Monday, February 13, 2012

Red Sox Avoid Arbitration With David Ortiz

Just hours before the scheduled arbitration hearing between David Ortiz and the Red Sox, they came to an agreement with Ortiz. The deal is worth $14.575 million over a year; that number was the midpoint of the $16.5 million Ortiz wanted and the $12.65 Boston offered him. That $14.575 is the most ever that a designated hitter will earn annually. It also preserves the Red Sox' record of no arbitration hearings since 2002-- which is good, as the last thing the Red Sox want to do is cause any hurt feelings amongst the players by going to war with them over a few million dollars. Ortiz had a strong bounce-back year in 2011, batting .309/29/96 after batting no higher than .270 since 2007. Ortiz' numbers will likely decline next season to some degree, but don't put a .290/25/85 year out of reach. Everybody loves Big Papi and it's great that he'll be returning with no hard feelings.

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