Red Sox interested in Matsui?
ByESPNBoston.com has reported that the Red Sox may be interested in Hideki Matsui as their everyday left fielder in the event they cannot re-sign Jason Bay. This brings up a few questions: Matsui hasn’t played left field since June 2008, so why consider him? Is there interest in Matsui as a designated hitter? If so, then what will happen to David Ortiz?
Matsui, 36 on Opening Day 2010, is coming off a 4 year, $52 million contract. Matsui as a full-time left fielder will be a liability to any team, but luckily he had a “Godzilla” year in 2009 with 28 home runs and 90 RBI’s and a World Series MVP to use as leverage. The free agent power hitters have not signed yet, so any guess is pure speculation. To be conservative, If Matsui can hit 20 home runs, at a cost per home run of a modest $300,000, that would dictate a $6 million a year contract. That’s on the low-end of the scale. I could see a 3-4 year contract at $8 million per season that can increase to $9-11 million per season based on escalators of games played. His past injuries will make a few teams weary to spend that much money on a 36-year-old.
If Matsui can prove to be an everyday left fielder, and the team does not sign Bay, it could be a good leverage for next year’s negotiations with David Ortiz. Ortiz will has one more year left on his 4 year $52 million contract. The Red Sox have a $12.5 million team option for the 2011 season, and if Ortiz can up his batting average, be consistent on his power and have a good April and May of 2010 you can expect to see him in a Red Sox uniform for 2011 with Matsui continuing to play left field. Otherwise, Matsui will inherit the full-time DH position in 2011 and Ortiz will be job hunting next Winter.
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