Pittsburgh Pirates fans wondered much of the summer how catcher Jason Kendall could possibly turn down a six-year, $60 million contract.
As it turns out, he didn’t.
On Friday, Kendall signed a $60 million contract much like the one he previously rejected last summer. The deal was completed after the Pirates backed off their demands that more than one-third of the money be deferred; instead, only about $3 million will be deferred.
Kendall said he wouldn’t have stayed in Pittsburgh unless he was convinced a team coming off eight consecutive losing seasons was ready to start winning now.
“I wouldn’t have signed for six more years if I didn’t think we couldn’t win a world championship here,” said Kendall, the first catcher with 20 or more steals in three consecutive seasons.
– Jose Mesa has agreed to a two-year, $6.8 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. Mesa was 4-6 with a 5.36 ERA with the Seattle Mariners last season.
– A tentative four-player deal for the Milwaukee Brewers to trade right-fielder Jeromy Burnitz to San Diego died because Burnitz and the Padres failed to agree on a contract extension, the Brewers announced Friday.
– Oakland traded second baseman Randy Velarde, who turns 38 next Friday, to Texas for a pair of minor-league pitchers, left-hander Ryan Cullen and right-hander Aaron Harang.
