Rockies P Corpas gets four-year deal

Feb 28, 2008 - 4:09 PM TUCSON, Arizona (Ticker) -- Manny Corpas evidently has earned the trust of the Colorado Rockies.

Corpas and the Rockies agreed to terms Thursday on a four-year contract that includes club options for 2012 and 2013.

Financial terms were not disclosed for the deal, the longest that the Rockies have ever given to a reliever. The Denver Post reported on its web site that the contract has a base value of $8 million and could be worth up to $22 million if Colorado exercised both one-year options.

It also would be a landmark deal for baseball, as no closer with less than two years of experience ever has received a contract of this length.

"Any time you do a deal of this magnitude, you know going forward that it will be analyzed and evaluated by experts in our industry," Corpas' agent, Tom O'Connell, told the Post.

Corpas, 25, emerged as one of baseball's top young closers last season, going 4-2 with a 2.08 ERA and 19 saves in 78 games with the National League champion Rockies.

The righthanded Corpas was even more dominant last postseason, recording five saves during the NL Division and Championship series. He appeared in a total of nine games throughout the postseason, going 1-0 with a 0.87 ERA.

A native of Panama, Corpas is 5-4 with a 2.53 ERA in parts of two seasons with the Rockies.