On January 19, 2006, 29-year old pitcher Bronson Arroyo took a "hometown discount" by agreeing to a three-year, $11.2 million contract with the Boston Red Sox and avoiding arbitration with the team. He did so against the wishes of his agent, Gregg Clifton, who felt that his client left over $4 million on the table.
"I signed the deal at a pretty good discount . . . Fenway Park is a joy to come to every single day. I love playing here. I love the fans. I love the city. I want to stay here for my whole career, I feel that's going to beneficial for me as well as the team. Hopefully, they see it that way and don't trade me. [Then co-general managers] Jed [Hoyer] and Ben [Cherington] both stated to me that there was no deal on the table for me right now, and they felt pretty strongly that I wouldn't be traded any time anywhere in the near future. They couldn't guarantee me security for the lifetime of the contract."Today--a mere two months and a day from when Arroyo signed the contract--the Red Sox traded Arroyo to the Cincinnati Reds for outfielder Wily Mo Pena. Perhaps unwittingly, by agreeing to a below-market contract, Arroyo likely aided the Red Sox in dealing him to a smaller-market team like the Reds. Nevertheless, Arroyo might be understandably annoyed at Hoyer and Cherrington if they indeed intimated that, in exchange for signing a below-market deal, he likely wouldn't be traded in the near future. Then again, Theo Epstein is now calling the shots again, so perhaps an oral promise by Hoyer and Cherrington was conditional upon them remaining in charge. In any event, expect Red Sox players to think very carefully about oral promises by Red Sox management from here on out. The same might be said of free agents when considering whether to sign with the Sox.
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