Red Sox place winning bid?
ESPN baseball writer Buster Olney is reporting that the Red Sox might be the winners in the bidding for Japanese pitching star Daisuke Matsuzaka. From ESPN.com:
But Olney is reporting that the Red Sox may have posted the top bid with a figure between $38 million and $45 million, according to Major League Baseball officials who are monitoring the bidding.
First of all, reporting that something “may have” happened is a little silly. Since when does ESPN report “may haves”? I thought that’s what the New York Post was for?
(ESPN isn’t the only one reporting a “may have.” The Fort Worth Star-Telegram is reporting the Texas Rangers “may have” the winning bid for Matsuzaka.)
Second of all, $45 million!!! Are you kidding? That’s $45 million that a team is going to have to pay in addition to the money they’ll spend on Matsuzaka’s contract. Is he worth it? The Star-Telegram says Matsuzaka will probably get something similar to what the Astros gave Roy Oswalt — five years and $73 million. So that’s a total of $118 million over five years, or roughly $23 million per season. That’s a lot of money. That’s A-Rod money. Is any pitcher worth that kind of dough?
November 11th, 2006 at 1:12 am
Coley, I’m confused. Isn’t the $45 mill part of his contract? What do you mean by bidding? Is that the weird Japan-only compensation money? Please explain.
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November 11th, 2006 at 10:38 am
Sarah, Matsuzaka is still under contract with his Japanese club, which has granted him permission to play in the Major Leagues, provided they are properly reimbursed, of course.
The Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Rangers and Cubs have all placed bids for the right to negotiate with Matsuzaka. The bid money goes to his Japanese team.
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