On Thursday the Boston Red Sox signed starting pitcher Wade Miley to a three-year, $19.25 million deal that covers the rest of the left-hander's arbitration years. Will Rick Porcello be the next starter to sign an extension?
Miley was acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks earlier this offseason and hit his first year of arbitration after making $523,500 in 2014. The two sides hadn't yet agreed to a deal to avoid arbitration and Miley was the final player Boston had to settle with before heading into spring training. Although he was already under club control through the 2017 season, both sides will have less to worry about in each of those offseasons.
But perhaps Porcello is a bigger concern. While the Red Sox already had three guaranteed seasons of Miley, they do not with Porcello. The right-hander is only under contract for the 2015 season and will earn $12.5 million after he was acquired from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for outfielder Yoenis Cespedes. The Red Sox face some continuity issues regarding their starting rotation after 2015.
In addition to Porcello, both Justin Masterson (one-year, $9.5 million) and Clay Buchholz ($12 million salary for 2015 and team options for 2016 and 2017) can hit free agency after the season. Miley and Joe Kelly are the only two in their current starting five that will definitely remain with the team because there is no guarantee general manager Ben Cherington opts to pick up Buchholz's $13 million option for 2016 if the right-hander has another campaign like he did in 2014 (8-11 with a 5.34 ERA and 1.39 WHIP).
So as they work on acquiring an ace, whether that be a trade with the Phillies for Cole Hamels this season or another free-agent signing next offseason, the Red Sox may want to address their potential long-term situation Porcello. However, that might be a problem right now because the 26-year-old may want to explore free agency.
"I think it's premature for that," Porcello said when asked about his future in Boston, via Ian Browne of MLB.com. "I'm just trying to settle in and fit in with everybody and get to know the guys and get to know the staff. The most important thing on my mind is getting settled in Spring Training."
Jason Mastrodonato of MassLive.com writes, "The Red Sox typically don't sign players to contract extensions until they get to know them first, and they've said they'd like to see a lot more of Porcello before they have that conversation."
Sure, Porcello will be pitching in a completely different ballpark in Fenway, but what more do they need to see? He has shown he's capable of being a solid starting pitcher and they're going to need more of those if they want to build a rotation around this ace they're hoping to acquire within the next year. Unless they're concerned with his attitude or his presence in the clubhouse, there's not much to ponder.
The former first round pick owns a 76-63 record with a 4.30 ERA and 1.23 WHIP in 184 games (180 starts) in six seasons with the Tigers. Porcello pitched only 28 games in the minors before Detroit deemed him ready for the big leagues.
