Although it was rumored to have been done for nearly a week, the Red Sox officially finalized a 4 year, $68 million extension with Josh Beckett this afternoon. The deal was not announced until today due to MLB rules on calculating the luxury tax - if the deal had been signed before the season began, then the average annual value (AAV) of the new contract would have been used for luxury tax purposes, rather than the AAV for the previous contract. Unsurprisingly, all the doom and gloom about Beckett leaving due to the Lackey signing proved unfounded. From everything I've read there weren't any blows to egos about who should be the highest paid pitcher on the team. For what it is worth, the AAV of the extension is slightly more than what Lackey earns, however, over the next five years Lackey will earn slightly more. Unlike the Lackey deal, there is no injury protection.
According to Fangraphs, Beckett has been worth just under $81 million over the last 4 years, with $73 million of that value coming in the last 3. If he can stay healthy and maintain his production the Sox could come out ahead. However, looking five years down the road is a guessing game for any player, let alone a pitcher. It worries me that the Sox are sinking over $30 million a year into 30+ year old pitchers from now until the end of the 2014 season. Last I checked, betting on pitchers in their mid thirties is what undid the Yankees...
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