The Red Sox have exercised their $15 million option for next season on ace left-hander Chris Sale.
Sale will earn $15 million in the final season of a five-year contract he signed with the Chicago White Sox before the 2013 season that guaranteed $32.5 million, including a 2017 option buyout. He had a $12.5 million salary this season in the first of two option years and will wind up earning $59 million over seven seasons plus award bonuses.
Sale can become a free agent after the 2019 World Series.
The 2017 AL Cy Young Award runner-up and a seven-time All-Star, Sale struck out the side in the ninth inning of World Series Game 5 against the Los Angeles Dodgers to close out Boston’s fourth championship in 15 seasons. Boston announced its decision Tuesday, two days after the finale.
The 29-year-old earned his first playoff victory in Game 1 of the AL Division Series against the New York Yankees. Sale went 12-4 with a 2.11 ERA and 237 strikeouts in 27 regular-season starts in his second season in Boston.
He was among the favorites to win the Cy Young this season before shoulder issues during the season’s second half.
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