How does this compare to Teixeira's squabble over 12 million (1/4 of Dustin's minuscule contract) to bring his contract to 180 million with an additional 5 million signing bonus:
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The Red Sox locked up American League MVP Dustin Pedroia with a six-year, $40.5 million contract, with an option for 2015, that takes them through three arbitration and two free-agent seasons.
"I wanted to be here a long time," Pedroia said at a Fenway Park news conference. "Hopefully in the next six years we can win some championships."
The 25-year-old second baseman will receive a signing bonus of $1.5 million and a salary of $1.5 million in 2009, followed by salaries of $3.5 million, $5.5 million and $8 million in what would have been his three years of arbitration eligibility. Pedroia would earn $10 million salaries in 2013 and 2014.
Pedroia sacrificed -- actually, postponed -- the chance for a free-agent jackpot for an average annual salary of around $7 million and the chance to stay with the organization that picked him in the second round of the 2004 draft. He would be 32 when the contract expires, if the Red Sox pick up the option.
"I understood all that stuff. I understood that if I went year-to-year I probably would have made more money. But I'm in a place that I love," Pedroia said. "My first thought was, 'I play for the best team. Who wouldn't want to play for the Boston Red Sox? We're going to have a chance to win every year.' ... It fits."
The deal demonstrated how much the Red Sox value Pedroia's production, energy and leadership at a middle-infield position.
That the contract got done this quickly shows how much Pedroia loves playing in Boston and that he prefers playing to dickering over arbitration and free-agent dollars.
-- Peter Gammons
Kyle "K-Money" Evasive
- 15 years, 10 months, 7 days ago
