MLB News: Boston Red Sox Sign Rick Porcello to a Four-Year Extension

By Cheri Cheng - 07 Apr '15 09:40AM

Rick Porcello will be staying in Boston for a while longer.

The Red Sox announced that they have signed their No. 2 starter to a four-year extension that will allow them to keep the right-hander through the 2019 season. According to league sources, reported by the Boston Herald, the contract is worth $82.5 million with no opt-out clause. There is also no protection for the Red Sox if Porcello were to get injured.

The 26-year-old will get a $500,000 signing bonus. His 2015 salary is $12.5 million. As per contract, his 2016 salary will increase to $20 million. He will make $20 million in 2017 as well and $21 million in 2018 and 2019. Porcello was in his final year of arbitration and would have entered free agency at the end of the season.

"Obviously I knew the opportunity in entering free agency," Porcello said. "But when I had first got to camp and saw the way from ownership to Ben to the coaching staff and the players that were there, and how everything was run from top to bottom, and the devotion to win a World Series here, I knew that was something I wanted particularly to be a part of it. It wasn't a very difficult decision for me at that point to stay here."

The Red Sox acquired Porcello four months ago from the Detroit Tigers. In that trade, the Red Sox sent outfielder Yoenis Cespedes and reliever Alex Wilson.

"When we made the trade, we had interest in at least having an (extension) conversation," Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington said. "We also respected that he was new to the Red Sox and wanted to get an opportunity to know us a little more and get into spring training and vice versa. It gave us a chance to get to know him, too. But over the course of spring training, and really in earnest over the last few days of camp, we had a really productive conversation about all sorts of things. It was very clear to us that Rick was someone we wanted to keep here past this season."

In six seasons, Porcello put up a 76-63 record with a 4.30 ERA.

Porcello is scheduled to start the Red Sox's second game of the season against the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday.