The Philadelphia Phillies and star left hander Cristopher Sanchez have come to terms on a new 6 year contract extension which will keep him tied to the franchise through 2033.
While the team has yet to publicly confirm financial terms of the deal, The Athletic’s Matt Gelb is reporting that the deal guarantees Sanchez $107M and includes more than $13M in performance incentives. The new contract will kick in for the 2027 season and will include a team option for 2033.
In 32 starts last season, Sanchez posted a 13-5 record with a 2.50 ERA, while striking out a career best 212 batters across 202IP. Originally signed by the Tampa Bay Rays as an amateur free agent back in 2013, the lefty was acquired by Philadelphia at the trade deadline in 2019 in exchange for infielder Curtis Mead.
The 29 year old would make his MLB debut in 2021, and has been taking on a larger role in each subsequent season with the Phillies going from 12 to 40, to 99, to 181 innings pitched before setting his career high in 2025. His new deal represents a massive pay raise over the $3.5M he will earn in 2026, and shows the confidence that Philadelphia’s front office has in him to lead a star studded rotation.
Jesus Luzardo, Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, and Andrew Painter are all signed through at least 2027, solidifying one of the league’s best starting pitching groups. Sanchez’s deal brings his compensation in line with the rest of the group, save for rookie Andrew Painter’s salary.
Clearly management felt that this was the right thing to do for morale given the fact that the Dominican hurler was in just the second season of his 4 year, $23.5M extension. Tack on two additional club options to the end of the deal, and Philadelphia could have had Sanchez under team control for the next 5 seasons for somewhere in the neighbourhood of $47M total.
Nevertheless, even with an additional $60M+ in extra compensation coming his way, Sanchez’s numbers from 2025 seem to warrant the windfall of cash. His 26.3% strikeout rate and 5.5% walk rate were paired with a 58.3% ground ball rate, giving him a lower SIERA than every qualified starter in the NL. That figure was also the third-lowest in all of baseball trailing only Tarik Skubal and Garrett Crochet.
With the extension now in the rearview mirror, Sanchez will turn his attention to the team’s Opening Day start vs. the Texas Rangers. The newly extended LHP will take the mound against Nathan Eovaldi for the first Opening Day start of his Major League career in a 4:15pm ET showdown.
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