For the second time in less than two years, the Phillies have announced a contract extension with Cristopher Sanchez. The left-hander’s previous extension in June 2024 gave the team control over Sanchez’s services through the 2030 season, but this new contract now locks Sanchez into the fold through at least the 2032 season for $88MM in new money. Sanchez is represented by Mato Sports Management.
The new deal keeps Sanchez’s $3MM salary in place for the 2026 season and adds a $6MM signing bonus. He’ll also earn the $6MM in 2027 and the $9MM in 2028 that was promised to him under the terms of his old extension. The Phillies previously held a $14MM club option on Sanchez for 2029 and a $15MM club option for 2030, but those option years have now been guaranteed under the new extension at those prices. Sanchez will then earn $27MM in each of the 2031 and 2032 seasons, though $10MM is deferred each year. Philadelphia holds a $32.5MM club option for the 2033 campaign. The value of that option can increase based on Cy Young voting from 2027 to 2032, with $2MM for a win, $1MM for second or third place, $750K for fourth or fifth and $500K for sixth through tenth. A buyout would also attach to the option by the same criteria. That becomes a $10MM club option if Sanchez spends 130 consecutive days on the injured list in 2031 or 2032. Sanchez can also earn up to $13MM extra via incentive bonuses over the course of the contract.
Sanchez’s four-year, $22.5MM extension from June 2024 had already proven to be a huge bargain for the Phillies, as the southpaw continued to produce throughout the 2024 campaign and then took a step forward by finishing second in NL Cy Young Award voting in 2025. It would’ve been easy for the Phillies to sit back and continue benefiting from the surplus value created by the extension, but president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski took the long view towards Sanchez’s future in Philadelphia.
“We kind of assumed years four and five were a no-brainer as far as we were going to pick those up,” Dombrowski told The Athletic’s Matt Gelb and other reporters. “So we couldn’t even imagine a scenario in which we wouldn’t. Now we start talking beyond that. And we thought that somebody of Cristopher’s stature, we’d rather get this done now, while he’s still at the age that makes sense for us.”
It naturally isn’t uncommon for teams to sign their stars to multiple extensions over the course of their careers, as we’ve seen recently with the Guardians and Jose Ramirez back in January or the Diamondbacks with Ketel Marte last year. Those deals weren’t quite the same as the Sanchez extension, however. Both Ramirez and Marte had more than a decade of MLB experience under their belt and had already played out significant portions of their initial team-friendly extensions. In addition, those teams had the motive of restructuring their star’s previous deal to include deferred money.
That’s not to say Sanchez is undeserving of his new payday, of course. After earning a trip to the All-Star Game in 2024, Sanchez cemented his ace status with a superb 2025 season. The lefty spun a 2.50 ERA with a 2.55 FIP in 202 innings of work, striking out 212 batters across 32 starts. He paired his 26.3% strikeout rate with a 5.5% walk rate and a 58.3% ground ball rate, giving him a lower SIERA than every qualified starter in the NL and the third-lowest in baseball behind Tarik Skubal and Garrett Crochet.
By measure of fWAR, Sanchez’s 2025 season was a top-20 campaign by a qualified starter since 2015, tied with Cy Young-winning campaigns by future Hall of Famers like Chris Sale (2024), Max Scherzer (2017), and Justin Verlander (2019). Sanchez ultimately finished second behind Paul Skenes in Cy Young voting last year, but nonetheless established himself as among the upper-echelon of starters in today’s game with that performance.
Clearly, the Phillies are betting on Sanchez to age well like those other elite arms did by signing him to a big-money extension for his mid-thirties. Philadelphia has been unafraid of signing players well past their prime years previously, as shown by the fact that Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola are under contract through their age-37 seasons, while Jesus Luzardo‘s new contract extension includes a club option for his age-34 campaign.
With this new contract, Sanchez joins Luzardo (2032 club option) and Trea Turner (contract guaranteed through 2033) as the only three players under team control beyond the expiration of Bryce Harper‘s contract in 2031. This restructured contract for Sanchez could be an interesting data point for Harper and agent Scott Boras, as the two-time MVP and future Hall of Famer has previously publicly expressed a desire to extend or restructure his contract with Philadelphia to keep him in town beyond the 2031 campaign. Of course, those previous attempts were before this past offseason’s comments from Dave Dombrowski critical of Harper that drew the superstar’s ire, prompting trade speculation that Dombrowski later firmly shut down.
