Short Story Brings Renteria To Boston
Ex-Card agrees to $40M deal with Sox
By Jeff Horrigan
December 16, 2004
By hitting an accommodating bouncer back to Keith Foulke for the
final out of
the Red Sox' first World Series championship in 86 years, Edgar
Renteria already
was a part of New England folklore.
After agreeing to a four-year contract offer from the Sox worth a
reported
$40 million, the All-Star shortstop can begin making a name for himself
in more
acceptable ways.
Renteria divulged yesterday in his native Barranquilla, Colombia,
that he had
chosen to sign with the Sox over returning to the St. Louis Cardinals,
who were
swept by Boston in the 100th World Series in October.
Renteria, who spent the past six seasons in St. Louis, had been
asked by the
Cardinals to take a ``hometown discount,'' which was believed to be $32
million
over four years. According to reports, the Red Sox' stronger interest
in the
shortstop was the difference in his decision to switch teams.
Renteria is expected to fly to Boston today and will undergo a
physical exam
either today or tomorrow before the deal will be finalized.
Club officials refused to confirm Renteria's decision, citing
their policy of
not commenting before contracts are finalized, which was simply the
completion
of a physical exam in the cases of pitchers David Wells and John Halama
over the
past two days. Sox president Larry Lucchino, however, couldn't
completely
disguise his smile of satisfaction at Halama's introduction yesterday.
``Players are free to speak their will whenever they'd like,''
Lucchino said
of Renteria's quotes from Colombia. ``We are happy that players are
excited to
come and join us, but I don't think we should have a further
announcement until
we've consummated the transaction and physicals are taken, and all of
that
should happen in the next 24-48 hours.''
Lucchino paused and added: ``An All-Star and Gold Glove infielder
would be a
great addition to this team or any team.''
General manager Theo Epstein, who is in San Diego for a scouting
meeting,
could not be reached for comment. Renteria's agent, Jeffrey Lane, did
not return
phone messages.
Renteria, who batted .333 in the World Series (5-for-15), is a
four-time
National League All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner. A dynamic
defensive
player, the 29-year-old was considered the premier shortstop on the
free agent
market, just ahead of departing Red Sox Orlando Cabrera (who is being
wooed by
the Cardinals).
The agreement demonstrated the Sox' commitment to reallocating
the resources
that had been budgeted for Pedro Martinez, who spurned them to join the
New York
Mets. Epstein still is attempting to sign at least one more quality
starting
pitcher and is believed to be focusing on trading for Tim Hudson or
A.J.
Burnett, or signing a free agent such as Matt Clement or Odalis Perez.
``We will redeploy the money that would've been spent,'' Lucchino
said.
``That's a considerable amount of resources to redeploy.''
Even though they had to blow away the Cardinals' offer for
Renteria, it
should be noted the $40 million deal is still $20 million less than the
four-year, $60 million deal former Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra
turned down
during spring training in 2003.
Renteria owns a .289 lifetime batting average and .346 on-base
percentage
with 83 home runs, 565 RBI and 237 stolen bases over nine major league
seasons.
Last season, he hit .287 with 10 homers and 17 stolen bases in 149
games for the
Cardinals.
Not all of Renteria's World Series memories are unpleasant. He
drove in the
game-winning run for the Florida Marlins in Game 7 of the 1997 World
Series
against Cleveland.
Though he's often flashy in the field, Renteria has developed a
reputation as
a fundamentally sound player and a team leader.
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