According to Amalie Benjamin of Boston.com, the Red Sox have reached a one year contract agreement with Jonathan Papelbon for $775,000.
The closer had made it well known that he was looking for $900,000 this season, consistent with the contract that Philadelphia Phillies slugger Ryan Howard signed at a similar point in his career last year after his National League MVP season.
It appears that the Red Sox and Papelbon settled in between each of their “asks” putting Papelbon ahead of his contemporaries in similar contract positions like Prince Fielder, Nick Markakis, Cole Hamels, and fellow closer Bobby Jenks, many of whom have been dissatisfied with their teams offers.
Papelbon’s contract is as much as any closer with similar service time has received heading into the third year of their career. This is consistent with the $750,000 that Mariano Rivera received from the Yankees in 1998 before he agreed to his first big money contract.
