The Mariners and top prospect Colt Emerson have agreed to a contract.
SEATTLE -- The Seattle Mariners made a shocking and surprising investment in their future on Tuesday morning, agreeing to a massive contract with top prospect Colt Emerson.
The report came from Robert Murray of Fansided just before 6:30 a.m. PT. The Mariners had beaten the New York Yankees 2-1 just hours earlier. Walking around the bowels of T-Mobile Park after the game, M's president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto gave no indication that something big was brewing.
Per Murray:
BREAKING: Colt Emerson and the Seattle Mariners are in agreement on an eight-year, $95 million contract extension, sources say. The deal includes a ninth-year club option, a full no-trade clause and escalators that can bring it north of $130 million. Emerson is represented by ACES.
Murray adds that this is the biggest deal in baseball history a player that has not reached the big leagues yet. It surpasses Jackson Chourio's contract of eight years and more than $80 million.
A first-round pick in the 2023 draft out of the Ohio high school ranks, Emerson hit .285 last season while playing across three levels. He was on the roster bubble during this spring training, but the M's elected to send him back to Tacoma, where he played just six games last season. He's the No. 7 prospect, per MLB Pipeline.
Speaking on Seattle Sports 710 on Thursday, M's President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto intimated that if J.P. Crawford would have been out longer with a shoulder injury at the beginning of the year that Emerson would have been a roster consideration coming out of Cactus League play.
Regardless of when he gets the call, the call is coming for Emerson. He will eventually be a part of the M's roster as they try to win the American League West for the second straight season.
Given that he's already been extended, there's no service time reasons to keep Emerson down in the minor leagues, but the team still has to find room on the roster to play him. Brendan Donovan and Cole Young are firmly entrenched in the infield and J.P. Crawford is due to return from injury this week and take his position at shortstop.
It will be interesting how they navigate things over the next several months.
Emerson is out to a 5-for-`14 start at Tacoma, including a home run.
We'll have much more on this deal and what it means through the rest of the week, including on Wednesday night's edition of the 'Refuse to Lose' podcast.
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