Phillies agree to extension with Chase Utley

The Philadelphia Phillies have reached an agreement on two-year, $27 million contract extension with second baseman Chase Utley, according to Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com and Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal reports that the deal also includes three vesting options at $15 million per year that could keep Utley in Philadelphia through the 2018 season. The options vest if Utley reaches 500 plate appearances in a season, and the deal could reach a maximum of five years and $75 million if the veteran stays healthy. The deal also includes a full no-trade clause.

CONTRACT BREAKDOWN (according to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com):

2014: $15 million guaranteed

2015: $10 million guaranteed; $5 million additional if not on DL for >15 days with knee injury, $2 million buyout

2016: $15 million if he makes 500 plate appearances, conditional club option if he does not reach 500 PAs

2017: $15 million if he makes 500 plate appearances, conditional club option if he does not reach 500 PAs

2018: $15 million if he makes 500 plate appearances, conditional club option if he does not reach 500 PAs

Full no-trade clause

MAXIMUM: 5 years, $75 million contract that keeps Utley in Philadelphia through 2018.

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Utley, 34, was slated to become a free agent after the season and was likely to draw interest from many teams as the second best second baseman on the market behind Robinson Cano.

The Royals, Dodgers and Blue Jays had some level of interest in acquiring Utley in advance of the trade deadline, but the Phillies decided to hold onto him and the rest of their veterans instead of becoming deadline sellers.

General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said at the end of July that he wanted to make Utley a "Phillie for life", and Salisbury reported at that time that an extension was being discussed.

After appearing in only 310 games over the last three seasons, Utley has stayed healthy this season and has regained his status as a solid contributor for Philadelphia. In 83 games on the year, Utley has hit .275 with 15 HR and 42 RBI, and has only missed a month due to a strained oblique.

The former first round pick has been with the Phillies since 2003, and has been selected to the National League All-Star team five times. In eleven seasons, Utley has posted a .284 average with 214 HR and 781 RBI, and is currently in the final season of the seven-year, $85 million deal he signed before the 2007 season.

Utley is the second star second baseman to sign a contract extension in the last two months, joining Dustin Pedroia, who signed a seven-year, $100 million deal with the Red Sox in July. While Pedroia got the slightly higher average annual value at $14.2 million per year, Utley will receive $13.5 million each year under his new contract.

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