-year contract worth $17.5 million six days into his big league career, then the record for a player with less than one year of service time. Kevin Kiermaier, Brandon Lowe, Matt Moore, and Blake Snell are among the others to sign long-term with Tampa.
Franco’s contract is far and away the largest in Rays history in terms of total guarantee, beating out Longoria’s six-year, $100 million extension in 2012. Franco’s reported $16.55 million average annual value is just under Longoria’s $16.67 million, however. Kiermaier ($53.5 million) and Snell ($50 million) are the only others plays to sign deals worth at least $50 million with Tampa.
Over the last three seasons the Rays have won more games than any other American League team, and this past season they won the AL East with a 100-62 record. The franchise is still searching for its first ever World Series championship, but they have a very impressive young core even outside Franco, plus a top farm system. They are in position to contend for several more years.
It should be noted Franco’s extension extends beyond 2027, when the team’s Tropicana Field lease expires. The Rays continue to explore a two-city solution with Tampa and Montreal, which doesn’t seem all that realistic. Wherever they’re playing come 2028, the Rays know they will be able to open their new stadium will Franco as their cornerstone player.
The Padres signed Fernando Tatis Jr. Jr. to a 14-year, $341 million contract this February. He signed when he was four years away from free agency, not six like Franco, giving him more leverage and earning potential. Nationals wunderkind Juan Soto (three years from free agency) and Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Jr. (four years away) could be next in line to sign a huge extension.
SAINT-DENIS, France — Paris Olympics organizers and their partners set up a giant job fair on Tuesday meant to help fill about 16,000 vacancies in key sectors including catering, security, transport and cleaning, 10 months before the opening of the Games.
About 50 companies are now recruiting in various fields to be able to welcome millions of spectators and more than 14,500 athletes next year for the Olympics and Paralympics.
The job fair was organized in Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of the French capital, on the future site of the Olympic village. Jobseekers can also apply via a specific website.
“There are many opportunities globally in France, for Paris 2024 and beyond, because definitely there are also some jobs that will have for sure a second life after the Olympics,” said Tony Estanguet, the organizing committee president for Paris 2024.
“We will welcome the world in 300 days. And definitely we are more than determined to be at the best level,” he added.
The working-class, multicultural area of Saint-Denis is also one of the poorest places in France’s mainland, where the unemployment rate reaches about 10% — or three points above the national average. The Olympic committee worked with the state and local authorities to encourage companies to hire local workers and disadvantaged people.
Working for the Games “is a source of personal pride,” Estanguet stressed.
“It’s also a very rare professional experience, quite exceptional, which I think will benefit those who need to find a job,” he said. “Having an Olympic experience on your CV is very valuable.”
The recruitment may especially prove a challenge in fields where the country’s businesses already have difficulties to fill job vacancies, like restaurants and security services.
Sodexo Live, which is in charge of the catering during the Olympics, is looking to fill 6,000 jobs. The company noted that many don’t require specific qualifications and that those who are hired will be offered training.
Elise Patry, in charge of human resources communication at Sodexo Live, said “we’re recruiting for 14 competition venues and also for the Olympic village, where we’ll set up the world’s largest restaurant.”
About 3,000 jobs are estimated to be needed to take care of cleaning and waste management. French metro and rail groups RATP and SNCF are also hiring people on long-term contracts to operate transports during the Games.
The Olympic organizing committee estimated that between 2018 and 2024, more than 181,000 people will have worked directly in relation with the organization of the Games.
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