Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett delivers against the
Yankees last night, receives contract extension
this afternoon (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
Pitcher Josh Beckett has just signed a four-year contract extension with the Boston Red Sox, carrying him through the 2014 season. Worth $68 million, the deal gives the club unique long-term stability at the top of the rotation, which already features front-men John Lackey (also signed through 2014) and Jon Lester (2013).
Behind this group, in order of contract, are Daisuke Matsuzaka (2012) and Tim Wakefield (2011), both of whom are proven big-league performers, and Clay Buchholz, who has but one year of major league service time and is under Sox control until 2014. Add to this list such up-and-comers as Michael Bowden and Casey Kelly and it is clear that the team is in the remarkable and enviable position of having enough quality pitchers to hold or to trade as circumstances dictate – and to do so without significantly damaging its competitive prospects.
Injuries, of course, have a way of thinning a mound corps without warning, so there is no guarantee that the luxury the Red Sox currently enjoy will last for long. But for now, their rivals in the AL East and beyond must be a little nervous knowing that Fenway will likely host a long run of the new reality hit “Aces on Parade.”
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