Jered Weaver has signed a five-year, $85 million contract extension with the Angels, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com is reporting. Here’s a comparison between Weaver and the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw.
| Weaver | Kershaw | |
| Throws | Right | Left |
| Age | 28 yrs., 10 mo. | 23 yrs., 5 mo. |
| Draft | 12th overall | 7th overall |
| Year signed | 2005 | 2006 |
| MLB Debut | 5/27/06 | 5/25/08 |
| Career starts | 170 | 109 |
| Career ERA | 3.30 | 3.01 |
| Career ERA+ | 129 | 129 |
| Career WHIP | 1.17 | 1.20 |
| Career K/9 | 7.8 | 9.4 |
| 2011 starts | 26 | 26 |
| 2011 ERA | 2.10 | 2.60 |
| 2011 ERA+ | 178 | 143 |
| 2011 WHIP | 0.97 | 1.01 |
| 2001 K/9 | 7.6 | 9.8 |
| First-year arbitration eligibility | $4.265 million in 2010, after 3.75 ERA in 2009 | 2012 |
| Second-year arbitration eligibility | $7.37 million in 2011, after 3.01 ERA in 2010 | 2013 |
| Third-year arbitration eligible | * | 2014 |
| Free agent eligibility | November 2014 |
*Weaver’s five-year extension, which runs through 2016 (when Weaver will turn 34), covers his final year of arbitration eligibility and his first four years after free-agent eligibility.
Kershaw is ahead of Weaver’s pace, meaning he’s going to be owed more money each step of the way if he keeps up his trend of performance. If Kershaw were to sign a contract extension at the same stage of his career as Weaver, that would come in August 2013.
