And so begins the stare-down.
The Boston Red Sox reached contract agreements with five arbitration-eligible players by Friday’s deadline, but two remain unsigned: Eduardo Rodriguez and Andrew Benintendi.
Now, the Red Sox will essentially go to trial with the two unsigned players. Both the team and player get to request a salary they believe they deserve for 2020, then an arbitration panel chooses one figure or the other after both sides state their case.
MLB Network’s Jon Heyman and the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier both reported Friday night the salaries that each side submitted.
The gap between Rodriguez and the Sox is narrow. The southpaw filed at $8.975 million, while Boston came in at $8.3 million.
It’s a different story for Benintendi, who filed at $4.15 million, while the Sox offered $3.4 million.
The hearings will take place in February.
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