Accordig to Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald, Derek Lowe’s strong finish to the 2008 season may have priced him out of the Red Sox’s range. McAdam believes Lowe will sign for $14-15MM a year over three or four years. He suggests the Red Sox would’ve been more open to the idea at $10MM or so. The Red Sox are believed to be Lowe’s preferred destination, but Nick Cafardo says a dozen other teams are interested (the Mets among them).
Lowe, a Boras client, was never getting paid less than Carlos Silva on the open market. Silva, a far inferior pitcher, has a $12MM average annual salary. I imagine that once the bar for Jon Garland/Carlos Silva level mediocrity is raised again this year, Lowe will find himself more in the $16-18MM range. And Boras should be able to get that fourth year guaranteed. The Red Sox could handle that.
