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Papelbon talks continue

Email|Link|Comments (11) Posted by Gordon Edes, Globe Staff March 3, 2008 01:46 PM

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Jonathan Papelbon was here this afternoon with his agents, Sam and Seth Levinson, to continue talks with the Sox over a new deal.

Papelbon was paid $425,000 in 2007 and told the Providence Journal's Sean McAdam that the $900,000 contract slugger Ryan Howard signed with the Phillies when Howard was at a similar service level was a reasonable benchmark for the Sox closer. The Red Sox, meanwhile, have likely referenced the fact that White Sox closer Bobby Jenks, whose service time is virtually identical to Papelbon, last week signed a one-year deal for $550,000.

While a multiyear deal has been discussed, indications from both sides suggest that is unlikely to be struck. The guess here is that Papelbon will sign a one-year deal for a figure north of Jenks's deal, but short of Howard's $900,000.

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11 comments so far...

pay the man

Posted by BKL March 3, 08 03:16 PM

Sox cannot let Papelbon lose their closer, but cannot let him dictate solely their contract negotiations.

He is a vital cog in the Sox organization, but cannot hold the Sox hostage to exorbitant demands. We need to resolve this as soon as possible especially with the Schilling situation!!!

Posted by Lori March 3, 08 03:33 PM

Pay him! Your highest-ticket-prices-in-baseball have already alienated most fans from being able to get to Fenway, so...what's left to preserve? We already have the 2nd highest payroll in baseball, and this is exactly the kind of player that you pay up and keep for many years. Pay him!

Posted by edietel March 3, 08 04:10 PM

How about giving Pap a 10 year deal worth 10 million and an agreement that if he can't pitch for medical reasons, his salary will be reduced for 200k for any year that he can't pitch. That way we lock him in and protect ourselves and if he pitches every year, we both benefit because he will never get more than 1 mil per year.

Posted by nkromancer March 3, 08 06:18 PM

Seems like bargain basement $$ to me for a 'Closer' like Jonathan, why so cheap ?

Posted by paul rodriguez March 3, 08 08:11 PM

Thats not really all those guys make, is it? So let me get this straight, for the price of one J.D. Drew we could pay 5 Ryan Howards, 3 Bobby Jenks, and 2 Papelbons, for real?

Posted by Joe Mama March 3, 08 08:49 PM

They wouldn't really compare Paps to Jenks....would they???

Posted by Mike March 3, 08 09:49 PM

Paps as good as he is certainly does not deserve the 900K he is asking for comparable to Howard..wake up and smell the coffee would you paps, you are 1 year removed from possibly career ending shoulder surgery and thats why theo is not going to commit for more than 1 year as well.

Posted by N. T March 4, 08 02:39 PM

Posted by N. T March 4, 08 03:26 PM

Closers, no matter how good, don't make nearly as much as position players and starting pitchers - nor should they. After all, let's face it - the closer's role is not to win games, it's to preserve wins (or ties).

Look at it this way, in a given season how many innings does a typical closer on a top-tier team pitch? 60? 70? 80 tops maybe? Most position players will reach those numbers within the first full month of the season, and healthy starting pitchers will typically hit those IP numbers sometime around the all-star break.

A salary in the $600-700k range is more than reasonable for 1 season.

Posted by bdiddy March 4, 08 04:55 PM

I never thought Paps as a person who would cry about money.. He is being such a baby and seems to act like a novice with regards to how baseball service time, arbitration and FA works..He is complaining about something that he has no control over..and doing it 2 years too soon..

Your time to earn big $$ would come..JUST BE PATIENT AND IN 3 YEARS YOU CAN GET THE BIG CONTRACT IF YOU CAN STILL BE HEALTHY, JUST ASK B.J RYAN !!

Posted by John March 4, 08 11:03 PM