The Red Sox have the framework of a long-term extension in place with ace Chris Sale, a source confirmed to MLB.com's Ian Browne on Friday. The Boston Globe's Alex Speier first reported the pending deal.
The details of Sale's extension aren't yet known, and the club hasn't confirmed the report.
Sale is entering the final year of his contract and would become a free agent after this season. With a contract extension, he'd join the many superstars who have already signed similar deals this offseason. This week alone, Mike Trout, Paul Goldschmidt and Blake Snell have agreed to long-term deals with their clubs, with Trout's 12-year, $426.5 million extension with the Angels the largest contract in baseball history.
An extension for Sale would also mean that arguably the three biggest headliners of the potential 2019-20 free-agent class are off the market -- Sale, Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado, who signed a seven-year, $260 million deal to stay with the Rockies earlier this offseason. If Boston locks up Sale, the biggest free agents next winter would include Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon and Astros stars Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander.
Sale has dominated for the Red Sox since they traded for him before the 2017 season. He has a 2.56 ERA in 59 starts in his two seasons in Boston, with 545 strikeouts in 372 1/3 innings.
Sale has been an American League All-Star for the last seven seasons and he's finished in the top five of Cy Young Award voting for the last six seasons. He helped lead the Red Sox to a World Series championship last year, including closing out the Fall Classic with a strikeout of the Dodgers' Manny Machado.
Perhaps Cole would like to re sign with Houston than sit out on a ledge waiting for offers to sign a deal. Oh I do not know, ask fellow teammate Dallas Kuechel. Still waiting to sign any deal.
No comments:
Post a Comment