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A source with direct contact spilled the beans. Hernandez agreed to the deal but the length of time is still unknown. It was said that it would be for a five or six year deal. It all happened the day before clubs and players exchange salary figures for arbitration. The 23-year-old would have been in line for a large payday after making $3.8 million in his first year of arbitration last year.
Felix Hernandez was first spotted by Luis Fuenmayor, a part-time Mariners scout who saw him pitching at age 14 in a tournament near Maracaibo, Venezuela. After graduating from high school, Hernández finally agreed to his first professional contract. Mariners director of international operations Bob Engle signed Hernández as a nondrafted free agent on July 4, 2002. Hernández received a large signing bonus of $710,000, although he said the Mariners were not the highest bidder.
During the 2009 season, Hernandez set career highs in almost every category including wins, strikeouts, innings pitched, and earned run average. Hernandez finished the season 19-5 with a 2.49 ERA and 217 K’s and in somewhat strong contention for the AL Cy Young Award. Felix ended up finishing second in the AL Cy Young Award behind Zack Greinke.