Report: David Ortiz, Red Sox Reach Agreement on Two-Year, $26 Million Deal

by NESN Staff on Fri, Nov 2, 2012 at 9:00PM

It would appear David Ortiz and the Red Sox have reached an agreement.

Late Friday night, CSNNE.com reported that the designated hitter agreed to a two-year, $26 million deal with several incentives that could allow him to earn as much as $30 million.

It comes shortly after the Red Sox extended a qualifying offer to Ortiz for one year and $13.3 million. Since Ortiz was seeking a multi-year contract, he likely would’ve bypassed the offer and hit the open market with the midnight deadline.

For the last two seasons, the slugger has played on one-year deals. Last offseason, the 36-year-old was determined to get a multi-year contract, but agreed to a one-year contract right before arbitration and made $14.575.

Before missing most of the second half with an Achilles injury, Ortiz delivered at the plate in 90 games, hitting 23 home runs and 60 RBIs while batting .318. He eclipsed the 400-career homer mark in July.

In 10 seasons with the Red Sox, Ortiz has blasted 343 long balls and 1,088 RBIs while boasting a .290 average. His contributions also led Boston to capture World Series championships in 2004 and 2007.

The Red Sox declined to extend qualifying offers to their other free agents: outfielder Cody Ross, pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka, first baseman James Loney, pitcher Vicente Padilla and outfielder Scott Podsednik.

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