Report: Billingsley, Dodgers agree to contract extension (Updated)

Joe McDonnell of Fox Sports West and KNX 1070 Los Angeles tweeted the Dodgers and Chad Billingsley have agreed to a 3-year, $30-plus million extension. Roberto Baly of Vin Scully is my Homeboy broke the news to those who don't follow McDonnell, on his website.

If true, this is great news.

Billingsley agreed to a 1-year, $6.275 million contract, avoiding arbitration on Jan. 18. Details are not immediately available, but Mike Petriello of Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness speculates that the deal is for 2011-13 and buys out one year of free agency. It'd be quite the deal if the Dodgers somehow got Billingsley to agree to a 3-year extension on top of the 1-year deal he signed in January, but that's wishful thinking.

If it is for the '11-'13 seasons, it basically boils down to a 2-year, $23.725 million extension (assuming $30 million total... will update when information becomes available).

Update (4:10 p.m.): Tony Jackson of ESPN LA says the deal, as tweeted by Molly Knight of ESPN, said the deal would be for three years and would buy out Billingsley's last arbitration year and his first two years of free agency (2012-14). The deal would also be "more than" $30 million and could have an option for the 2015 season. This deal keeps getting better and better for the Dodgers.

I have been wondering whether or not Billingsley was going to sign a long-term deal with the Dodgers. He could have been good trade bait come 2012, if the Dodgers had a poor 2011. Now that he might be locked up, he isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Again, this is unconfirmed, but if it turns out to be true, it's only a good thing for the Dodgers. A 1-2 of Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billingsley is what Dodger fans have to look forward to this season and many seasons to come.

Update (4:14 p.m.): My prediction for the extension is three years, $35 million with a $13.5 million option for 2015.

Update (3/29/11 at 2:42 p.m.): Nailed the $35 million; was off by $500,000 on the option.

Speaking of Kershaw, it's about time the Dodgers got him locked up. It probably won't happen midseason, but it should be near the top of the Dodgers' list of priorities come next winter.