Marcus Semien wants to stick in The Town for the long haul.
The shortstop informed the Oakland Athletics of his interest in signing a contract extension, and the feeling is mutual, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.
While the parties will reportedly hold discussions, an extension is far from a sure thing. The Athletics continue to operate as one of MLB's lower-budget teams. Their current payroll (slightly above $99 million) ranks 17th in the league and is their largest this century, according to Spotrac and Cot's Contracts.
Semien's agent, Joel Wolfe, told Heyman that talks with the team currently pertain only to the 29-year-old's salary arbitration figure; Semien is projected by MLB Trade Rumors to earn $13.5 million in arbitration next year.
Semien, a Bay Area native who starred in college for Cal and has been Oakland's everyday shortstop since 2015, is scheduled to reach free agency after the 2020 season. If he hits the open market, it's likely that he will command a sizable payday as one of the top shortstops available next winter, perhaps pricing himself out of the Athletics' range.
The Athletics have a history of trading their star players ahead of free agency to stay within their budget constraints. Khris Davis was one of the few A's stars to stick around, forgoing free agency in favor of a three-year extension last spring.
Semien is coming off a breakout season in which he finished third in American League MVP voting and ranked inside the top 10 in multiple offensive categories. He posted a .285/.369/.522 slash line with 33 homers, 43 doubles, 92 RBIs, and 87 walks, along with the third-highest WAR in the AL (7.6).
He was also the only player in baseball to start all 162 of his team's games in 2019.
