There is always risk when a team extends a young player. Can they keep repeating what they did in the past year or two? Will they stay healthy? Lots of risks and things you could worry about. The Phillies though put all of that aside and proactively signed Cy Young runner-up Cristopher Sanchez to a six-year deal That keeps him in Philadelphia through the 2032 season — the 2033 season if the Phillies pick up his club option for that year. The deal guarantees the 29-year-old $107-million and begins with the 2027 season. For this season, Sanchez will get the $3-million he was already set to make after signing an extension in June of 2024.
All of that is to say that the Phillies didn’t have to do any of this. Even though Sanchez is quickly becoming a star pitcher with the ability to become a true ace of a staff, the Phillies could have simply held him to the extension that he signed. The left-hander put together an impressive array of stats last season with a 2.50 ERA, 202 innings pitched, and 212 strikeouts in 32 starts. He posted a 26.3% strikeout rate with a 5.5% walk rate and a 58.3% ground ball rate.
Why?
First, they have the money. Remember, this doesn’t kick in until next season with the raises. The Phillies have $18-million coming off the books from Taijuan Walker, they’ll be out from in under the $19.220-million they are paying Nick Castellanos to play for San Diego, and the odds of re-signing Alec Bohm are low, so the $10-million he is getting also comes off the books. That’s a little over $47-million.
Some of that money — $27-million — was already spent on Jesus Luzardo when they locked him up to avoid letting him become a free agent at the end of the season. They will also have other players getting smaller bumps, but there will also be some other smaller money coming off of the payroll. In other words, the money is there.
Second, and this may be the biggest reason, it positions the Phillies as a team that takes care of their own. One of the people most impressed with the deal was Sanchez’ agent, Gene Mato. Matt Gelb of The Athletic texted with Mato and quoted Mato about how impressed he was with John Middleton and Dave Dombrowski for getting this deal done when they didn’t have to. (that story is behind a pay wall, so we will not give the exact quote so we can honor the value of their subscription. By the way, you really should have a subscription to The Athletic.)
This sends a signal to young players like Justin Crawford, Andrew Painter, and Aidan Miller among others who now see that doing well with the Phillies gets rewarded. That message was also received by other agents capable of steering their clients toward Philadelphia.
Third, the Phillies are getting Sanchez under value even with the extension. Good pitching is expensive and had Sanchez continued to put up the big numbers over the remainder of his original contract his value would have rocketed well past what he is getting paid under this deal.
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It’s about the future
Look at the Phillies rotation and their contracts:
- Zack Wheeler – signed through 2027
- Aaron Nola – signed through 2030
- Jesus Luzardo – signed through 2031
- Andrew Painter – under team control through 2031
- Cristopher Sanchez – signed through 2032
That list doesn’t include any team options that those players have. They also have position players such as Bryce Harper and Trea Turner signed long-term and J.T. Realmuto for three more seasons. A number of the other players are under team control for the foreseeable future as well.
Is there a downside?
I’ll just leave this here…
They can ask, but teams are certainly under no obligation. If you want to squint really hard to find an issue, perhaps other Phillies players will expect a contract bump after big seasons. That could lead to some animosity in the clubhouse, but that is a far-fetched reality. The positives far outweigh any perceived negatives.
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