Athletics set to re-sign 2B Ellis

Oct 20, 2008 - 1:04 AM SAN FRANCISCO (Ticker) -- The Oakland Athletics are set to sign second baseman Mark Ellis to a multi-year contract extension, according to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle on Sunday.

Ellis, who could have declared for free agency after the World Series, has spent his entire career in the Athletics' organization.

"I'm very excited," Ellis told the Chronicle. "Oakland has been a very good place for me and my family, and it's really a big relief to be back there.

"To play in Oakland my whole career would be great. Not a lot of people get to do that in this game."

ESPN.com is reporting that the deal is for two years, with between $10 million and $11 million guaranteed. Incentives and an option for 2011 could push the value closer to $18 million.

Ellis sat out the final month of the 2008 season and under went surgery on his right shoulder on September 21 and posted a disappointing .233 batting average with 12 homers and 41 RBI in 117 games for Oakland, which finished with a 75-86 record.

"I know it wasn't a very good year for anyone in the organization, myself included," Ellis told the newspaper. "But I'm very proud to be a part of this organization and I'm excited about things here. Not to sound like a total cheeseball, but you see what the (Tampa Bay) Rays have done this year and what the (Colorado) Rockies did last year, and it's not out of line to think we can compete and do well soon.

"We have a lot of young pitchers on our staff, but they've got the stuff to be pretty good. Look how quickly things snowballed for Tampa Bay."

One of the best defensive second basemen in the league, Ellis is a career .265 hitter with 70 homers and 308 RBI in six seasons.