Sanchez’s extension was first reported by FanSided’s Robert Murray. The Athletic’s Matt Gelb reported the total of money involved in the deal, while Francys Romero of Beisbol FR had the details about the performance incentives and Ronald Blum of The Associated Press provided all the financial details.
Inset photo courtesy of Bill Streicher — Imagn Images
Wow great deal for Phillies
Yep HOF’er Dave does it again, congrats Phillies!
A contract is a contract. This sets a bad precedent.
You can be sure acuna’s agent saw this and is planning a nice little talk with the Braves front office
It looks like the original contract stands as the salaries are the same. Phils are tacking on $91 million in new guaranteed money from 2029 through 2032. For CBT purposes, the AAV should be low (between 5 and 6 million) through 2028 and then $23 million starting 2029 as these should be two separate contracts.
Or the AAV will be between $17-18 million from 2027 through 2032 with Sanchez playing on a one year contract this year.
How?
Unless he starts hitting the PEDs.
“Wow great deal for Phillies”
It Depends on how the CBT money is assigned. Does it jump his hit for 2026? Or is pushed down the road, to be dealt with by someone else?
Are you kidding? They basically had him locked in at low money for the next 4 years..besides having a really happy player how in the world is this great for the Phillies? Financially its totally irresponsible
It’s still a good deal for the Phillies. After he makes $3.5 million this year, he’ll be getting just over $20 million a year for the last 5. That’s what barely above average starters are getting now. And he’s one of the top 10 starters in baseball.
Hammerin
Its about the team viewpoint. Phillies already had him locked up for the next four years. In five years, the Phillies may very well be in rebuild mode. This would just be stalling that process longer, while adding nothing for the near term.
True on a cash basis but not actually when factoring in the tax impact. Almost a $10 mil increase to tax payroll in ‘26 meaning an $11 mil tax increase.
How that plays going forward could improve depending on CBA tax changes and the $ coming off the Phils ledger in ‘27 (over $70 mil at present).
But I agree, they could have waited on this for a while.
This contract is very tradable down the road if needed. This extension does not hurt his value. The Phillies also made the player happy which goes a long way in the club house and it is far from a bad deal to a rich ball club. Phillies have expiring deals after this year as well.
Then if the window closes, he will be a very attractive and affordable piece to start a rebuild with.
I agree with what you are saying, Poolhall, but at the same time it sends a great message to other players highlighting the team’s track record of rewarding players for commensurate performance on their existing contract.
“it sends a great message”
Does the team get the credit or DD? And if DD has moved on, isnt it telling players join me in the next city I go to, thats where the money will be.
Not sure I agree. How confident that he will be worth 30M at 35? Already had him locked up through his prime. I’m a fan of the kid, I just don’t know if I agree it was a necessary move
you messed up the math. he will be going into his age 33 season when the first four year deal ends. so he’s getting $30M for age 33-34. this is a combo of the Phillies extending him and rewarding him.
“That makes this contract effectively $60MM in new money for the lefty’s age-34 and -35 seasons, with a club option for his age-36 campaign at a value that has not yet been reported.”
Getting $30M new money at age 35 right?
The first extension covered his 2030 season via team option, he will be 33 that season. The new deal covers seasons starting at age 34.
If he’s healthy and still amazing this reworked deal will work out amazingly.
I honestly kind of love it. He signs an extension coming off a really good season and then goes on and has a monster 8 win season. The Phillies can throw him a little more money over the existing years, tack on a couple extra years, and I imagine both player and team feel happy about that.
He’s the exact same age as Tarik Skubal. B-R thinks Sanchez was 20% more valuable in 2025 (8 win vs 6.5 win). Fun context when Skubal signs his deal. I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets a 4/250-5/300 shorter high AAV deal or similar annual salary as to what the Phillies gave up to secure 3 additional years.
Article implies/misrepresents the salary at $30 M per for the last two years. It’s more like $20M per across the contract. Excess value early is obvious …if he stays healthy. At that, the later years could also be “team-friendly”
This is good work by Phillies management
In 6 years, #5 starters will make $30m/yr
Yes excellent deal for those Philly Cheesesteaks!!!
