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Red Sox sign starter Rick Porcello to four-year extension

By Kyle Franzoni

Mar 13, 2015; Fort Myers, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Rick Porcello (22) pitches during the first inning against the New York Yankees at JetBlue Park. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 13, 2015; Fort Myers, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Rick Porcello (22) pitches during the first inning against the New York Yankees at JetBlue Park. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Boston Red Sox have come to terms with pitcher Rick Porcello on a four-year contract extension.

Before he has even thrown an official pitch for the Boston Red Sox, the team has decided that it would everything in its power to make sure that Rick Porcello didn’t it the free agent market after the 2015 season. After weeks of discussing an extension, the two parties to an agreement on a 4-year, $82.5 million contract according to Gordon Edes of ESPN and Alex Speier of the Boston Globe.

The Red Sox acquired Porcello in an offseason trade that sent outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, Alex Wilson, and Gabe Speier to the Detroit Tigers on December 11. The team and Porcello previously agreed on a $12.5 million deal for 2015, his final year of salary arbitration before free agency. The new deal will start in 2016  and cover the 27-year-old through his age 32 season in 2019.

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The two sides had been talking about an extension for weeks, and the pitcher had recently reiterated that he would not continue to have contract talks during the season, preferring to avoid the distraction. That was all for naught, as Porcello himself broke the news of the details of his negotiations on The Players Tribune. In that post, the pitcher notes that the commaraderie and attitude of the team and its players were the driving force in making him want to be in Boston long-term.

At $20.625 million per year, the Red Sox are banking heavily that the 27-year-old still has a bunch of potential in his right arm. Given the rising cost of pitching on the open market, it is still a heavy price tag for a pitcher that owns a 4.30 ERA, a 4.03 FIP, and a lackluster 5.49 K/9 ratio over his six-year career with the Detroit Tigers.

That said, there is more than meets the eye with Porcello. In 1073.1 career innings, the right-hander has generated ground-balls at a clip of 52.1% during his career, wit a ratio of 1.56 ground-outs to every air out. Additionally, he’s below the MLB average by allowing just 11.3% HR/FB rate during his career.

While it took a few years for those tendencies to generate anything more than back of the rotation results, Porcello enjoyed his finest season in 2014. In 32 games and a career-high 204.2 innings of work, the right-hander posted a 15-13 record with a 3.43 ERA, a 3.67 FIP, a 5.67 K/9 ratio, and walked batters at a measly 1.80 BB/9 rate.

With numerous young arms on the way, Rick Porcello will join the recently extended Wade Miley as anchors for the Boston rotation for the next three years. The Red Sox also hold team options on right-hander Clay Buchholz for the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

Next: Clay Buchholz, home runs dominate Phillies in Red Sox Opening Day Win

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