Precedents
Before the 2017 season, the Chicago White Sox inked a deal with young shortstop, Tim Anderson, which set a record for the largest extension ever given to a player with less than one year of service time. That deal guaranteed Anderson $25 million over six years which could potentially reach $50 million if his two option years are picked up.
That record lasted about a calendar year until earlier this month when Paul DeJong signed a pact with the St. Louis Cardinals for $26 million over six years. DeJong’s deal also includes two option years that could stretch the amount over $50 million. Both players were coming off of very successful rookie campaigns when they signed their extensions, but neither were as exciting as Ozzie Albies.
Albies is several years younger than either Anderson and DeJong were when they signed their deals. He is also a better player and was a more highly regarded prospect. While, both DeJong and Anderson were shortstops, a more valuable position than Albies’ second base, Albies has spent his entire career playing shortstop and only moved to second in 2016 in deference to Dansby Swanson. This could mean that Albies’ representation might enter any negotiations treating him as a shortstop rather than a second baseman.
The Deal
It looks like an extension for Albies at this point would have to set a record, and the Braves should be just fine with that. The Braves could realistically offer Albies something like six years and $30 million with a couple of option years on the back-end valued at around $15 million apiece. A deal framed along these lines should be close to what it would take to get it done. The Braves should look to get this done before the 2018 season as well because the price has historically gone up once the player has eclipsed the one year of service time threshold.