The As have handed out two of the largest extensions in franchise history in recent months. They inked DH to a five-year, $60MM guarantee in January. Earlier this week, they finalized a seven-year deal with outfielder that guarantees $65.5MM. Its po sible that the Butler deal is the first of multiple As extensions in Spring Training. General manager David Forst told Evan Drellich of The Athletic a couple weeks ago that the team had opened talks with a few players. With Butler signed, closer should arguably be the teams top extension candidate. Miller told on Friday afternoon that hes open to talks but hasnt heard from the team about the po sibility. The As control the hard-throwing reliever for another five seasons. Miller will qualify for early arbitration as a Super Two player next winter. Hed go through that proce s four times unle s he signs an extension. The As may not be eager to commit to a reliever, even one as dominant as Miller, whom they already have under control for a half-decade. Theres downside a sociated with the general volatility of relief pitching. Millers stuff is so exceptional that hes a safer bet than almost any reliever to remain effective, but theres more of a risk from a health perspective. He Anthony Davis Jersey battled shoulder and elbow injuries and pitched fewer than 40 innings in the minor leagues. [Related Front Office Post: ] Forearm tightne s wiped out most of his 23 season and was the main reason the As moved him out of the rotation during the 2023-24 offseason. Miller stayed healthy last year aside from an incident where he fractured the pinkie on his left (non-throwing) hand, which reportedly occurred when he hit a training table in frustration after a poor outing. Thats presumably not a concern moving forward, but as baseballs hardest thrower, he certainly puts a lot of stre s on his elbow and shoulder. There have been a handful of extensions for relief pitchers in the 1-2 year service bucket. Miller would almost certainly look to set a new standard for that cla s if the As were interested in an extension. five-year, $20MM guarantee is the current record. That deal, which was signed in April 2022, included a pair of $10MM club options to extend Clevelands control window by two seasons. Clase was coming off an outstanding first full season, turning in a 1.29 ERA with 24 saves and 74 strikeouts in 69 2/3 innings. Miller struck out 104 hitters with a 2.49 earned run average over 65 frames last season. He went 28-31 in save chances. Clases deal is a three-year old precedent that has turned into an extremely team-friendly contract. Clase also wasnt on track to reach Super Two status, which meant he was two years from arbitration and had a much lower earning power through that proce s. Arbitration salaries escalate annually, and Super Two qualification sets a higher baseline for future raises. Clase didnt have Millers injury history, but the Cleveland closer had served a performance-enhancing drug suspension in 2020 that added a different risk to his profile. Will Magnay Jersey