Rays tie future to shortstop Franco

Shortstop Wander Franco and the Tampa Bay Rays have finalized an $182 million, 11year contract that includes a club option for the 2033 season.

Franco’s deal, which could be worth up to $223 million if the club option is exercised and incentives are reached, was announced Saturday.

“This is a great day for Wander and for the Rays, and is evidence of the mutual trust between Wander and our organization,” Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg said in a statement. “We are committed to fielding competitive teams year in and year out, and we all expect that Wander’s presence and contributions will play a large part in maintaining our standard of excellence.”

Franco is the fifth player with less than a year of bigleague experience to sign a long-term extension with the team. The others were third baseman Evan Longoria (2008), left-hander Matt Moore (2011), right-hander Chris Archer (2014) and second baseman Brandon Lowe (2019).

It’s a deal: The Mariners acquired second baseman Adam Frazier from the Padres for two minor-leaguers, left-handed reliever Ray Kerr and outfielder Corey Rosier.

“We thought we were at the goal line to acquire Adam at the trade deadline last year,” said Jerry Dipoto, Seattle’s president of baseball operations. “Obviously we missed out and we stayed in touch with the Padres as we headed into the offseason knowing that they had a pretty robust roster. And we just liked the player so we stuck with it.”

Frazier got off to a fast start this past season with Pittsburgh, batting .324 with an .836 OPS and 28 doubles in 98 games. He was traded to San Diego in late July and hit .267 in 57 games with the Padres.

Kerr split time between Double-A Arkansas and Triple-A Tacoma this year; Rosier spent this past season at Class A Modesto.

Signed: Former Phillies closer Hector Neris agreed to a twoyear, $17 million contract with the Astros, NBC Sports Philadelphia reported. Neris was 4-7 with a 3.63 ERA and 12 saves in 74 games for Philadelphia this year . ... The Red Sox signed right-hander Michael Wacha, who was 3-5 with a 5.05 ERA with Tampa Bay this year, to a one-year, $7 million deal.