McAdam: Three takeaways from Chris Sale's looming contract extension

Chris Sale and the Red Sox are in an agreement on a five-year contract extension that will pay Sale $145 million from 2020 through 2024, according to several reports. Sale needs only to pass a physical to make the deal

Here are three thoughts on the deal:

1. Sale took less to remain with the Red Sox.

While the deal is a big one, it's likely less than what Sale could have received on the open market.

Consider that three current major league starters -- Zack Greinke ($34.4 million average annual value); Clayton Kershaw ($31 million AAV); and Sale's own teammate, David Price ($31 million AAV)-- are currently in the middle of deals which pay more and that Sale has been the best, most consistent performer of the group, and realize that Sale almost certainly left some money on the table.

The free agent market was a muddled one over the last two offseasons and there were no guarantees, of course. But in all likelihood, someone would have paid Sale more than the Red Sox will.



This suggests a few things. First, Sale is comfortable with the Sox. He enjoys the fact that, living in nearby Naples, he can spend an additional six weeks at home. Secondly, Sale is on record in praising the Red Sox medical and training staff, and that counts for a lot. The team's shoulder and throwing program is an important part of his winter regimen, and again, location factors in: he can do his workouts from November through January right up the road.

The Sox ability to contend for the near future also factors into his decision-making. For his first seven seasons, Sale failed to make the postseason; meanwhile, in two years with the Red Sox, the club has finished first both times and last year, won a franchise-record 108 games and the World Series. The chance to be competitive for the remainder of his career ranked high on Sale's list.

There's also an undeniable sense of camaraderie that exists among the Red Sox starting rotation. They enjoy each other's company and push one another in a competitive sense. They gather together to watch bullpens and batting practice sessions -- to offer support and to learn from one another.

2. The Red Sox appear to have moved past their phobia about pitchers in their 30s.

It wasn't too long ago the team made a major misstep in lowballing pending free agent Jon Lester, citing the concerns it had about committing a nine-figure extension to a pitcher who had just turned 30, as Sale will do next week.

But it's dangerous to get locked into preconceived notions and apply them across the board without regard to a player's history in trying to project his future. Lester, who had also proven capable of pitching in Boston -- something not everyone warms to -- has made 32 starts in each of his first four seasons with the Cubs while twice topping the 200-inning milestone and twice contributing in the neighborhood of 181 innings.

Meanwhile, the Sox suffered through a nightmarish season following Lester's departure, with no replacement capable of assuming the mantle of staff leader and the rotation left rudderless. To compensate, the Sox were forced into making David Price the highest-paid pitcher in the game.

Sale, too, has proven himself to be durable. Yes, he had a scare with mild inflammation last summer which limited him to just 17 innings after July 27. But there's nothing to suggest that that setback will be any way career-threatening going forward.

Sale has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to take the ball every five days. In five of the previous six seasons before last, he pitched at least 191 innings and made at least 30 starts.

That counts for something, especially when you're investing tens of millions of dollars. And if the most serious physical issue over a nine-year career is mild shoulder inflammation that limited him for two months when his team held a comfortable division lead, that suggests dependability and stability.

3. The Red Sox' rotation is set for years to come.

With Sale in the fold, the Red Sox now control four starters -- Sale, Price, Eduardo Rodriguez and Nathan Eovaldi -- for the next three years, at minimum, with all but Rodriguez under control through at least 2022.

Sale is theirs for five more seasons; Price and Eovaldi are signed for four more; and Rodriguez won't hit free agency until after the 2021 season.

Even if the team chooses not to re-sign Rick Porcello, that's four established starters locked in for at least the three next three seasons. That sort of continuity is rare among teams. This past winter, the Houston Astros -- arguably the best team in the game for the last two seasons -- lost 40 percent of their rotation (Charlie Morton and Dallas Keuchel) to free agency and are at risk to do the same again next winter with Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole inching closer to the market.

Other teams with top rotations -- Cleveland, for one -- will soon face free-agent defections. In fact, among top teams in the game, only the Washington Nationals (Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and newly added Patrick Corbin) can project that same continuity for the next few seasons.

That's especially important for the Red Sox, given the difficulty they've had in developing homegrown starting pitchers. But if Porcello isn't retained, the Sox have 2019 to groom an in-house replacement, be it Darwinzon Hernandez or someone else.

If Hernandez isn't ready after this season, the Sox can buy additional time for him or Jay Groome by signing a fifth starter to a short-term deal for 2020.