Major League Baseball

BoSox hand Buchholz four-year extension

Published Apr. 10, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

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The Boston Red Sox have agreed to a four-year contract extension with right-hander Clay Buchholz, a major-league source told FOXSports.com.

The deal will be worth around $30 million, the source said, and is comparable to recent deals signed by Jon Lester, Ricky Romero and Yovani Gallardo.

''I think that's what every player wants,'' Buchholz said. ''You're not going to play this game forever.''

The Red Sox announced the signing in a news release Sunday afternoon, adding that the team has contractual options for the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

Buchholz said he considered taking his chances in arbitration and then becoming a free agent.

''If it was me and I didn't have a wife and kid, it might have been a decision I would have dealt with a little more,'' he said. ''But from the first time we started talking about it, I did what my gut told me.''

Buchholz, 26, is earning a $555,000 base salary this year. He is 0-2 with a 7.20 ERA in two starts this season but had a superb 2010, going 17-7 with a 2.33 ERA in 28 starts for the Red Sox.

''We think very highly of Clay or we wouldn't be doing this,'' Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein said, noting that Buchholz is under the team's control until age 31. ''We expect Clay to be pitching very well at that point.''

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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