Red Sox sign starting pitcher Walker Buehler to 1-year deal

Pederson finalizes 2-year deal with Rangers; Pitcher Manaea to re-sign with Mets

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Caption: Walker Buehler was a key contributor for the Dodgers in this year’s playoffs, posting a 3.60 ERA over 15 innings in four appearances (three starts). (Sarah Stier/Getty Images/File)

Right-hander Walker Buehler is guaranteed $21.05 million US in his one-year contract with the Boston Red Sox and can earn an additional $2.5 million in performance bonuses based on starts.
Buehler gets a $3.05 million signing bonus under the agreement announced Dec. 28 and a $15 million salary this year. The deal includes a $25 million mutual option for 2026 with a $3 million buyout.
He would receive $500,000 each for 20 starts and each additional two through 28.
Buehler, a 30-year-old two-time all-star, was on the mound when the Los Angeles Dodgers clinched the World Series last fall.
He went 1-6 with a 5.38 earned-run average in the 2024 regular season after missing all of the previous year recovering from Tommy John surgery. But in the post-season, he was 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA and one save, coming on in the ninth inning of Game 5 of the Series against the New York Yankees and retiring the side in order, striking out the last two batters to protect the 7-6 lead.
In a seven-year career, all with the Dodgers, Buehler has a 47-22 record with a 3.27 ERA. He has twice finished in the top 10 in Cy Young Award voting.

Rangers' Pederson gets opt-out after 1st season

Joc Pederson gets a $5.5 million signing bonus as part of his two-year, $37-million US contract with the Texas Rangers.
The designated hitter and outfielder will receive salaries of $13 million this year and $18.5 million in 2026 under the agreement announced Dec. 30. The deal includes an $18.5 million mutual option for 2027.
Pederson can opt out of the contract after the 2025 World Series, but if he opts out Texas can exercise options for 2026 and '27 at $18.5 million annually. The options must be exercised simultaneously.
His base salaries for 2026 and '27 would increase to $21.5 million if he is on the first or second All-MLB team this year or wins a Silver Slugger Award.
Peterson would earn a $150,000 bonus for winning the MVP award, $100,000 for making the all-star team or winning the World Series MVP award, and $50,000 for a Silver Slugger or the League Championship Series MVP.
He gets a hotel suite on road trips and has the right to buy four premium season tickets. He also has a no-trade provision.
Texas is the fifth team for the left-handed hitter since he spent his first seven big league seasons with the Dodgers. After leaving the Los Angeles as a free agent following a 2020 World Series title, Pederson signed with the Chicago Cubs and was traded midway through the 2021 season to Atlanta, where he won another championship.

Manaea fresh off 12-win season

Sean Manaea is set to return to the New York Mets on a three-year deal worth $75 million US, a person familiar with the agreement told The Associated Press.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Monday because the deal was subject to a successful physical.
Manaea blossomed into New York's top starting pitcher this year during his first season with the team, going 12-6 with a 3.47 ERA in 32 starts. The left-hander declined his player option for 2025, passing up the final $13.5 million of a $28 million, two-year deal he signed in January, to become a free agent for the third straight off-season.
Then he turned down a $21.05 million qualifying offer from the Mets last month to hit the open market again.
The reunion with Manaea, who turns 33 on Feb. 1, gives New York a much-needed frontline starter to help complete its reconstructed rotation. After signing slugger Juan Soto to a record $765 million, 15-year deal, owner Steve Cohen has committed $916.25 million to five free agents this off-season, four of them starting pitchers.
About $23 million due to Manaea will be deferred.
The club also inked right-handed newcomers Frankie Montas (two years, $34 million), Clay Holmes (three years, $38 million) and Griffin Canning (one year, $4.25 million). Holmes, a two-time all-star as the New York Yankees' closer, plans to convert from a reliever to a starter.
Manaea struck out 184 batters and walked 63 in a career-high 181 2/3 innings this year. He lowered his arm slot in midseason to emulate another nasty left-hander, National League Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale of Atlanta, and became New York's most effective starter down the stretch, with a 6-2 record and 3.09 ERA in his final 12 regular-season outings.
During the playoffs, Manaea went 2-1 with a 4.74 ERA in four starts covering 19 innings as the Mets made a surprise run to the National League Championship Series.

Santana returns to Cleveland

Carlos Santana signed a one-year, $12 million contract and returned Monday for his third stint with the Guardians, who have an opening at first base after the AL Central champions traded Josh Naylor to Arizona on Saturday.
The 38-year-old Santana spent last season with Minnesota, batting .238 with 23 homers and 71 RBIs in 150 games. He also won his first Gold Glove, becoming the oldest position player to win the honour for the first time.
Santana previously was with Cleveland from 2010-17. He returned in 2019, made his first All-Star team and spent two seasons with the club before signing as a free agent with the Kansas City Royals.
The switch-hitter is second in club history in walks (881), tied for sixth in homers (216) and is eighth in extra-base hits (503). Over 15 major league seasons, Santana has 324 homers and 1,082 RBIs in 2,080 games.
Santana has been remarkably consistent, driving in at least 60 runs and playing a minimum of 130 games in each of his 13 full seasons. He also has played for Philadelphia, Seattle, Pittsburgh and Milwaukee.