Red Sox to Focus on Looming Arbitration Cases
With the Boston Red Sox likely out of the competition to land one of the high profile free agent starting pitchers, General Manager Ben Cherington has indicated that the club will likely focus on their arbitration issues. The team has yet to have an in-person meeting with former Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Roy Oswalt and Edwin Jackson has signed a one year, $10 million contract with the Washington Nationals.
On the topic of adding a starting pitcher before Spring Training, Cherington has said “We wouldn’t rule out adding a starter, but I think it’s unlikely at this point. Keep looking for ways to improve the team, including the pitching staff, but I wouldn’t expect any major changes between now and the report date”. With that being said, Boston still has plenty of work to do in-house in order to sure up their roster before the time that players report to Spring Training. The two major issues are the arbitration cases of Alfredo Aceves and David Ortiz. The hearing dates began this week and can run as late as February 21st. Cherington declined to give specifics as to the dates for Ortiz and Aceves, but did indicate that the issues will be resolved, “one way or another” before the team arrives in Fort Myers.
Ortiz, the Red Sox Designated Hitter was seeking a $16.5 million contract, to which the club countered with a $12.65 million offer. In 2011, Ortiz saw a bit of a resurgence after much talk of his skills rapidly declining. He appeared in 146 games, and in those contests he hit .309 with 29 home runs, 96 RBI, had a slugging percentage of .554 and an OPS of .953. His slugging and OPS numbers were up for 2010, while his home run and RBI numbers saw only a slight drop.
Alfredo Aceves, on the other hand is looking for a $1.6 million deal, with the club offering him $900,000. He went 10 – 2 last year with a 2.61 ERA and converted 2 out of 5 saves. Aceves appeared in 55 games for Boston in 2010 and allowed an opponent average of .204 while rattling off a WHIP of 1.11. Pitching has been a key for the Red Sox, as it is for any team, and has been the backbone of their championship teams, while being the Achilles heel when the team has faltered.
It will be interesting to see what new General Manager Ben Cherington does in these circumstances, as it will likely be indicative of his philosophy regarding how he plans to run the team during his tenure.
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Boston will be retaining both players regardless of the arbitor’s decision. The only issue here is the salary. Regardless of which side wins the arbitration both Aceves and Ortiz are on the 2012 team. That is the nature of arbitration.