The Los Angeles Dodgers locked up a key member of their core on the eve of the Dodger Stadium home opener, signing Will Smith to a 10-year, $140 million contract extension.
The deal presumably came together quickly as Smith said during Spring Training that the team had not approached him about signing a long-term extension this year.
Smith, who celebrates his 29th birthday on Thursday, was poised to become a free agent after the 2025 season. He now has the opportunity to potentially finish his career with the organization that selected him in the first round of the 2016 MLB Draft.
According to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, Smith’s contract extension with the Dodgers includes a $30 million signing bonus and $50 million in deferrals that will be paid out annually between 2034-2043.
Breakdown of Will Smith’s 10-yr, $140M extension, per source:
$30M signing bonus
2024: $13.55M
2025: $13M
2026: $13M
2027: $13M
2028: $9.5M
2029: $9.5M
2030: $9.5M
2031: $9.5M
2032: $9.5M
2033: $9.95MThe deferrals — $5M per season — will be paid out annually between 2034-43.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) March 27, 2024
Smith’s contract deferrals align with the $680 million that L.A. will pay Shohei Ohtani from 2034-2043 as part of the record-setting 10-year, $700 million deal he signed during the offseason.
Smith is coming off an All-Star season that saw him hit .261/.359/.438 with 21 doubles, 19 home runs and 76 RBI. He finished fourth among all MLB catchers in batting average, third in runs scored (80), fifth in home runs, tied for sixth in extra-base hits (42), seventh in total bases (203), fourth in RBI and third in slugging percentage.
Since making his MLB debut on May 28, 2019, Smith is among the Major League catcher leaders in OPS (first), homers (second), hits (fourth), runs (second), extra-base hits (third), total bases (third) and RBI (second).
Will Smith joins Mookie Betts
Smith’s contract extension is reminiscent of the Dodgers signing Mookie Betts to a 12-year, $365 million deal before Opening Day of the 2020 season. Like Smith, Betts was on track to become a free agent but is now a big part of the team’s future.
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