Infielder David Freese signed a two-year extension with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday. The contract contains a club option for the 2019 season.
Freese's extension is worth at least $11 million in guaranteed money, according to multiple reports. Freese will make $6.25 million in 2017, $4.25 million in 2018, and he will receive a $6 million team option or a $500,000 buyout in 2019, according to reports.
"David has been a consummate professional while producing offensively and playing solid defense at both third and first base to help this team win games," Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said in a statement. "We are very pleased to have the opportunity to extend that impact into future seasons."
Entering Monday's games, Freese has started 58 games at third base and 26 at first base for the Pirates this season.
"I wanted to be with a team that had a realistic shot to win," Freese told reporters, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "Not just for this year, but for years to come. You look at our team from top to bottom, I love every one of those guys. I'm enjoying my time here."
The 33-year-old Freese is hitting .276 with 12 home runs and 49 RBIs in 107 games this season. He signed with the Pirates before the season after playing the past two years for the Los Angeles Angels.
His average is the highest it has been since 2012, when he hit .293 with 20 home runs and 79 RBIs for the St. Louis Cardinals in his only All-Star season.
He was named 2011 World Series MVP when he batted .348 with seven RBIs, three doubles and hit a game-tying home run in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 6. The Cardinals defeated the Texas Rangers in seven games.
Freese is the third player to sign an extension with the Pirates during this season, joining outfielder Gregory Polanco and catcher Francisco Cervelli.
"If I didn't want to be here, I would have just rode into the market and taken my chances," Freese said, according to the Post-Gazette. "But I fell in love with it here, and my priority [isn't money] -- it's to play for a team that can win and also be around a great group of players.
"I've made a lot of money in this game, so where I play, who I'm around and having a chance to win are more important to me."