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Done Deal: Santana Joins Mets
Surpasses Zito deal to earn largest financial windfall ever for a pitcher
By Lev Weinstein
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Posted Feb 2, 08 12:43 AM CST
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(Newser)
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After a tense three days of negotiation, including a 2-hour extension to cap off the talks, the Mets and Johan Santana officially reached an agreement around 6:30 last night, the New York Times reports. The two parties settled on a $137.5 million, six-year contract extension, marking the largest financial windfall for a pitcher in baseball history.
With the deal, including the $13.25M Santana is owed for 2008, the two-time Cy Young winner will decisively surpass the $126M contract former Oakland ace Barry Zito signed with the Giants prior to the '07 season. The negotiations, begun Tuesday when the Mets acquired Santana from Minnesota for four prospects, will come to an official end with today's scheduled physical exam.