The Red Sox have avoided arbitration with their new closer Andrew Bailey, agreeing on a $3.9 million contract for the 2012 season according to Jon Heyman.
The $3.9 million falls slightly closer to the $3.35 million figure submitted by the Red Sox than Bailey's $4.7 million, and comes with an extra $100,000 in incentives. It's a sizable amount to pay a closer in their first year of arbitration, but certainly a nice reprieve from the eight digit sums the Sox have become accustomed to in their years with Jonathan Papelbon, who received nearly $40 million in four years of arbitration with the Red Sox.
For those keeping track, Ben Cherington is now just two cases away from maintaining Theo Epstein's streak of avoiding arbitration cases. The team is only $650,000 apart with Aceves, but the gap with Ortiz is nearly $4 million. While the fan favorite DH is still hoping for a multi-year deal, there's been no real word of any talks in that direction.