Phillies Rumors: John Kruk’s contract may be five years long

By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor

Philadelphia Phillies fans excited to hear Wall of Famer John Kruk as part of the team's television announcing team got a few nuggets of positive information Monday.

Todd Zolecki of MLB.com says that an announcement from Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia saying that they have formally hired Kruk is imminent. Zolecki also noted that Kruk seems extremely committed to his new position, both in terms of the amount of games he will work and the length of his deal:

Kruk and Davis are expected to have a similar schedule as Davis and former analyst Matt Stairs, who will be the Phillies' hitting coach. Davis and Stairs essentially split the 162-game schedule.

Kruk is expected to be with CSN for the foreseeable future, too. Sources said he has agreed to a multiyear deal, perhaps as long as five years.

Kruk, who spent over a decade at ESPN, reportedly agreed to a role with CSN in December, nearly a month after his predecessor Matt Stairs was named the Phillies new hitting coach. At that time it was unclear how many games he would call, as there seemed to be a possibility he would take a limited role with CSN and attempt to be an analyst for another network. 

It also comes as somewhat of a surprise that he's agreed to a long-term deal, but he really has all the leverage in the situation. Color commentators don't normally get contracts that long, but Kruk is a big enough name to warrant a contract of that length and probably a fairly high dollar figure. So he has stability and can still probably leave the contract fairly easily if he decides to accept another position. 

CSN is likely hoping Kruk will bring stability to the television broadcast booth. Since parting ways with Chris Wheeler and Gary "Sarge" Matthews after the 2013 season, play-by-play announcer Tom McCarthy has worked with Stairs, Jamie Moyer and Ben Davis. Davis seems likely to have a long-term role on the telecasts, with the club likely hoping that Kruk will as well.