NESN’s Peter Gammons is reporting via Twitter that the deal includes one year for $9 million, with a second year player option for $5 million. According to ESPNBoston.com, there’s a $1 million buyout built in to the contract. The deal is pending a physical.
At an average of $7 million a season over two years, it’s a relatively low-risk deal for the Red Sox. Furthermore, writes The Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham, it “gives them a tremendously strong defensive infield along with some more power in their lineup.”
Abraham also suggests that bringing in Beltre means that Theo Epstein and the rest of the Red Sox management team are not at all confident that they’d be able to make a deal to land Adrian Gonzalez of the Padres.
Beltre is a career .270 hitter with 250 home runs and 906 RBIs in 12 major league seasons. He hit .265 in 2009 with the Mariners, smacking eight homers and driving in 44 runs in 111 games. He won consecutive Gold Glove Awards in 2006 and 2007 and he has a career .957 fielding percentage at third base.
