During an afternoon press conference today at Fenway Park, the Boston Red Sox announced that they have signed their first baseman Kevin Youkilis to a 4-year, $41.25 million contract with a $14 million club option. There is a $1.25 million buyout should they not exercise that option.
Just four weeks ago, the Red Sox signed their second baseman Dustin Pedroia to a 6-year, $40.5 million contract meaning the Red Sox have locked up the reigning AL MVP and a Gold Glove first baseman for the next 4 years. If you think about what Mark Teixeira signed for, the Red Sox are getting two for the price of one.
Here is the breakdown of the deal.
- $1 million signing bonus
- 2009 – $6 million
- 2010 – $10 million
- 2011 – $12 million
- 2012 – $12 million
- 2013 – Club option for $14 million with a $1.25 million buyout
He can also receive bonuses of $50,000 (All-Star, Silver Slugger, Gold Glove, LCS MVP), and $100,000 (MVP or World Series MVP). He would receive $75,000 for finishing in second place in MVP voting, and $50,000 for finishing third.
Here is the press conference that they held today at Fenway Park courtesy of NESN. And here is the transcript of it in case you don’t want to watch.
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I forgot to post this last night with the update. Rob Bradford of WEEI.com has a look at how the deal developed between Youkilis and the Red Sox.
