Red Sox Agree To Deals With Star Free Agents Hanley Ramirez, Pablo Sandoval
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The Red Sox have a message for the Yankees, the American League and Major League Baseball.
We're back.
According to multiple reports, Boston has agreed to multiyear contracts with shortstop Hanley Ramirez and third baseman Pablo Sandoval.
The Red Sox have not yet announced the agreements.
Ramirez, who will likely shift to left field, hit .283 with 13 homers and 71 RBIs for the Dodgers last season.
Regarded by many as the best position player on the market, the 30-year-old is a three-time All-Star. He led the National League in batting in 2009, led the league in runs in 2008, is a two-time Silver Slugger Award winner and was the 2006 NL Rookie of the Year.
He began his career with the Sox in 2005.
According to Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal, the deal is for $88 million over four years. There is also a fifth-year vesting option valued at $22 million.
Sandoval, the 2012 World Series MVP with San Francisco, was pondering an offer from the Giants worth close to $100 million over five years, according to multiple reports.
According to CBSSports.com/WFAN baseball insider Jon Heyman, Sandoval's deal with Boston is for five years and worth around $100 million.
The 28-year-old met with the Red Sox last week. After winning his third World Series title in five years with San Francisco, he indicated he wanted to retire with the Giants.
Sandoval would join a big-spending Boston team that finished last in the AL East, one year after winning the World Series. The Red Sox would not forfeit the No. 7 overall pick in June's amateur draft but would give up a later selection.
San Francisco would receive an extra pick between the first and second rounds.
The Giants said they were in touch Monday morning with Sandoval's agent, Gustavo Vasquez, who told the club Sandoval would make a decision Monday.
Following the Oct. 31 victory parade, Sandoval said he wanted to play the rest of his career for the Giants.
The switch-hitting "Kung Fu Panda" hit .279 with 16 homers and 73 RBIs in 157 regular-season games for the Giants and .366 in the postseason with seven doubles and five RBIs, four during the World Series against Kansas City.
"I want to wear that jersey for the rest of my career," Sandoval said after the Oct. 31 victory parade. "I'm going to go from what my heart tells me."
Having the chance to eventually become a designated hitter could have factored into his choice.
After the season, Sandoval declined to answer when asked whether he might accept a hometown discount. He has faced constant criticism about his ever-changing waistline and the fact that he performs in the postseason but is far from a consistent performer in the first 162 games.
"I'd love to be back here, I love the fans, I love my teammates," Sandoval said. "They taught me a lot of things, to respect the game and play the game right."
Sandoval and the Giants traded offers in the spring but failed to reach a deal.
General manager Brian Sabean said earlier this month that much of his offseason business would be dictated by what the club does with Sandoval. Other free agents are starting pitchers Jake Peavy and Ryan Vogelsong, reliever Sergio Romo and left fielder Michael Morse.
The Giants now are likely to show interest in free agent third baseman Chase Headley. Sabean said when the season ended that Sandoval was the No. 1 priority before anything else got done to build the 2015 roster.
Headley, acquired by the Yankees from San Diego in July, could be an option to take over for Alex Rodriguez as the primary third baseman if New York is able to re-sign him.
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