Phils, Myers agree on three-year extension

The Philadelphia Phillies and pitcher Brett Myers avoided arbitration when they agreed on a three-year deal worth $25.75 million Thursday night.

The 26-year old Myers was 12-7 with a 3.91 earned run average in 31 starts last season, leading the Phillies’ pitching staff in wins, ERA, starts, innings (198.0), strikeouts (189), winning percentage (.632) and opponents’ batting average (.257). He finished fifth in the National League in strikeouts (189), compiling an NL-leading 107 in the second half of the season.

“We’re very pleased to have gotten this deal done with Brett, who is arguably one of the premier pitchers in the National League,” said Phillies assistant general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. “He’s a proven top-of-the-rotation starter and he will certainly play an even bigger role for us going forward.”

Over the past four seasons Myers ranks among the league leaders in starts (128, 6th), strikeouts (656, 7th), innings (782.1, 9th), strikeouts per 9.0 innings (7.55, 10th) and wins (50, T-10th).

Originally the first-round selection (12th overall) by the Phillies in the 1999 draft, Myers has a career record of 54-40 with a 4.34 ERA in 141 appearances (140 starts).

“I’ve grown up in this organization and this is where I want to stay,” said Myers. “I love pitching in Philadelphia, I love the ballpark, I love the fans and having Charlie as the manager and guys like Chase Utley around for the next few years was a big part of my decision.”

“I’ve played with these guys – Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, Pat Burrell – for the last few years and I couldn’t imagine myself playing for another organization or with another group of guys. It would probably be a culture shock.”

Righthander Geoff Geary is now the Phillies’ lone arbitration-eligible player.

The Phanatic's Take:

Jared Trexler: This offseason, general manager Pat Gillick has defined a "core," the persona on the field of the 2007 Philadelphia Phillies. Rightly or wrongly, Bobby Abreu, David Bell, Cory Lidle -- God rest his soul -- and others were not part of Gillick's group. The long extension given to Chase Utley, this deal with Myers and openly-affectionate quotes about Ryan Howard and Cole Hamels demonstrate Gillick's new group. On the surface, this deal looks solid. It's roughly the same contract handed out this offseason to Adam Eaton -- but the right-hander was a free agent so comparing those two deals would be like comparing apples and oranges. Speaking in arbitration math, Myers wanted $5.9 million and the Phillies offered $5, with this deal putting him at around $5.7 in the first year. His second arb year will likely put him at around $8.5 million, leaving what would have been his FA year at just over $11.75 million. Looking at the exorbitant rate of pitchers' contracts on the open market, it's a good deal when factoring in Myers' age with little wear and tear -- he threw over 120 pitches in a game just twice in the last two seasons. More importantly, it shows Gillick may have moved David Montgomery and company away from PR conscious and toward baseball savvy, at least for a day.

John McMullen: Myers has an electric arm and the stuff to be a No. 1 but it remains to be seen if he can harness his emotions and reach his ceiling. Either way, Pat Gillick did a nice job locking up a solid starter for three years. If Myers reaches his potential, he is a steal at Adam Eaton like money. If he flops, this deal makes him very tradeable. There is a dearth of pitching in MLB and teams will always give guys with plus arms chance after chance.

Tim McManus: Pretty much a perfect deal for the Philadelphia Phillies. With Brett Myers coming off a controversial year involving alleged spousal abuse, the Phils didn't exactly want to dub him the face of the franchise with a lucrative, long-term deal. At the same time, Myers has arguably as much of an upside as a Barry Zito -- who was handed the keys to the kingdom this offseason -- so locking him in for a few more years at a discount rate was a really shrewd move.

Amazing what can get done when you have competent people making the personnel moves.