No Deal Yet
Peter's last post is aptly titled. Tick, Tick, Tick indeed. The Red Sox and Mike Lowell haven't reached an agreement and with only a few hours left until free agency, the Red Sox have little time left to exclusively negotiate. Come midnight tonight, Lowell is free to sign with any team.
Boston.com/Boston Globe is reporting that the sides are stuck on the length of contract. Lowell wants 4 years and Boston is offering 3. Apparently the 3 is more than they wanted to offer in the first place and if Lowell is stuck on getting 4 years, the Red Sox might be in the market for a 3b not named Lowell.
The price tag for guys like Miguel Cabrera (Lester or Buccholz and Ellsbury) and ARod ($35m a year for 10 years) make signing Lowell a priority, if not the cheapest option and best value. Even if Lowell insists on 4 years, might it make sense to give it to him knowing that the future of the Red Sox is in guys like Buccholz, Lester, Ellsbury, Pedroia, Masterston, Bowden and Lowrie? And with no 3b coming up the pipeline, Lowell might be the annual dip into the "ineffiecient" free agent market that Theo Epstein talks about.
By midnight, we will know a bunch more I suppose. My opinion on this has changed a bit and while I thought 3 years was more than fair, I now realize the alternatives are few and or expensive. I say offer him 3 years with a 4 year vesting option based on easy criteria and if he says no, give him 4 years guaranteed. Of course the Red Sox are known for setting a value on a player and sticking to it, so we should all be prepared to be disappointed and Pedro Feliz at 3b.
In other news, Dustin Pedroia won the AL ROY award today, the first Red Sox since Nomar Garciaparra. Also, we can expect a signing or two by Boston to help round out the bench in the next few days.
