The Yankees made Jacoby Ellsbury an offer he couldn’t refuse.
Ellsbury is reportedly joining the Yankees on a seven-year, $153 million contract that also includes an eighth-year option (with the option being questioned), which could bump the deal’s total value up to $169 million. WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford reports that the Red Sox’ offer to Ellsbury was “a ways off,” and we’re now left wondering what exactly that means.
While the details of the Red Sox’ final offer are unclear, ESPN.com’s Gordon Edes reports that Boston was willing to offer Ellsbury a six-year deal worth “somewhere in the vicinity of $120 million.” The Red Sox reportedly offered Ellsbury a five-year, $100 million contract at one point during negotiations. Both, obviously, fall short of New York’s final offer, which is worth more dollars annually and carries at least one more year.
The Red Sox have made it clear that they prefer to sign players to short-term deals, even if it requires a higher average annual salary, so to hear that they reportedly were willing to offer a six-year deal is somewhat surprising. Ellsbury is an extremely talented player, but the Yankees are certainly showing a lot of faith in a 30-year-old outfielder with an injury history by locking him up to such a sizable contract.
Only two outfielders in the history of the game — Manny Ramirez and Matt Kemp — have ever received a contract worth more total dollars than Ellsbury. The Red Sox apparently weren’t willing to make that type of commitment.
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