Sources: Gimenez, Guardians reach extension
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Jeff PassanESPN
Second baseman Andrés Giménez and the Cleveland Guardians are in agreement on a seven-year, $106.5 million contract extension that includes an eighth-year club option, sources told ESPN, locking up the biggest breakout star of last year potentially through 2031.
Coming off a 2022 in which he made his first All-Star team, won a Gold Glove and finished behind only Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani in the AL with 7.4 wins above replacement, Giménez agreed to a deal that will start in 2024. It buys out his three years of arbitration and at least four years of free agency, with an option that could take the overall value of the deal to $128 million.
Acquired as part of the blockbuster deal that sent All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor to the New York Mets in January 2021, Giménez won the second-base job in Cleveland last year and proceeded to hit .297/.371/.466 with 17 home runs and 20 stolen bases. He patrolled the middle infield with shortstop Amed Rosario, who arrived in the Lindor deal as well, helping the smooth transition that allowed Cleveland to remain the class of the American League Central Division, with a first- or second-place finish in each of the past seven seasons.
Cleveland’s history of signing top young talent to long-term extensions dates to the mid-1990s, when it popularized the practice. The Guardians last year extended star third baseman José Ramírez through 2028 and also have top closer Emmanuel Clase signed through the 2028 season. Their pursuit of other deals has been persistent this spring, and reliever Trevor Stephan — another 2022 breakout — could be the next player to sign, according to sources.
With one of the best farm systems in baseball, Cleveland is primed to remain competitive despite a payroll that’s consistently among the bottom half of the sport — and, over the past two seasons, the bottom five. In the years after their 2016 AL pennant, Cleveland pushed its payroll to the $120 million-plus range but in 2023 is due to pay around $90 million in salary.
Others with whom Cleveland has spoken about long-term deals include Rosario, starter Triston McKenzie and outfielder Steven Kwan. Both McKenzie and Kwan were drafted and developed by the team.
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Kristen Shilton
The Vancouver Canucks have come to terms with forward Brock Boeser on a new seven-year contract, carrying a $7.25 million AAV.
Canucks GM Patrik Allvin announced the deal on Tuesday during the first hour of NHL free agency. Boeser, 28, was an unrestricted free agent on a previously expiring contract.
Drafted by Vancouver 23rd overall in the 2015 NHL draft, Boeser has collected 204 goals and 434 points in 554 games with the Canucks to date. A top-six scoring threat, Boeser has elite playmaking skills and the potential to produce big numbers offensively. He had his best year offensively in 2023-24, producing 40 goals and 73 points in 81 games.
Boeser didn’t hit those marks again last season — settling for 25 goals and 50 points in 75 games — but was still second amongst teammates in output. He also plays a prominent role on Vancouver’s power play and when he can generate opportunities at 5-on-5, he is a true difference-maker up front for the Canucks.
The extension is a happy ending for Vancouver and Boeser. When the regular season ended, Boeser admitted “it’s tough to say” whether he’d be back with the Canucks. Boeser reportedly turned down a previous five-year extension offer with the club and Allvin subsequently looked into deals for him at the March trade deadline, with no takers. Boeser looked — and sounded — poised to explore his options on the open market.
Ultimately, Boeser decided to stay put by committing the best years of his career to the Canucks.
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Ryan S. Clark
Washington Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary signed a seven-year extension through the 2032-33 season that is worth $6 million annually, the team announced Tuesday.
Fehervary, who had one year of team control remaining, will enter the final season of a three-year bridge deal that will see him make $2.675 million before his new contract begins at the start of the 2026-27 season.
He finished the season with five goals and a career-high 25 points while logging 19 minutes. Fehervary also played a crucial role in the Capitals’ penalty kill by finishing with 245 short-handed minutes for a penalty kill that was fifth in the NHL with an 82% success rate.
Securing the 25-year-old Fehervary to a long-term deal means the Capitals now have seven players who have more than three years remaining on their current contracts.
It also means the Capitals front office has one less decision to make ahead of what is expected to be an active offseason in 2026 that will see the club have what PuckPedia projects to be $39.25 million in cap space.
That’s also the same offseason in which captain and NHL all-time leading goal scorer Alex Ovechkin‘s contract will come off their books along with that of defenseman John Carlson.
But until then, the Capitals have their entire top-six defensive unit under contract as they seek to improve upon a 2024-25 season that saw them finish atop the Metropolitan Division with 111 points before they lost in the Eastern Conference semifinal to the Carolina Hurricanes in five games.
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