The Boston Red Sox locked up recently-acquired left-handed Wade Miley on Thursday to a three-year contract extension worth $19.25 million through 2017 (along with a $12 million club option for 2018 accompanied by a modest $500,000 buyout).
Miley made just $500,000 for the Arizona Diamondbacks last season - completely underpaid for his average of 199 innings pitched per year, composite 3.79 ERA, and 2012 MLB All-Star appearancce.
However, despite handing the 28-year-old a huge raise heading into 2015, Boston.com's Jeff Pini says that the Red Sox have picked up an absolute "steal" in extending Miley:
At 28 years old, Miley has already been named to an All-Star team in 2012 and shown he can be counted on for approximately 200 innings per season. His 33 starts in 2014 were the most of any southpaw in the NL and he was one of just 34 pitchers to top 200 innings. Miley posted a career-high strikeout total in 2014, with his 183 K's tying him for 21st across the majors. His 8-12 record in 2014 may not be especially impressive, but he was backed by a Diamondbacks team that went just 64-98 and scored the sixth-fewest runs in baseball.
Provided Miley can replicate his consistency in the American League and hitter-friendly Fenway, the Red Sox appear to have gotten a steal with this deal. On the open market, a pitcher with Miley’s resume could command over $10 million per season. 27-year-old left-hander Brett Anderson, who has similar 162 game average stats to Miley, managed to get a $10 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers for 2015, despite not being able to stay healthy since his rookie year in 2009. If he can put together a full, healthy season, Anderson should be able to cash in once he hits free agency this winter.
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