Sunday, February 10, 2013
Pedroia staying in Boston long-term?
By Jason Catania
The Boston Red Sox may soon start the process of negotiating an extension with Dustin Pedroia.
At 29 and entering the penultimate guaranteed year of his contract, Pedroia is a prime candidate for a long-term deal, as Rob Bradford of WEEI writes. Bradford believes the club could broach the idea with Pedroia as soon as this spring.
The former Rookie of the Year and AL MVP, who is also a three-time All-Star, is set to earn a well below-market $10 million in each of 2013 and 2014 then has a very reasonable $11 million team option in 2015. That option comes with a $500,000 buyout, so in theory, Boston could simply let the next two seasons play out and if Pedroia, who will be 31 at that point, encounters any sort of injury or decline, it would be rather simple to just say goodbye. Playing devil's advocate, though, if Pedroia can avoid any setbacks in health and performance, he would be in line for quite a bit more money and could still have a few big years left in him.
It may be in Pedroia's best interest to hold off on any extension talk until this time next year for three reasons. One, a strong season will only help his cause; two, he'll be a year closer to free agency, which should enhance his bargaining power; and three, by next winter, fellow star second baseman Robinson Cano will have either signed an extension with the New York Yankees or landed a big-money deal elsewhere. Pedroia could then use that contract for comparison in negotiations.
