It is looking “likely” that Big Papi will not agree to a new deal with the Sox during the team’s exclusive negotiating window, at which point he could hit the open market, according to WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford. That is in line with a report from The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo that stated the team and the designated hitter were “not very close” to working out terms of a new deal.
While it had been previously reported that the Sox were in fact close to locking Ortiz down for a two-year contract, the two sides may now have been unable to agree on financials. Still, the team can extend a one-year qualifying offer to Ortiz in the neighborhood of $13.3 million, which he could either accept or decline and become a free agent.
The deadline for the Red Sox to make a qualifying offer is 5 p.m. on Friday, and Ortiz would have until Nov. 9 to accept or decline. If he were to decline and sign with another team, Boston would receive a supplemental pick in the draft.