Mariners, Felix Hernandez reportedly agree to seven-year, $175 million extension

Okay, so last week we “reported” that Félix Hernández was close to becoming the highest-paid pitcher in the history of baseball. It was a funny thing, though ... nothing happened, even though everyone reported that it was going to happen. Now, sometimes that’s just because everybody’s just working through some last-minute contract details. The size of hotel suites, the number of flights for the family on private jets, free sodas, those sorts of things.

But this seems to be different. Here’s the Seattle Times’ Geoff Baker on Sunday:

I mean, maybe not everybody. But almost everybody. Grant Brisbee says so. David Schoenfield says so. Danny Knobler says so, and not just because the M’s need him. This will be good for baseball ...

Yes, it’s heartening that the Yankees won’t be getting King Felix. Not for a while, anyway. It’s pretty silly to assume that Hernandez will never be a Yankee. For one thing, he’ll be only 33 when his new contract runs out. For another, while he’ll reportedly have a complete no-trade clause, that doesn’t preclude him agreeing to a trade to New York.

Felix Hernandez has reportedly signed a new contract for seven years and $175 million, buying out the last two years of his current deal. I’ll start by placating the old-school grumblers and the new-school kids.

For the old-school grumblers: Can you believe someone is getting that much money to play a game? Do you know how much Tom Seaver made in his career? Just under $6 million. And Hernandez is getting how much? Grumble grumble grumble.

Nightengale adds that the extension should be finalized before spring training. The deal will make Hernandez the highest-paid pitcher in baseball history.

Hernandez has spent eight seasons with the Mariners after debuting for the club as a 19-year-old in 2005. He’s maintained a 3.22 ERA with a 3.1 strikeout-to-walk ratio, averaging more than 30 starts and 200 innings pitched per season since 2006. Hernandez won the American League Cy Young Award in 2010 and is a three-time All-Star.