Boston Red Sox GM Theo Epstein kept his perfect arbitration record intact as they were able to avoid it with Hideki Okajima by agreeing on a 1 year, $2.75 million deal.
The deal will also pay Okajima a $50,000 bonus each if he appears in 55, 60, 65 and 70 games.
Okajima had originally signed a 2 year deal worth $2.5 million with an option year worth $1.75 million back in late 2006. Because he’s only been in MLB for three years, he was arbitration-eligible with the Red Sox.
He was 6-0 with a 3.39 ERA in 68 games for the Red Sox in 2009. In 198 games, Okajima is 12-4 with a 2.72 ERA and six saves.
