MLB Insider: Inside the Phillies contract extension with Cristopher Sanchez

The Philadelphia Phillies signing left-handed pitcher Cristopher Sanchez to a four-year, $22.5 million contract extension caught some baseball people by surprise.

President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski typically does not explore extensions in-season and prefers to negotiate in the offseason when potential conversations could not prove to be a distraction to the player.

How Cristopher Sanchez, Phillies agreed to long-term contract

But when Sanchez’s agent, Gene Mato, called Dombrowski about an extension, Dombrowski listened. The two sides worked quickly to get a deal done, with the Phillies extending a left-handed arm that was thrust into the rotation last season with no other alternatives. In turn, Sanchez posted a 3.44 ERA and a 96//16 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 18 starts last season.

Sanchez has been even better in 2024, posting a 2.67 ERA and a 70/24 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 84.1 innings. The Phillies believe there is additional untapped potential for the 27-year-old and are confident he can be a long-term solution in the rotation. There is risk in such a contract, of course, where he could slip to his 2021-2022 production where his ERA hovered around 5-5.60. He could suffer an injury. He could also continue to ascend and have gotten more money by going year-to-year in arbitration.

But the guaranteed money for a player who signed for $65,000 as a teenager proved too good to pass up. The deal includes two club options for $14 million in 2029 and $15 million in 2030, as Matt Gelb of The Athletic first reported, so Sanchez could spend at least the next six seasons in Philadelphia.

It continues a trend of Dombrowski being active in extending key figures of the rotation, with the mega three-year, $126 million extension for Zack Wheeler being the other recent example. Dombrowski also signed Aaron Nola to a long-term deal in the offseason. He signed Taijuan Walker to a four-year, $72 million contract in 2022 and could pursue an extension for emerging star Ranger Suarez in the offseason.

Extending Sanchez wasn’t something firmly on the Phillies’ radar. But when Mato called, the opportunity made too much sense to ignore, and should be the beginning of an active stretch for Philadelphia as outfield and bullpen reinforcements should be the topic of trade conversations in July.