Good deal.
For Sanchez…
Suck it, Mets
Very smart move. They have him and Lazardo to anchor the staff and if painter comes through it could be an awesome staff.
They ALREADY had him lol
Now they have him longer. And for a very reasonable salary for a great starting pitcher.
Lol they gave him a ton of money they did not have to
If they waited, then the price for those extra 2 years could be much higher.
This is still a steal for the Phillies. Locking down some of those lefties!
5/$47M remaining was a steal. Turning that into 7/$107M makes no sense to me.
It makes perfect sense, he’s the fourth-best pitcher in the MLB.
Fifth best*, which means if you can have him for the cheap, you should keep him for the cheap.
Yeah, so when you have the 4th best pitcher on a 5/$47M deal supplement that by locking down Painter or Crawford instead of paying him in his mid-30s when there is a likely chance he’s declined.
I’m not sure he’s even the fourth best lefty, but he’s good and it’s a great deal.
Please tell me the other two LHs other than Skubal who are better. Plus, I like Sanchez’ delivery even more than Skubal’s. Meaning, I think he has a better chance of aging well. The guy is incredibly smooth.
Crochet, snell, valdez freid
Snell?? Valdez?? That’s hilarious
Ok so you agree that he’s maybe the fourth best lefty, not pitcher.
Wrong by a mile. Even injured wheeler blows his doors off not counting Skubal, Degrom, Snell, Yamato, Valdez shall we go on?
Given what Toronto gave Dylan Cease and what Tarik Skubal is expected to get next winter 7/$107 is the bargain of a lifetime
@RSox that’s not the point. What they basically did is extend him for 2 years at $60M in his mid 30’s. That is not the bargain of a lifetime, especially with the injury concerns for every starting pitcher. The point is they could have waited 2-3 years to make sure he is still healthy and performing to add additional $30M+ years to his contract.
The bargain isn’t the point. They had him on an even better bargain and weren’t paying for his decline and they opted to give him $30M a year for seasons out of his prime when he’ll likely not be worth that. That’s not how you build a sustainable competitor.
Yeah, wait and then have to add more money as salaries continue to go up.
he’ll be getting $30M a year for ages 32-33. that is hardly past prime. plus, he has an incredibly smooth delivery and puts very little stress on his arm. it’s a bet by both parties because if they didn’t extend him he may be making $50M for those years instead of $30M.
@ChipperChop……. 30M might seem crazy, but if he stays healthy, it’s a bargain, just remember Verlander and Scherzer got 40M+ after age 40. I’m not saying he’s in that category, but also he’s not collecting that salary for 5 more years. Just saying
If he played 2026-2027 and posted two more years statistically similar to 2025, then he’s not signing for an extra 2 yrs/$60MM. It’s actually pretty easy to understand.
Nolas dead money is still the books which makes this move look much more sensible.
So have him feel drastically underpaid and underappreciated bc he accepted a bad deal for him, and it will impact his play. Use your brain.
Terrible deal
When top pitchers are getting a mil+ per start, this is a great team deal.
Are you considering they already had him locked in for 4 years and alot less money?
No I wasn’t, but it still isn’t as bad of an overpay as KC did with Salvy after having him locked up extra cheap for multiple seasons just to add a few more.
It’s not even an overpay.
Thats not the point hank ..this is like sitting at a table in a restaurant looking at the menu of set prices and deciding to tell your server hmm yea that steak looks good I see you have it here for 40 bucks..but you know what..im gonna give you 60 instead.
That’s a lot of potatoes!
Smartest thing DD has done this spring
The only decision they could have made that was wiser would be to finally bring back that delectable sriracha breakfast slop sandwich.
Well he didn’t sign Bregman, that was pretty smart too.
Sanchez and Luzardo are the core of the future rotation. Hopefully Painter pans out as well. Nicely done.
While many rightfully criticize this aging core, it’s nice to see the Phillies setting up for the future. This is the huge difference between now and 2012.
Amaro Jr. locked up a core of aging hitters and let all the pitching walk, DD is doing the opposite. Easier to find bats than quality pitching. I agree should turn out better
Dombrowski hasn’t found a right handed power bat since hoskins left .
