MINNEAPOLIS — Red Sox righty Rick Porcello wants to stay in Boston. He loves pitching for the Red Sox. He reportedly tried to negotiate a hometown discount during spring training. He recognizes New England as his home and has a house in southern Vermont.

President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski gave Chris Sale a five-year, $145-million extension during spring training after re-signing Nathan Eovaldi in free agency for four years, $68 million

Porcello, meanwhile, remains unsigned as his free agency looms at the end of the 2019 season.

The righty pitched 7 scoreless innings, allowing four hits and one walk while striking out eight here at Target Field on Monday. He led the Red Sox 2-0 over the Twins.

The Red Sox should pay Porcello. He’s Boston’s most durable starting pitcher and he’s a clubhouse leader who receives enormous respect from his peers.

“Those three guys, they mean a lot to me in the clubhouse: David (Price), Chris (Sale) and Rick," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said after the victory Monday. "Whenever I have a message or whatever, they’re the ones that are always in the office and we talk about it. And they take care of that stuff in there. And in their own way, too. They’re very different.

“He’s been great,” Cora added about Porcello. "He’s a guy that I got to meet (before the 2018 season). Remember, he flew with me to Puerto Rico the first time I went down there with the supplies. We connected right away. And he's been amazing for us."

Porcello is the type of veteran the Red Sox need at times when things aren’t going well — like this season. Boston improved to a season-high six games over .500 here Monday but this has been a challenging year for Cora’s club.

Just look at how Porcello handled himself in his first year with Boston when he posted a 4.92 ERA and received enormous scrutiny.

Many players in his situation have felt resentment toward Boston, the fan base and media while playing out the remainder of their lucrative contracts.

But Porcello wants to stay here beyond his current contract. That tells you a lot about his personality and how he can help younger pitchers as they transition to the majors.

“We’ve got fans paying a lot of money for tickets. And when you’re going out there and making a lot of money and not performing, you deserve to hear it,” Porcello told MassLive.com in April. "So I don’t think I’ve ever taken that personally here. I completely understand it. If I was a fan watching, I probably would have booed myself.”

Porcello had an 11.12 ERA after his first three starts this year. He has a 3.30 ERA (76 1/3 innings, 28 earned runs) in his past 12 starts.

“He’s been great,” Cora said. “He didn’t have a good start to the season, but he kept working on his craft, making adjustments.”

At this point, the Red Sox seem more likely to offer Porcello a qualifying offer. And he probably would be wise to accept it.

If he declined it, he likely would be in the same position that Dallas Keuchel was this past offseason. Keuchel turned down a $17.9 million qualifying offer from the Astros. He went unsigned until after the 2019 June Draft because no teams wanted to give up the compensation draft pick tied to his qualifying offer.

Teams can’t offer the same player a qualifying offer two years in a row, And so Porcello would be able to enter free agency after the 2020 without being tied to a compensation draft pick.

Maybe the Red Sox will come to their senses in the meantime and re-sign their durable leader.