Eric Chavez Is A Lucky SOB

("75 plate appearances?  Yeah, I think I got that in me." Courtesy of The AP)

I touched on this last night on the AB4AR Facebook Page, but Eric Chavez has himself a pretty sweet incentive deal in his new contract.  Sure, he's only making 900 thou in base salary, which is barely enough to get by in today's world, but thanks to his incentive package he could earn upwards of $3.05 million just for putting his batting gloves on, picking up a bat, and standing in the batter's box.

"Chavez would make $50,000 for 75 plate appearances, $100,000 each for 100 and 150, $200,000 apiece for 200 and 250, $300,000 each for 300 and 350, $400,000 apiece for 400 and 450 and $500,000 each for 500 and 550." (Courtesy of The AP)

50 grand for 75 plate appearances???  You've got to be kidding me!  That's like free money, even for a guy as injury-plagued as Chavez.  He spent the bulk of last season on the DL and still managed 175 PA, which would have netted him a cool quarter of a mil under these new terms.  It's highly unlikely that Chavez will reach the 200 or 250 mark, and next to impossible that he gets 300 or more, but to get that kind of money for doing the bare minimum of your job is a little ridiculous.  That's like me getting a 25% bonus on my paycheck every two weeks because I sat in on three extra meetings.  Didn't contribute anything, didn't take notes, just sat there.

This also sheds a little light on how confident or not confident the Yankees are in Chavez' ability to stay healthy this year.  I don't think they would willingly hand out $3 million if they thought there was a chance Chavez could reach these marks.  But still, a .294 wOBA in a season spent mostly on the DL last season and Chavez turns it into a new contract with bonuses not even tied to any kind of production.  I should have been a baseball player.