Castellanos was supposed to be that guy and it didn’t work out. Maybe Garcia rebounds in Philly
I wouldn’t count on the Garcia rebound. But the defense alone makes him an improvement over Casty.
Wonder if the Phillies would trade him back to the Rays for Curtis Mead?
Curtis Mead isn’t even on the Rays
Three-way trade with the White Sox?
Exactly, it was a joke there Chief.
As was mine, Sport/Skip/Boss/Buster (please select your preference).
They already had him locked down. Seems unnecessary.
5 years $47m sounds better than 6 years $107m, but maybe that’s just me.
Guaranteeing him $60M now for two seasons in his mid-30s a half-decade from now is an odd decision. Maybe he continues to be great and they would have needed to pay more in five years to retain him, but pitchers break so often, I’m not sure I understand this decision.
Certainly happy for Sanchez getting paid closer to his actual value, just surprised.
Nice to see a team recognize he was ripped off by first extension and took care of him. Unlike the Braves.
Classy move by the Phillies. He deserves it.
It is refreshing to see the Phillies leadership recognize Sanchez for truly out playing his deal and do the right thing. Comparing Harpers deal and Sanchez is ridiculous. Harper gets paid like a superstar and doesnt need any additional appreciation. Whereas Sanchez was playing like a superstar but getting paid less than many middle relievers.
While this is a great deal for both sides its actually a result of Dave Dombroskis ADHD . It waa driving him nuts having money left over when he brought up two kids with minimal salary.
Dave’s last words …I GOTTA SPEND IT.
Good in the Phillies to keep him around longer and he deserves that extra money. Luzardo, Nola and now Sanchez are locked up for a while now.
Sanchez is represented by NotScottBoras.
And he pitches for NottheYankees.
So this is wonderful news!!!!!
Sanchez is a great SP and deserving of every penny he gets. And DD is a smart, successful GM/PoBO who has earned the benefit of the doubt. That said, Sanchez is 29 yo and locked up for five years on a club friendly contract. Statistically speaking, the Phillies already get Sanchez’s best years for peanuts and can let him walk at age 34 when SP are prone to injury and decline.
His old contracts expires when he is 33, not 35. DD obviously believes Sanchez’ stuff will play up with velo decline.
I originally put 34, tried to correct it to 33, but somehow entered 35. If I’d kept “correcting”, I would have pegged Sanchez at 40 when the contract and team options expired.
Three years left on his current contract. Why would they do this?
Another mystery
Because the prices for pitching are going up sky high.
Watch Skubal get 400M-500M and then this and the other Phillies
starters deals will look like bargains,
I love Sánchez, but this is unnecessary. DD should have just let the current deal run. Yet another contract ensuring that the Phils will have a dugout full of wheelchairs and walkers in a few years. DD insists on paying retail even when he has locked up a bargain. Middleton’s money not his I guess. Only a year or two more (perhaps) is the window open before the return to the Phils’ long history of mediocre baseball. A weak farm and deals like this don’t help.
When Skubal lands 400-500M in the offseason,
then these Phillies rotation lock up deals will look like bargains,
Whoever get Skubal it just can’t be the Dodgers.
It’s great for people to bemoan Artificial Intelligence and the overreliance on sports analytics and then proclaim that every 35 year old is over the hill. I guess Asinine Igorance is still alive and flourishing.
One only has to watch the news to conclude that Asinine Ignorance is the ruler of choice for a very vocal 35% of the electorate.
The 90 percent who believe everything they hear on the nightly news are the ignorant ones.
There is no more runway left to try to reason with those that continue to defy all logic and reason, along with all ethical and moral constraints and understanding. Go peddle your nonsense elsewhere…
You’re right. There’s no war going on. Burp.
Well said
@metsies – Who says that politics can’t bring together two completely divergent worldviews…
…says the Phillies fan to the Mets fan. ; )
Frickity frack, all I said was that all 35 year olds aren’t washed up. Burp.
Especially when just last season 35 year old Zack Wheeler FOR the Phillies looked like a Cy Young winner.l and put up 5.0 WAR in only 24 starts.
Lol isn’t Dombrowski the one who signed Cabrera to a massive extension while he already had a ton of time on his existing deal? What a weird guy.
