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The Reds and right-hander Homer Bailey have agreed to a six-year contract extension worth a guaranteed $105 million, CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman has confirmed. MLB.com's Mark Sheldon originally reported that the deal was done, and Sheldon adds that the deal also includes a mutual $25-million option/$5-million buyout for a seventh year. Earlier on Wednesday, Heyman reported that both sides were working toward just such a deal.
In essence, the extension would buy out the final year of Bailey's arbitration eligibility and the first five years of his free agency, at a minimum. If the option is excercised then Bailey, currently 27, wouldn't be a free agent until age 34.
Bailey owns two career no-hitters and last season pitched to a 3.49 ERA (110 ERA+) with a 3.69 K/BB ratio in 209 innings of work. Those numbers are quite similar to the ones he put up in 2012, when he led the NL in starts. For his career, Bailey owns an ERA+ of 96 across parts of seven major-league seasons.
The Reds originally drafted Bailey with the seventh-overall pick in 2004.
