Red Sox avoid arbitration by signing Ryan Sweeney

When Theo Epstein was in Boston he never once went to arbitration.  Every time he was able to avoid the ill advised hearing thanks to his ability to negotiate with the players and agent, even it meant coming right down to the wire.  Ben Cherington is now on the same path, albeit some much larger challenges await.  But for now we give Cherington a passing grade with his latest signing of Ryan Sweeney to a one-year deal worth $1.75 million, which in turn will avoid arbitration.

Sweeney was part of the deal that saw Andrew Bailey come to Boston from Oakland and he is currently slated to be one of a few options for the right-field position.  Last season with Oakland, Sweeney’s lines were decent: .265/.346/.341 in 299 plate appearances.

While he is another lefty in the lineup, he and Mike Aviles are said to cover off right field until Ryan Kalish can get healthy enough to prove that he’s the future for the position.

As mentioned, Cherington will have bigger fish to fry in the form of avoiding arbitration with the likes of David Ortiz, Bailey, Jacoby Ellsbury and Daniel Bard.  That will be a tall order for him to keep his streak going of never going to arbitration.

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