I think that was more Mike Ilitch telling DD to lock up Miggy for the rest of his career. And he certainly did!
Mike Illitch (former Tigers Owner deceased)
Illitch had a personal relationship with his players and treated them like family.
Mike Illitch would knowingly overpay his talent to play/stay in Detroit to keep his yearly pennant contending team in the hunt every year.
Detroit was not a preferred destination for star free agents
until Mike Illitch upped the antee and even overpaid to sign and keep his star players.
The Phillies are building a reputation that attracts star free agents and encourages players to resign there instead of LA, NY etc..
I see both sides of the argument – even with the extension, he is very cheap at his current level of production for the next 7 years. On the flip side, they had 5 years locked up at a ridiculously inexpensive price that made him one of the most valuable contracts in the game, so why add to the risk with 5 years left? Both are fair points.
What I think that they are doing is also sending a message – Sanchez was circumstantially very underpaid as he was a late bloomer, and that is the way that the system works. The Phils and DD let Sanchez and the team, as well as players and agents around the league know that they are not tone-deaf and that they take care of their own. Down the road, that might help to seal a deal with a key free agent or two.
Well said.
Has Sanchez had elbow ligament surgery yet?
I look at this the same way the Guards did with JRam’s recent extebsuon.
*extension.
That is what Mike Illitch and Dave Dombrowski did in Detroit.
Prior to their tenure in Detroit, free agents did not see the Tigers as a “preferred destination”.
By “taking care of and extending their own established stars” and paying generously for free agent signings, the Tigers became a very competitive
destination for star free agents signing and for extending in house star talent
thanks to Mike Ilitch and Dave Dombrowski.
This seems kind of dumb to me.
They already had him locked up through 2030 (his age 33 season and his second would be FA year) at an absurdly favorable rate and the last 2 years were club options, so they had an out if his arm implodes or he just loses effectiveness as he gets older.
Thats a really strange and unnecessary risk to take by the Phillies. It makes no sense from a front office perspective
They bought a TOR/Ace arm for less than half the current (future?) rate. THIS makes more sense than most of DD’s decisions
No actually they already bought the TOR arm they just decided they didn’t pay enough for it and went back to the store to give the clerk an additional 60 mil
It’s a bold move because the Phils assume revenues will continue rising forever. If we have some sort of financial crisis over the next decade (never happened, right?), it could wind up as a silly gamble.
How on earth could mighty America ever find itself in a financial crisis?? Price of oil only at $100 so far.
Most likely will go up to 200 if not more. Thank God, I work from home.
MLB and its owners survived 2008 and Covid. I think they’re going to be OK as well when the AI race market correction occurs.
Mind boggling with all the other massive length contracts they have.
Probably a year too early, but it’s nice to see Dombrowski finally do something. This relatively young rotation is going to be together for a while. And that doesn’t even include the potential of Andrew painter. Nice job.
Crawford and Painter making the team is a good sign that the Phillies plan to remain in pennant contention for the forseeable future along with locking up one of the best starting pitching rotations in the NL.
A couple of balls bounce the right way and this Phillies team is a very strong World Series contender.
Aiden Miller is next up when he is healthy.
There are three parts to this:
1. The new money: $47M in new guaranteed money plus $13.5m in incentives and a TBD option. If he gets two more guaranteed year, it’s probably not an obscene number once somebody pays Skenes.
2. The anti-deferral: We are so used to teams deferring money that moving money earlier seems bizarre. But since they don’t know for sure what the CBT/tax situation will be after the new CBA, they may just be trying to reduce their long term tax burden.
3. The inflationary pressure on other owners. None of us know what’s going on behind the scenes in the CBA negotiation preparations. But Middleton is firmly a big market guy, and this is going to put even more pressure on teams.
“$16MM in 2023”
What’s the opposite of deferring money?
A flux capacitor wirh a duffel bag full of retroactive pay. I’m assuming Sanchez can afford a Delorean.
This is a smart move by the Phillies. They feel the market for starting pitchers will keep rising, especially after Skubal and Skenes sign. $30 million a year will look cheap for a top 10 pitcher in five years. Plus they won’t have to bid against the Dodgers or Mets. It probably also signals Middleton and Dombrowski don’t view a hard salary cap as a likely outcome after the 2027 work stoppage.
