This one came down to the eleventh hour, but it looks like the Red Sox’s streak of avoiding arbitration will continue on for at least one more year.
According to the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo, David Ortiz has agreed to a one year deal worth $14.575M. When the two sides exchanged figures back in January, Ortiz requested $16.5M and the front office countering with $12.65M. The figure agreed to upon represents the midpoint between to the two sides.
While Ortiz had expressed interested in signing a two year deal, the two parties hadn’t made any headway toward making such a deal in weeks. As a result, they shelved those discussions in an effort to make greater headway on completing a one year deal. In the end, everyone gets what they want. Ortiz gets a raise, the front office avoids arbitration, and the fans get a happy Big Papi back for at least one more season.
Last season, Ortiz put together his best season since 2007 producing a .405 wOBA and 4.2 fWAR. He will be entering his age-36 season in 2012.