King Felix won’t be abdicating his Seattle throne any time soon.
Felix Hernandez and the Mariners agreed yesterday to a $175 million, seven-year deal that makes the 26-year-old right-hander the highest-paid pitcher in baseball and likely will keep him in the Pacific Northwest for the foreseeable future.
The deal was first reported by USA Today.
Hernandez, who won the AL Cy Young Award in 2010 and finished 13-9 last season after going 0-4 in his final six starts, was scheduled to become a free agent following the 2014 season.
Now Hernandez won’t become a free agent until after the 2019 season when he’ll be 33 and his arm will have many more innings on it than ahead of it.
According to the Associated Press, Seattle will add $134.5 million of guaranteed money over five years to Hernandez’s current contract, which calls for him to receive $40.5 million over the next two seasons.
It’s all much too rich for the Yankees’ blood as the once big spenders look to pare their payroll to below the $189 million luxury tax threshold before the 2014 season.
Hernandez’s total dollars top CC Sabathia’s original $161 million, seven-year contract with the Yankees and King Felix’s $25 million average would surpass Zack Greinke’s $24.5 million under his new contract with the Dodgers. Hernandez’s new money averages $26.9 million over five years, which ties him for the second-highest average in baseball with Josh Hamilton and Ryan Howard behind Alex Rodriguez ($27.5 million).
With Hernandez tied up long-term, it leaves Detroit’s Justin Verlander and the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw as the most attractive pitchers eligible for free agency after the 2014 season. Tampa Bay’s David Price is eligible after the 2015 season.
dburke@nypost.com