The Red Sox finalized a contract extension with Adrian Gonzalez today, and while the deal was long-awaited, its completion still generated discussion about how the contract impacts Gonzalez, the Red Sox and some of the game's other top first basemen. Some of the more notable items…
- John Boggs, Gonzalez's agent, talks to WEEI.com's Alex Speier about the history of the negotations between the slugger and the Red Sox, how the deal was almost scuttled in December before Gonzalez was traded from the Padres, and how Boggs "aged a hundred years" when Gonzalez was hit by a C.C. Sabathia pitch last Sunday.
- In a separate post, Speier looks at Gonzalez's extension in the context of the biggest contracts ever. Boston officials note that the Sox have been willing to spend big on players before signing Gonzalez and Carl Crawford. The Red Sox were prepared to commit over $20MM per season to Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira.
- In a video report for FOXSports.com, Jon Paul Morosi said Gonzalez's deal "ratchets up the pressure" on Albert Pujols if the Cardinals slugger hopes to get a milestone free agent deal this winter. If Gonzalez has a better season than Pujols, then it will harder for Pujols and his agents to justify asking for a larger contract than the deal the Red Sox gave the younger Gonzalez.
- Morosi also says "it's possible" Boston could still be in the market for Pujols or Prince Fielder as a DH, as the Sox would part ways with David Ortiz. Pujols and Fielder have both said they want to continue playing first base, but Morosi notes that Victor Martinez and Adam Dunn said the same thing last winter before becoming the primary DH option for the Tigers and White Sox, respectively.
- The theory exists that Gonzalez and the Sox had this extension worked out months ago but waited until now to announce it so the club could avoid paying a luxury tax penalty. Morosi speculates that the new collective bargaining agreement might contain a later deadline than Opening Day for the luxury tax calculations since "the spirit of the law isn't being honored here."
MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith also contributed to this post
Yeah… Don’t expect Pujols to become a full time DH in his early thirties. I don’t see the Red Sox even coming close to getting him. Same with the Yankees.
trade teix for pitching, sign pujols. boom
Victor Martinez and Adam Dunn? Thats their reasoning….those two are horrendous defenders and should have been full time DH’s long before they hit FA. Pujols is GG caliber and Fielder is surprisingly average. Quite a strange comparison.
Don’t let his last name fool you, Prince Fielder is a horrific defender.
No hes not.
no, no he really isn’t. I’ve seen him for 5 years being a fan of a NLC team and his defensive faults are overblown. He is passable. UZR agrees with me as well.
People always wanna give Fielder bad times because hes a fat boy.. Hes the most agile fat boy you might ever see. Hes making us fellow fat boys uber proud.
I don’t agree or disagree with you however UZR for 1B is boarder line useless.
Super agree with that
There is no way the Sox come close to getting Pujols or Fielder. Neither player wants to be a full time DH and the Sox will not shell out the money for either of those two players. I think we’ve seen that spending money does not always equal wins so why pay your DH 20+ million dollars.
I don’t think it will be hard whatsoever for Pujols to argue he deserves a better contract than Adrian. Pujols is already one of the greatest hitters ever to play the game. Adrian is very good, sure, but he would have to ratchet up his game AND keep it there into his late 30s to be considered for the Hall. Albert is already there. To even try to equate the two players is extremely unfair to Gonzalez. Pujols is simply on a whole other level.
“Morosi also says “it’s possible” Boston could still be in the market for Pujols or Prince Fielder as a DH” Maybe, maybe, Fielder but there is no way they sign Pujols to be a DH. Even with fielder they would have to pay him like a 1B because there will be someone willing to pay him, and play him as a 1B, and that’s ignoring the matter of him accepting the DH role. With the money they have coming off of the books they could sign Fielder and still have a smaller payroll than this year, but I still don’t know that they would be willing to pay that amount for a DH.
Come on Pujols would cost way too much and Tex is more than capable of filling the role of a first baseman who can hit. In the end Pujols would only be another financial load deal with. I don’t care how much the Yankees have to spend, some things just aren’t worth. The Yankees already have enough big names to make extra money and the Red Sox, although they are just as bad, won’t put up the money for Pujols. Besides, at this point it’s like these guys are just comparing hat sizes. ” Haha mines bigger than yours.” — How do I change my posting name?
What both teams really need right now is pitching: both starters and relievers. Beyond their aces (CC and Lester) everyone has at least a question mark or two. They both sport the best offenses in the league and below average pitching, so why improve the offense instead of the pitching?
Phoenix2042, I couldn’t agree with you more man. Both teams have very questionable pitching. So how about the Sox
i’ve got a hard time fathoming the red sox adding another Lefty with Fielder as well. That would be 3 in a row i would assume with crawford, fielder, gonzalez.
The lefty part wouldn’t be any different than this year as Ortiz is too a lefty.
This whole trade was a desperation move by Boston and their record this year certainly shows the quality of that ballclub. I don’t know why you pay him this money at this juncture- you don’t have anything to lose to hold off until you have a year to judge him.
He’s an FA after this year why would they expose him and risk losing him or having to outbid another team?
I understand that argument, but their paying him huge money. With Albert and Prince out there next year as free agents- they probably would have got him cheaper next year. New York Yankeee’s are going to be spending on pitching next year, so they wouldn’t be involved. The Mets have a lot of problems, so they are probably not going to bid.
they actually got a discount on Agon (as compared to Tex whom he matches up favorably against). And besides, the Cubs, Dodgers, Cardinals, Rockies, Rangers, Nationals, Jays, and Orioles all need firstbasemen and have at least some money to throw at these guys. Why take the risk when they are already getting a (perhaps slight) discount on his market price?
And there is very little pitching out there next season to bid on. At least game-changing pitchers. Unless of course CC opts out. So no real relief for the Yankees pitching there.
Their record shows their quality? Are you really implying that they are going to win 36 games this year?
They’ll win more than 36 obviously, but they won the offseason- just like Seattle last year. However many games Seattle won last year is my prediction.
The trolls never cease to make their presence known, especially when it comes to the Yanks or Sox, eh?
You’re being ridiculous.
How many times do I have to say it? Don’t drink (heavily) and post, it makes you look stupid…
He better make good use of that