How many years were left in Randy Johnson's contract when Diamondback traded for him before the 2007 season?

Question

Randy Johnson now needs back surgery and won't pitch for a long while. What was the Diamondbacks thinking when they traded for a fourty something years old pitcher with a history of back problem? And the Diamondback gave Johnson a contract extension. Did anyone think that was a good deal at the time?

Answer 1

I believe Randy Johnson was signed through the 2007 season with the Yankees. Basically all the D-Backs did was add another season guaranteed, and he signed a 2 year deal with the D-Backs for 2007 and 2008 worth 26 million, 13 million per season. Was it a good deal for the D-Backs to make? I would say on paper, yes, because that would've been and still could be the storybook ending to a great career to have him win his 300th game as a D-Back, the team who Randy pitched for from 1999-2004 and won the World Series with in 2001. Everyone knew about his back problems, but he did win 17 games each season in 2005 and 2006 with the Yankees, so the D-Backs figured he was probably still good for 15-18 wins per season, and that would put him on pace to get to 300 next season. Now, he is out for the year, and only started 10 games this season, going 4-3, he is at 284 career wins, meaning he will have to win 16 games next year, coming off back surgery. In my opinion he will come back in 2008, but only win 12-14 games and will have to come back in 2009 at a much lower pay rate to finally get to 300 wins at the age of 46, he's 43 now, 44 on Sept 15th.

Answer 2

His contract would have expired at the end of this season. It was a two-year deal for 2006-07 that would pay $16m per season.

I agree with you that it was a bad idea to extend his deal, but it's typical of some of the stupid contracts in baseball this past offseason. The Giants paid $15m a season for a pitcher whose numbers have steadily gone downhill since a Cy Young Award five years ago, the Bosox threw $14m per year at J.D. Drew, and the Dodgers gave $9m per season to an ineffective hitter and centerfielder in Juan Pierre.