Sure, no contract extension is yet in place, but Monday isn’t a time for concern. Monday is a time for the Red Sox to rejoice, as a day after pulling off an Adrian Gonzalez trade with the Padres, the Red Sox formally introduced their new star first baseman at a Fenway Park press conference.
Red Sox Introduce Adrian Gonzalez At Fenway Park Day After Trade
Said Gonzalez:
“I’m very excited...I’ve had five incredible years in San Diego. As I grew up, my whole dream as a kid was to be a Padre. My second dream was to be on the Red Sox. ... I’m just very excited to start this new phase. I look forward to a lot of championships.”
The two sides remain apart in contract negotiations, with the sticking point being the length of the deal, and they’ve agreed to table discussions for the time being. However, the Red Sox remain very confident that they’ll be able to reach an agreement when the time is right. Without that confidence, after all, they wouldn’t have made the trade.
The Padres were open to dealing Gonzalez away because they kept coming back to the fact that he wouldn’t be on the team in 2011. The Red Sox jumped when they did because, according to Jayson Stark, they faced potential competition from a number of teams including the White Sox, Cubs, and Rangers, among others, and didn’t want to see a guy they’ve been chasing for years get away.
When contract negotiations start back up, one must re-visit the parameters reported by Ken Rosenthal. An extension should be capped at seven years and $22 million in annual salary.
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