Josh Beckett will meet with Theo Epstein and the Red Sox in the coming weeks to discuss his future with the team, according to MLB.com.
Beckett, 29, is entering the final year of his contract, which he signed with the Red Sox in July of 2006. He is due $12 million in 2010 after his option year was automatically activated when he made his 28th start of the season in September.
"He's put himself in a position where he's valued very highly by us," Epstein told MLB.com. "He's someone that we'd obviously like to have be part of our future. Those things have a way of taking care of themselves. Certainly talking about them publicly or getting out of turn or doing things before it's the right time doesn't really make sense. We'll see what happens."
Beckett, who will turn 30 next May, owns a 106-68 record with a 3.79 ERA. With the Red Sox, he is 65-34 with a 4.05 ERA in the regular season and 5-1 with a 3.88 ERA. In the 2007 postseason, Beckett went 4-0 in four starts to go with his 1.20 ERA, 35 strikeouts and two walks.
The righty was in Boston on Tuesday to be honored with the Champion Award by Children's Hospital Boston for his charity bowling tournaments and his dedication to spending time with children. He said he hasn't let contract situation distract from his offseason preparation.
"Right now, I'm not too concerned with it," Beckett said. "We'll see what happens. Obviously it's kind of up to them as far as what we talk about now. As of right now, I'm a Boston Red Sox for 2010. Unless someone tells me I'm not, that's what I'm focused on.
"Obviously we just have to let the business people take care of the business end and I'll worry about the stuff I can control," he added. "This would be a fun place to [continue to] play.
WEEI.com speculates that Beckett won't be willing to take a hometown discount to stay in Boston, so unless the Sox are willing to fork over big money for him, the two sides could be at an impasse for quite some time.
