Red Sox Rumors: Ranger Suárez Contract Details Revealed
The Boston Red Sox officially announced the addition of pitcher Ranger Suárez on Wednesday — and included some previously unknown details to his contract.
Suárez, 30, received a five-year deal that includes a mutual option for the sixth year, though the payment structure isn’t exactly straightforward — with the majority of funds being pushed out into later years, according to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier.
Suárez’s deal is heavily backloaded, with just $7 million being paid out in 2026, while he is slated to make $10 million, $30 million, $30 million and $35 million in 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030, respectively. Speier laid out the details like this.
Ranger Suárez
2026: $7M
2027: $15M
2028: $30M
2029: $30M
2030: $35M
. . .
SIGNING BONUS: $3M
MUTUAL OPTION: $35M ($10M buyout) in 2031
What does that all mean?
The Red Sox essentially kicked the can down the road in anticipation of major changes to the collective bargaining agreement, which will be renegotiated next offseason and will likely focus on fixing competitive balance tax thresholds.
Boston did the player a favor by pushing the majority of funds into the final three years of the deal, as he won’t lose very much money in the event of a lockout in 2027 — while also essentially guaranteeing hi $10 million during the mutual option years in 2031. It’s almost guaranteed that won’t be picked up, as one side will likely believe they can do better at that point.
Suárez didn’t receive a no-trade clause, though the structure of the deal certainly will make trades difficult to complete.