It took 10 hours and 32 minutes of flying, 29 days of intrigue, and a little bit of compromise, but it appears as though the Red Sox finally got their man.
The Associated Press reported an agreement between Boston and Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka was "close or done" yesterday, a deal worth $52 million over six years, which could reach upward of $60 million with incentives. The official announcement regarding the signing of the 26-year-old is expected today.
As has been the case since the Red Sox earned negotiating rights with Matsuzaka on Nov. 14 with a high bid of $51.11 million in the posting process set up by Major League Baseball and the Japanese League, yesterday was dripping with drama.
After a night of negotiation at agent Scott Boras' office in Costa Mesa, Calif., enough progress had been made by Boston's negotiating team of general manager Theo Epstein, CEO/President Larry Lucchino, chairman Tom Werner and scouting director Craig Shipley to persuade both the hurler and his agent to join them on owner John Henry's Dassault Mystere 900 airplane for the cross-country trip from John Wayne Airport to Hanscom Field in Bedford.
Upon landing in Red Sox country at 5:16 p.m. the group, highlighted by a down coat-clad Matsuzaka, got into a black sport utility vehicle, followed the flashing lights of a state police cruiser and headed to Massachusetts General Hospital, where the pitcher underwent his Red Sox-sponsored physical.
Both at Hanscom Field and outside the hospital, gatherings of media and fans awaited a glimpse of the well-publicized pitcher.
The finality of seeing Matsuzaka go through those steps of the process was welcome for the Red Sox, who had experienced the ups and downs that often go with negotiating with a Scott Boras client. The agent - widely perceived as the most powerful player representative in the major leagues - had reportedly been asking for upward of $15 million per season for the player he often referred to as D-Mat.
Boras, however, appeared to have little leverage in the negotiations since the Red Sox had earned the exclusive negotiating rights for 30 days by posting a sealed bid higher than any other big league club. If Matsuzaka failed to reach an agreement with Boston, the Red Sox wouldn't have had to pay the $51.11 million fee to the pitcher's former club, the Seibu Lions, and he would be forced to return to play in Japan for another season before beginning the posting process all over again next November.
The chasm between Boras and the Red Sox had seemed almost insurmountable entering the final few days of negotiations, leading to dual press conferences Monday night and early Tuesday morning. The agent had stated outside his Newport Beach, Calif., offices that "free agent pitchers who are 26 and have Matsuzaka-like ability receive salaries in excess of $100 million over five or six years in free agency."
Matsuzaka's career record in 204 career Japanese League games is 108-60 with a 2.95 ERA and 1,355 strikeouts. He was also named MVP of last spring's World Baseball Classic, which was won by Japan.
But Henry said during the Red Sox's 12:45 a.m. conference call that his team had begun to take the fight to Boras by sending his contingent on a trip across the country via 1:25 p.m. Monday flight out of Hanscom.
Ironically, the initial flight plan for Henry's private jet had the plane taking off Monday and going to Houston, which just so happens to be the residence of another potential Boston target: Roger Clemens.
