As you might expect considering he hasn’t played well for two years and is an impending free agent the Red Sox won’t try to negotiate a long-term deal with center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury before he hits the open market.
General manager Ben Cherington revealed that on WEEI radio in Boston, saying: “We agreed before the season that we would defer it until the end of the season.”
I’m very curious to see what type of market there is for Ellsbury, because he’s a Scott Boras client just two years removed from an MVP-caliber season at a premium position, but he’s also about to turn 30 and has hit just .262 with a .673 OPS in 120 games since last season. Two years ago he’d have been in line for a $100 million deal, but now … who knows.
