Who’d have thought it would take making Steve Phillips run around a hotel lobby with a microphone to finally bring this saga to an end? From the San Francisco Chronicle’s John Shea and Henry Schulman.
A source close to contract negotiations confirmed that Barry Bonds and the Giants had reached an agreement on a one-year contract for $16 million, and the deal would be consummated once certain language is finalized and Bonds passes a physical.
Early Thursday, sources on both sides of the negotiations said they believed the deal was on the verge of being done. In recent days, the sides narrowed the gap on how many millions Bonds would make in 2007 — he wanted to be paid in the high teens, and the Giants preferred to pay in the low teens.
There was substantial give-and-take on both ends. Bonds wanted a vested option, hoping he could secure a second year by staying healthy, but the Giants insisted on only a one-year deal. They agreed to a higher base salary if Bonds took his eye off a second year, and it took weeks of hard negotiating to reach the compromise.
The deal, according to the Associated Press, includes performance bonuses that could push it to $20 million.