The Red Sox may have lost out on the Victor Martinez bidding race, but they won't miss out on compensation for him.
General manager Theo Epstein announced on Tuesday that the Red Sox will offer salary arbitration to Martinez, Adrian Beltre, and Felipe Lopez, and have declined arbitration options on Jason Varitek, Bill Hall and Mike Lowell.
The Red Sox will become eligible earn compensation for Beltre and Martinez in the event that the player leaves Boston. The Sox would receive two draft picks each for Beltre and Martinez as they are Type-A free agents, and one for Lopez, who is a Type-B agent.
Declining Varitek's offer doesn't mean the Red Sox are turning their backs on the captain, it just means they can bring him back for a less-expensive option in 2011. Had they offered arbitration for Varitek, and had he accepted, he would likely come at a higher price than his $3 million salary paid by the Sox in 2010.
The three players offered arbitration have until Nov. 30 to accept or decline the offer.
