BOSTON -- The Red Sox announced on Sunday morning that they signed reliever Matt Barnes to a two-year contract extension spanning the 2022 and ‘23 seasons, with a club option for ‘24.

Barnes, who was set to become a free agent this offseason, has spent his entire professional career with the Red Sox since debuting in 2014.

“This is a dream come true for me,” Barnes said on Sunday, “and somewhere that I’ve always loved playing and love to continue to play. So I’m really excited to be able to get something done here and looking forward to the next couple seasons here in Boston.”

In 362 career Major League appearances (two starts), the right-hander is 30-23 with 34 saves, a 3.94 ERA and 500 strikeouts. His 360 relief outings ranks fourth in Red Sox history behind only Bob Stanley (552), Mike Timlin (394) and Jonathan Papelbon (393), while his 362 total appearances rank eighth.

“Very proud of him,” manager Alex Cora said on Sunday. “The fact that he and the organization were able to get this done in the middle of the season with no distractions says a lot [about] where we’re at, it says a lot about the player that he wanted to stay with us, with this program for a few years.”

Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom praised Barnes for his accolades as one of the longest-tenured members of Boston’s bullpen, and for the role the 31-year-old has taken as a player rep.

“I think it’s a great day for the Red Sox,” Bloom said. “First of all, obviously we’ve all seen it over the past number of years, Matt has established himself as one of the better relievers in baseball. And this year he’s taken his game to a whole new level, you know, in an even bigger role. Beyond that, he’s exactly the type of person you’d want representing your organization.”

As a New England native (Bethel, Conn.) who attended the University of Connecticut before being drafted by Boston in the first round of the 2011 Draft, Barnes embodies the term “homegrown.”

“He’s been amazing for us not only this year, but throughout his career,” Cora said. “The fact that he was a first rounder and went through player development and has become this guy is a testament of who we are as an organization -- the people that we have in player development, the guys that have worked with him here at the big league level.”

During the club’s 2018 championship season, Barnes was a pillar of Boston’s bullpen. Working opposite Joe Kelly as the team’s righty specialist, Barnes helped lead the club to its World Series title with wins in Game 2 of the ALCS against the Astros and in Game 1 of the Fall Classic against the Dodgers. Barnes followed in ‘19 as a reliable setup man, eventually working his way into the closer role out of Spring Training this season after various mental and physical adjustments.

Since being named the club’s closer, Barnes has been putting together one of the best seasons of his career in 2021. With a 2.68 ERA, 62 strikeouts and 19 saves (a career high), Barnes punched a ticket to Denver, where he’ll play in his first All-Star Game this Tuesday.

Since the start of the 2016 season, Barnes leads American League relief pitchers in appearances (325), strikeouts (453) and wins (27), and ranks second in innings (322 1/3). He was the only American League pitcher to make at least 60 appearances and throw at least 60 innings in each season from 2016-19, tied for the most such seasons in Red Sox history. Since the start of 2018, Barnes has struck out 37.8 percent of batters faced and averaged 14.47 strikeouts per 9.0 innings, the third-highest marks among pitchers who have thrown at least 150 innings in that time.