From Nick Cafardo at Extra Bases:
Mike Lowell’s agents and Theo Epstein could not reach an agreement about an hour before the midnight deadline in which the Red Sox had exclusive rights to negotiate with Lowell.
Lowell will now be a complete free-agent and can negotiate with other teams.
Both sides agreed there’s still room for an agreement to be reached and they’ll continue to stay in touch. Lowell will now be able to determine whether there’s a four-year market out there for his services. Indications are that the Sox would not move off three years.
We all know what’s going to happen here, some team is going to overpay Lowell for his services and offer him a 4-year deal at a ridiculous amount of money that will make it hard for the Red Sox to match.
It is encouraging to hear that the teams will still try to reach an agreement. Hopefully after fielding some offers tomorrow from teams, Lowell’s agents, the Levinson brothers, will ring Theo and work something out. If not, the Red Sox begin to explore other options at third base.
