Chris Flexen may have been demoted to the bullpen by the Seattle Mariners as a result of their trade deadline acquisition of Luis Castillo, but he's got a huge reason to smile Tuesday night.
Flexen has been sent to the mound by the Mariners for a relief job after getting five innings from George Kirby. The game is ongoing as of this writing, but as Daniel Kramer of MLB.com pointed out, Chris Flexen has already accomplished one of his major goals coming in the 2022 MLB season and that's to pitch for at least 300 innings from 2021 to 2022. Doing so would trigger the conversion of the Mariners' $4 million club option on him in 2023 into a player option for Flexen worth $8 million.
High-fives all around for Chris Flexen, who just triggered an $8 million vesting option for 2023 by completing 300 innings from '21-22. pic.twitter.com/5rAGWV17l0
— Daniel Kramer (@DKramer_) August 31, 2022
Chris Flexen entered Tuesday's game having already covered 299.2 innings since 2021, so it was only a matter of time before he reaches the milestone on his contract. The 27-year-old Flexen could have also unlocked that $8 million treasure chest if he pitches for at least 150.0 innings in the 2022 season, but he won't have to attain that anymore.
There is an $8 million reason for Chris Flexen to pick up that 2023 player option with the Mariners at the end of the season. If he does, however, it's important to note that he will be under team control until the end of the 2027 MLB season when he's already 33 years old. Picking up the option would mean he'll enter three arbitration-eligible years from 2024 to 2026.
Flexen and the Mariners can discuss more of that after the season. But for now, the focus will be on the team's hunt for a secure spot in the 2022 MLB postseason.
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