According to Bill Ladson at MLB.com, fresh off a trip to the All-Star Game, Washington Nationals’ shortstop Christian Guzman has agreed to a 2-year contract extension with the team. Guzman, 30, was scheduled to become a free agent after the 2008 season, but opted to sign with the club through 2010 for $16 million ($8 million for both the ’09 and ‘10 seasons).

The deal was apparently Guzman’s way of giving back to the organization that gave him a 4-year deal after the 2004 season, and one he did not live up to. And it made sense for the Nationals as well, as they don’t have any sort of backup plan at short if Guzman had departed. Guzman had this to say regarding the extension, “I took this deal because I want to stay here. They gave me the deal I wanted. Why should I have to wait? They gave the deal I wanted, so I took it.” Pretty simple.

Filed under: Washington Nationals, _Polls