The right pitcherGarrett Whitlockand the Boston Red Sox agreed to a four-year, $18.75 million deal covering 2023-26, a deal with two club and escalator options that could raise the total to $44.5 million over six seasons.
The deal was announced by baseball director Chaim Bloom before Boston played the finale of a three-game series against the New York Yankees.
Whitlock had agreed to a one-year deal last month paying $720,000 in the major leagues and $285,250 in the minors.
The new deal includes a $1 million signing bonus, $1 million in 2023, $3.25 million in 2024, $5.25 million in 2025 and $7.25 million in 2026. Boston has an $8.25 million club option to 2027 with a $1 million buyout and a $10.5 million option for 2028 with a $500,000 buyout.
The options have up to $4 million each in esclators for tickets and prizes, such as the Cy Young Award and the Mariano Rivera/Trevor Hoffman reliever of the year. Whitlock remains eligible for the new $50 million bonus pool for eligible players prior to arbitration.
The Red Sox stole Whitlock from the Yankees in the winter meeting draft before the 2021 season. A starter in the minors, the 25-year-old Whitlock moved into the bullpen and led all Boston pitchers with a 1.96 ERA in 73 1/3 tickets. He went 8-4 with 81 strikeouts and 17 walks while frequently pitching multiple innings per appearance.
Among 30 rookies who pitched at least 70 innings last year, Whitlock ranked first in ERA, second in WHIP at 1.10 and third in opponent’s OPS at .631.
Whitlock allowed one run in 2 1/3 innings in relief on opening day against New York, striking out four and allowing one home run toDJ LeMahieuin a 6-5 loss.