The deal will pay the 26-year-old right-hander - who will make his Red Sox debut tomorrow night in Philadelphia - $20 million in 2016 and 2017 and $21 million in 2018 and 2019.
Porcello, The Player's Tribune:
In a short time, I have become very comfortable with the organization and my teammates. At our winter fan event in January, I got to spend time with the veteran guys on the team like Mike Napoli, David Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia. The main topic of conversation was winning a World Series in 2015. What struck me was that it wasn't discussed like it was a goal, but rather an expectation. I continued to see this overwhelming commitment from my teammates, my manager, my coaches, the front office and ownership. I knew immediately I wanted to work in a place with that mentality.
This is genuinely surprising. I think it was just earlier today they were saying on the radio that Porcello wasn't interested in signing any such contracts during the season. (Although maybe first day of the season doesn't count as "during?")
ReplyDeleteI am sure the timing of this was carefully considered to show that they have confidence in him before he even makes a start.
ReplyDeleteAs for the dollars...it's a little hard to get used to, but $20m is no longer a top-tier salary. I would think $17-18m might have been enough, but apparently not.