The Boston Red Sox have locked up ace starter Chris Sale on a five-year contract. This news is about as official as it gets after reports earlier on Friday indicated the two sides were close on a deal.
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports was the first to report that it’s expected to be a five-year deal.
It was previously noted by ESPN’s Jeff Passan that the deal was expected to be worth $150 million over five seasons.
Now that this is completed, Sale will boast the sixth-highest average annual salary among starting pitchers in Major League Baseball.
A seven-time All-Star, the soon-to-be 30-year-old Sale is coming off a 2018 campaign that saw him pitch to a 12-4 record with a 2.11 ERA and 0.86 WHIP while striking out 237 batters in 158 innings.
Sale is now signed through the 2024 campaign.