Tuesday, December 07, 2004
Looking forward to the draft
Today is arbitration day, and the Boston Globe reports that the Sox will offer arbitration to all four of their eligible players: Pedro Martinez, Jason Varitek, Derek Lowe, and Orlando Cabrera.
All four are expected to test the free agent market, so it is unlikely that any will accept arbitration. The only player with even a slight chance of doing so is Cabrera. The Red Sox would be very happy if he did - this would allow a relatively reasonable one-year contract that bridges the gap until Hanley Ramirez is ready.
But if it is unlikely that any of them will accept, what is the point of offering arbitration? Well, since all four are "type A" players, the Red Sox would receive first-round draft picks as compensation if they signed elsewhere. And how important are extra draft picks? Ask Billy Beane, and just remember, in Theo we trust...
All four are expected to test the free agent market, so it is unlikely that any will accept arbitration. The only player with even a slight chance of doing so is Cabrera. The Red Sox would be very happy if he did - this would allow a relatively reasonable one-year contract that bridges the gap until Hanley Ramirez is ready.
But if it is unlikely that any of them will accept, what is the point of offering arbitration? Well, since all four are "type A" players, the Red Sox would receive first-round draft picks as compensation if they signed elsewhere. And how important are extra draft picks? Ask Billy Beane, and just remember, in Theo we trust...
# posted by Darlucky @ 2:29 PM 
