Red Sox Sign Renteria, Giving Assist To Pedro
Shortstop says Boston's offer overcame desire to stay with Cards
Houston Chronicle News Services
December 18, 2004
Edgar Renteria's first choice was to remain in St. Louis, until
the Boston
Red Sox gave him an offer too good to turn down.
And losing pitcher Pedro Martinez might have given them the means
to seal the
four-year, $ 40 million deal for the All-Star shortstop who made the
last out
for St. Louis in Boston's World Series sweep of the Cardinals.
"I'm not so sure the Edgar Renteria signing, for example, would
have been
possible if we had signed Pedro Martinez," Red Sox general manager Theo
Epstein
said Friday in Boston. "It certainly opens doors to build a more
complete
roster."
Boston offered Martinez a three-year, $ 40.5 million contract,
but he chose
the four-year, $ 54 million deal from the New York Mets, who introduced
him at a
news conference Thursday.
Renteria passed a physical Friday and signed a contract that
reportedly
contains no deferred money.
"The Red Sox really tried to get me," Renteria said. "To me, it's
like a
dream come true."
St. Louis reportedly offered a four-year, $ 32 million deal with
some money
deferred.
"If anything was even close, he would have stayed there," said
Renteria's
agent, Jeffrey Lane. "But it wasn't close."
Martinez, meanwhile, returned home to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and
bashed the team he led to a World Series title. He knocked the Red Sox
for their
front-office moves and negotiating tactics, and predicted a rough
season.
"They will field the best bad team in baseball history," he said
at a news
conference.
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