The six-year, $48 million contract that the Phillies agreed to with Cuban pitcher Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez has been substantially modified, and is now a three-year, $12 million deal according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox. The contract also reportedly contains a vesting option for 2017.
The issues with Gonzalez that necessitated the modification was reportedly due to concerns about the health of his elbow. But man, dropping from an average annual value of $8 million to $4 million along with halving the length of the contract is a huge modification. I think it's a little more rash than Francisco Liriano going from two years and $13 million to one year, $1 million with incentives and a vesting option.
The Phillies are probably hoping Gonzalez provides them with the same amount of value as Liriano has provided the Pirates with this season. It's still unknown what Gonzalez's role will be in the majors, but the Phillies could use him in either their rotation or bullpen. I don't think they'd be too picky given the state of their pitching staff going into 2014.
