Red Sox sign new deal with Steve Pearce



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October's hero, Steve Pearce, received a November bonus yesterday.

Pearce, 35, won the Most Valuable Player of the World Series (three rounds and eight points for 12 points) and signed a one year contract worth 6, $ 25 million, confirmed the Herald.

Pearce was a free agent, but the early signing allowed him a free and easy offseason that will allow him to reiterate his role as a right-handed batter of the Red Sox on the bench and the first baseman against the left-handed starters. .

The Red Sox brought Pearce aboard in July last season as part of a deal related in part to the release of Hanley Ramirez. The club missed a right-handed bat and still needed a platoon partner for Mitch Moreland to first base.

In 2019, the club will receive six months of service in addition to the seventh month of service of the popular and productive Pearce, who will speak about his signature on Monday.

On Friday, Red Sox baseball president Dave Dombrowski paid tribute to Pearce.

"We are excited to have Steve with us for another year, as we think it fits our club perfectly," Dombrowski said in a statement. "Obviously, we've all seen the impact he could have on the field, especially with the playoffs he'd had." It also provides good depth and balance on the right side for us. "

For the Red Sox, the relatively modest salary represents a prudent investment that meets a specific need. This certainly does not carry the fingerprints of an overreaction to Pearce's productivity at the end of October, as was the case after the 2007 World Series. The most useful player in this series, Mike Lowell, was able to sign a three-year contract valued at $ 37.5 million. Lowell turned 34 in 2008, but after two seasons of poor productivity that had not been optimized in 2007, Lowell's last season was short, during which he battled injuries. Former Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein has repeatedly stated that he was the victim of excessive enthusiasm for Lowell's player-at-the-box award when signing the contract.

During the season, Pearce averaged .284 with 11 home runs and .890 OPS over 215 for the Blue Jays and Red Sox. For the Red Sox, he hit .29 (38-for-136) with a percentage of -394 on the base. Five of his seven home runs were against the Yankees, including three in a match on Aug. 2.

The Red Sox relied more on Pearce in October, when Moreland struggled with a hamstring problem. In his October 13 games, he hit four home runs with 11 RBIs and .289 with a score of 1,083 OPS.

Pearce will turn 36 next April and has played a dozen seasons in the majors. In the last five years, his .883 OPS against left-handers has been ranked 29th among players with at least 300 batting batters. Last season, he also beat .265 with a .828 OPS against right-handed, a nice and welcome surprise for the Red Sox.

Moreland is also under contract until next season, which means the Red Sox may delay, if they wish, to fill the impending vacancy at the base position.

Pearce's salary next year will be the same as this year's. There are no performance bonuses or option triggers. The terms have been reported for the first time by Yahoo Sports.

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