The 2019 Major League baseball season is over, and the result this time around was far different for the Boston Red Sox than this time last year.
Not only did the Red Sox miss the postseason, but now they have a huge offseason ahead of them. With Chaim Bloom hired as Dave Dombrowski’s replacement, he now is tasked with slashing payroll while also keeping the team competitive. There are some important decisions ahead, such as what to do if J.D. Martinez opts out of his contract (a decision he must make in the next few days) and if Mookie Betts should be held onto or traded.
With that in mind, below is the contract situation for each Red Sox player with the offseason now underway.
First, a few things to keep in mind.
— When only a dollar amount is listed next to a player’s name, it means they are a veteran signed for the 2020 season at that figure.
— You’ll see many players listed as Arbitration 1, 2, or 3. That means they are in their first, second or third year of arbitration, and the Sox and player will negotiate a figure for next season. If an agreement can’t be reached, a hearing will take place in order to determine the salary (You can read more about arbitration here). Players typically become free agents following their Arbitration 3 season — or in other words, a player listed as Arbitration 3 will be a free agent following the 2020 campaign.
— Pre-arbitration players are those who have not yet logged enough service time to enter arbitration.
— The Red Sox do have two players who technically are going to hit Arbitration 4 due to service time: Jackie Bradley Jr. and Sandy Leon. This is not common, but they’ll be treated like any other arbitration-eligible player.
— Teams don’t have to offer a contract to players just because they are pre-arbitration or arbitration-eligible, they instead can simply release them.
— Players listed with “free agent” next to their names are, well, free agents. The Red Sox obviously can negotiate with these players, but it also is the players’ right to field offers from other teams and see what’s out there for them.
Now that that’s clear (hopefully), here are the details for each player, with the information below provided by Spotrac.
Pitchers
Matt Barnes — Arbitration 2
Ryan Brasier — Pre-arbitration
Colten Brewer — Pre-arbitration
Andrew Cashner — Team option, $10 million if it’s picked up
Jhoulys Chacin — Free agent
Nathan Eovaldi — $17 million
Heath Hembree — Arbitration 2
Darwinzon Hernandez — Pre-arbitration
Brian Johnson — Pre-arbitration
Trevor Kelley — Pre-arbitration
Travis Lakins — Pre-arbitration
Austin Maddox– Pre-arbitration
Rick Porcello — Free agent
Bobby Poyner — Pre-arbitration
David Price — $32 million
Zach Putnam — Free agent
Erasmo Ramirez — Free agent
Denyi Reyes — Pre-arbitration
Eduardo Rodriguez — Arbitration 3
Dan Runzler — Free agent
Chris Sale — $30 million
Mike Shawaryn — Pre-arbitration
Josh Smith — Free agent
Josh Taylor — Pre-arbitration
Hector Velazquez — Pre-arbitration
Marcus Walden — Pre-arbitration
Ryan Weber — Pre-arbitration
Brandon Workman — Arbitration 3
Catchers
Juan Centeno — Arbitration 1
Oscar Hernandez — Free agent
Sandy Leon — Arbitration 4
Christian Vazquez — $4.2 million
Infielders
Michael Chavis — Pre-arbitration
Rafael Devers — Pre-arbitration
Xander Bogaerts — $20 million
Marco Hernandez — Arbitration 1
Brock Holt — Free agent
Tzu-Wei Lin — Pre-arbitration
Mitch Moreland — Free agent
Chris Owings — Free agent
Steve Pearce — Free agent
Dustin Pedroia — $13 million
Sam Travis — Pre-arbitration
Outfielders
Andrew Benintendi — Arbitration 1
Mookie Betts — Arbitration 3
Jackie Bradley Jr. — Arbitration 4
Rusney Castillo — Player option, $13.5 million if picked up
Gorkys Hernandez — Free agent
J.D. Martinez — Player option, $23.75 million if picked up
