Red Sox “Win” Right to Woo Matsuzaka
November 15, 2006 by Geoff Young
Filed under Global Baseball, Hot Stove
The Boston Red Sox have secured the right to negotiate with Japanese right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka. After paying his team in Japan, the Seibu Lions, between $42 and $50 million, the Red Sox now have 30 days to try and sign Matsuzaka to a contract.
If I gave you $42 million (that’s not an offer, just to be clear), you could line the road from Boston to San Diego with one dollar bills laid end to end and still have enough to pay Miguel Cabrera, Frank Thomas, Brandon Webb, and David Wright last year. Then with the money you had left over, you could buy about 20 Lamborghini Murcielagos.
And people think I’m crazy for putting olives on my tuna sandwich.
I don’t doubt he’s a great pitcher, but I don’t see how this makes any sense for Boston to pay what will work out to $25M+ per season by the time the i’s are dotted for a starting pitcher with a lot of innings on his young body.
Maybe they’ve done the financial calculations and come out in the black if they make the playoffs and sell a lot of jerseys and break into the Japan market. But short of that, that sort of money is crazy.
I’m with you, Kurt. What boggles my mind is that the amount the Red Sox have spent only gives them the right to talk to the guy.
If Matsuzaka is the second coming of Clemens or Pedro, then maybe it works out okay. But what if he “only” turns out to be another, say, David Cone or Orel Hershiser?
I don’t know who I envy less here, Matsuzaka or the Red Sox. Not Scott Boras — I do envy him.
But in this case, Boras is denied his usual tactic: the phantom higher offer from another team. ^_^ The only ones who can negotiate are the Red Sox, and it’s all or nothing. I think Boras’ efforts are going to be concentrated here on getting as short a contract as possible, not as much as usual on getting the highest dollar. And I think Seibu, MLB and the Red Sox all have such a strong interest in making sure Matsuzaka gets signed that there’s not much danger of it not happening.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s a staggering sum. But is it better for the Sox, say, to get in a bidding war for Zito? My guess is Zito goes 5 years/$80, easy. And we already know the Yankees tee off on Zito. I’d far rather see the Sox take this kind of chance on a 26-year-old pitcher they’ve been watching for longer than they’ve let on than, say, throw $22 million at Clemens to pitch 25 games.
And clearly all of this is predicated on having the money. I realize the two teams I follow are not financially in the same bracket. But the Yankees outspent the Red Sox by about $75 million last year alone. I don’t think one extreme expenditure of this sort, particularly considered over the life of the contract, breaks the Boston bank.
If Matsuzaka is the second coming of Pedro, this is way more than just okay. Pedros don’t come on the market all that often…
(Green olives or black olives?)
You are crazy for putting olives on your tuna sandwich…
Kelly, I think you’re dead on that something gets done here. There is way too much at stake on all sides for a deal not to happen. As for Zito, he will get an outrageous contract as well. I think 5/$80M is about right, and it’ll be the Yankees.
More importantly: Black olives, although I’m open to green.
Peter, thanks for the support.
Who puts tuna in their olive sandwich? That’s against nature.