Sox sign Little Dustin Pedroia to big contract

Posted by Ology Staff , Dec, 2008 @ 3:28 pm

The Boston Red Sox are giving 2B Dustin Pedroia a six-year $40.5 million contract with an $11 million option for 2015, thus avoiding arbitration and retaining the rights to the reigning MVP through his prime playing years.

I like the deal for the Sox, generally. The contract is appropriately backloaded, and the 2015 option is nulled by a trade, making it relatively cheap for the Sox to offload him via a Billy Beane special if he turns out to have peaked early.

Of course, the proof is in the production. As much as I hate staring at his chin-strapped Munchkin-face in the batter’s box at Yankee Stadium, Pedroia’s makeup is top-notch. He loves baseball. And he loves winning. Money is a close third. So there is every reason to think he’ll continue to excel even with the big money.

Contrast with the Yankees own homegrown second-basemen, Robinson Cano. After putting up .342/.365/.525 in 2006 and .306/.353/.488 in 2007, Cano signed a 4-year, $30 million contract and promptly regressed to .271/.305/.410 in 2008 (Pedroia put up .326/.376/.493 the same year).

Even assuming that Cano’s production gets back on track, Pedroia’s contract is the better deal.

Consider this: If the Yankees pick up both years of Cano’s options, he’ll make $9m, $10m, $14m, and $15m in his age-27 through age-30 seasons, peak territory for good players. Pedroia will make $5.5m, $8m, $10m, and $10m in during the same time frame.

I hate Theo Epstein’s fucking guts, but I’ll be goddamned if I don’t respect him.

 

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