ANAHEIM, California, 15 December 2004 — Pedro Martinez closed in on a four-year deal with the New York Mets, and the Boston Red Sox resigned themselves to losing the three-time Cy Young Award winner yesterday.
“He was a great member of the Red Sox team for seven years, and a certain Hall of Famer,” Red Sox president Larry Lucchino told The Associated Press in an e-mail. “He will be missed, and we are disappointed to have lost him to the Mets and the National League.”
Martinez’s agent, Fernando Cuza, told the Mets he would attempt to work out a deal with them after New York guaranteed a fourth year, a person involved in the talks said on condition of anonymity.
Mets general manager Omar Minaya expressed confidence about the negotiations with Martinez, but wouldn’t detail the discussions. Minaya then left major league baseball’s winter meetings and returned to New York, and the sides will work by telephone to finalize the contract language.
Martinez helped pitch Boston to its first World Series title since 1918, but Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein refused to increase the team’s offer in the past two days.
Martinez, 33, also must pass a physical before the Mets complete the deal.
New York initially offered a $37.5 million, three-year contract with a $12.5 million team option for 2008.
Boston’s final proposal was a $30.5 million, three-year deal that contained a club option for 2008, a baseball official said, also on condition of anonymity. The Mets’ offer was thought to be for $56 million over four years, the official said.
White Sox Deal Lee to Brewers for Podsednik
In Anaheim, Calif., the Milwaukee Brewers have acquired slugging outfielder Carlos Lee from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for speedy outfielder Scott Podsednik, pitcher Luis Vizcaino and a player to be named later.
The trade was announced yesterday, the final day of the baseball winter meetings.
The 28-year-old Lee batted. 305 with 31 home runs and 99 RBI over 153 games last season. Over the last two years, the right-handed hitting Lee has hit 62 homers and driven in 212 runs.
“This was one of our biggest priorities in the offseason, our hitting,” Brewers general manager Doug Melvin said. “Last year in the second half we didn’t do very well and we really did need a middle-of-the-order hitter. We’ll be able to put Carlos between Lyle Overbay and Geoff Jenkins to get us a better-balanced lineup.
