According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Braves and Derek Lowe have come to terms on a four-year, $60-million deal. It’s a nice contract for Lowe and a solid signing by the Braves.
Meanwhile, this is a deal that echoes through New York for a few reasons. First off, when the Yanks opted to go for A.J. Burnett instead of Lowe, I never expected the former Dodger hurler to land himself a $15-million AAV deal. It seems that I was wrong, and it seems that the market for starting pitching is a bit more robust than the market for corner outfielders.
From that four-year deal, we probably have to reevaluate the Yanks’ one-year offer to Andy Pettitte. You could very easily make the argument now than $10 million for one year of Pettitte is indeed to low. It shouldn’t take Derek Lowe money to lock up Andy, but it may take $12-$13 million guaranteed.
Second, the Mets are looking at an off-season of futility. They low-balled Lowe and never had a real chance to up their offer. Instead, one of their top divisional competitors lands one of the bigger free agent pitchers left. Now, Omar Minaya will have to dole out the bucks for Oliver Perez and probably take a good, long look at Ben Sheets’ medical reports as well.
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