Report: Anibal Sanchez Gets 5-Years, $80 Million From Tigers
BOSTON (CBS) - The two-year, $26.5 million deal the Red Sox gave to Ryan Dempster on Thursday doesn't look so bad when compared to what Anibal Sanchez got on Friday.
Sanchez has reportedly signed a five-year, $80-million to remain with the Detroit Tigers.
The 28-year-old went 9-13 with a 3.86 ERA between the Marlins and Tigers in 2012, going 4-6 for Detroit in the regular season and 1-2 with a 1.77 ERA over three postseason starts.
For his six-year career, Sanchez is 48-51 with a 3.75 ERA. The former Red Sox prospect was sent to Florida as part of the Josh Beckett-Hanley Ramirez swap back in 2005.
The Red Sox were interested in Sanchez' services, and met with the pitcher this off-season, but had no desire to go as high as $80 million according to CBS Sports' Jon Heyman.
That's the kind of restraint the Red Sox have showed this off-season, making it a point not to give out deals longer than three-years and resisted the temptation to get into a big-money bidding wars for middle-of-the-pack free agents.
Sanchez and the Chicago Cubs -- run by former Red Sox GM Theo Epstein -- reportedly had agreed on a five-year, $75-million deal on Thursday, but that deal fell through and he returned to Detroit.
