Beckett signs four-year extension with Red Sox

BOSTON - One phone call put Josh Beckett's mind at ease.

On the other end of the line was Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein, who had called Beckett in December to assure him that signing John Lackey would not be the end of Beckett in Boston.

Monday, Beckett proved that staying in Boston was a priority for him as well. The Red Sox ace signed a four-year extension worth $68 million through the 2014 season.

"I kind of anticipated that there might be some speculation signing John that we weren't going to sign Josh during his impending free agency, so I just wanted to talk to him and let him know that it didn't change our feelings about him at all," Epstein said during a news conference Monday at Fenway Park.

"It became clear we had some loose ends to tie up and we didn't want the distraction for Josh heading into his Opening Day start, so we decided, 'Hey, let's extend a little beyond Opening Day if we have to.' . . . It's pretty easy when you have a strong desire to retain a player and the player has a strong desire to settle in the city."

Beckett could have sought a more lucrative contract on the free-agent market and, possibly, a fifth year. But in the end, he was happier staying put.

"This is a very special place," said Beckett, who allowed five runs and eight hits in 42/3 innings in Boston's 9-7 win over the Yankees on Sunday night. "This organization, they do everything they can to make our jobs as easy as possible. There's not a whole lot of organizations out there that do that. There's just a lot of things that go on here that make it a very ideal situation for a baseball player."

According to The Boston Globe, Beckett - who turns 30 on May 15 - will receive a $5-million signing bonus and yearly salaries of $15.75 million.

With the deal, the Red Sox have locked up all of their big starting pitching guns for the next four years: Lackey, whose five-year deal is worth $82.5 million, is signed through 2014, and Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz won't be eligible for free agency until after that season. Daisuke Matsuzaka, who is on the disabled list, is under contract through 2012.

The Red Sox obtained Beckett - along with third baseman Mike Lowell and reliever Guillermo Mota - from the Florida Marlins after the 2005 season. Beckett, MVP of the Marlins' 2003 world championship team, is 106-68 in his career with a 3.79 ERA and has 1,331 strikeouts in 1,4052/3 innings.