Jennifer Langosch has some interesting details about the performance bonuses in D.J. Carrasco’s contract. Carrasco is eligible for $300,000 in performance bonuses. Usually that is based on an appearance structure, either a 50, 55, 60 appearances type setup for a reliever, or 20, 25, 30 starts type setup for a starter.
According to Langosch, Carrasco is on a points system that breaks down like this:
-1 point for every appearance of less than 2 IP
-2 points for every appearance of 2+ IP
-3 points for every start
Carrasco receives $25,000 after 50 points, and $25,000 each after every five point increment up to 105, giving him a possible $300,000. If we apply this same setup to Carrasco’s 2009 season, we get the following:
-21 appearances with less than 2 IP: 21 points
-27 appearances with 2+ IP: 54 points
-1 start: 3 points
-TOTAL: 78 points ($150,000)
I’m not sure whether a start would also count as an appearance, or if appearances are strictly for relief appearances. If a start counts as an appearance, then any start of 2+ innings would count as 5 points, which would have given Carrasco 80 points in 2009, and an extra $25,000. UPDATE: Confirmation from Jennifer Langosch that a start is only worth 3 points, and that “appearances” are only relief appearances.
So what would Carrasco need for 105 points in 2010? One example would be 63 appearances, 36 of those being 2+ innings, and two starts. That’s at least 99 innings in relief, if we assume he never goes over the 2 inning mark, and that’s not counting the innings from the two starts. Carrasco led the American League with 89.1 innings in relief last year. 99 innings isn’t impossible, especially since he’s a long reliever, but it does seem to be a long shot, especially since he hasn’t topped 50 appearances in the last two seasons, and would need 63 in this example.
