MLB teams
Jerry Crasnick, ESPN Senior Writer 9y

Twins extend Phil Hughes' deal

MLB, Minnesota Twins

Pitcher Phil Hughes has reached agreement on a three-year, $42 million guaranteed contract extension with the Minnesota Twins, the team announced.

Hughes expressed his excitement over the deal in a tweet Monday.

Hughes will make $9.2 million in 2015 and 2016 and earn base salaries of $13.2 million from 2017 to 2019.

The deal includes a limited no-trade clause and a chance to make $1 million in performance bonuses over the life of the contract. The extension overwrites the final two years and $16 million remaining on his current contract.

Hughes' new deal includes an annual salary increase of $1.2 million over the $8 million he had previously been owed in 2015 and '16. The overall value of $58 million over five years makes his new contract the largest for a pitcher in Twins franchise history.

Hughes will be 33 years old at the conclusion of the contract.

Near the end of the 2014 season, Hughes turned down a chance to pitch, even though one more out would have earned him a $500,000 bonus.

A half-million-dollar bonus would have kicked in if Hughes reached 210 innings this year, but he finished with 209 2/3 after a rain delay forced him out of his final scheduled start.

"I just didn't think it was right," Hughes said in September. "If I were fighting for a playoff spot, I'd 100 percent be available. But given the circumstances, I don't think it's the right thing to do."

Hughes was 16-10 with a 3.52 ERA in his first season with Minnesota. He had 186 strikeouts and only 16 walks. His strikeout-to-walk ratio of 11.63 set a major league record, breaking the mark of 11.00 set by Bret Saberhagen of the Mets in 1994.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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