Post by John on May 19, 2006 8:12:25 GMT -4
Orioles third baseman Mora scores three-year extension
May 18, 2006
CBS SportsLine.com wire reports
BALTIMORE -- The Baltimore Orioles and Melvin Mora have agreed to terms on a three-year contract extension that would keep the third baseman with the team through the 2009 season.
Mora's current contract, a three-year deal signed in January 2004, was to expire in October.
The new deal, which would guarantee him $25 million, includes an option for a fourth year.
Mora took a physical on Thursday and intends to go over the contract with his agent, Lon Babby, on Friday, according to a team official. The Orioles would then announce the agreement during a Friday afternoon news conference, the official said.
The Orioles begin a three-game series with the Washington Nationals on Friday night. The team will travel by bus to RFK Stadium in the late afternoon.
Mora, 34, is hitting .288 with seven home runs and 20 RBI in 40 games this season. The two-time All-Star announced his intention during spring training to stay with the Orioles, but insisted that he would test the free-agent market if a deal was not signed before the start of the 2006 season.
He backed off that assertion after both sides drew closer to an agreement last month. But he had no intention of signing cheaply, given that he believed the Orioles received a bargain by signing him for $10.5 million in 2004.
"Now is my opportunity for something. I talk to a lot of people. They tell me, 'I see you don't make the money you deserve for how you play.' I tell them I was happy when I signed that contract," Mora said in March. "I'm not complaining. Some people win, some people lose. In this case, Baltimore wins. Maybe my next contract will be awesome, and I won't have to worry about anything."
It appears he received his wish.
News of the contract agreement was first reported by WBFF-TV and the Baltimore Sun website.
AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service
May 18, 2006
CBS SportsLine.com wire reports
BALTIMORE -- The Baltimore Orioles and Melvin Mora have agreed to terms on a three-year contract extension that would keep the third baseman with the team through the 2009 season.
Mora's current contract, a three-year deal signed in January 2004, was to expire in October.
The new deal, which would guarantee him $25 million, includes an option for a fourth year.
Mora took a physical on Thursday and intends to go over the contract with his agent, Lon Babby, on Friday, according to a team official. The Orioles would then announce the agreement during a Friday afternoon news conference, the official said.
The Orioles begin a three-game series with the Washington Nationals on Friday night. The team will travel by bus to RFK Stadium in the late afternoon.
Mora, 34, is hitting .288 with seven home runs and 20 RBI in 40 games this season. The two-time All-Star announced his intention during spring training to stay with the Orioles, but insisted that he would test the free-agent market if a deal was not signed before the start of the 2006 season.
He backed off that assertion after both sides drew closer to an agreement last month. But he had no intention of signing cheaply, given that he believed the Orioles received a bargain by signing him for $10.5 million in 2004.
"Now is my opportunity for something. I talk to a lot of people. They tell me, 'I see you don't make the money you deserve for how you play.' I tell them I was happy when I signed that contract," Mora said in March. "I'm not complaining. Some people win, some people lose. In this case, Baltimore wins. Maybe my next contract will be awesome, and I won't have to worry about anything."
It appears he received his wish.
News of the contract agreement was first reported by WBFF-TV and the Baltimore Sun website.
AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service