The World Series baseball champions, the San Francisco Giants, have re-signed catcher Buster Posey to a nine-year contract reportedly worth near $200 million.
The deal is the longest ever for a catcher and the richest in Giants' history.
Posey, the reigning National League Most Valuable Player, returned from a devastating ankle injury to help the Giants win the World Series last season with a four-game sweep of Detroit.
Meanwhile the Detroit Tigers made Justin Verlander the highest paid pitcher in Major League Baseball, signing their ace right-hander to a record smashing five-year contract extension reportedly worth almost $240 million, which would make Verlander the MLB's first $US200 million pitcher.
