PEORIA, Ariz. — Michael Wacha wanted a multi-year deal and wanted to play for a contender.
The Padres wanted a veteran starter and wanted to keep costs somewhat under control.
They made it happen.
The sides agreed in principle Tuesday and finalized a deal Wednesday. Wacha was signed and in uniform Thursday morning at the Peoria Sports Complex.
The contract is technically for one year. But it could be for three or four, as it includes one two-year team option or three one-year player options.
“It was definitely a creative deal to get some stuff done,” Wacha said. “I think it works out pretty well for both sides. There (are) options in there if need be — if they want to pick them up, or I can opt out. But for now, and where my head is at, this is this place where I want to be for the next few years, and I couldn’t be more excited.”
Wacha, who with a $3.5 million signing bonus will make a total of $7.5 million in 2023, has player options for each of the following three seasons that total $18.5 million. Those options would be voided if the Padres pick up a two-year option after the ’23 season that would guarantee Wacha $16 million in both ’24 and ‘25.
The 31-year-old right-hander with a 74-50 career record is guaranteed $26 million in the deal and could, with $2 million available in incentives, make as much as $41.5 million over three years. The structure is similar to the creative three-year pact signed by Padres pitcher Nick Martinez in November.
The average annual value of the contract is $6.5 million (based on $26 million over four years). So the signing gets the Padres right up against the $273 million third threshold of the Competitive Balance Tax.
The CBT takes into account the average annual value of all players on the 40-man roster, as well as benefits and other costs. That number is fluid based on the roster and factors such a bonus payouts. At the end of the season, the Padres will pay a 50 percent tax for the first $20 million they are over the $233 million first threshold, a 62 percent tax for the next $20 million and would pay a 75 percent tax on the amount by which they exceed $273 million.
The Padres’ projected payroll in 2023 now tops $251 million, according to Spotrac. Only the two New York teams — the Mets at $330 million and Yankees at $267 million — have higher payrolls going into the season.
“The whole league has kind of been put on notice about what’s been brewing down in San Diego,” Wacha said.
The talent that money has assembled was a big part of what attracted him.
“You look at this team and what they’ve done … and what they’ve been building here, it kind of made made my decision pretty easy and a really good fit,” he said. “Once we knew the Padres were interested, we were pursuing that to try the best we could to get a deal done.”
Wacha played seven seasons in St. Louis with new Padres designated hitter/infielder Matt Carpenter and played last year in Boston with new Padres shortstop Xander Bogaerts. Both called to recruit him and were among the people who vouched for him with the Padres’ front office.
Wacha posted a 3.32 ERA over 127 1/3 innings (23 starts) last season. After his time in St. Louis ended, Wacha spent 2020 with the Mets, ’21 with the Rays and last season in Boston.
“I think word was out that we were just looking for a multi-year deal,” Wacha said of his remaining on the free agent market so long. “I’d been signing these one-year contracts the past few years and was just kind of looking for a little bit more stability, and (wasn’t) really getting that early on in the offseason. No real suitors were going after that. It just took a little bit longer to find something that worked out for us.”
Wacha has been on the injured list a fair amount of time in his career. Among his four IL stints due to shoulder issues was one for five weeks last season. He has not made 30 starts in a season since 2017, but he has pitched at least 124 2/3 innings each of the past three full seasons.
The Padres were intent on making the deal work because they did not want to go into the season facing a possible innings deficiency from their starting pitchers. While they had determined they had five starting pitchers virtually locked in, two of them threw fewer than 110 innings last season. And even as they continue to tout improved depth from the Triple-A ranks and some offseason signings, it was not the kind of certainty a team with World Series aspirations would prefer.
“Adding another real major league starting pitcher, obviously great pedigree, tremendous reports from a makeup standpoint, competitiveness,” Padres President of Baseball Operations A.J. Preller said. “He had a great year in Boston last year. We have some guys here that have history with him that were able to speak firsthand of what he brought to a ballclub. ... He’s made it back from some injuries, and we think he he fits our roster well right now.”
“We’ve got (Yu) Darvish, (Blake) Snell and (Joe) Musgrove, and those guys should take a big part of the workload. Nick Martinez and (Seth) Lugo are transitioning from the bullpen, so I think having that additional pitcher that’s made 25-plus starts and done it at a good level, that was something that we valued a lot and just felt like it was the right guy on the market at the right time for the right contract.”
