LA Dodgers: Is Chad Billingsley Worth His New Contract Extension?

LA Dodgers Locked Up Chad Billingsley With A Long-Term Extension, But Did the Pitcher Leave Money on the Table or did the Dodgers Pay Too Much?

Chad Billingsley now has financial security after signing a three-year extension reportedly worth around $35-36 million.

Billingsley has had an up-and-down history with the Dodgers, reaching some of his highest highs, and also finding some of his lowest lows. Despite all of that, he's still one of the top pitchers for Los Angeles and will likely be second in the rotation behind Clayton Kershaw.

Despite that, Jon Weisman of Dodger Thoughts wrote the following when he talked about Billingsley's contract extension.

"We're still waiting on precisely how much Billingsley will get, but it's a tremendous sign of faith that the Dodgers have in Billingsley, who was dropped from the starting rotation for the 2009 playoffs," Weisman wrote.

I think that saying it's a "tremendous sign of faith" in Billingsley is a bit of an overstatement. It's not like the floor fell out on his production following the meltdown in 2009. He rebounded to post a 3.57 ERA in 2010, lower than his 2009 mark, and even lowered the amount of home runs he allowed, dropping from 17 in 2009, a career high, all the way down to eight, the lowest since 2006.

Los Angeles gave him the contract because he went out and showed that he could be counted on and improved from a terrible end to his 2009 campaign.

In fact, I'm more inclined to agree with Dave Cameron of FanGraphs.com, who suggests that Billingsley left money on the table when compared to other pitchers at this juncture of their careers.

"Perhaps most interesting, however, is the extension that Wandy Rodriguez signed with the Astros just a few months ago," Cameron writes. "Rodriguez was in his final year of arbitration, so he was at the point where Billingsley would have been at the end of the 2011 season ? when his new deal actually kicks in. Rodriguez signed a 3 year, $34 million extension with the Astros covering the same years that Billingsley just gave up to get some security. His career numbers ? 985 innings, 62 wins, and a 4.18 ERA.

"If, this year, Billingsley threw 160 innings, posted a 7.43 ERA, and won just three games, he would end the year with those same career numbers. If Wandy Rodriguez?s deal set the market for what the final year of arbitration and first two years of free agency are worth, Billingsley essentially locked in a price that would be fair (based on career numbers) if he was the worst pitcher in baseball this year."

If that doesn't prove that the Dodgers just got a steal by locking up Billingsley at the price they just did, nothing will. The man gave up more money to be with Los Angeles, but now has financial security going forward and the Dodgers have a young pitcher under contract on a deal that's below market-value. It sounds like a win-win for everyone involved.

Now if the Dodgers and just get him some run support, we'll see him get back to posting the 16-10 record he tallied in 2008.

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