Major League Baseball

Giants lock up MVP Posey

Published Mar. 29, 2013 1:00 a.m. ET

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Ken Rosenthal

Good Friday is proving quite a lucrative day for baseball's biggest stars.

Hours after the Tigers signed right-hander Justin Verlander to a seven-year, $180 million contract, the Giants reached an agreement on an eight-year, $159 million extension with catcher Buster Posey — who was under contract this season for $8 million — the team announced on Friday.

The deal includes a club option for 2022 that could raise the value to $186 million over a decade. Posey, 26, had been due to make $8 million this year. He instead gets a $7 million signing bonus, with $5 million payable Oct. 15 and the remainder Jan. 15, and his 2013 salary is reduced to $3 million.

He will make $10.5 million in 2014, $16.5 million in 2015, $20 million in 2016 and $21.4 million in each of the following five seasons. The Giants' option is for $22 million with a $3 million buyout.

Posey's new deal covers his three remaining arbitration years and five free-agent years, with a club option for 2022.

Posey's contract is the longest for a catcher and second among catchers in total value and average value, trailing only Joe Mauer's eight-year, $184 million deal. It also is the largest contract in Giants history, beating Matt Cain's $127.5 million and Barry Zito's $126 million deals.

In addition, Posey's $167 million total guarantee is a record for a player with fewer than three years of service time, more than doubling the previous record — $80 million over seven years for Carlos Gonzalez. The guarantee also is a record for a player with fewer than four years of service time, and the largest position-player contract of the 2012-2013 off-season.

The deal also includes a full no-trade clause.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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