Michael Wacha made his departure from the Boston Red Sox official after coming to an agreement with the San Diego Padres on Tuesday.
The figures attached to the contract were initially unknown when the news first broke. Wacha was fresh off his one-year, $7 million deal with the Red Sox before he embarked on his search for a payday this offseason.
It’s been revealed that Wacha could earn up to $24 million with the Padres, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. The agreement is also a four-year deal that includes both a player and team option in what Rosenthal described as a “complex” contract structure.
Wacha, 31, did what he needed to during his brief stay with the Red Sox last season. The right-hander supplied Boston with a comeback-like campaign, winning 11 games in 23 starts with a 3.32 ERA. He also maintained a monthly ERA below 3.10 in four months in Boston.
In doing so, Wacha served as a bright spot in an injury-filled year for Red Sox pitchers. It’s clear that Wacha’s reliability and consistency didn’t go undervalued, despite signing following the start date of Major League Baseball’s spring training.
In making his return to the National League, where Wacha spent eight of his 10 big-league seasons to date, the veteran will rejoin former Red Sox teammate Xander Bogaerts with expectations high in San Diego in 2023.