42 year old Justin Verlander got like $18MM or something crazy like that
Interesting thought about what the extension might say about the club’s perception of the unlikelihood of a hard salary cap post CBA. I actually wondered if it might point in the other direction, ie because there may be a cap it’s better to act now to lock in the (relatively) affordable salary for a starting pitcher in advance, so you don’t have to use up too much of your capped budget to get the last couple of years. I suppose it depends on a bunch of things including how hard and how constraining any cap might be.
That said, I tend to share the prevalent opinion that there’ll be no hard cap, in which case it’s moot except for speculating on motives for the extension.
I light of the terms? No brainer. Phillies lost zero for flexibility in the next 4 years and capped their upside exposure to crazy salary increases. That being said? When mlb shuts down fir the strike those cheap years will be lost.
Seems okay. Sanchez seems to have an easy throwing motion. 5 years in advance is always a risk, but $30M will seem cheap by then.
He certainly deserves it. I think this year’s Phillies might be a light-hitting group, but their pitching will keep them in the race.
Great move for the Phillies. Dave understands that the starting pitchers are still the most important players in baseball.
Good for him a smart for the Phillies to lock him up.
But I’m curious why teams are so committed to paying less now and more later. Really question and totally understand this may be a dumb question. I can understand a little when lux tax is a part of the equation, as the thought process is in theory you won’t be over in over a certain amount of time. But 30 mil a year at the end of this contract isn’t gonna age well. I’ve never fully why you don’t front load the contract or at least spread it out equally. The Braves did a lot of these increase in cost contracts over time with the guys they locked up and it’s hurting us from spending more now. Are the players worth it, for the most part, but if we just paid them more sooner we wouldn’t be fighting payroll as much. I guess a little less flexibility now so you have flexibility later makes sense to me than flexibility now, minimal flexibility later
Sanchez was essentially under contract for the next 5 years. Think about when the team options were available after 2028 and imagine the haul the Phillies could’ve gotten for Sanchez at the trade deadline of that year. Now that $91MM is tacked on, his market narrows. If the Phillies aren’t as competitive in a few years as they are today, they’ll wish the original deal was still in place.
The Phils have made it clear that they don’t buy into the competitive window argument being a rule of nature. Same as the Dodgers. Plan for success, and build the team for today, as well as looking forward. Sure, they will have a season here and there where they strategically sell at the deadline, but the goal is to build from within to keep it running.
I get your point but it seems like the front office was bidding against themselves. At least the team can spin it as proof that if a player outperforms his contract, they’ll reward them.
The easiest way to look at this – the geniuses on here make it as if DD didn’t think about what he was doing under the circumstances of the amount of control that they already had over much of the prime years of Sanchez. As if he just decided that the money was burning a hole in his pocket, or he had a whim, or he forgot to add the numbers up.
Reality – they understand every aspect of the process in far greater detail than anyone on here. So one then needs to ask – given that, why would they do this? What would influence them to take on the additional risk?
Then one can look for other reasons – how other players and agents will see this extension; the goodwill that they gain internally and externally; the fact that they now know Sanchez enough to believe that he will be pitching at a high level into his mid-30’s and that he has the drive and coachability and makeup that they want him as a centerpiece of this team as Wheeler retires and Nola ages out, and so on.
Every decision of this magnitude takes a great deal of thought in an organization, and they don’t simply wake up and hand a guy an additional $60M guaranteed five years down the road for the giggles and lollipops.
seems like he goes from a freddy peralta like, trade at any time for huge surplus value that his pitching + contract brings….to this is kinda your pitcher now, you might extract surplus value from him if he’s healthy, you might have to take your lumps if he’s hurt, you’re probably never trading him for much more than you could have signed him as a FA for, which is little more than this new contract gives him. makes zero sense to me from a team standpoint. but i’m not an NLE fan in anyway.
Dum bro made a good decision not financially but its not my money.
love the rotation going fwd got 5 or 6 damn good SPs this year and 4 for many years to come. Why do they constantly reward our douchey manager is another one ill save for another day. Its almost time…….
I just saw him today. He’s like 7 foot two now! they really did extend him.!!!